The back-to-school season strikes fear into the hearts of preschooler parents: it’s time for applications.

At its best, this phase of your child’s education can feel as daunting as an adult job search: a never ending cycle of  “resumes” (a ridiculous reality for a three year old) and interviews. At its worst, the experience can hearken ­­back to high school with “top tier” schools picking who, quite literally, gets to sit at their lunch table next fall. During the school admissions process a couple years ago with our eldest daughter, Natasha, I learned a lot through trial and error.

Below we have compiled a list of my observations, as well as first-hand advice from Citibabes’ CitiSchool Liaison and exmissions expert, CZ Zuckerman, for any family about to embark on this stressful – but, ultimately, satisfying – next step.

-Tracey Frost Rensky, CEO & Co-founder, Citibabes

• Get organized early. Create a spreadsheet with all of your top choices and then see which ones are open for spring tours. This can help enormously as the fall schedule can get a bit hectic with tours, interviews, and play dates.
• If you and your partner use a electronic calendar, synchronize your appointments – there are so many to keep track of.
• Study up on the school before you go; it shows enthusiasm. However its probably smart not to ask too many controversial questions. Always be positive.
• One good question to ask is what is expected of the parents and how they can participate. You will be surprised how different it is in each school.
• Contact friends from each school to give you some background on the school so that you can go to your appointments as educated as you can be.
• Listen to your friends, but remember, everyone has different parenting styles and values.
• Don’t visit your first choice school first. You and your family need to get into the groove and feel more at ease so you really have some time to warm up for the interview and the play date.
• Remember to also try to spread out your play dates as it can be quite overwhelming for your child.
• Don’t be afraid to change an appointment for a sick child- just make sure you call as soon as you can.
• Discuss the process with your child. They will figure it out when mommy and daddy are suddenly taking them to play dates in their nice clothing!
• One important tip that worked wonders for me is to tell your child that you are visiting a friend’s school. This makes them feel more at ease if they think one of their friends is down the hall.
• Turn off your cell phone! And BlackBerry… and iPhone… and iPad!
• Keep an open mind. I promise you what you think of schools before the tours will be different after you go through the process.
• Be realistic about the location of the school and what it will mean to your family to have a significant travel time.
• Use your preschool. The admissions exmissions department is there to help .

 Most importantly, don’t forget to embrace the process! The school admissions process can be a fun, interesting learning experience that can help you focus on your child.

By Tracey Frost Rensky and CZ Zuckerman, Citibabes CitiSchool Liaison

10 Things to Jumpstart the Private School Admissions Process in 2010/11: 

1. Research as many schools as possible.
2. Attend spring tours/open houses as offered. Get ahead of the game.
3. Keep an open mind about all schools.
4. Steer away from “park-bench gossip.”
5. Set up a support system with only “genuine” friends and/or an educational consultant you trust!
6. Jot down the five important attributes that you value in a school.
7. Get organized early by setting up a calendar or an excel spreadsheet.
8. Think about your application essays during the summer; what would you want a school to know about your child?
9. Make a list of all connections you may have to any school no matter how small.
10. Stay cool, calm and positive!

From PEAS (Private Education Advisory Services)

Be Sociable, Share!

•