This is the thread to give a little happy dance or commiserate with others.
Please post the school, your child’s ethnicity, grade level, and point total, and whether they were accepted or waitlisted. This becomes part of the historical record to help parents predict the future likelihood of acceptance for kids.
Thank you!
Ask A Magnet Yenta 
Is it true that acceptance letters always go out the Friday before Spring Break? Do we really have to wait until April?
While in many years, Spring Break forms a convenient time to provide responses, I reached out to the Office of Student Integration Services, and they told me the 15th.
So ‘always’ is probably NOT always this year.
The Science Academy Stem Magnet
White 6th grade waitlisted 4 points
Thanks Libbie. Was this your first choice?
This is really our only choice. We really, really hope we get in from the waitlist.
As this is only its second year, I don’t know if there is any way to predict who gets in or how far they’ll get down the wait list. While you can contact the school, there’s no point in doing it for at least a month. Accepted students have time to accept before they start moving down the list. We are in the midst of SAS season, so make sure you have a few acceptable backups in place before you find out how far you are down on the list.
Good luck.
Thank you. Do you have any suggestions for other gifted/highly gifted Stem programs? This one seems so perfect.
Well, within the magnet system, it’s not likely. I was pretty impressed with both the Math Academy at Millikan and we were at one point interested in the IHP at Reed, but those deadlines are passed. You might want to contact some of the SAS programs and see what you can find. Apply to those and contact a few gifted or Math/Science magnets with lower over all applications (Van Nuys MS or Sepulveda?). Mullholland just added a robotics program, so they might not be full either.
Good luck.
I know people who got in, in May last year, for this term. People jump around in the coming months, as their first and second choices pop up. BTW, I really liked the Humanities and the Environmental SAS at Walter Reed. We’re currently in the Millikan Science Magnet, but those were going to be my backups. Good luck!
Thank you for writing Alex. I wasn’t aware Millikan had a science academy. They replaced what became The Science Academy? Your words give me hope. My son Really wants to go there!
The Science Academy became the magnet when they could no longer select applicants. When it had to go to random lottery, they went magnet (with an admissions test). It looks like the Science Academy will be moving in 2018 to a more permanent location.
I toured The Science Academy twice, once on my own and then again with my son. It is so amazing. I shared it with many families, people over our way (West Hollywood) didn’t seem to be familiar with it. Maybe I told too many people, now we are waitlisted! I’m going to hope for the best. My son feels like it is such a perfect fit for him. (I think he’s right!)
It’s quite a distance from your direction, given morning traffic. As a magnet, a bus is part of the equation so that makes it a bit more feasible. In the Valley, the Science Academy was known for years as a well established program. The lack of an elective made it not a possibility for us, and we had serious concerns over what happened to kids who took AP classes in middle school only to have to repeat them in high school. As a 6-12 span school, they can address this situation, so hopefully it will be an option for more people as it expands into its new home.
My son is identified as highly gifted. I thought that would give him some priority since HG is in the name of the school…
They still have to abide by the magnet desegregation progam rules. The only difference is that they added a test to eliminate students they deemed as not ready, designation or not. Four points is going to be pretty low, but here’s hoping.
Thank you.
How did you receive your results? And when?
Visit the echoices website, sign in and some people have their letter posted. Otherwise they appear to be rolling out gradually.
Good luck.
At the tour earlier this school year they said that in the previous year everyone got in from the waitlist. I’m clinging to that at the moment.
Since they had the qualifying test, I’m thinking there may be fewer people on the waitlist than at other schools.
so where did he end up going?
Girl, white
Nobel, 6th grade
15 points
Accepted! 😃
Accepted. African American girl, 16 points. Entering 6th grade. palms middle school. (Palms was my third choice, laces 1st, revere 2nd)
Accepted. African American girl, 8 points. Entering 1st grade. Paseo elementary. (Paseo 2nd Choice, open charter was my 1st Choice)
Congrats!
For folks reading these posts for future reference, if you put down a 2nd or third choice, be careful. As soon as you put down a 2nd or third, you won’t be put on the wait list for the first choice. Essentially, only list other options if they are equal options in your mind.
This lesson was one of the first I learned when I found your site and I’ve always remembered it. Thank you! It always bears repeating.
My older two kids went to Paseo from K-5. It is a fabulous school! They both are doing great at LACES now. Good luck with your decision.
