Tours, questions, and more. Application deadline is Friday, November 17. LAUSD application is here: https://echoices.lausd.net/#gsc.tab=0
- Comment
- Reblog
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Ask A Magnet Yenta 
Hello,
I hope this message finds everyone safe and well. With the understanding that the goal is apply to schools with the goal of not gaining acceptance, please advise if Community Charter is still the go to choice to gain magnet points? Thank you.
It definitely would depend on the grade level. Compare the total applications from last year to the total number of openings with the understanding that the majority of openings are in that first grade level of the magnet. If you are applying for upper grades, your likelihood of getting in–either as an applicant or from the waitlist late in summer are incredibly high. You will have to weigh whether you would take the spot or lose any accrued points.
Thank you for the quick response. My son is in second grade. As such, this our first year of eligibility to apply through eChoices.
Then you’d be looking at 3rd grade, with relatively few openings at most K-5 schools (just through attrition, generally) and with a relatively high volume of similar applications, you would have at least a chance of not getting in. Please keep in mind as more and more options become available, and birth rates and enrollment continue to drop, people get surprised and get in with relatively few points. Since this is your first year of applying for middle school, assuming you have no other points (for overcrowding, sibling, or PHBAO) you can apply. You could conceivably not get in, and if you did, you’d have to make that choice whether to move your child for 3-5 or forfeit the 4 points. If you are already looking at specific middle schools, make sure you know what point values got in last year so you can predict what you might need to get your child in.
Thank you once again.
Hello! I had three questions:
1) For rejection points: is it a pretty safe bet to apply to Kester gifted magnet (we’d be applying for 5th grade)
2) Do you still get points if you do a late application and get rejected? Is that generally a good strategy (i.e., does it make it more likely to get rejected if you apply late? Also for 5th grade/Kester)
3) Any impressions on Kester magnet in general? Not for starting in 5th grade, but for starting in 1st for my younger one.
Thank you!
Fifth grade magnet slots are a dual-edged sword. There are very few spots, but depending on how many points you have, you may be high on the list and few families accept, so they move through the wait list incredibly quickly.
There are no points awarded on late apps, so that’s not an option for most families.
Tour the school, talk to parents in the area that already have children. While my student in HS had classmates that had attended, it’s not necessarily applicable to today’s campus or to your family’s needs.
Thank you. Can you tell me exactly where to find the number of seats available vs. the number of applications? I’m not seeing it in the online echoices brochures.
So starting on page 21: https://echoices.lausd.net/Brochure/Brochure_EN.pdf you can see the last 3 rows are openings, applications from the previous year, and program capacity
THANK YOU!!
If we opt in to the “information sharing” on the application, do we lose magnet points if we get a spot at another magnet school that we end up declining? Is it better to mark No on “information sharing”?
Hi, I’m wondering what the best strategy is for ordering your 3 choices. Considering that we would be willing to attend all 3 schools, I’m thinking it would be wise to put the hardest school to get into as #1, and the easiest to get into at #3. This way, if things don’t pan out for the #1 school, you will have an easier chance with #2 and #3.
On the other hand, I’ve heard some magnet coordinators suggest only putting down your #1 choice, because it ensures you get on the waitlist at least. Seems very risky to me if we definitely don’t want to attend our home school. What do you think is the best strategy?
For context, our student will be entering 6th grade, has only 4 PHBAO points, and is HGA eligible.
If you opt to use 3 choices, you will not be able to waitlist at your #1 or #2 choice. If all three choices are acceptable, then it’s fine to use three choices as long as you won’t have a case of “what ifs” about the #1 school.
You can reach out to schools and ask how far they get down their waitlist and decide if you want to do that or if the #2 and #3 always get through their waitlists you could opt to join the wait lists after the acceptances go out and get in that way.
Thanks for the additional info. I thought that you could only get on a waitlist for your #1 choice. Are you saying there’s an option to enter a waitlist for #2 or #3 choices?
What I am saying is if you get in to 2 or 3, you won’t be waitlisted for #1–it will be out of play. And for most folks that’s too big a gamble. It’s rare that all 3 are equally acceptable.
I see. It’s true that #1 is preferable to the others. So now I’m looking at a more coordinated approach, where we apply to the Charter and SAS programs at our top schools as well. I’m thinking this would give us more options, since we may get offered from multiple different programs. Is that how it works? We can get offered a Magnet, AND an SAS, AND even an Admissions Criteria, and be able to choose our favorite at that point?
Yes.