Preschool enrollment - should I put down (and possibly lose) $80 deposit?

[wencit]

We applied for a preschool for DS2 to attend in the fall. It's relatively popular around here and has affordable tuition, so there tends to be more applicants than spaces. Enrollment is based on lottery. In the registration packet, they said they would send out letters with class placements the week of June 18-22, which is next week.

This preschool apparently told my friend that they'd charge our credit cards only if our child was placed in the school. Another friend of mine received a phone call from the school asking for a different credit card, because the one she listed on the form didn't work.

Well, our credit card has not been charged yet, and letters are due to go out next week. DH called the preschool this morning to see if they could tell us whether DS2 got in, but they said they are "still working on it." For various reasons, I don't know if this is true, or that is just what they tell everybody who calls.

So now I'm kind of worried and scrambling to find DS2 a preschool for the fall. Our second choice still has a few openings, but they require an $80 nonrefundable deposit. Should I wait for the letters to go out next week, or just pay the $80, which we may lose if DS2 gets into our first choice? I'm worried that once the "popular" preschool sends out their letters, the extra spots at our second choice school might be filled really quickly!

Thanks for your thoughts!

[jenfromnj]

If you can afford the $80, I'd do it. I think you are right that the spots will fill quickly once the lottery results are announced at the other school.

[crl]

Heck yeah, I would pay it. I paid non-refundable application fees at two preschools for dd. (Preschools are crazy here and I want to be able to walk her to school so she has been on the wait list for the three within walking distance since the month she was born).

Catherine

[janine]

80 bucks is worth it - go for it.

[wellyes]

Depends on how popular the preschools are in your area and if you have a nearly-as-good 3rd choice.

I have never in my life heard of a preschool that didn't SAY there anything but there are very few slots opening or they very rarely had openings or you should expect to be on a waiting list, yadda yadda. Yet somehow every single preschool I've ever called is able to "squeeze me in".

[ett]

I'd definitely pay it.

[cuca_]

I would pay too!! I've had to do this before, and it was well worth it!

[twowhat?]

I definitely would, unless you are willing to scramble for another preschool that is not your first or second choice. When we visited preschools, we put a nonrefundable deposit down immediately on the one we liked while considering other options.

[AnnieW625]

I would probably wait esp. if school 1 sounds like they are making choices right now. If school 2 has a deadline of "must pay the $80" by a certain date then maybe I would pay it, but like Wellyes said there are always spots open, even if it ends up being the week before school starts. I would only be really stressed out if this was going to be full time care for my kids.

[twowhat?]

I would probably wait esp. if school 1 sounds like they are making choices right now. If school 2 has a deadline of "must pay the $80" by a certain date then maybe I would pay it, but like Wellyes said there are always spots open, even if it ends up being the week before school starts. I would only be really stressed out if this was going to be full time care for my kids.

Good point - I missed that in the OP. We needed full time care so it was essential that we get spots as soon as they opened up.

[ahisma]

I would, in a heartbeat.

I think it depends on how things go in your area.

Around here, there are zero openings in preferred schools for the upcoming fall. We're a small midwestern city.

Other areas are different. I know quite a few people here who hold spots if they don't know for sure which will work. DS's preschool last year has full enrollment lists AND full waiting lists right now.

[crl]

I agree that how hard it would be to find another spot depends largely on your area. Here it is quite difficult to get into some preschools. Now, those are generally regarded as the "best," but I can't say with any certainty that they are really all that much better than other preschools.

I can say that we adored ds' preschool here and there is a substantial wait list. I knew one mom who put her ds on the list while she was pregnant and he did not get in until the second half of the year when he was three (this school is Reggio and has an infant and toddler room as well as preschool rooms). One of the schools I applied to for dd within a month of her birth wait listed her for the twos class this fall and I don't expect her to get in (which is fine, I don't actually want her to go at age two, I just signed up that way because it increases your overall odds of acceptance.). So there definitely are some sought after schools in our area that have very limited space and looooonnnngg wait lists.

That's the perspective I am coming from where $80 to hold a spot seems like a good deal to me.

Catherine

Catherine

[4stheCharm]

I would pay the $80, if it sounds like the 1st choice isn't going to work out.

don't want to be caught with your pants down.

[wencit]

Thanks for your responses! I really do appreciate them all.

I went to the preschool today to pick up application forms and was a little dismayed to see that in addition to the $80 nonrefundable registration fee, there is also a $200 commitment fee, $100 of which is refundable if we withdraw by the end of this month (which is when we should definitely hear from our 1st choice preschool). So we could potentially be out $180. Ugh. It just turns my stomach to think of all that money wasted.

To answer your questions, I'm a SAHM, so no urgency in terms of childcare. However, I really, really want DS2 to go to preschool in the fall, for both his sake and mine! :p Our 3rd choice preschool is 4 times as expensive as our first 2 choices, so I'd only send him there if there were absolutely no other options available. There just aren't that many affordable preschools in our area (hence part of the reason our first 2 schools are so popular). The other "desirable" preschools are pretty expensive and would stretch our budget.

I'll have to talk to DH tonight, but I am kind of leaning towards playing it safe and spending the $180, even if it means we potentially forfeit that money later. I just have to remind myself that $180 is cheap compared to the extra tuition we'd pay if we had to send DS2 to our 3rd choice preschool!

Thanks again for all your input!