Getting KG admission for a kid in school - the math behind it

Getting admission for a kid in a good school in India, is very difficult. I underestimated the efforts involved to get an admission for kid in school.

Standing in long queues to get application form, filling application form religiously, submitting application on-time, preparing the kid rigorously for interactive sessions, and doing in-person interviews well - isn't just enough for getting admission into a good school, in India. I learned this lesson very late and my next few posts are going to be on this topic. Hopefully, others who Return to India (R2I) can learn from my mistakes.

Also Read:

Questions asked during KG interview in Schools
R2I school admissions - FAQ
List of CBSE schools in Chennai

Every school taught me something new. At the end, I think I figured out the math behind the KG admission process (or at least, I'm pretty close to the actual). Here is the approximate split-up of seat allotments to kids during KG admissions (PreKG or LKG, depending upon the entry level in that school)

• Kids who have an elder sibling already studying in that school (50% of the seats, given)

In a school that has upto 12th grade, almost 50% of the PreKG (or LKG) seats get filled with the sibling of the children who already study there.

Let us take for example a school that has PreKG - 12th grade & one class/section per grade. The school would have 15 classes/sections in total (PreKG, LKG, UKG, and 1st - 12th grade). Let us assume that there are 50 kids studying in each class. So, in total ~750 kids would study in that school (15 grades * 50 kids per class). When the admissions start for Pre-KG, they would have ~50 open/available seats.

Let us assume that 1/5th of the school children have a younger sibling of 2.5 - 3 years age (i.e., ~150 students would have a younger sibling of 2.5 - 3 years age). To me, this is a very conservative assumption. If 1/3rd of them want to admit their younger sibling in the same school ~50 would look for a PreKG seat (i.e., 150 * 1/3) . 

So, theoretically speaking, majority of the Pre-KG seats would be alloted to younger sibling of children who are already studying in that school. I'm sure each school would have a quota of seats alloted to sibling of children who are already studying in that school. Even if the quota is 50%, 25 out of 50 seats would be allotted to the sibling of children who are already studying in that school.

• Kids of teachers/staff working in the school (5% of the seats, given)

• Kids who go with recommendations from teachers/staff working in that school  (10% of the seats, given)

• Kids who go with recommendations from the school's board members/trustee (10% of the seats, given)

• Kids who go with recommendations from key politicians / education & government officials (10% of the seats, given)

• Kids whose parents are ready to offer a lot of donation to get a seat in the school (5% of the seats, given)

• Kids who perform extremely well in the interviews / interactive sessions (10% of the seats, given)

** The distribution of the % of seats may vary across each of these categories, depending upon the school in which you are seeking admission. The above numbers are based on my hunch. So, it may not be an accurate representation.

Typically, these schools issue 1000s of application forms for ~Rs.200 each. At a minimum they'll earn Rs. 2 Lakhs by just issuing application forms. So, they don't hesitate to issue application forms. They'll even call everyone for interviews. They'll spend a few minutes with you and your kid. Finally, they would tell you "We'll call you and inform" or they'll publish the results and your kid's name wouldn't be there in the list. If you are really honest and trying to get admission without any influence - most likely you wouldn't get a seat for your kid.

Also read:

R2I Planning Guide - one stop shop
R2I school admissions - FAQ
List of CBSE schools in Chennai