parent essay for private school

11 Parent Statement Tips for Private School Applications

Private schools aim to collect as much information from different sources about prospective students as possible during the application process. The perspective provided by parents and guardians is highly valued because no one knows your child better than you.

The real question is, how do you provide insight on an application form that helps schools see your child’s unique qualities?

Let’s review guidelines for the types of questions you’re likely to encounter below. The exact questions will vary from school to school, so the crucial takeaway when writing parent statements is to use examples and stories . For example, show how your child is creative, resilient, or empathetic through specific anecdotes instead of statements.

{{step1="/fs-components"}}

<span class="text-color-orange" role="decoration">General Parent Statements</span> 

Many applications include a prompt similar to this: "A parent/guardian's perspective on your child's strengths and weaknesses is valuable. Please write a statement of recommendation for your child." When responding, keep the following guidelines in mind.

• One paragraph should review how your child is "smart," but don’t discuss grades or test scores here. Instead, focus on how your child is academically engaged and intellectually curious. Use stories and anecdotes to add depth. 
• Another paragraph, describe your child's character and personality. Don’t list adjectives here. Rather, use stories to bring your child to life on the page. 
• Finally, it's important to cover any challenges your child has faced and, most importantly, how they have overcome these challenges. Most schools ask about challenges and they can be wary if parents don't mention any.
• Avoid using too many words. Edit down your first draft so that the main statement is no more than three to five sentences per paragraph, and make sure to heed suggested word counts requested by the schools. Admissions teams have a lot of files to read, and if your essay is too long, you risk them skimming it and missing out on your key points.

{{step2="/fs-components"}}

<span class="text-color-lightblue" role="decoration">School-Specific Questions </span>  

"Why are you applying to [our] school?" is another common question. These tips will help your answer stand out.

• Take notes on what the school says about themselves during open houses, visits, tours, etc. What is their mission statement? What are their stated values? Keep these notes handy as you eloquently match the school to your child and family. Again, use examples that really stick. 
• If you’ve visited the school or attended an open house, draw on SPECIFIC examples from your experience. Make sure your response is UNIQUE to your family and student. Don't list adjectives about the school. Tell a story or give an example about why you think your student would thrive in their environment. Is it the school's philosophy or the art program? The experiential learning component? Make sure to match this element to your child. 
• Review all answers before submitting the application to make sure you have the correct name of each school. It’s a common mistake for parents to cut and paste the wrong school name—and that’s never a good typo! 

{{step3="/fs-components"}}

<span class="text-color-green" role="decoration">“Is there any further information?” </span>  

Given that applications have a limited number of questions for parents, each with word counts, this one provides valuable “real estate” to illustrate who your child is and something unique they would bring to the school. Here are some ways to take advantage of this opportunity that most parents skip. 

• This space can be used to tell the school about a learning difference that you think is relevant. If you think this will show up in your child’s record, it is a good idea to show that you know what is hard for your child and how you have partnered with the current school to help them succeed. 
• You could also use this section to describe the student’s diverse background of any kind. Schools are looking to create the most textured class possible. What will your child bring that is unique? 
• This question could be a space to tell a story that illustrates a difficult moment for your family and how your child coped. Habits of heart and mind are becoming more important for schools; they’re often screening for qualities like resilience. 
• Overall, you can discuss anything that wasn’t covered in the other parts of the application here. The information in this section should be relevant to understanding the student holistically and help the reader make sense of any apparent “holes” in the application. Keep in mind that this is not necessarily a place to list accolades or accomplishments. 

{{step4="/fs-components"}}

<span class="text-color-orange" role="decoration">Thank You Notes </span>   

It’s always a good idea to send a thank you to the admission office or interviewer after a meeting or event. An email is fine, and in some ways, it’s easier since so many schools have paperless files. When you do this, think about the guidelines above and use this opportunity to match your unique child and family to the unique school!

Jamie Moffett is the founder of Walking Feet Advisors , an advising practice for families applying to independent schools. She previously served as the director of admission K–8 at Marin Country Day School in Corte Madera, Calif., where she worked for the last eighteen years.

First-Choice Letters: Do they Help or Hurt Admission?

29 parent interview questions to better evaluate private schools, 5 ways parents can navigate the boarding school boom, let's talk about admissions committees, preparing applications for submission, applying for financial aid: your questions answered.

Let’s get going!

Save time applying to private schools with the Standard Application Online. Apply to any of over 400 participating schools with one set of documentation and a single student essay.

