Should we apply to a few schools simultaneously?

[STD Warehouse]

Looking at international schools in Bangkok.

 

I have two daughters 3 years and 6 years. Ive been researching into the so called top 3 and others like Shrewsbury, etc.., I feel like places are hard to get or tho maybe they just want to give that impression.

 

I'm just wondering is it the norm to apply to multiple schools simultaneously with the reasoning not all will offer an admission, so just applying to one or two is a bit risky, as opposed to applying to say 3-5 schools to increase chances of getting offered at least a place for my daughters at one of the schools. 

 

Anyone have any suggestions about this?

[Will B Good]

They will all offer admission.....believe me.....they will take your arm off.

 

Apply to them all, try the travel route, check their extra-curricula activities and any independent reports particularly of pastoral system.....asked to visit lessons and see what class sizes are like and spend sometime out of lesson-time to see how kids behave.

[brewsterbudgen]

Apply to as many as you can and also visit as many as possible.  Ignore what they might say, they're desperate for top-dollar paying students.

[STD Warehouse]

54 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

They will all offer admission.....believe me.....they will take your arm off.

 

Apply to them all, try the travel route, check their extra-curricula activities and any independent reports particularly of pastoral system.....asked to visit lessons and see what class sizes are like and spend sometime out of lesson-time to see how kids behave.

Why do they set an entrance test then? surely a child could score low and fail the entrance test

[STD Warehouse]

9 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Apply to as many as you can and also visit as many as possible.  Ignore what they might say, they're desperate for top-dollar paying students.

If they are desperate, why apply to them all as surely they will all offer a place?

[STD Warehouse]

56 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

They will all offer admission.....believe me.....they will take your arm off.

 

Apply to them all, try the travel route, check their extra-curricula activities and any independent reports particularly of pastoral system.....asked to visit lessons and see what class sizes are like and spend sometime out of lesson-time to see how kids behave.

Patana have a waiting list, so not sure if they will al offer admission

[Will B Good]

1 minute ago, STD Warehouse said:

Why do they set an entrance test then? surely a child could score low and fail the entrance test

Ha....no. It will just determine which set/stream they should go into......unless they are a genuine cretin or have a violent back ground private schools will take anyone. 

[Will B Good]

2 minutes ago, STD Warehouse said:

If they are desperate, why apply to them all as surely they will all offer a place?

You can only visit and inspect the school and its culture if you are applying.

[marin]

1 minute ago, STD Warehouse said:

Patana have a waiting list, so not sure if they will al offer admission

Patana is the exception to the rule. The only International school here with more international students than Thai. You do have to test and do well. Plus you need to have some English speaking ability even as a 3 or 6 year old. 

[Will B Good]

3 minutes ago, STD Warehouse said:

Patana have a waiting list, so not sure if they will al offer admission

Nearly went to teach there a few years ago.......they are the exception to the rule if there is waiting list......more kids than teachers? They will be urgently scouring the world for teachers.

[STD Warehouse]

11 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

Ha....no. It will just determine which set/stream they should go into......unless they are a genuine cretin or have a violent back ground private schools will take anyone. 

i hope you are correct!

[STD Warehouse]

10 minutes ago, marin said:

Patana is the exception to the rule. The only International school here with more international students than Thai. You do have to test and do well. Plus you need to have some English speaking ability even as a 3 or 6 year old. 

oh dear, my 6 year old might not do well in the test..... (but both fluent in english, uk citizens)

 

does NIST and ISB really have more Thai and international children

[Will B Good]

5 minutes ago, STD Warehouse said:

i hope you are correct!

Purely based on my experience and conversations with private school teachers in the UK and EU.......bums on seats is the game..... a private school is money making organisation.

[STD Warehouse]

2 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

Purely based on my experience and conversations with private school teachers in the UK and EU.......bums on seats is the game..... a private school is money making organisation.

yes of course, main objective is to maximize their salaries.

 

I just felt that maybe these schools are over subscribed, hence will not offer admission to a certain percent of applicants.

[Will B Good]

1 minute ago, STD Warehouse said:

yes of course, main objective is to maximize their salaries.

 

I just felt that maybe these schools are over subscribed, hence will not offer admission to a certain percent of applicants.

Yes, if they're over-subscribed they can pick and choose......very true......and then when they recruit more teachers they will be keen to accept.........a balancing act.

 

An airline pilot once told me their medical examination requirements fluctuated with the supply and demand .....bit scary!

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, Will B Good said:

They will all offer admission.....believe me.....they will take your arm off.

 

Apply to them all, try the travel route, check their extra-curricula activities and any independent reports particularly of pastoral system.....asked to visit lessons and see what class sizes are like and spend sometime out of lesson-time to see how kids behave.

And take special note of whether there's any 2 way interaction teacher >< students, and are kids allowed to / encouraged to ask questions.

 

Do the kids sit in rows? or do they sit in small clusters?

 

Do they have a nurse room, do the nurses have any qualificaions/actual experience, attended even basic fist aid course?

 

What transport (school bus) arrangements do they have (if you need that). What's their system to ensure all (ALL) kids get off the bus on arrival at school? 

[sungod]

At that age I would not be too bothered about the top schools unless money is no object. 600,000 baht for play dough lessons is rather steep. Find a good school close to where you live would be my priority. You can move them to better schools later, its what I did (albeit not Bangkok) and at no detriment to their education.

[gravity101]

43 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

Nearly went to teach there a few years ago.......they are the exception to the rule if there is waiting list......more kids than teachers? They will be urgently scouring the world for teachers.

 

34 minutes ago, STD Warehouse said:

i hope you are correct!

