This Mom’s Honest Account Of Getting Admission To A Top School After Countless Rejections Is Truly Inspiring!

The rat race begins really early, because everyone wants to get into the top schools, and so the pressure begins from the play-school level – as early as even 3 years. Suddenly, his so-called reputed pre-school, known to make kids think out of the box decided to bump him up with children 6-9 months older due to school interviews and he became one of the youngest in the school to be preparing for admissions. He would be pulled up everyday in school for not doing his work right, and I would be summoned for not working enough with my child at home and eventually “ruining his chances of a good school, sound education and also his future”! The situation got so desperate that while my son was being badgered and trained for interviews to the ICSE schools, I had already started looking for sources, influence, and donation options for admissions. During this period I did not spend anytime training my son for any interview even though he got rejected by every other school. You may also like: The best preschools in IndiaWith the admission to the last school left, (one of my preferred schools), I decided to spend some time working over what was expected. Today 2 years into my dream school, my son has grown in every sphere.

School days, school friends, warm teachers, fun times… are some of the happiest memories I have of my younger days. I always believed that I got the best from my school days and it always made me very happy. Most kids are excited and looking forward to getting out of school but for me nothing has been as special as my school. So obviously, when it was my turn to choose the right school for my son, I wanted it to be the perfect choice.

Having heard so much about â€œschool admissionsâ€_x009d_ I was all geared up right from the beginning. From getting all the information, not missing any deadlines and doing whatever hadÂ to be done, I was on top of it all. It all started off well when we were accepted by our choice of pre-school. So I thought to myself, maybe all the hue and cry over admissions is exaggerated and things won’tÂ be so bad after all. Little did I know what was to come in the days ahead.Â The rat race begins really early, because everyone wants to get into the top schools, and so the pressure begins from the play-school level – as early as even 3 years.

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Getting prepared at preschool

Every school has their own cut-off dates, own admission procedures and of course not to forget their own lists of reserved seats i.e. alumni, siblings, minorities, caste, management quota, and the donation seats. My son had just started learning the letters of the alphabet and phonetics. Suddenly, his so-called reputed pre-school, known to make kids think out of the box decided to bump him up with children 6-9 months older due to school interviews and he became one of the youngest in the school to be preparing for admissions. He didn’t know what was happening, from learning the alphabet he was suddenly expected to run through what was left and start reading. He would be pulled up everyday in school for notÂ doing his work right, and I would be summoned for not workingÂ enough with my child at home and eventually “ruining his chances of a good school, sound education and also his future“! The school even wrote to me and said, my son wouldn’t make it to any school. As a result we were forced into interview training classes. I wasn’t happy but decided to go with the flow as I thought that was the only way out. I allowed them to have their way with me for 3 months until I finally decided to put my foot down (after a lot of melodrama with the school authorities). I decided I cannot go ahead with this. By then my son had turned from a happy, confident child to an unhappy quiet, shy and fearful boy. What had I done?

Picking the right school

Now the important point here is – it’s just not about which school, but which also which curriculum we pick for our kids. Â We had decided to go ahead with the good old ICSE system simply because it was tried and tested and thought it was a better bet to start off with that and then see how the international system picks up in the years to come. So we hadn’t applied to any of the schools offering the IGCSE and IB options. That I do accept was a very,Â very big mistake. In a situation where we really don’t have an option to choose one has to apply everywhere and then take up the first decent school according to you and then try for your dream school. The situation got so desperate that while my son was being badgered and trained for interviews to the ICSE schools, I had already started looking for sources, influence, and donation options for admissions.

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A change for the betterÂ

Fortunately for me, a new school opened up and they were eager for people to join. It was an international school and was readyÂ to take in whoever was willing to pay the fees. I wasn’t sure it if was the correct decision then, but I knew at that time anything was better than sending my son to a place which made him and me both miserable. So we took the plunge and immediately moved him. In the next 1 1/2 years, things changed completely. My son was doing exceedingly well, was back to his happy chirpy self and was even awarded the best learner of the year in his new school! During this periodÂ I did not spend anytime training my son for any interview even though he got rejected by every other school. I must admit that at that stage there was there was a lot of moms who thought I was either crazyÂ or over-confident. They probably thought I didn’t realise the importance of training my child and the seriousness of school interviews. But I let him be himself. To me it was more important to have a happy and a confident child.Â I guess this was because he was already in a good main school which he loved. What I did do was read to him regularly and teach him by experience and regular outdoor visits.Â â€œReading togetherâ€_x009d_ worked really well to add to his imagination and he also started to speak more clearly. We coupled reading with role play and he learnt various things like vocabulary, opposites, logical reasoning, numbers, etc. That isÂ what made all the difference.

You Â may also like: The best preschools in IndiaÂ

With the admission to the last school left, (one of my preferred schools), I decided to spend some time workingÂ over what was expected. I did some stuff the traditional way like worksheets and puzzles.Â I did this for 3 months. Did not place any added pressure or overburden him in any way. We enjoyed this time to the fullest. While everyone was stressing themselves and sweating over it, we sailed through it doing things in a fun way at our own pace and convenience. I did tell my son that we were going to try to get a place for him in this new school which was supposed to be very good. I just told him he had to go there and play a few games as instructed and have fun. He did wonder as to why I wanted to move him out if he was already in a good school. But he didn’t question me.

Things did work out for us eventually when he got through the school of my choice. I was ecstatic and knew that this worked out only because I had then taken the bold step of letting my son be.

Tough and emotional journey

This has been a tough journey and Iâ€™m so glad it is over and thankful for having gotten what I wanted. Iâ€™m glad I did not compromise my son’s mental well being for the sake of school admissions.

Today 2 years into my dream school, my son has grown in every sphere. He looks forward to each day at school and thanks me for working so hard to get him there. I guess his smile every morning is my biggest reward.

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