The Official SSAT Practice

The path to bright SSAT results starts with studying. Only EMA's official  Online Practice  and  Guide Books  feature  four full-length tests with 600 questions  created by the same people who develop the SSAT. Compared to the competition, it's no competition—you get more and pay less with our official study guides! Get started today with the  free online Mini-Practice Test  to identify focus areas.

Find a school that’s unbe-leaf-able!

Whatever type of private school you're looking for, we've got it. Day schools. Boarding schools. Schools that dance. Schools that play. Schools that pray. Use our Private School Search to discover the schools that will help your child hone their strengths and discover hidden talents. Where will they blossom?

Admission Concierge at Your Service

Grow your understanding of the private school application process with Admission Concierge, a free newsletter delivering timely reminders and advice throughout the application process. It's everything you need to know—precisely when you need to know it.

Stand Out With the Snapshot

The Character Skills Snapshot is an innovative measure of student preferences, attitudes, and beliefs, helping schools get to know who an applicant is rather than just what they know from grades and standardized tests—letting their uniqueness shine. Add the Snapshot to your student's application today to help them stand out.

• Resources ›
• For Students and Parents ›
• Private School ›
• For Parents & Educators ›

How to Write the Parent Statement for Private School

Three things you need to know

Adrian Samson / Getty Images

• For Parents & Educators
• Choosing a Private School
• Homework Help
• College Admissions
• College Life
• Graduate School
• Business School
• Distance Learning
• Psy.D., Organizational Psychology, Rutgers University - New Brunswick
• B.A., History and Literature, Harvard University

Most applications to private schools require parents to write about their children in a parent’s statement or by filling out a questionnaire. The purpose of the parent's letter is to add dimension to the candidate’s statement and help the admissions committee better understand the applicant from the parent’s perspective.

Parent statement is your chance to provide a personal introduction to your child and share details about how your child learns as well as what their interests and strengths are. The following are a few simple steps that will help you write an effective parent letter.

Think About Your Responses

It can be difficult to step back and consider your child objectively, but you need to do exactly that. Think about what your child’s teachers have said over time, particularly the ones who know them well.

Reread report cards and teacher comments. Think about consistent themes that emerge from the reports. Are there comments that teachers have consistently made about how your child learns and acts in school and in extracurricular activities? These comments will be helpful for the admissions committee. 

Consider also your own observations of your child as well as what you hope your child will get out of their private school experience.

Real children aren’t perfect, but they can still be great candidates to private schools. Describe your child accurately and openly. A full, real, and descriptive parent’s statement will show the admissions committee that you are being honest, and when they will read about the amazing sides of your child, they will be more likely to believe them.

If your child has had serious disciplinary actions or other issues in the past, describe them. Let the admissions officers know what happened and draw positive lessons from it. The school is looking for a real kid—not a perfect pupil.

Showing that your child and your family are capable of dealing with setbacks might be even more valuable than presenting a flawless picture. Of course, describe your child’s strengths and don't only feel the need to be negative—but everything you write should be truthful.

Also, helping the committee members understand your child with their strengths and challenges will help them make the best decision for everyone. Your child will be most successful if they attend the school that fits them best , and describing your child candidly will help the admissions committee decide if the school and your child are the best fit for one another. Children who succeed at their schools are happier and healthier and stand in better stead for college admissions.

Consider How Your Child Learns

The parent’s statement is a chance to describe how your child learns so that the admissions committee can decide if they are likely to benefit from being at the school. If your child has moderate to severe learning issues, reveal them. Many private schools grant students with learning issues  accommodations or changes in the curriculum, so that they can best demonstrate what they know.

Students with mild learning issues might be able to wait until they are admitted to the school to ask about the school’s accommodations policy, but students with more severe learning issues should ask about the school’s policies about helping them beforehand. You may also have to do some research into what kind of resources the school offers to help your child—before they attend the school. Being open and honest with the school will help you and your child find the school where they can be happy and successful.

How to Organize Your Letter

Parent statements for private schools are typically composed of three parts: description of your child, description of your family, and the alignment of your values with the school values. The first two or even all three may be blended together, as through descriptions of your child, the nature of your family and your values will come through.

Sometimes, school websites offer useful prompts to guide your letters, and if that is the case, you should definitely make use of them. Some of the frequent questions are:

• What do you hope for your child to accomplish with the help of our school?
• Has your child ever had any intellectual, emotional, or behavioral evaluations? If so, describe their contexts and results.
• In what situations does your child thrive? Describe your child as an individual, with their hopes, values, goals, aspirations, strengths, and weaknesses.
• Has your child been through any adversity? Describe the context and how they navigated it.
• What has your role been in your child's education?
• Does your child require any academic or other support or accommodations?