Thank You. I was bummed i really wanted laces and thought 16 points would do it, if not then she would be accepted at revere. Now Revere requires more than 16 points too, a few people i know were waitlisted at 16 points. Palms is a good school and smaller. We will see how it goes.
Marshall HS Gifted Magnet
White/Multiracial
9th Grade
16 Points
Accepted
Congrats!
Welby magnet
Asian
First grade
4 points
Waitlisted
Keep your fingers crossed. 🙂
Thank u!
If I apply to sas and get into magnet off of the waitlist, I could drop out of sas and go into magnet?
If we don’t get into magnet and get into sas and go sas, will we lose our magnet points for next year?
Thank u so much!
You’re currently on the waitlist for Welby with 4 points. You can apply to as many SAS programs as you wish and see if your child gets in. You could conceivably still get in to Welby up until 5 weeks into the school year in the summer/fall.
If you get into an SAS, and you like it, you’re welcome to stay there. The programs don’t automatically remove you from one for the other. If you are in the SAS and get that call a month into the school year, it’s a bit harder. You can opt to stay at the SAS, but you’d lose your magnet points. If you never hear from the magnet into the fall, you’ll end up with 4 more points next year and you just have to decide if you want to apply to Welby or if you like the SAS program.
Good luck!
thank you so much for the response and all the hard work and all who leave comments on this blog. i called welby and they said she is on page one
Vintage Math/Science/Technology Magnet (Elementary)
White
First grade
8 points
Accepted
Congrats!
Thanks!
If my daughter in the top 1/3 of the waiting list for LACES what do you think her chances are of getting in?
Your best source for this information will be the magnet coordinator. Since they now matriculate students directly from a nearby elementary, I’m not sure how many spots are available for regular magnet students, how many points it takes (this is the rare school where the magnet points required seems to have gotten even higher), or how far down on the wait list they go by August/September.
Call the magnet coordinator and ask.
Good luck.
If she not called off the waitlist and should i put her in a charter school? Will she lose her points?
Hi Tamika,
If you are fairly far down the wait list you should have a plan B. If that is a charter or another LAUSD school through open enrollment or SAS, you’ll need a plan B. You can be called to your magnet school as late as week FIVE of next school year (that’s called Norm Day). If you opt for a charter and they call you later, you’ll have to go to the magnet. Only then will you lose your wait list points. If you choose the charter, they call, and you go immediately to that magnet when they call, you will not be penalized for having a plan B.
Hale STEAM Gifted Magnet, White, 6th grade, 12 points. Accepted!
Valley Alternative
boy, white
3rd
4 pts., waitlist
Lawrence MS (G/HG/HA)
girl, white
6th
12 pts., accepted
I’m guessing congrats and congrats!
Woohoo!!!
Balboa Magnet
White
First Grade
7 points
Accepted!
Thank you, Magnet Angel!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You’re welcome. Congrats!!
I did not get the email yet. I just logged in on a whim to check and the letter was there. Do it!
That’s really what happens. Glad you got yours!
Cleveland Humanities Magnet – CORE Program
White
9th Grade
15 Points
WAITLISTED
Thought there was a good chance our child would get in on the first round with 15 points.
it’s not uncommon to waitlist at 15, but you’ll be pretty high on the waitlist. I know they post where they are on the waitlist on their site, so keep your fingers crossed.
Community Magnet
Female
Asian (Mixed Race)
4 Points
Waitlisted
Not too surprised
I called this morning wondering if they had access to the details of the wait list and they said they wouldn’t have that information until the end of the month at the earliest.
*thank you very much for helping everyone navigate this crazy process!
*Waitlisted for kindergarten
They won’t have any realistic information yet.
For anyone reading the comments for future applications, avoid the urge to contact the schools to find out where you are just yet. They’re reaching out to the families who got in, dealing with parents who got in to schools trying to get wait points, and dealing with all the other valid aspects of their daily jobs (like for instance, school plays, field trips, and upcoming testing). Until the first x number of acceptances are out there and either the families hit ‘accept’ or ‘decline’ (or do not respond) they have nothing to share.
It’s hard to wait, I realize, but it helps the current kids, and you’d like the same courtesy when your kids eventually attend.
