If you're number 220 on the waitlist ... I seriously suggest you start looking at other schools. The chances of getting inany time soon very slim.
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ESf K1 2012
- Thread starter Workingmom1975
- Start date
If you're number 220 on the waitlist ... I seriously suggest you start looking at other schools. The chances of getting inany time soon very slim.
I agree that the chance for waitlist number 220 to get an offer soon from hillside, is very slim but ...
how about by Aug/Sep, even for waitlist number 220?
Hi Atomic
When you say you wait list number is 220, do you mean you were within the 220 people called for an interview but got wait listed? Because in that case, your wait list number would be no more than 40, as 180people (out of the 220) got offers. In this case, then I do think there is a possibility that you might get an offer before August. But if in fact you are number 220 on the wait list, the chances would be really slim.
Highly doubt it. I know people who were 120 on Primary waitlist last year and are 80 to 90 a year later (with 120 in a year), not sure how many ESF Hillside takes a year but not much more than 120, I assume. Also if older sibling gets a space at another ESF school (often Primary), the younger one can rise on the waiting list overtaking others. Same goes for children from teachers. I wouldn't get your hopes up. For many an ESF Kindy spot is the only chance (interview) for a Primary spot and 220 is really high. Just warning you.I agree that the chance for waitlist number 220 to get an offer soon from hillside, is very slim but ...
how about by Aug/Sep, even for waitlist number 220?
Hi Atomic
When you say you wait list number is 220, do you mean you were within the 220 people called for an interview but got wait listed? Because in that case, your wait list number would be no more than 40, as 180people (out of the 220) got offers. In this case, then I do think there is a possibility that you might get an offer before August. But if in fact you are number 220 on the wait list, the chances would be really slim.
Agree, big difference . Did 180 get offers, that's quite a bit, how many classes do they run these day, 6 x 30 for both am and pm?
Agree if you are 220 in total and the first X got letters you may be fine. If after these 180, you're still 220 on the actual waitlist ... I think it's highly unlikely.
pinkballerina
Registered User
I thought I had a clear understanding on how the ESF Hillside interview system worked, based on the information given in the presentation, but in the past week I've heard a few things that have now made me very confused. I figured that because our interview was quite late, 16 Jan, we had a number that was between 180-220 and that was why we were waitlisted however I know of someone who went for an interview on the 17th and they were offered a place. Does anyone else know of people were were offered places for the later interview dates?
I also know of some people who went for interviews at Hillside last Friday, 10th Feb (I assume for the waiting list). These were people who were sent interview letters but missed their scheduled interview for various reasons (child was sick on interview day, they were out of HK when letter was received, etc).
Who knows how it works??? Maybe they didn't think my son was suitable and it's a polite way of saying, "find him another school" even though the letter said he was successful in the interview.
Atomic, do you know your number on the waiting list?
I also know of some people who went for interviews at Hillside last Friday, 10th Feb (I assume for the waiting list). These were people who were sent interview letters but missed their scheduled interview for various reasons (child was sick on interview day, they were out of HK when letter was received, etc).
Who knows how it works??? Maybe they didn't think my son was suitable and it's a polite way of saying, "find him another school" even though the letter said he was successful in the interview.
Atomic, do you know your number on the waiting list?
I only know how it works in (our) Primary. There are 120 spots. They invite about 140, knowing some will recline, will be rejected, etc. If you're in the first 120 and you pass the interview you have a guaranteed spot. If you are in the 120-140 group, you were given a non-guaranteed interview, meaning if though you pass, there is no guarantee. But a place is highly likely, hence they invite 140. My friend was in that group 120-140, her son passed the interview and she got a guaranteed offer already so most likely some kids were rejected at this point. Once they have gone through these 140 and they still have places left within the 120 (people decline, etc.) or expect a few more openings, they'll invite a few more for top waiting list, and go from there. The rest remains on the waiting list, and honestly, if you're not in the top of that list, chances are quite slim, and I suggest you start looking at other schools. I have friends who are still waiting a year later and made very little movement.
