[Rotorhead]

Originally Posted by Nitin

Thats true.To an extent the school environment makes a difference. But it all comes down to how to train your children, and what qualities you inculcate in them.

agree on the above. But there is also something called a peer pressure as the kids grow up. Kids always look at other kids going to prestigious schools and those that go to lesser schools are generally looked down upon by other children and even to an extent the relatives. Some might not agree, but this is the truth and this is how superficial the society has become nowadays. No parent would like a child to go thru this kind of emotional trauma realizing that your child feels bad about going to a lesser school than his counterparts getting into bigger schools with hi-fi activities to boast about. Lotus blooms in dirty water, diamonds are found in coal mines, but these dont mind coz they dont feel it, but a child can be really sensitive to the external environment that they are exposed to and its upto the parent to ensure that he doesnt grow up with the feeling of being underprevileged especially if the parent can help it by putting his best effort . I for one have left no stone unturned to get my son into a proper school and will leave no stone unturned to get him to become a good human being even if he is part of a snob school with a few spoilt brats.

[bharanidharang]

The only criteria we had when seeking admission for my son was the distance. There was pressure from friends/relatives on board/high-end schools etc, but we stuck to our stand. Even though there is daily homework, my son loves doing it and is happy about going to school. End of it, if he is happy so am I.

[kreddy]

My son going to 8th and daughter going to 5th this year are both studying in New Horizon Public School and I quite satisfied with quality of education, environment & other facilities, though fees hikes are very steep every year. Main advantage though is school is just 200 metres or 5 minutes walk from my place.

[sbraj]

Originally Posted by Rotorhead

Again I very much liked the concept that this particular school didnt want to interview the child, and the parents interview also very pleasant and the principal and his associate were really courteous and the questions lingered basically on the parents background and nothing much. No tricky questions whatsover about where one works, or how much salary one gets and stuff. Speaks volumes about the administration. Also someone mentioned to me that this particular school doesnt overburden the child with too much of homework which is pretty nice.

Rotorhead,
It is refreshing to know that there are some schools which do not interview the child. I am applying at FAPS next January for my 3 year old. Any tips or advises from your side?

[Rotorhead]

Originally Posted by sbraj

Rotorhead,
It is refreshing to know that there are some schools which do not interview the child. I am applying at FAPS next January for my 3 year old. Any tips or advises from your side?

sorry sbraj, came across this post only now. All you need to take care of is how you and your wife present yourselves during the interview and in general how well you both carry yourselves as husband and wife. Dont be too uptight and just relax and be yourself. Dont get too nervous about the whole thing and nervousness makes you say and do a lot of silly things. The very fact that the child is not interviewed and will not be present during the discussion itself is a huge stress relief, so you can concentrate only on what you have to say or do, rather than worry about how the child is going to behave or do in the interview. I was literally sweating while i was waiting for the interview but my wife calmed my nerves and that really helped me answer the questions in a very relaxed manner. Since my wife is a better orator and better in communication skill, i let her do most of the talking and this is something we had discussed the previous day itself and i feel that made a significant difference. Decide amongst you and your wife as to who is the better communicator and leave most of the answering to that person. All questions asked to me was very very generic, no hanky panky stuff on my job or salary. Questions asked were about the background of both the parents, how the parents met one another. Something about the child and how we handle things when the child throws up a tantrum and such thats it. Suggest that you and your wife sit down and come up with a list of probable questions and together decide on how you are going to answer them if asked.

The headmaster and headmistress, Mr.Browne and Gebrall were very very co-ordial and genial. At no time did i get a feeling that it was an interview. The discussions were very very cordial, but that depends on how you set the stage. My wife set the stage by how we both met and got our parents to agree to our marriage, and from then on it was more of a jovial and light discussion. Unfortunately Mr.Browne's term ended sometime back and there is a new person as the headmaster and what i hear is that he is a strict person so am not sure if there is any change to the interview process.

But on a second note, dont put all your eggs in the same basket. Keep other options also ready. In case of FAP there were close to 800 applicants last year out of which only around 100 odd got through. So suggest you to keep other options also available in case this doesnt work. But not to worry, things will work fine, if it doesnt then there is always a next chance.
All the very best to you and do PM me once the results are out.

[sbraj]

Originally Posted by Rotorhead

sorry sbraj, came across this post only now. All you need to take care ... ...

Thanks Rotorhead for the suggestions. I never thought that such personal questions would be asked. This post was, indeed, an eye opener for us.

Originally Posted by Rotorhead

But on a second note, dont put all your eggs in the same basket. Keep other options also ready. In case of FAP there were close to 800 applicants last year out of which only around 100 odd got through. So suggest you to keep other options also available in case this doesnt work. But not to worry, things will work fine, if it doesnt then there is always a next chance.
All the very best to you and do PM me once the results are out.

Yes, we have been trying the other options as well. Two weeks back, we had interaction at New Horizon School. My son was taken to a class room and given puzzles to sort, asked to identify vegetables, fruits and also sing a rhyme. All communication in English. And he performed quite well I guess. But we were offered admission only in the Marathahalli branch which was too far for us. We were looking for the Indiranagar branch, for which they said admissions were closed.

Today, we had the interaction at NPS, Indiranagar and my son is selected for LKG. We have paid the fees and taken admission there. School admissions have been emotionally draining, and thanks to destiny, I can afford a smile now.

[Rotorhead]

Originally Posted by sbraj

Thanks Rotorhead for the suggestions. I never thought that such personal questions would be asked. This post was, indeed, an eye opener for us.