On our tour for Community, the magnet coordinator told us to call the next morning after we found out because they would likely know the wait list numbers and he would help us determine if we should move on or if it was likely that we’d be taken off – all depending on the number we were at. He said he was there to help the process as quickly as he could.
But today they were surprised that the notifications came out so early.
In previous years, when they liked to release the info on the Friday before Spring Break, they had at least a week to prepare. Some schools new it was coming, but they didn’t.
And while if they’re at 18 points, and you have 4 with a wait list of 300, they can tell you they’re not going to get to your child; the reality is that until the first volley of acceptances and families turning down the spots, no one will know how much movement on the list they’ll get. If they told you to call back, go with what they said, but I’d advise others to wait.
Although my acceptance letter is available, I cannot even click accept, yet. The system is not fully updated. I imagine they need to wait until the April 7th parent acceptance deadline to know how many open spaces are left.
Great note about being courteous to current kids. That’s compassionate and fair. We get so frenzied! Thanks for that reminder. I was going to call and accept, but now I’m going to wait and do it online whenever it lets me.
The good news is you’re in. You’ll likely get a ton of reminders from this site, and so hopefully between that and a lot of post it notes, it’ll be front and center in your mind.
I really think that the servers are experiencing a high volume of traffic and it bogs the whole system down. You might find out that it’s ready tonight, tomorrow, or over the weekend. 🙂
Happy dance! I checked at 6:30 a.m. and there was no letter, but checked again now and it’s there.
Community Magnet Charter School
Kindergarten
Male, Asian/Caucasian (mixed race)
4 PBHAO, 3 Sibling points=7 points
Accepted!
Much appreciation to Magnet Angel! Excited to have both boys in the same school for one year, but I have a matriculating 5th grader so I’ll be back to do the middle school dance for 2018-2019.
We’ll be here for you in the fall when you start the process over again. Good luck, and enjoy at least one year of having them both in the same school. With 10 1/2 years apart, we never had that luxury 😉
Is anyone having trouble accepting the placement online? The area where I would accept states “process pending” even though I already got the letter. Do we have to call the school?
The online system is updating as the day goes on. Please be patient and see what it says by Monday. Thanks!
And how long does the letter say you have to accept?
I’m having the same issue (no option to accept yet). Deadline on my letter is April 7th.
Just give it time. At least until tonight. There’s not a lot in IT that can flip a switch and magically everything works. It’s very likely it’s more a case of a rollout.
Seems like you were right, it’s updated now for me. Just takes time. Now I get to relax until next year when my oldest applies to High School. Whew.
It says I have until April 7…I was hoping to get it over with while it’s in my mind…We are going out of town and I don’t want to accidentally miss the deadline. That would be quite disastrous!! I guess I’m putting in reminders everywhere to not forget.
Academy for Enriched Sciences
Male
Asian (mixed race)
Kindergarten
3 points
Waitlisted
Ugh, hoping we’ll be able to have two siblings in the same school for the first time ever!
Page 20 of the waitlist … oof.
hang in there. Come up with a solid backup plan. So many folks try to get points FOR kinder, they will have some movement. Probably not that much, but see what else can you can find and wait it out.
Thanks! Our first kid did kindergarten at our local school and it was totally fine, so I’m not feeling too panicked.
Hi, Hermine! 🙂
Hi! So much fun, right?
Open Magnet Charter
White boy, 1st grade, 8 points – Accepted
White girl, Kindergarten, 4 points – Waitlisted
Anyone know if we accept for 1st grade child, will Kinder child get sibling priority on waitlist or will any sibling priority not kick in until next year? (I will ask the school but am resisting calling too soon as I am sure they will be crazed today.) Thanks!
You won’t get sibling points this year. The benefit you will have is if you get in after school starts, you’ll be more likely to move your daughter over to the magnet before Norm Day in September. There will be people who applied for kinder hoping to get wait list points and end up getting in and turn it down. You have the benefit of having 4 (and not even 3) so be patient, and call in and ask where you are on the list (or even mention it when you accept and say you ARE willing to move her in, and see what they can do. They have some leverage the closer it comes to the beginning of the school year.
Thank you – I really appreciate the guidance.
Community Magnet (only choice)
Latina
2nd grade
PHBAO 4 + Waitlist 4 = 8 points
Waitlist
6th grade at Patrick Henry science magnet. White. 12 matriculation points. ACCEPTED!!