There are 2 kinds of waitlist:
1. The waitlist that described near the bottom of the invitation letter. (For Hillside, this waitlist # is between 1 and 220 during our play visit, therefore our number must be in this range. And now, this number is up to 230.)
2. The Entry Waitlist described in result letter. (For Hillside, this number is between 1 and 30/40 and keeps changing from time to time)
The number 220 that I am talking is, of course, the first type of waitlist #. Sorry if I confused you!!
To MommyTo3,
K1 for Hillside has 4 classes x 2 sessions (AM + PM) x 22 children (class size) = 176 children. However, they will only offer 160 - 175 places. For now, it is 175 places.
To pinkballerina,
I know someone who is still in the Entry Waitlist after her visit on 10th January and someone got an offer but having the visit on 19/Jan.
Maybe we can think in this way, ESF sends invitation by batch. Numbers for our batch are between 1 and 220 but they do not schedule the visit in sequence.
On the other hand, children having a play visit after this month must have the numbers beyond 220 and therefore they must be queued after us in the Entry Waitlist. Otherwise, it would be the great concern for us!
1. The waitlist that described near the bottom of the invitation letter. (For Hillside, this waitlist # is between 1 and 220 during our play visit, therefore our number must be in this range. And now, this number is up to 230.)
2. The Entry Waitlist described in result letter. (For Hillside, this number is between 1 and 30/40 and keeps changing from time to time)
The number 220 that I am talking is, of course, the first type of waitlist #. Sorry if I confused you!!
To MommyTo3,
K1 for Hillside has 4 classes x 2 sessions (AM + PM) x 22 children (class size) = 176 children. However, they will only offer 160 - 175 places. For now, it is 175 places.
To pinkballerina,
I know someone who is still in the Entry Waitlist after her visit on 10th January and someone got an offer but having the visit on 19/Jan.
Maybe we can think in this way, ESF sends invitation by batch. Numbers for our batch are between 1 and 220 but they do not schedule the visit in sequence.
On the other hand, children having a play visit after this month must have the numbers beyond 220 and therefore they must be queued after us in the Entry Waitlist. Otherwise, it would be the great concern for us!
Hi Ladies
Ok I called the school to see what I could find out. Actually found out a bit and hopefully i can clear some things up for Pinkballerina and Atomic (and anyone else who rocking the same boat). I'll try explain this as best as I can and hope it makes sense:
-When we applied in October, your application was allocated a number. This is across ALL ESF Kindys (so hypotheically my number might have been 850, Pinkballerina's-500, and Atomic-625 out of maybe 3000 applicants). Mommyto3's number might have been 250. Please note, im not saying these are our numbers, I'll just use them as examples for now.
-Next, the schools picked the first 'x' amount of applicants that fall within their catchment area. For Hillside, this number was 240. Now, this doesn't mean the numbers were 1-240. It means that our numbers (250, 850, 500 and 625) were all within the 240. I'll explain further: For applications to Hillside, the 1st number might have been #40, the next, #76, the next # 103. So its safe to assume these numbers have gotten the first 3 offers because their numbers are the lowest. So our numbers (250, 500, 625 and 850) might be 85th, 190th, 201 and 218th in line out of 240. Hope you understand so far.
-This then means after the interview, 176 offers letters were sent out according to this order. So mommyto3 would get an offer because her number(250) was 85th in line. Pinkballerina, atomic and I would be on the waiting list because our numbers (500, 625 and 850) were 190, 201 and 218 in line, and only 176 got offers. This also means, Pinkballerina would be at the top of the waiting list because her number (500) is 190th on the list, Atomic would be higher than me on this list and so forth. So someone who went for interiview on Jan 18th and had random number 375, would get an offer for a place before someone who went for interview on Jan 10th but had random number 753. So Pinkballerina, your friends that went for interview in Feb, if their number is lower than ours, they'll probably be offered a place before we do. I specifically asked if it makes a difference when you sent back the slip that asks to be put on waiting list, and she said no, because it just depends on your number and where it falls in the queue.
l also asked if we would be told once all the spots were filled. And basically she said usually by April, they should have their final numbers and will keep in touch with the waitlisted parents to let them know, and to find out if they want to be kept on the waiting list. So pinkballerina don't worry that maybe your son didnt do well and Atomic, our chances of getting in really depend on how many parents decline the offer and go to other schools and how far up or down the waiting list your number is. Just have to keep your fingers crossed and hope you're high up on the list.