Ideally, your letter would respond to these questions as thoroughly, yet as succinctly as possible.

The simplest way to go about this is to choose three to five aspects of your child's personality that you would like to highlight and compose the statement around them. Include illustrative anecdotes that will also portray a little about your family life. If it comes naturally to you, feel free to make these funny or quirky, as you are ultimately trying to stand out from the rest of the applicants.

As mentioned, you should also make a point of familiarizing yourself with the school's values and objectives and show in your letter how connected these are to your family. The more natural this is the better. All in all, as long as you provide the admission officers with an honest snapshot of your family and your child's nature and potential, your letter will hold its ground.

Article edited by  Stacy Jagodowski

• How to Afford Private School
• How Do Private Schools Determine Aid?
• How Much Do Private School Teachers Make?
• Private School Teaching Job Search Tips
• Top 10 Questions Parents Have About Private Schools
• Is Private School Worth the Money?
• 6 Ways to Pay for Private School
• What Do Private School Teachers Earn?
• Running a School: Resources for Administrators
• Profile of 'A Better Chance'
• What Are Vouchers?
• Advice About Finding a Private School Teaching Job
• Full Tuition Scholarships at Private Schools
• Top Reasons to Teach in a Private School
• Headmasters' Compensation
• Do Private Schools Require Teachers to Be Certified?

How to Write a Successful Parent Statement for Your Child’s Private School Application

The parent statement is an opportunity for you to introduce your child to admissions; to give them a glimpse of who your child is and why they would be a great fit for the institution in question. By the time the admissions committee finishes reading your parent statement, you want them to be clamoring for what your son or daughter can contribute to their community. But how exactly do you do that?

Your top 3 goals when writing a parent statement are to:

1. offer insight into who your child is, what makes them tick, and how they interact with the world around them..

We recommend starting with some freewriting : Sit in front of an open notebook or blank Google Doc and start writing down your first thoughts. Ask yourself: What special qualities does my child have? When have I felt particularly proud of them? How do they approach learning? How do they engage with their peers? Remember, school is as much about soft skills, like conflict resolution and active listening, as it is about mastering the times tables.

2. Provide context regarding your approach to parenting and education.

The admissions committee isn’t just accepting your child, they are accepting you, too, along with any other children you might want to enroll in the future (though this is not a guarantee). Many private schools want to know about parenting styles and academic goals to ensure you will also be a good fit for their community.

3. Be honest and concise in regards to your child’s areas for improvement, as well as their academic goals.

You will not be doing yourself (or your child!) any favors if you dust any major concerns or challenges under the rug. Be upfront. Albert Einstein was a prodigal genius, but he struggled with discipline and authority as a student. Before Robert Frost was a celebrated poet and four-time Pulitzer Prize winner, he was expelled from school for constant daydreaming. Bringing admissions into the fold will set your child up for success. And, besides, if the institution isn’t prepared to support and inspire your child, is that really where you want them to spend their formative years?

To really set your parent statement apart from the rest, explore the school’s website and see if you can find their mission statement. Pepper in some of the school’s values (and how they overlap with your own) to demonstrate your interest and fit. 

Finally, we’re always here if you’d like a second opinion from seasoned experts who know the admissions process inside and out. Good luck!

About CEA HQ

View all posts by CEA HQ »

Written by CEA HQ

Category: Admissions , advice , Private School

Tags: aea , parent statement , preschool , preschool admissions , preschool applications , private school , private school admissions , private school applications , the parent statement

Want free stuff?

We thought so. Sign up for free instructional videos, guides, worksheets and more!

One-On-One Advising

YouTube Tutorials

• Our Approach & Team
• Testimonials
• Where Our Students Get In
• College Essay Advisors
• K – 12
• Private School Application Guides
• Get Started

Writing the Parent Statement for Private School

If your child is applying to private schools, you may be compelled to write a parent statement. Writing the parent statement helps private schools understand your child on a deeper level. It helps the admissions officers better articulate why your child would be a great fit for the school.

However, many parents don’t edit and revise their parent statements properly. This can cost your child’s acceptance into their desired private school —thus, compromising their acceptance into university.

Here at PenningPapers, we’ve compiled some of the most important elements of writing the parent statement for private schools.