Community Magnet
Asian, Male
1st grade
PHBAO 4 + Waitlist 4 = 8 points
waitlisted
LACES – accepted (and shocked!)
Caucasian female
6th grade
16 points
Hi Jamie, are you part of that matriculation area or is that automatic, no points, etc?
(And CONGRATS!!)
Which matriculation area? We’ve been collecting wait list + PHBAO points since 2nd grade. She’s currently at Playa Vista Elementary. And thanks! 🙂
You got in the “old-fashioned” way with points. There was a discussion (it comes up every few years, but it’s really out of my area of expertise), that a neighborhood elementary gets automatic matriculation to LACES from the magnet they come from. I’m sure someone closer to that part of LA can explain it better.
Yes, Mid City Magnet is an automatic feeder to LACES. My girlfriend pulled her child out of thier home school last year to attend Mid City Magnet just to get the feeder to LACES. A lot of people are doing that. I think they send around 50-60 kids to LACES. It became the feeder in 2011. You can read the details on their website.
https://midcity-ses-lausd-ca.schoolloop.com/aboutus
Congratulations! That was me 4 years ago! We live in Westchester and two of our kids also go to LACES. Let me know if you have any questions about the school or the bus (Playa Vista would be the same bus).
Thanks, Lisa! Are you on the Moms Group or the Middle School Chalk Talk? I think I saw your name on a thread about LACES… I’d love to hear more about your family’s experience there to date! We live in Westchester, too. 🙂
Do you know how the Laces waitlist works?
Hispanic (mixed White)
Balboa Elem
4 pts
1st grade
waitlisted (top 50 percent- I called)
Does anyone know if it was easier to get into Balboa this year with a White or minority racial/ ethnic identification this year? And is it true that they don’t differentiate between one minority racial identification and another for admission?
White, girl
Valley Alternative
4 pts
3rd grade
Waitlisted (yay!)
Yay, and may it stay that way through September 🙂
Community Magnet
2nd Grade
White
No points
Waitlist
Only magnet we applied to. Waiting to hear from Charters.
Community Magnet also, Kindergarten, White, No points, and also the only magnet we applied to. Waitlist.
community magnet
asian, girl 4 pts pbhao
accepted
what grade?
K
Congrats. What grade?
Kindergarten
Hale (G/HG/STEAM), 6th, Hispanic, 16 points, accepted. 1st choice.
Hispanic Female
Melrose Elementary
4 pts.
Kindergarten
Waitlist
We’re from East LA and the elementary schools around her aren’t very good. I’m a bit disappointed we didn’t get in. It seemed like there were enough spaces. Is it based on a point lottery system?
The weird thing is that I spoke with an admin at Melrose elementary on a tour and they asked where I was from. When I mentioned East LA, they asked if I was sure there weren’t any good schools there. Furthermore, they mentioned if i’d be able to participate and that parent/student involvement is a factor for success. I was thinking, “No duh!” But from the tone I felt I was almost being discouraged from applying to that school. The person asked what my daughter’s name was too. It left me a little confused. Now, I come to find out my daughter wasn’t accepted. Please tell me this is all based on a lottery system. Should I be concerned? I was well dressed to the tour, have a college degree and presented myself well.
Also, will we receive a separate letter or notification if we got into our second choice school or put on its waitlist?
Thanks and congratulations to all the parents whose children were accepted into the schools of their choice. My parents got me into Portola middle school (HG magnet) back in the 90’s and it sure changed my life.
Hi and welcome to the blog.
For the record, there were 60 openings for this year. Last year 415 people applied (information pulled from the e-choices brochure). No one at the school site would have seen your application or knew you applied. Magnet applications are solely processed by points. Because some kindergarteners have 7 points (4 PHBAO and 3 for a sibling), then all the people with four points are randomly assigned a spot on the waiting list within their ethnicity (magnets are desegregation programs so they are either 60-40 or 70-30 minority to white).
The kids with 7 likely all got in. There are probably a bunch of students with 4 on the wait list. You won’t know where you are until you call (but please don’t call for a few weeks–they may call you first to say you’re off the wait list). Because many people hope to be rejected and use the additional points for a different school in the future, there will be people who turn down the spot and you could still get in.