.

I was surprised too that such a question was asked but i guess its part of them trying to understand the family background . Since the next question post that was a little bit about our respective parents and . You never know what they infer from such questions but seems like they are purposefully intended to be asked. I had spoken to couple of other parents and they too were asked similiar questions. Or maybe its just the way the particular principal goes about the interview thing , the new guy probably will have an entirely new set of questions, you never know.

and BTW congratulations.

[slipstream]

Let me share 2 of my harrowing experiences with my daughter's LKG admission

Experience 1 :

Dec 2007 - A Saturday. Wifey wakes me up at 2.30 a.m...In the next half an hour I'm driving down to the Good Shepherd school in Nungambakkam thinking about how I would wake up the security guard at the school gates and 'secure' my position as the first in line. I reach the school and am FLABBERGASTED to see a serpentine queue at the not yet open school gates. I join the queue and am told I'm at No.162. The more fortunate parents have had their house-helps line up on their behalf. At 5 a.m, its still dark and the media start arriving, recording our hapless faces on video to be telecast to the world. We're standing on the pavement, muddy & sloshy from a slight drizzle the previous night. After about 3 hours of standing, my legs are about to give way and there still no place on the pavement that you can sit. The 'Heavenly Gates' open at 9 and the forms start getting issued. I get my turn to pick up the application at 11 a.m (a wait of over 7 1/2 hours) and am relieved they hadnt run out of forms...and this was just for "issue of application forms" mind you, not admissions ! We submitted the completed documents a week later into a drop box (thankfully). We get a regret letter from the school in April saying "Admissions Full"

Experience 2 :

Similar 'wait for applications' (albeit a shorter queue) at C.S.I Ewarts, Purasaiwalkam. Forms are picked up, submitted subsequently and we are called for an 'interview'. Wifey spends 3 days brushing up my daughter's skills for the 'interview and there we are on D-Day fully prepared and ready. We enter the interview room to meet the Principal and Head Mistress of the school. They give a toffee to my daughter who promptly takes it with a smile and a 'Thank You'. The next 15 minutes are spent with the Principal and Head Mistress quizzing my wife & I about where we work, our salaries, our monthly commitments (read EMI's) and pretty much everything relating to our finances. They kept noting our responses on a sheet of paper. Well, the 'interview' was supposedly over and they assured us that we would hear from them soon, we thanked them and were almost on our way out of the room when an elderly lady walked in. The Principal and Head Mistress introduced her to us as the 'Correspondent' of the school. The Correspondent again asked me what I do and I replied that I worked with ABC Bank. With a "WOW !" she turned to the Principal and Head Mistress and exclaimed "Why have you mentioned only Rs.25000 in the form ? They are potential candidates for us !!! Change that to Rs.35000 !" She was obviously referring to the donation that we had to pay and the 2 minute late entry of the Correspondant had potentially cost us an additional 10k ! My wife & I decide that this school would be our last option.

My daughter subsequently secured admission at 'Church Park - Sacred Heart' at a building fund of Rs.25k.

Sorry about the lengthy post, guys..but everytime I think about it, I just cant help venting my frustration !

[ajmat]

I really don't understand why they cannot issue the form via the net or in the paper like govt positions aso. They can collect a fee when submitting the form

[dadu]

Originally Posted by ajmat

I really don't understand why they cannot issue the form via the net or in the paper like govt positions aso. They can collect a fee when submitting the form

DPS does, but then they collect 100Rs more for the online form during submissions at their counter Vs the ones collected in person from the school. Its demand vs Supply, when DPS initially opened in bangalore, they gave admission to whoever that applied similar to whats happenning for New Horizon, Marathalli.

In Delhi, DPS does the same but strictly no forms are sold through the counter.

[binz]

Yea, Mr. Keith Boye has replaced Mr. Brown. And he is noticeably stricter.

But don't worry though, he isn't concerned with the junior school.

All the best!

[sbraj]

Originally Posted by ajmat

I really don't understand why they cannot issue the form via the net or in the paper like govt positions aso. They can collect a fee when submitting the form

Originally Posted by dadu

Its demand vs Supply, when DPS initially opened in bangalore, they gave admission to whoever that applied similar to whats happenning for New Horizon, Marathalli.

Agree with ajmat. dadu, I did not understand your point. What does demand-supply got to do with issuing online application forms? It is the seats that are limited, not admission forms, right?

What is the harm in collecting forms from everyone before deciding whom to admit? Who ever wants to download can do that, fill the form and submit it. When it is submitted, a date for the interview can be given.

Case in point is New Horizon, Indiranagar where on the first day, the queue was nearly 700 people long on 100 Ft Road, Indiranagar. And this school gives admission on first-come-first-serve basis. Too bad that they do not make use of technology for this.

[vasudeva]

I had to get my son admitted in Oct 2003. Although he got thru the first round in every school we applied, the second (parent interaction) round were due around 20-23 Oct. Unfortunately, I had a severe and long case of flu at that time (>102 C for close to a week). Anyone suffering that knows how the flu wears one out after 1-2 days. I had to go, and fortunately I could go to the interactions before the flu got me completely.

Now he is going to the same school as I did from 1971-84.

[shishir_bn]

nice thread. even i had to go through this when i was admitting my kid to a playschool. the time will come again as i have to run for the application from these schools this year. i think ther was one more thread of this kind started by Pavan. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/71698-bangalore-school-admissions.html

[SirAlec]

i must say, we small towners are very lucky in this.