Yu Ming - Chance of Enrollment at 1st and 3rd Grade

Hi! In case you're not aware, your child will have to have the same Mandarin skills, or better, as current students. My understanding is that while a lot of parents put their kids on the waitlist finding kids who actually have the equivalent Mandarin is very difficult. Kids entering grades 1 and up are given a test administered by teachers and anecdotally it seems that a lot of kids do not pass as they might have the verbal but not the written skills (e.g., "heritage speakers"). Anecdotally, I've been told that sometimes even Shu Ren kids don't have the equivalent Mandarin for grades 2 and above. Assuming your child has the Mandarin equivalency, getting off of the waitlist in grade 3 should be much easier than grade 1. The teachers seem reluctant to admit kids who aren't quite up to par in Mandarin as it can be really overwhelming for students to be new and they don't want to see them struggle and be under water from the get-go.

I think your chances are better than they would be if you applied at the K level.  Not as many people apply in the higher grades because of the Mandarin requirement.  That being said, it all depends on how many people leave in that grade this year, but usually there are a couple spots available and constant movement even into the first couple weeks of the school year.  Good luck!

I submitted a request for my daughter (a rising 3rd grader) last Spring after the lottery deadline and was offered a spot a week or two into this current school year. There is attrition I guess and the kids entering the program in 3rd grade need to pass a language assessment. I would say go for it although each year can be different.