If you put down a second choice school, you did not get in. Had you gotten in, the letter would have been an acceptance. Magnets only allow one wait list, so you are waiting for a possible opening at your first choice school.
The school may have come across as ‘nosy’ but they’re right and we talk about it here on the blog regularly. At 10 in the morning that’s a 40 min drive. Your child will be getting on a bus before 6 am and not returning home until after 4. That’s a pretty long day for even an older student. There would be back to school night, open house, school events and hopefully volunteering too that being that far away from a school would be an extreme challenge for a family. Play dates from school will also be a challenge.
We’re in the middle of SAS season and if you were in Portola, it’s likely you can get your daughter in one of the SAS programs while you wait to hear if you get off the wait list. You only have until March 30 to apply so investigate these thoroughly: http://achieve.lausd.net/cms/lib08/CA01000043/Centricity/domain/222/sas/MEM-5974.4_ATT_B.pdf
Good luck.
Thanks for putting this into perspective. When I went to Portola, my parents weren’t able to attend all the events either and it still beat going to my local jr. high. Elementary school is different and I get that. I would have made the effort to participate.
Are folks on the waiting list still called for spots that open up after the April 7 acceptance deadline?
Thanks in advance!
Schools are a different place than when you and I went. Good schools depend on volunteers. Not all parents can, but you’d need to be involved. And likewise, friends might be coming from the same distance in opposite directions, so getting kids together in the evenings or weekends to work on school stuff (or to be friends and play) would be tough.
Parents with acceptance letters have until April 7 to say yes. Then they start with the two wait lists (one is white, and one is for minority). For each spot turned down, they take the list that matched the student turning down the spot, and go to the next highest name. You may be #4 on the waitlist or you might be #250. You can call and ask or just wait. In addition, as charters, and SAS programs hold their lotteries more spots would conceivably open up. You could get a call as late as September (5 weeks after school starts).
Talk to local families and ask about schools near you that they like. You may find there are schools in your community with a new principal, a great parent board (PTA, PTO or whatever), and a great support system. You may have missed something a LOT closer to home.
I was in you spot last year, with a Kindergartner with 4 points wait listed for Melrose. I applied to other charters as well and got into one that was ok, but I had some concerns with. I was readying our family to send her there in mid-July, when Melrose called with an opening. I was thrilled, so getting off the waitlist (even far down) does happen.
With that said, the school in general is great, but it has been a rocky year for us in many ways. The school does ask a lot of parents (this last weekend there was a a “Spring Fling” on Friday afternoon and then the “Open House” the following Tuesday), and even though I work full time at a job where I do a minimum of 60 hours a week, I still volunteer 1 hour a week in the classroom. So I get why the tour guide was asking about the distance being an issue. With that said, lots of families come from a distance. We live relatively close in mid-city, but another parent who has 2 kids at the school and is a room mom lives pretty far into the SF Valley.
Don’t loose faith, you will find a good school that works for you, it mght be Melrose or it could be somewhere better.
Hi Emma,
Thanks for the update and encouragement.
k at the Academy for Enriched Sciences in Encino.
Never expected to get in but we did. We have to respond by April 7 but we want to see where we get in for the charter lottery (most being held end of April). Is there any penalty for accepting and then withdrawing? Do we automatically get kicked out of the Charter lotteries? Does anyone have any thoughts about AES? It would be a long commute for my girl and I’d be concerned about friends for her. Thanks! (saw your comment to post in the 2017 blog)
(thanks! I wish I could just ‘move’ posts, but that’s not how WordPress works).
Charter lotteries are completely separate from LAUSD magnet programs. In fact, as of right now, magnets are separate from SAS and other programs within LAUSD. You can accept AES now, and when the charter holds their lottery, if you get in, you can choose the charter OR LAUSD.
Here are the caveats:
1. Never hold on to more than two options. Holding on to your ‘plan B’ while waiting on your plan A is fine, but holding on to more than that is exactly why some wait lists are soooo long.
2. If you choose the charter, you *will* lose your magnet points for this year. However if you are planning to use points for middle school, you’ve started too early and you’ll be safe to wait a few years anyway.