You should apply for a few. Some schools here are oversubscribed not in terms of teachers, but also space and resources.. Contractully, good schools wont and can't expand class sizes if they can't create classes. They increase revenue in over subscribed situations by increasing fees and extras. (Or so it feels!) If you can afford and don't mind the application fee which can be considerable, apply for a few. Many schools also have a nationality quota so as to not effect the balance of the school. You should ask as although there may be a queue there may not be a queue for your kids nationality. Good luck, been through it here. My kids have been unsuccessful before, luckily they weren't my first choice schools.

 

 

[Freddy42OZ]

Check if the application fee is refundable. 

I'm pretty sure the ones we looked at it wasn't.

[kingstonkid]

1 hour ago, STD Warehouse said:

Why do they set an entrance test then? surely a child could score low and fail the entrance test

The entrance test is the main reason you should apply to as many as you can.  The top schools like Shrewsbury are able to pick the cream of the crop that is why their students do so well.

All Thai schools do the same thing. Kids going from Anuban to pratom 1 have to do tests even if they are staying at the same school.

[STD Warehouse]

5 minutes ago, kingstonkid said:

The entrance test is the main reason you should apply to as many as you can.  The top schools like Shrewsbury are able to pick the cream of the crop that is why their students do so well.

All Thai schools do the same thing. Kids going from Anuban to pratom 1 have to do tests even if they are staying at the same school.

Thanks, so it seems there are different opinions here, that perhaps all wont just hand out an admission.

 

I do worry about this, my daughter is only 6 and although she's British, her written English is very basic and her reading level also low.

[STD Warehouse]

1 hour ago, scorecard said:

And take special note of whether there's any 2 way interaction teacher >< students, and are kids allowed to / encouraged to ask questions.

 

Do the kids sit in rows? or do they sit in small clusters?

 

Do they have a nurse room, do the nurses have any qualificaions/actual experience, attended even basic fist aid course?

 

What transport (school bus) arrangements do they have (if you need that). What's their system to ensure all (ALL) kids get off the bus on arrival at school? 

Thanks all seem like good questions to ask

[STD Warehouse]

1 hour ago, sungod said:

At that age I would not be too bothered about the top schools unless money is no object. 600,000 baht for play dough lessons is rather steep. Find a good school close to where you live would be my priority. You can move them to better schools later, its what I did (albeit not Bangkok) and at no detriment to their education.

I know what you mean, I know people who had very expensive educations and turn out to do nothing in life and others with much lower cost education that achieve highly in later life.

 

However, as the cost is not an issue, im leaning towards trying to get them into a so called "top" school.

[STD Warehouse]

1 hour ago, gravity101 said:

 

You should apply for a few. Some schools here are oversubscribed not in terms of teachers, but also space and resources.. Contractully, good schools wont and can't expand class sizes if they can't create classes. They increase revenue in over subscribed situations by increasing fees and extras. (Or so it feels!) If you can afford and don't mind the application fee which can be considerable, apply for a few. Many schools also have a nationality quota so as to not effect the balance of the school. You should ask as although there may be a queue there may not be a queue for your kids nationality. Good luck, been through it here. My kids have been unsuccessful before, luckily they weren't my first choice schools.

 

 

thanks, seems like some schools are over subscribed then and we will certainly get some rejections.

[STD Warehouse]

48 minutes ago, Freddy42OZ said:

Check if the application fee is refundable. 

I'm pretty sure the ones we looked at it wasn't.

yes, from what I've seen application fee is not refundable, but what else can we do as we have no knowledge of which schools are over subscribed and have the higher chance of rejection from, so we must just apply to many, like 4 or 5 schools.

[brewsterbudgen]

2 hours ago, STD Warehouse said:

If they are desperate, why apply to them all as surely they will all offer a place?

The schools are desperate but you, as a parent, need to be satisfied with your choice.  Visiting the schools, meeting the staff, looking in on some lessons, checking out the facilities is crucial.  

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, sungod said:

At that age I would not be too bothered about the top schools unless money is no object. 600,000 baht for play dough lessons is rather steep. Find a good school close to where you live would be my priority. You can move them to better schools later, its what I did (albeit not Bangkok) and at no detriment to their education.

Yes and No. If the school is strictly following a research based curriculum then even at a very young age the kids are learning critical foundations, important stepping stones to reading, maths, human relations and more. 

 

My Thai son has good qualifications in learning and teaching (pedagogy) and he went to school in Singapore, which is highlt recognised in global rankings for everything about learning and teaching.

 

When time came to find a school in Bkk for his young daughter he went to several schools (expensive, mid range cost etc.). He was shocked how many school seniors didn't understand what he was talking about re buildings foundations. I'm talking about the International schools in Bkk which are often mentioned as world class etc. 

 

One school head and seniors and all teachers did understand well what he was talking about (on Sri Ayuthaya Rd in Bkk), they allowed him to sit in the back on the classroom for 2 days, and he selected this school.

 

No doubt because his faceis more Thai then Farang, all of the other schools just rambled on and on about about their beautiful gardens etc.  

 

[sungod]

What school is this and how much is it?

[NativeBob]

1 hour ago, Freddy42OZ said:

Check if the application fee is refundable. 

I'm pretty sure the ones we looked at it wasn't.

Sir, they (private or bilingual or whatever they call themselves) are thai companies and thai rules are applying too. I got "admission fee" back, although it took almost a year, but judge was clearly upset with attitude of school's attorney. 

Also the "application fee" is the sign of BS, in fact huge load of BS. 

My friend told me to enroll into school in China Town (Yowarat area) and it was very-very stupid to ignore his advise. 

[STD Warehouse]

8 minutes ago, sungod said:

What school is this and how much is it?

which school?