Table of Contents

Should I Have Someone Edit my Parent Statement?

Deconstruct your child’s characteristics., keep your writing organized., honesty is the best policy., structuring the parent statement, final thoughts.

Professional College Application Help.

Contact us. we'll get to you within 24 hours. .

When writing the parent statement for private school applications, it’s crucial to get your work professionally edited. Preferably, you’d have an admissions expert work with you . However, it’s entirely possible to solo the parent statement and write it on your own. It’s just not recommended.

Having a professional college admissions advisor work with you on the parent statement is crucial since they can often see mistakes in your parent statement that other editors and peers cannot see.

Having someone edit your parent statement is a safer and more conservative approach to the application process. The advantages gifted to students who attend an elite private school, especially the ones granted during the college admissions process, are not to be scoffed at. There is a lot at stake. So, being extra careful by ensuring an expert can review your child’s private school application is your best bet.

How to Describe Your Child for Private School Admission.

When writing the parent statement for private school applications, it’s easy to glamorize your child by impulse. Before you get too excited, it’s crucial that you take a strong, hard look at your children and deconstruct their characteristics at the micro level.

This means really looking back at some of their marks, their strengths, their weaknesses, and what their teachers had to say about them. Does your child seem to do particularly well with writing and literary articulation? Does your child excel in Mathematics and have a specific interest in the hard STEM fields? Do your child’s teachers give them particular compliments that seem to have a theme to them?

Catching the patterns and overall themes behind your child’s experience and performance is crucial to writing the parent statement. Private schools want to know not just the superficial, surface-level qualities that make your student a great fit for their school. They also want to know the more in-depth qualities that constitute your child’s unique makeup.

In addition, your perspective as a parent can provide powerful insight that is otherwise not obvious from metrics like test scores and grades.

Here’s an example of what writing the parent statement ideas would look like.

Maybe you have a student who is very interested in Robotics and has a love for making their designs come to life. If you deconstruct some of the qualities in your child, you may discover that they are not only interested in Robotics, but they also have the following traits.

• They like to juggle multiple projects.
• They have an insatiable curiosity.
• They love to do things unconventionally.
• They want to make things work to solve problems.

As a parent, you may also see a side of them that most teachers and peers do not see. Perhaps you notice that your child is also hyper orderly because they use coasters beneath their drinks and make sure all items in their room are organized “just right”. This combined with observations 1-4 may make your child the perfect candidate for a future developer in the world of Robotics.

Their orderly temperament, insatiable curiosity, learning mindset, and their need to go against the grain show that they are someone capable of managing disorder but also straying from convention enough that they can innovate. Thus, their talents would best suit the private school they’re applying for to actualize their potential.

It’s common for parents to get overjoyed and excited about their children applying to private schools. However, it’s also more common for this excitement to compromise the organization and sentence flow of the parent statement.

The parent statement can be quite difficult to write because organizing your thoughts is especially hard. Keeping all the great traits your child has under the word count is brutal, and it means often biting more than you can chew.

If your parent statement comes out as a garbled mess, it can be quite difficult for admissions officers to follow through or even believe what you say about your child. Although you as a parent are older and much more experienced with writing than your child is, we’ve seen plenty of parent statements that were disorganized. So, write with a careful hand and keep your ideas nice and tidy! One thing you can do is write out all the ideas you have in your mind on a separate google document. Then, color code each idea and expand on them in the parent statement. Write the whole parent statement as if there were no word count. From there, you can minimize the word count to fit the limit. Color coding and reducing the word count in this order help burn off all the deadwood when writing the parent statement.

Really. Be honest.

We’ve had many parents come to us asking whether or not they should tell the truth when writing the parent statement for private schools. Generally speaking, there is nothing positive that can come out of lying in the parent statement.

Admissions officers read through hundreds of applications. They have the experience it takes to see through lies. A genuine parent statement that is truthful and fully open demonstrates your character as well. If you can be honest about your child, that shines brightly on them and demonstrates to admissions officers that they are under your proper tutelage and care. If you’re dishonest, it shows quite the opposite and reflects poorly on them.

Okay, so what happens if your child suffered a disciplinary issue or had a stain on their record?

Take a step back from the admissions strategy perspective. Instead, think about what most children behave like before the age of 18. You can apply this to a private school setting and a regular public one.

They’re chaotic. Most if not all of them are in a constant state of entropy. That’s what children are like. That’s what teenagers are like. Even a good handful of young adults would have had some level of social engagement that was cringe or less than proper.