In terms of folks reading this in the future, there are *many* spots in the first year of a school, and the kinder and first grade openings can have very low point totals: Obviously kinders could start at 7 (PHBAO and sibling) but quickly move through 4s (PHBAO only) and 3s (singles only) and 0-point kids will get in off the wait list for the most popular schools (because people were hoping to get rejection points). First graders can start with 11, but they move down pretty quickly too. I wouldn’t count on getting in with 0 or 4, but I would worry about it if I was counting on it for wait list points.
Caucasian Female
LACES
6th grade
Accepted by matriculating through Mid City Magnet
Community Magnet Charter accepted
Asian male
Kinder
4pts
Hello! My son got accepted to Vintage Magnet in Van Nuys, which is nice, however we were attempting to accumulate points for a middle school magnet. Is it “frowned upon” to refuse the school, then continue to attempt to accumulate points the following year? Our home middle school is seriously frightening and it’s so important we get him into a well rated school. Thank you for your help!
(He’s in 3rd grade now)
Vintage Magnet in North Hills?
You are always within your right to apply to a school and change your mind. You will lose any waiting points you have accumulated.
You will be able to apply in 4th grade for 5th grade, which will give you a few points for middle school but you will likely need to start looking at alternatives or schools that require fewer points for middle school.
Good luck.
Thank you so much! I didn’t know about schools having higher and lower points! How do I find out how many points I need for the middle schools we want to go to? (Nobel Magnet)
You can ask the magnet coordinator when you tour. The more popular schools tend to require more. I’m guessing with Nobel it will be 16 to get in immediately and some with 12 will get in from the wait list. Other schools may need fewer points.
In addition, some schools the points needed are based on race. There are middle schools in want of white applicants so that 4 points gets in and they can get to zero. Others where the population is already pretty mixed and the points are generally the same.
So when you tour the school you can ask. You generally can’t ask “How many points to get in” because that’s setting the coordinator up to hear back from parents who scream “But you said!!!” Instead, frame it more generally: “In recent years, what amount of points would generally get in immediately. and by the end of summer what generally gets in from the wait list?” Subtle, I know, but no one wants to go out on a limb and then regret being helpful.
Not sure this is helpful but in 2015, my daughter (white) got into Nobel with 8 points off the waitlist in August. I have a friend who has twins and they had 12 points – one twin got in right away and the other was placed on the wait list. And eventually got the call also. Now another one of my friends (Hispanic) also had 8 points and never got in off the wait list.
This year my younger daughter got into Nobel with 15 points. I would bet if you have 12 points you’re assured a spot but maybe not right away. 8 points – good chance for a call in August, if you’re white. They take 70% minority applicants and 30% white. Anything less than 8 points is a crapshoot.
It is helpful. Thank you! Every year is a bit different, especially if it happens to be a year where a magnet is expanding, but it’s a good point of reference.
And points overall have been going down in many cases because of 1) declining enrollment, 2) SAS options, 3) charter options, etc. This is why all the guessing for rejection points can be really risky as people get over 8 or 12. Fifth and eighth graders really risk getting in.
I’ve been trolling this site for years now. Happy to have something to post.
Boy, Mixed (Hispanic/Asian+White)
Braddock Gifted Magnet
Incoming 2nd grade
4 pts (i applied last year to balboa hoping to not get in and rack up some pts for 2nd grade lottery to a gifted magnet. it worked!)
Still torn on whether or not to leave our Spanish immersion school for Braddock.
Good luck to all!
We live in Nebraska, but have family in SoCal. Our 7th grade daughter loves dance and has awesome creativity and leadership skills. We would like her to attend a performing or fine arts high school, but we don’t have any in Nebraska. Can students from outside of CA apply to charter and magnet schools? I know the points would be minuscule for her, but we are really interested in applying and/or auditioning in the fall for high schools that have dance as a focus.
Hi and thanks for writing. There are private schools with an audition process that would allow out of state students. Idylwild comes to mind.
It’s pretty unlikely that a charter could allow an out-of-state student to audition and apply. In the case of LAUSD, the magnet program is specifically a desegration program for families currently living within the boundaries of LAUSD. Even if a family plans to move in before the school year begins, if they do not live there the fall before, they wouldn’t be eligible to apply. And most if not all of the performing arts schools do require a high point count to gain admission, so if you were to move here now, it’d be difficult to get enough points in order to have a realistic chance to get in.
If you are interested in a specific charter, you might contact them and see if they can help you.
Good luck.
