So difficult to say no

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>Son has been accepted in 4 schools and wait listed in 3. He has made up his mind to enroll at his top choice school. </p>

<p>Now it is time to say no to other schools and inform schools not to put him on th wait list any more. </p>

<p>After sending out emails, he came back to me telling me: Mum, it is so difficult to say no to these nice admission officers! I hope I can spilit so that I can enter into any of them. </p>

<p>He is not a sentimental boy at nature, but this time I totally understand him. During the half year application procedure, we got help from so many wonderful people, the admission officers, the teachers in these schools, the tour guide... Whenever we asked for any information, they always come back to us immediately and they are always very very encouraging. My son is really spoiled by all of these! It is really difficult to say no!</p>

2

<p>Yes, I understand. So far we’ve had one very gracious reply from an AO, and one “no reply” at all. Best advise on this I’ve received comes from a former AO who said, “We’ve all had kids that we wanted at our school that have chosen to go elsewhere. It’s just a part of the job.” While is seems very hard to the individual family, after a couple of admissions seasons, the AOs get used to the reality that some consider other pastures greener.</p>

3

<p>I would recommend you to say NO asap because there are a lot of waitlisted kids who are eager to the schools your son is not going for sure.</p>

4

<p>Yazmie
Yes, I said my son sent out all emails.</p>

5

<p>Where did he choose? He has some great options!</p>

6

<p>TheBig5
Thanks! I feel better when you say the AOs get used to the reality. Son is in really low mood…</p>

7

<p>So is my kid, and we are still doing multiple revisits. Not an easy thing, winnowing down to “the one”!</p>

8

<p>Your son can take comfort in knowing that other students are eagerly waiting for those spots and will be so happy that they have freed up.<br>
The admissions officers are used to this part of the process, and they know that each applicant has to make the right choice for themselves. They will still assemble a great class.</p>

9

<p>Yep - my daughter teared up. She had made real connections with some of the staff members and with her interviewers and it was very hard for her to say no. But in the end, she knew the spot would go to another student who desperately wanted it.</p>

<p>It’s a good life lesson for college season. How to say no while showing appreciation for their efforts.</p>

10

<p>I know it is very hard to say no as I am facing the same issue. But I have figured out an easier way, in stead of SAYING no, I TYPE no.</p>

11

<p>We had difficulty with this last year as well because not only did he have 4 acceptances, but a staggering amount of FA generosity. It was indeed a lesson in graciously declining an amazing gift. It helped us to call the FA director to express our gratitude and our hope that those funds would allow another fortunate child to benefit from what we knew was a wonderful opportunity.</p>