Admissions officers are fully aware of this. So, when you say that your child is completely perfect and can never do any wrong, what happens? They don’t believe you.

Instead, if your child has gone through some disciplinary action, be honest and forthright about it. Be truthful and demonstrate how your child has grown over time and can develop the maturity needed to succeed and belong in a private school setting.

This is especially crucial. Admissions officers at private schools are not just looking for academic performance and future academic success. They’re also looking for the kind of temperament that would bring a positive environment to the school.

When writing the parent statement, it is crucial to make the structure well put together and properly oriented. This means separating the paragraphs instead of having all ideas put together into one large block of text.

Most parent statements will require you to answer a set of questions that are already predetermined. More often than not, you’ll be asked to describe your child’s personality traits, what your family is like, and how you and your child will be a positive contribution and fit for the school and its values. These can be phrased differently and vary depending on the private school you’re applying for. But, the principles generally still stand.

We would recommend dedicating a paragraph to each point. However, you can segregate your paragraphs however you please so long as the flow is easy to reach and not choppy.

Don’t forget to answer the question concisely. This means that short and sweet is paramount. But, don’t be afraid to diversify the lengths of your sentences and the usage of punctuation. Sentences without commas, semicolons, and other punctuation forms make the parent statement stale.

One of the most common mistakes parents make when writing the parent statement for private school applications is lacking transparency. This is often due to parents fearing that their openness would give fodder for admissions officers to reject their child.

More often than not, this is not the case. Instead, it is the lack of openness that makes the parent statement less impressive than ones that know how to open up. If you consider elements such as your child’s temperament, their style of learning, their ability to connect with others, and any other relevant attributes, you’ll realize that your child is not perfect. There are flaws and there are strengths.

It’s up to you as a parent to write the most accurate representation of your child with both flaws and strengths. It must be done properly, and it must be done with a careful hand. This is what makes the perfect parent statement that truly impresses admissions officers instead of the banal and superficial ones they are often flooded with.

If you don’t know how to write the parent statement in full transparency, or are just struggling with writing the parent statement in general, feel free to contact us for a free consultation. Here at PenningPapers, we’ve helped countless parents get their students accepted into some of the best private schools in the nation.

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Get your kids accepted, sign up for a free 30-minute phone consultation., our professional admissions experts will help you write and edit your parent statement .

Applications - The Parent's Statement

I wrote this article and its companion article Applications - The Candidate's Statement to explain how to understand and complete these important forms. The problem with these parts of the application is that they require you and your child to express your thoughts in your own words. You won't be able to check any boxes to select from prepared answers. You will have to write out responses to the school's questions in any way you choose.

David Petersam of Admissions Consultants offers some tips in the following video. While he targets colleges admissions, the advice is quite sound for private high school admissions.

Many schools require a statement from the applicant's parents. After all, you probably know your child better than anybody. The school also wants to know what your concerns and educational objectives are. The goal here is to make sure that everybody's expectations are the same. For example, if you want your son to play on a varsity hockey team and the school offers limited hockey time, you need to deal with that before you decide to send your son to that school. Perhaps your daughter finds math challenging. You will want to point that out so that the school can discuss how it might deal with that concern. The following questions posed by McCallie School and The Hun School are fairly typical of what you will encounter as you prepare your applications. I will add editorial comments to try to give you some insight into what the school might be looking for.

From McCallie School

• What do you hope your child will accomplish at McCallie?
• From what activities does your child derive self-confidence?
• What are your child’s strengths and weaknesses? (Please comment on social characteristics: e.g., self-reliance, sense of humor, ability to mix, shyness, assertiveness, etc.)
• Include any particular concerns of which the school should be aware: e.g., Has your child experienced any difficult challenges or personal setbacks in recent years? Are there any medical conditions of which we should be aware?
• Has your child had any psychological or educational testing?
• Does your child regularly take any prescription medication?
• Does your child's health limit or interfere with the normal performance of everyday activities, including classwork, athletics, or other duties?
• Please make any additional comments about your child which you feel may be helpful to us.

The school is asking a lot of questions but, as this video demonstrates, the school is asking those questions for all the right reasons.

My comments

Always be realistic and honest. As far as accomplishments are concerned, you may want your child to go to Harvard but since that is a long shot, I would suggest mixing in your academic hopes with every parent's hope that your son will emerge at the end of high school confident that he can take on anything life throws at him.