Buchanan STEM Magnet in Highland Park.
boy, white
4th grade
4 points
waitlisted
girl, white
kindergarten
4 points
accepted. (Will be turning it down)
I hope this hasn’t been asked and answered yet, but I couldn’t find it if so.
I applied for 4th grade for my daughter to Kester G/HG/HA 2017-2018. She is wait listed. She had 8 points going in with the application.
If I do NOT apply for 2018-2019 (for 5th grade), does she lose ALL of her points, or does she keep the 12 points that I can use for middle school? I have called LAUSD twice and asked this question and twice said she’d still have 8 points, but not 12 (I guess because they only take into account the last three years of applications). But other parents believe she would lose all 12 points.
And, if I apply for 5th grade with 12 points to Kester (or any magnet), does that guarantee she would get in? There is mass confusion about all this with the parents at our school.
Thanks to all that can help me get my head around this
The difficult aspect of talking to parents is that as you’ve seen here, even after reading our advice or calling downtown people sometimes do what they want and are surprised things don’t go as they ‘think’ that they should.
You essentially can keep up to 3 previous years of waitlist points. If you don’t apply this fall, you won’t get in for 5th, which is what I assume you’re trying to avoid. You will however absolutely lose the oldest 4 points because they expire after three years.
If you apply, there’s no guarantee you’d get in–some schools leave kids with 16 on the wait list. However there’s a much higher likelihood that you could get that call for a few reasons. First you would have 12 points. Twelve points gets into places these days, even if there’s only a couple of spaces, you’re going to be close to the top. Second, very few parents want to pull their kids for fifth grade and opt to turn down the placement (and lose their points). So even if there are other people ahead of you, they are going to move down that list quickly. Because they can call you all the way into September of your daughter’s 5th grade year, I can assure you that’s the type of situation that will require therapy for either her (if you move her) or you (if you don’t and have to try to re-figure out middle school).
Bottom line, this is a case where you’re kinda damned if you do, damned if you don’t. If you know what middle schools you’re interested in, that might help you make the choice. If you’re going to need 12 to get in, you might have to apply. If you are also looking at SAS options you might not have as much to worry about. Good luck.
Thank you! I appreciate the clear answer and great advice.
Yes, much of what I will have to do depends on what middle schools are best for the kid and what’s needed to get in to them.
Thank you again!
You’re welcome.
If it were me, I would not apply. But people who gamble might think otherwise.
Marshalls High School Gifted magnet
Girl 9th
12 points
Accepted.
Balboa Gifted – ACCEPTED!!!! 🙂🙂🙂🙂
– Hispanic Girl
– Grade 1
– Points 11
I’m FORTUNATE to have my 3rd Grader already at Balboa Gifted & my 6th Grader at Portola Highly Gifted. I’m so HAPPY to take 1 year OFF, I will be back 2018 applying for a Middle School & High School!!!
LACES
Hispanic female, into 6th grade
16 points (12 waitlist/4 phbao)
ACCEPTED
Cleveland humanities magnet
9th grade
Asia, 8 point
Waitlisted
My daughter accepted my 2nd choice, El Camino Real Charter School open enrollment.
If I register Charter School, do I lose my chance to get in Cleveland magnet school?
I have to register by Apr. 7.
Do I have to register and then wait for the call from Cleveland or just drop down El Camino Charter?
Please help me!!!
Good morning.
The two processes are separate. So that your daughter has a spot somewhere this fall, accept El Camino. You must register to make that official. Then, it is likely that they will get through their waitlist by fall (they claim this every year). When they call, and they can call as late as 5 weeks into the school year, you can accept the magnet and then withdraw from El Camino.
Good luck.
Thank you very much!!!
We applied to only one school and was not found eligible for the program (our son attends a gifted magnet but was found ineligible for the gifted magnet middle school even though he exceeded standards on the state testing for three years in a row). We applied to our home school’s magnet program. I’m hoping that they take that into consideration. We had to submit a late application which is a loss for us as I was informed that my son’s points are not taken into account (he’s graduating from 5th grade and losing 12 points). Does anyone know what they take into consideration? Or is it first come, first serve? Please advise. Thank you.
Some magnets go through their entire wait list, the late list, and can take walk ins. That’s generally rare, though.
