Hello Parents

We are again at that time of the year when news of nursery admissions is ruling our newspapers, anxiety levels running high in parents. I have a 11 yr old son, who is now in his 3rd school (DPS Dwarka). Hence I know a thing or two about school admissions. I thought sharing my experiences might help fellow parents, and hence this post. 

1. The first important point I want to share with all parents seeking nursery admissions is - Please don't panic if you don't get into a school of your choice based on draw of lots. My subsequent points will explain why I am saying so. 
2. The panic/chaos around nursery admissions is a vicious circle. Parents are not sure of getting admission into their preferred school >> this leads to parents applying in multiple schools >> this in turn reduces the chances because for every single seat their are hundreds of applicants >> this further fuels the panic >> leading to uncertainty on getting admission. 
3. My history:
   1. I had applied to nearly 25 schools for my son. His name featured in draw of lots of 2 schools (GD Goenka Dwarka and Modern Convent Dwarka).
   2. While my son was in Modern Convent, we realized that the school was really 'old school' and lacked sensitivity/empathy which is so critical in handling children as young as 3 years. 
   3. I researched a bit and for next class (KG/Prep) and decided to explore some schools. However this time the list was not 25; but just 3 or 4 (Nirmal Bhartia, DPS, Bal Bharti and Mount Carmel). This was my first learning. While there was in panic in Nursery - which led me to apply to any and every school, however when I didn't want to waste efforts and pick schools based on certain criteria's (which I felt were important for my child) - I had only 3-4 schools in short list. 
   4. Food-for-thought : Do a bit of research and then finalize the schools where you really want to put your child. The criteria for your child may differ from what any other parent have. For example - I have seen some parents being very particular (and rightfully so) about the distance their children would have to travel for school. Imagine a 3 year old traveling for 15 minutes vs traveling for 45 minutes or 1 hour (one-way). Similarly - some parents feel that good old disciplinarian approach to schooling is better while others feel kids should be given reasonable space. Each approach has it's pros and cons. Pick what you feel is best for your child.
   5. Moving Forward - I chosen Nirmal Bhartia School and got my son admitted (admission was through normal process of approaching the school to find out if they have vacancy, the school confirmed and we got the admission.... no capitation fees, not even a rupee extra than what is their published fees)
   6. Nirmal Bhartia was a wonderful experience for my child and it really helped him grow. I've done a detailed review for Nirmal Bhartia in a post few years back. 
   7. Fast forward to class - 4. I felt while Nirmal Bhartia was great, however they don't have any formal evaluation process for kids. Theirs is a more subtle way to judge performances. While this is great in initial years of schooling, I felt that our children are part of the larger Indian-Schooling ecosystem and hence they would have to get exposed to formal exams/evaluations at some stage. To me, Class 3 onwards seemed right stage for this. Hence I re-started my school hunting. My focus was clear - school which provides right mix in terms of richness and structure of academics. Hence I was clear - If I would change the school, I'll only do if we get a seat in 2 or 3 schools I had in mind: DPS Dwarka, Bal Bharti Dwarka and BGS International. 
   8. BGS - I called and emailed; they did respond and advised to check around Jan end/Feb for vacancies. Bal Bharti did not respond to email.  DPS Dwarka has a fairly straight forward process for their vacant seats. Usual between Jan End - Begining of February, they kick start process to fill vacant seats in different classes (typically Class I or II onwards). First chance is for alumni/sibling, for rest of seats, there is draw of lots. 
   9. I applied in DPS Dwarka in class-IV; but weren't lucky in draw of lots. Applied again in Class-V and luckily got through. Again no capitation, no hanky-panky, very clear process. 
4. Next Important Lesson: If you don't get through the choice of your school, try again. If you don't get through in nursery, apply next year, the year after and so on. If you are really convinced that a particular school is THE school for your child; then keep applying. Chances are you will get through one year. Chances actually increase in subsequent years, because the chaos of Nursery are not there when you apply for vacant seats in subsequent classes. Example - when I applied in DPS Dwarka for class V vacant seats, there were essentially 1 seat/4 applicants at draw of lots stage. Simply put - fairly high chances to get selected. 
5. Second Important Lesson : Avoid paying hefty capitation fees at nursery level. I have often heard of parents paying anything between 50K to 4 Lakhs for securing nursery admissions. This money can definitely be better utilized. You would need this money and more when our children go for higher studies (FYI - Engineering fees in some of the reputable private colleges is costing upwards of 20Lakhs). Schools are important part of a child's journey, but they are only "a part" not the whole . Secondly, like I said, you can always change. My experience, and that of some other parents made it quite apparent to me that : that paying such huge sums is meaningless. The schools who charge this are simply doing it - because they are aware of anxiety of parents, and they play on this. 
6. Third important lesson: Most schools provide reasonable level of education these days. Don't be too fixated on a certain school. If you get admission - good enough, but don't be fixated on getting admission in one particular school. For anything outside school - it is the parents who have to put in the efforts, whether it is in terms of enrolling kids for some activities/sports, Olympiads etc. Schools will be happy to take credit for your efforts :) The effort, at end of the day, has to be yours :)

Hope my experience helps calm down some nerves and gives some context as parents go through the nursery admission process. Happy to help parent community. In case any of you would like to connect on a one-to-one basis, please feel free to call on +91-9810556482. 

All the best parents.