You can probably assess your child's strengths and weaknesses better than anybody. Choose your words carefully. Allow the reader to feel your unconditional love and involvement with your son's upbringing through the years. A statement similar to the following acknowledges that there was a weakness and demonstrates how you addressed that weakness. "Jon used to struggle with math, but we found this wonderful tutor who showed Jon how to work math problems logically. Now he loves the subject."

If there are health issues, discuss them candidly but with bold strokes. There is no need to delve into clinical details. What the school really wants to know is that any medical issues have been dealt with.

Be careful with the last section which asks you to make any additional comments which you feel may be helpful. Focus on the positive. "Rich has just taken up riding. He really enjoys it which is why we decided to apply to your school." The school may be asking the questions but never forget that you are also a potential customer.

From The Hun School It is very helpful for us to learn about our applicants through their parents’ eyes. Your answers to these questions will help us to better understand your child’s social and educational needs. Please attach additional pages if necessary.

• Please list any relatives who have attended The Hun School (name, class, relationship).
• Please discuss your primary reason for considering a new school for your child.
• Describe your child as an individual, explaining briefly what you believe are his or her strengths, weaknesses, goals, and aspirations.
• Has your child ever had an educational evaluation? If so, please explain the circumstances and send us a copy of the written evaluation.
• Has your child ever required any academic support or accommodations? If so, please explain.
• What are your expectations of The Hun School?
• What role do you play in your child’s education?
• Please list the names, ages, and current schools of other children in your family.
• We welcome any additional comments you may wish to make.

Once again each school will ask for a snapshot of your child in your own words. Their reasons for wanting to know your child has much to do with getting the fit right, both for your child and the school.

As you can readily see from these two examples, the schools are assembling a composite picture of your child via written applications and statements, an interview and academic testing. Once the admissions staff has a clear idea of your child's strengths and weaknesses, interests and achievements, then it can begin to make a final determination as to whether your child will fit in and vice-versa. What you may not be aware is the size of the applicant pool. If there are fewer applicants for the available places, your child's chances could improve markedly.

Since so much is riding on the Parent's Statement, do the following:

• Download and print out the forms, even if you plan to apply online.
• Prepare a rough draft of your answers.
• Put that draft away for a day or two.
• When you have some quiet time, review the draft and revise it as necessary.
• If you have an educational consultant, be sure to discuss and review this part of the application with him.
• Make a fair copy of your answers.

Then set aside 30-45 minutes to enter the information online or to write it out in your neatest penmanship. Some schools may have PDF forms that you can fill out and print. In any case, take time to complete this step with great care. Your statement will create an impression of you and your family. You want that impression to be the best one possible. One last tip: use the Applications Calendar to keep on top of all the deadlines involved in the admissions process. There is much to organize in the application process. In most cases, the application process will collide with the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays and vacations. Bear that in mind as you schedule time for completing applications.

Don't forget to start your search for a private school at least 18 months before the date your child will actually start school. For example, if you are thinking of having her attend 10th grade, begin the process in the spring of her eighth grade. You will find that the last three or four months will be rather hectic. There is much to do at what is historically a very busy time of the year.

Questions? Contact us via Facebook. @privateschoolreview

More Articles

Parent Statements

Best parent statement tips for private school admissions.

CONTACT US TODAY

Most private schools require parents to answer prompts or fill in a questionnaire about their child. The parent statement is an introduction to your child taken from your perspective as a parent. The main idea is to provide a written statement about your child’s personality, interests, and strengths. 

With two decades of experience in private school admissions , our educational consultants have deep knowledge of how to write parent statements for private schools that would differentiate your child. This guide outlines a list of tips that will prevent you from making common mistakes in the Parent Statement section of school applications. 

• Begin the writing process well in advance. Many families underestimate the time and thought it takes to complete parent statements and puts it off until the last minute. We recommend writing several drafts until you feel confident that you’ve provided all the necessary information.
• Research the school extensively. Admissions officers are looking for students who will be a good fit, so make sure to research and learn about the differentiating values of each school. Explain clearly how your child will be a good fit and an asset to the school.
• Be specific. Answer the questions clearly and be honest with your statements. Although you might want to impress the admissions officers by putting in a lot of information, they are only interested in things that matter.
• Be objective and honest. The purpose of the parent statement is for admissions officers to gain insight into your child from your perspective. Don’t be afraid to mention your child’s weaknesses.  

As experts in private school admissions, we know what you should and should not include in your parent statements. Parents who come to us for help are surprised that writing parent statements is not as easy as it seems. They recognize the importance of seeking professional help when they learn that their statements can ruin their child’s chances of admission.