In terms of your home magnet, it will depend on how far they get. Also some schools can mix the magnet kids with resident kids since only 75% of a class needs to be magnet to be ‘legal.’ At my daughter’s school, most of the AP courses are in the magnet, and the home school kids who need them are slotted in.
Definitely call the school and go ask to speak to the magnet coordinator. This will be a lot easier if your home school is not the most popular magnet around.
Hale Gifted STEaM Magnet
Asian
6th Grade
8 points
Accepted
Hi – my daughter was waitlisted at Hale magnet with 4 points. Her friend with no points was also waitlisted but was accepted off the waitlist this past Friday. This didn’t seem to make sense if she had no points and my daughter has 4. How do I find out her place on the waitlist? I’m very new to all this and am not sure who to contact to get more information.
Thank you!
You can call and ask, but it’s not likely they can tell you much about your daughter’s friend’s status for privacy reasons.
A few reasons I can think of:
Your families checked off different race boxes. That is the most likely reason.
They will be calling you as well today. If they had multiple spots, they may not have called everyone they needed to on Friday.
They don’t actually have zero points. Are they zoned for the same middle school as you are?
What are your four points from?
Are counting your wait list points too soon? These are from *last* year, right? You don’t get wait list points until after norm day.
Thank you! Her friend’s middle school is different, Woodland Hills Academy so she got no points. But her friend is hispanic with no points. Our 4 points is PHBOA because our home school is Columbus Middle School. My daughter is white. Can I call Hale and ask what place my daughter is on the wait list? I am totally new to all this, thank you for your help.
You can call. There are TWO wait lists. One for minority and one for white. Some schools go through one list faster than the other.
Good luck.
Thank you!
Daniel Pearl Journalism/Communications Magnet High School
White
9th grade
12 points
Accepted (right away, I’m just tardy remembering to update here, lol)
The Science Academy Stem Magnet
Male
White
4 points
He got in off the waitlist!!!
Thanks for the update.
Portola highly gifted magnet middle school
No magnet point but identified as HG student.
Moving from Walter Reed SAS.
Hale Steam Magnet
Female
White
4 points
She got off the waitlist!
Hooray and Thank you!
We were waitlisted and didn’t get any call, so we have now 4 points. Question: If I skip this year and do not apply to eChoices, I will loose our 4 points, or they will stay for the next year?
First, you can still get called until week 5. So just hope that doesn’t happen.
You can accumulate points for the 3 previous years, so you can skip this year, but they will drop off two years after that. People do skip if they are getting close to the number they think will get them in on an off year.
Thank you! Very interesting. Somehow I heard that if people forget to reapply every year, they loose their matriculated points. So, if I understand you correct, if I don’t apply this year, next year I will have already 8 points. And if I don’t apply in the next year, year after that I will have 12 points. And it is a maximum, right? At this point when we have 12 points, we have to reapply, otherwise we will loose them?
Matriculated points–points recieved at the final year of one magnet as you apply for another magnet. So if you do not apply in 5th grade as your child is entering middle school, yep, you’ll be going to your home school and you do not get to keep those 12 points.
Wait list points are NOT matriculation points. Wait list points are to give partial parity to a child who can not get into a magnet and waits for several years.
Your wait list points accrue 4 points a year for three years. So assuming your child does NOT get in in the next three weeks, you will have points from 2017-18. If you applied last year and did not get in, you will have 2016-17 points. If you do not apply for 2018-19, you would still have eight points from the wait list (if you have PHBAO, sibling, or the very rare overcrowding points, those are assigned every year and do not accrue). If you skipped next year, the year after, your first year would fall off anyway. They are ONLY good for three years and they expire.
When people don’t reapply and accumulate points for three years, it means they are on wait list of that specific school that was initially chosen, but nobody actually can call them already from that school after September of first year of application?
You are ONLY on a wait list until Norm Day (Friday of Week 5). Once norm day happens, you’re not on ANY wait list. You’d need to reapply the next year.
Academy for Enriched Sciences in Encino
Caucasian female, 1st grade
8 points going in…
…Wait-listed. 😦
You will probably want to post this to 2018-2019.
Oops!
No worries. Just figured you weren’t that far behind in posting 🙂
(Late response) Van Nuys Medical Magnet, white, 12 points, was first choice and was accepted.
Congrats. Good to know that 12 points is enough for Medical. Thanks!