We've all heard of legacy admissions, which give preferential treatment to children of alumni, in private school and college admissions. But what if public school districts adopted similar enrollment policies for their K–12 students?
According to a recent story in the Los Angeles Times, two Southland school districts—Beverly Hills Unified and Santa Monica–Malibu Unified—have recently begun offering preferential enrollment to kids whose parents attended their schools (and, in the case of Beverly Hills, whose grandparents have lived in the district for at least 10 years). The idea is to strengthen ties both with alumni, who may be more likely to donate money or help out in other ways, and with grandparents still residing in the district—and voting on school-related measures—who no longer have a "direct stake" in area schools.
Critics question, among other things, the fairness and utility of legacy enrollment in public schools, while supporters argue that districts already offer spots to nonresident children whose parents work in the district or whose attendance will help boost state funding or achieve other district goals. So far, the percentage of students admitted under this new policy is minuscule: In Beverly Hills, just 11 out of 5,100 students.
In these dire economic times, when school districts are struggling with drastically cut budgets, instituting a policy offering preferential enrollment to those few students whose alumni parents may be more likely to offer support that will benefit the many seems worth trying. Doing so is particularly justifiable given that much larger numbers of nonresident children with no district school affiliation are already allowed to enroll. If a legacy enrollment policy proves problematic, with too many parents taking advantage of the situation, district officials can always revise or eliminate it. Remaining flexible and open to change is key if schools are to survive the current financial crisis.
Showing posts with label Private School Admissions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Private School Admissions. Show all posts
Private School Admissions: Is Applying for Financial Aid a Risk?
Applying to private schools is a major undertaking, both financially and emotionally. What with standardized testing, teacher recommendations, essays, grade reports, tours, and admissions interviews, the process can be just as complicated, stressful, and expensive as applying to college.
Given this investment of time and energy—and the stiff competition for admission to top private schools—parents often wonder whether applying for financial aid will lessen their child's chances of admission. For many parents, of course, this issue will be irrelevant—they can either easily afford the tuition and fees or simply could not attend the school without aid.
But some parents' financial circumstances fall in between these two extremes. Strictly speaking, such parents have sufficient resources to apply without aid. Doing so, however, will pose a financial hardship, using up a large percentage of their discretionary income and putting future plans—such as financing their children's college educations, having enough money to live on after retirement, or paying for the care of elderly parents—at risk.
So if you're in this middle group, will applying for financial aid jeopardize your child's chances of admission? The short answer is: possibly, especially in today's economy. Private schools, like all educational institutions, must protect their financial health, and most have suffered setbacks in recent months.
What this can mean is that given a choice between two equally desirable students, one of whom is applying for aid, the school may well admit the student whose parents have applied without aid. It can even mean that the school will admit a slightly less promising student who doesn't need financial aid over a more promising one who does.
So what should you do? First, find out as much as you can about the financial circumstances of schools your child is applying to—schools in better shape will likely have less pressure to admit full-paying students.
Second, evaluate how competitive the schools are when it comes to admissions. Schools that accept three-fourths of their applicants may be more likely to admit a student applying for aid than are schools where only one in four applicants is accepted. (One caveat: Highly competitive schools often have larger endowments, which can mean more money for financial aid.)
Finally, decide how important getting into a particular school is to you and your child. If you'd both be happy with any of several schools, then applying for financial aid may make sense. On the other hand, if your heart is set on one particular school, and you'd be devastated if you suspected that your child didn't get in because you applied for financial aid, then applying for aid—at least this year—may simply be too risky.
(NOTE: Original comments on this post could not be transferred but may be viewed by clicking here.)
Given this investment of time and energy—and the stiff competition for admission to top private schools—parents often wonder whether applying for financial aid will lessen their child's chances of admission. For many parents, of course, this issue will be irrelevant—they can either easily afford the tuition and fees or simply could not attend the school without aid.
But some parents' financial circumstances fall in between these two extremes. Strictly speaking, such parents have sufficient resources to apply without aid. Doing so, however, will pose a financial hardship, using up a large percentage of their discretionary income and putting future plans—such as financing their children's college educations, having enough money to live on after retirement, or paying for the care of elderly parents—at risk.
So if you're in this middle group, will applying for financial aid jeopardize your child's chances of admission? The short answer is: possibly, especially in today's economy. Private schools, like all educational institutions, must protect their financial health, and most have suffered setbacks in recent months.
What this can mean is that given a choice between two equally desirable students, one of whom is applying for aid, the school may well admit the student whose parents have applied without aid. It can even mean that the school will admit a slightly less promising student who doesn't need financial aid over a more promising one who does.
So what should you do? First, find out as much as you can about the financial circumstances of schools your child is applying to—schools in better shape will likely have less pressure to admit full-paying students.
Second, evaluate how competitive the schools are when it comes to admissions. Schools that accept three-fourths of their applicants may be more likely to admit a student applying for aid than are schools where only one in four applicants is accepted. (One caveat: Highly competitive schools often have larger endowments, which can mean more money for financial aid.)
Finally, decide how important getting into a particular school is to you and your child. If you'd both be happy with any of several schools, then applying for financial aid may make sense. On the other hand, if your heart is set on one particular school, and you'd be devastated if you suspected that your child didn't get in because you applied for financial aid, then applying for aid—at least this year—may simply be too risky.
(NOTE: Original comments on this post could not be transferred but may be viewed by clicking here.)
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