Why are parent statements important?

Parent statements are important because admissions officers need to know about your child’s personality and determine if they are a good fit for the school. They would also want to know about the dynamics of your family. How supportive are you as parents in helping your child become successful? What are your goals as a family? Do your values align with those of the school? 

How long are parent statements?

Each school will have its own requirements but typically, parent statements are 500 – 1500 characters long. It is important to keep to the maximum requirement because admissions officers will not be interested to read very long paragraphs especially if the first sentences are not interesting enough.

How do I make my parent statement interesting?

A well-written parent statement is one that not only showcases your child’s positive attributes but is also compelling enough for admissions officers to read from start to finish. Write anecdotes instead of just plain narratives that describe your child because everybody loves reading stories. Read different parent statement examples to get ideas on how to write parent statements that are interesting. 

Do I need help in writing my parent statement?

Yes, especially if you are not a strong writer. You may know your child well but if you cannot write about their strengths, weaknesses, and goals, you might lose your chances of admission. Contact us to learn more about our writing program. 

What grade level is your child in? Elementary School Level Middle School Level High School Level

What services are you looking for? Private School Admissions College Admissions Standardized Test Prep Subject Tutoring

How did you hear about us? A Referral Google Search

Tel: (888) 521-5243

Email: [email protected]

Cardinal Education is an independent educational consulting company. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by any private school, including those mentioned on this website. All school names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners and are used here for descriptive purposes only.

• Our Mission
• College Admissions
• Private School Admissions
• Private School Test Prep
• College Test Prep
• Online Tutoring
• History Tutoring
• Science Tutoring
• Math Tutoring
• Language Tutoring
• Competition Math
• Program in Writing and Reading (PWR)
• Academic Coaching
• Executive Function
• Learning Differences
• Acceptances
• Testimonials
• Case Studies
• Useful Links
• Recommended Reading
• Partner with CE
• What makes us special?
• Our History
• Open Positions
• Accommodations Information
• Admissions Process
• Test Logistics

OUR OFFICES

Burlingame office.

100 El Camino Real, Suite 101 Burlingame, CA 94010 (888) 521-5243 [email protected]

Woodside Office

2920 Woodside Rd, Suite D Woodside, CA 94062 (888) 521-5243 [email protected]

Beverly Hills, LA Office

9350 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 203 Beverly Hills, CA 90212 (310) 904-6055 [email protected]

Bellevue, WA Office

1239 120th Ave NE, Suite A Bellevue, WA 98005 (425) 785-7688 [email protected]

New York, NY Office

26 Broadway, Suite 934, New York, NY 10004 (212) 516-1132 [email protected]

Sample Private School Parent Statement for Younger Children

We’ve helped hundreds of families navigate the admissions process, and we know that parent statements can be one of the most confusing parts of the journey. How can you possibly sum up your child in a few paragraphs? 

Parent statements can be even more of a challenge for younger children. With fewer academic and extracurricular milestones to include in an essay, parents have to spend more time describing their family life and their child’s unique spirit, which can be tricky to capture in words. 

 We’ve found that one of the most helpful ways for parents to conceptualize their own parent statement is to read a sample essay. Here’s a sample parent statement for younger children that does a great job of summing up the child’s personality, and the entire family’s approach to learning and development. 

*Note that this is a fictional parent statement describing a fictional student. 

Sample Parent Statement for Nursery or Elementary Applicants

Prompt: what would you like us to know about your child .

Ever since she was a baby, Christina has been quiet and contemplative. She is constantly observing any and everything about the world around her, forming her own theories about the way things work and constantly surprising us with the depth of what she notices. We can’t wait to witness how the school environment satiates Christina’s immense curiosity. 

Christina has always been intently focused on taking in information about the world around her. Even as an infant in the crib, Christina’s eyes would follow us everywhere as we moved around her room. Her brow would furrow if we did something new, like rearranging the furniture, and we could see her gears turning as her worldview continued to expand. Now as a toddler, Christina is no different. She has a remarkable ability to keep herself entertained, sitting quietly and watching the world move around her. Later on, at the most random of moments, she’ll bring up something specific that she observed (“Why didn’t Aunt Kate have the same drink as everyone else?” when she was pregnant and wasn’t drinking a beer with the rest of the adults), and we’ll realize how deeply she thinks about the world around her. 