Phew, ok i hope everyone understood that. Let me know if you dont quite understand and I'll explain again. Oh and by the way, there's no way of knowing what your number is and how far up or down the list you are.
Ok I called the school to see what I could find out. Actually found out a bit and hopefully i can clear some things up for Pinkballerina and Atomic (and anyone else who rocking the same boat). I'll try explain this as best as I can and hope it makes sense:
-When we applied in October, your application was allocated a number. This is across ALL ESF Kindys (so hypotheically my number might have been 850, Pinkballerina's-500, and Atomic-625 out of maybe 3000 applicants). Mommyto3's number might have been 250. Please note, im not saying these are our numbers, I'll just use them as examples for now.
-Next, the schools picked the first 'x' amount of applicants that fall within their catchment area. For Hillside, this number was 240. Now, this doesn't mean the numbers were 1-240. It means that our numbers (250, 850, 500 and 625) were all within the 240. I'll explain further: For applications to Hillside, the 1st number might have been #40, the next, #76, the next # 103. So its safe to assume these numbers have gotten the first 3 offers because their numbers are the lowest. So our numbers (250, 500, 625 and 850) might be 85th, 190th, 201 and 218th in line out of 240. Hope you understand so far.
-This then means after the interview, 176 offers letters were sent out according to this order. So mommyto3 would get an offer because her number(250) was 85th in line. Pinkballerina, atomic and I would be on the waiting list because our numbers (500, 625 and 850) were 190, 201 and 218 in line, and only 176 got offers. This also means, Pinkballerina would be at the top of the waiting list because her number (500) is 190th on the list, Atomic would be higher than me on this list and so forth. So someone who went for interiview on Jan 18th and had random number 375, would get an offer for a place before someone who went for interview on Jan 10th but had random number 753. So Pinkballerina, your friends that went for interview in Feb, if their number is lower than ours, they'll probably be offered a place before we do. I specifically asked if it makes a difference when you sent back the slip that asks to be put on waiting list, and she said no, because it just depends on your number and where it falls in the queue.
l also asked if we would be told once all the spots were filled. And basically she said usually by April, they should have their final numbers and will keep in touch with the waitlisted parents to let them know, and to find out if they want to be kept on the waiting list. So pinkballerina don't worry that maybe your son didnt do well and Atomic, our chances of getting in really depend on how many parents decline the offer and go to other schools and how far up or down the waiting list your number is. Just have to keep your fingers crossed and hope you're high up on the list.
Phew, ok i hope everyone understood that. Let me know if you dont quite understand and I'll explain again. Oh and by the way, there's no way of knowing what your number is and how far up or down the list you are.
Last edited:
There are 2 kinds of waitlist:
1. The waitlist that described near the bottom of the invitation letter. (For Hillside, this waitlist # is between 1 and 220 during our play visit, therefore our number must be in this range. And now, this number is up to 230.)
2. The Entry Waitlist described in result letter. (For Hillside, this number is between 1 and 30/40 and keeps changing from time to time)
The number 220 that I am talking is, of course, the first type of waitlist #. Sorry if I confused you!!
To MommyTo3,
K1 for Hillside has 4 classes x 2 sessions (AM + PM) x 22 children (class size) = 176 children. However, they will only offer 160 - 175 places. For now, it is 175 places.
To pinkballerina,
I know someone who is still in the Entry Waitlist after her visit on 10th January and someone got an offer but having the visit on 19/Jan.
Maybe we can think in this way, ESF sends invitation by batch. Numbers for our batch are between 1 and 220 but they do not schedule the visit in sequence.
On the other hand, children having a play visit after this month must have the numbers beyond 220 and therefore they must be queued after us in the Entry Waitlist. Otherwise, it would be the great concern for us!
Atomic,
You are right when you say they do not schedule the visits according to sequence. It is random. But the offers are given out according to number sequence. Do read my earlier post to clear up some of your questions.
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