Hi there!
We are going to be moving soon to Shanghai and have a question regarding relocation companies. My husband will be traveling there next week and was going to take the school applications to start the registration process. When he was asking some questions regarding schooling to the person in charge of the international assignments for the company, this person stated that the relocation company that we will be using there will take care of that and that we should not worry about the waiting list at the schools because they will make sure that priority is given to us and that they will bypass any waiting list and give the kid a spot. Is this true???? We are really skeptical about it and he (my husband)is still going ahead and taking the applications to the schools to start the process. We are not going to move until june/july and we do not want any surprises later.
But we are curious to know if this is true and possible?
Thanks for the input in advance

Maybe, just maybe your HR person was trying to allay any fears that they felt you may have about places at the school. They aren't supposed to bump people off waiting lists. The relo company may not be doing this at all but it may just be the HR persons thoughts on it all as who you know in China is everything. I would get your hubby to bring it up on his visit to the school so there are indeed no surprises.

Adrienne
http://www.shanghaiprops.com

I would listen to your husbands international relocation person.The last thing your husband should do is ask the School anything about cutting the waiting list when he visits the school.
I"m if they say they can get your children bumped they will get them bumped. Let them do their job. That goes on all the time. Not only in China.

I know.

It could be your company has some spots allocated? We learned that some corporations do pay to hold spots for kids that may be coming. Our does not do this, we don't have that many people expating in Shanghai. We have found there to be lengthy wait lists at all the schools we are interested in....which is a total bummer. It has made the moving process quite stressful. We are trying to live somewhat within reason to where my husband will work, and all the schools in that area are really popular. I dont want my kids ona bus for 30-45 minutes each way..so its making things hard. I will say that the schools we are on the wait list for, seem to have a process around their wait list - i can't say they can't be bribed, but they did not seem amenable to creative options. We'll see...everyone says a lot will happen between now and school starting. good luck!

newexpat wrote:I know. He's just going to drop off the applications to get them into the lists, just in case. But will not get into the relocation company's business. I guess everything is possible with $$$$ and that's between the companies.

I was told a long time ago,if you want to get something done in Shanghai you need to know someone in the Gov't and it really helps if you have a friend in the Gov't.
That's all you need to know.

Are there any native English speakers out there whose kids languished on a waitlist? Our kids are at a school that, as it turns out, has a lengthy waitlist. It was never mentioned to us, though. I suspect that unless a school has no spots open from year-to-year (which would be very rare) schools fill their ranks as much as possible with native English speakers and then create waitlists. I'd be willing to bet that the waitlists are mostly populated by the gazillion Koreans who are trying to get into schools outside of Korea. Just a suspicion, though. Any school people out there who know for sure?

Well, I will let you know...we are certainly native english speakers...on the wait list for 2 schools, and getting ready to go ahead and enroll at one more to ensure we have a spot somewhere. This is for elementary. For preschool, my daughter is on wait list for 3 places already... I am hoping to get a better idea by end of April...but was told it could be over the summer when people give up their spots. It is so frustrating, but I am just trying not to panic! Oh, we enrolled in January..as a data point.

Just as a reassurance, now is about the time the first spots on the waiting list become available as people learn if their contracts are renewed for the next year and have to indicate to schools if they will stay. Then there will be another wave of openings in June for the ones who opted to hold the places just in case. Then the last ones will be over the summer - every year I have several friends who go back for home leave and learn that they won't return - it's always a little alarming to see who vanished over the summer.
Just understand how the school's waitlist is prioritized. There is a lot of line jumping for various reasons. Some schools do have seat guarantees that companies have purchased. - though you should know that SAS no longer does this and actually bought back all their seat guarantees.

I have pretty much told myself what will be, will be! I know something will work out and there is no sense stressing. I am glad to hear there are several waves of movement...I am also sure I wouldn't give up my spot until I knew for sure what I was doing, too! I can't really blame them, but it does make it hard to plan.

When we came to Beijing and Shanghai for the looksee, we too were told that the relo company has "connection" to skip the waitlist in schools - unfortunately it is not true!

As for SAS, as far as I know, if there is a child who comes into Shanghai from the American Embassy, they get into SAS right away, no questions asked, even if the class size has maxed out. About other companies reserving spots, the only one I know of for sure is in Guangzhou American School.

I have found that relo companies tell you what you want to here. I would defiantely put in applications and get on the wait list for schools you want to get into. and if the relocation company comes through great.

again, not knowing your husbands company or relocation company and the pull they may or may not have with GOVERMENT is the difference to skip line...

Hello. I too have a child on a waitlist - for middle school. He's currently 11th for Concordia and we are still waiting to hear from SAS Puxi. Does anyone out there have an idea what my son's chances are for Fall 2008? He's American, native English speaker with great grades and test scores. Concordia gave us 50/50 odds. Not heart warming. I do not want to stick him in a "feeder school" since moving and new schools are stressful enough. I may just stay where we are and let my husband move ahead of us. Not a great situation. Any advice? Thanks.

Concordia is way out east in Pudong while SAS Puxi is way way way out west in Minhang. Are you sure you are not on waiting list for SAS Pudong which is in Pudong?

As for waiting list, between now and end of school year right upto beginning of next school year, normally there are lots of changes with students going in/out. But no one will be able to guarantee anything. You already beat the odds by your citizenship, now just wait....

Thanks for the words of encouragement. Latest update...SAS Puxi said it would be "extremely unlikely" that he would make it in this fall because of the length of the current wait list. They will take him at SAS Pudong. My delemia is I'd like to be near/in the city. My understanding is SAS Pudong is an hour out of the city. Is this correct? Is Concordia further out? What do people think of Shanghai Community International School? Does anyone have a recommendation for housing, maybe halfway between SAS Pudong and Puxi (where my husband will be working)? We are a more ah, mature couple (think late 40's) without small children so play areas and daycare is not necessary. Walking/biking distance to nice resturaunts (not necessarily Western), gym and tennis courts, would be a big plus. Oh, just to make it more difficult, we have a dog.

Concordia is in Jinqiao, only half as far from city center as SAS Pudong.
Lot of expats live in Jinqiao.
Some places almost look like an American suburb.

Were you asking about Shanghai Community International School because it is close to where your husband will be working?
By the way, where in Puxi will he be working?
Unless it's close to a metro line, living in Pudong might make for a stressful commute.

Recommend you check some other threads on where to live in Shanghai.
Make use of the Google Search box at upper left if you've got some time for research.

Did SAS explain their transfer policy to you? Once a child enrolls at the Pudong campus they can be put on the transfer list for the Puxi campus and they move to the top of the waiting list. In 8th grade this year 4 kids moved from Pudong to Puxi at Christmas time. Of course that doesn't help with where to live but SAS sends buses all over Shanghai. If you are hoping to transfer then you could pick a place in Puxi and have them commute til the transfer happens. Or you could live in JinQiao or LuJiaZui and have your husband commute to work and kids to school (at SAS Pudong and skip the transfer)

In my opinion (as an SAS parent) since you are American and your kid is doing well academically and in MS already SAS is the best fit and worth waiting for and commuting to. But it also depends on how long you plan to be in Shanghai - will they go to HS here?