It’s no surprise that for a mind like Christina’s, books are incredible. Reading with one or both of her parents has been Christina’s favorite activity since she was a baby; we make time at least once per day to read for 30 minutes. Christina rapidly processes new pictures, characters, and storylines. She quietly follows along as we read through a story, eyes scanning each page, then usually has several questions at the end of the story: why did a character do this, what will happen next, etc. We’re frequently surprised by the depth of her inquiries, and it’s not uncommon for storytime to spark deep conversations about family, purpose, death, and more. 

Christina’s quiet, thoughtful temperament is incredibly endearing. However, we worry sometimes that she isn’t quite as extroverted as some other young children; Christina prefers to fully evaluate a situation with new people (children or adults) before deciding how to take part. We think that a supportive kindergarten environment will help Christina grow into more of a social butterfly; new friendships and new experiences will help her find a balance between her inquisitive nature and a desire to connect and have fun with other kids.

As parents, we do everything we can to nurture Christina’s passion for exploring and understanding the world. We strive to speak to Christina like she’s an adult, answering her questions as best we can and treating her like a fully present member of the family. We do our best to provide Christina with opportunities to grow and learn more; a short science camp this summer opened Christina up to a whole new world of interesting phenomena, and introduced her to other children who like asking questions. We know that Christina will be an avid student once she begins attending school full-time; we’re sure that her teachers will enjoy the intensely deep questions that come out of nowhere, and appreciate Christina’s dedication to finding and understanding the answer. 

You May Also Like

Dos and Don'ts for Open Houses and School Tours

Choosing Between Single-Sex and Co-Ed Schools

Evaluating the Best School Size for Your Family

Parent Essays for Private Schools

Posted on: December 2, 2021

Sometimes they look a little sheepish when they ask.

“Katy, do you have any advice for us about the parent questions?”

The private school admissions process is often one that seems to throw unexpected curveballs every step along the way. And right when it feels like you are rounding third base, you notice that the application asks not only for your student to write an essay (or four…) but also for you to do the same. The request seems at once totally reasonable. It makes sense for a school to want an adult perspective on a young applicant. And yet it also seems out of the blue — after all, the parent isn’t the one applying to school!

The struggle with these questions tends to fall in to two camps:

“What are they looking for? Am I being evaluated?”

“I think my child is amazing, but I don’t want to brag.”

What are they looking for?

As with every time an admissions officer at any level of education is asked this question, they would say that the answer is authenticity . In this case, they’re usually looking for two things. First, how will your family connect with their community? Are they likely to see you at the sidelines of every field hockey game or front and center at the Annual Gala? Or both? They do not necessarily bring an agenda to reading these essays — every school needs both sideline spirit and Gala guests. But they are trying to envision the class community they are building as they look at all of the applications.

The second thing they’re looking for is your insight on your child. Even the most delightful and reflective 13-year-old is still a 13-year-old. Middle school students are just starting to develop the parts of their brain that allows them to understand some of their gifts and challenges. But the parents who love them probably have a good idea. So they are asking you to introduce yourself and your student to the admissions team.

Which brings us to the second anxiety: how much to say and how to say it.

What should you say?

I see parents falling into three traps with this issue: brevity, oversharing, and listing. While you always want to respect suggested word limits, I’d encourage you not to err too much on the side of brevity. When I was reading applications for private schools, I’d often read ten or fifteen applications at a time (hopefully in a quiet coffee shop, preferably with a fire, on a Saturday in January). If one of those applications has just a sentence or two and several others offer two or three paragraphs of insight on what this particular student may have to share, I felt a bit disappointed in the quick answer. It just did not give me much to go on.

But of course, be careful! The opposite can also happen. Several years ago, I read a response by a lovely parent of a lovely 8th grader. The question asked, “How does your child handle personal responsibility?” Much of the answer was a reflection on the parent’s part, that her daughter had not really ever been given responsibility. The answer detailed the parent’s guilt over this fact and dwelled more closely on the parent’s sense of having failed the child than on the answer to the question. It felt deeply personal and authentic, but it still missed the mark.

What should you NOT do?

Listing is perhaps the biggest pitfall I see. We are, naturally, quite proud of our child’s accomplishments. As good and supportive parents, we want to place our child squarely in the limelight, to let their experiences and triumphs speak for themselves. I often see parents use this space as a chance to list the things they are proud of: Her 3rd grade spelling bee ribbon; his 5th grade sportsmanship award. The problem with listing accomplishments is that probably these things are listed elsewhere in the application, under awards or extracurricular activities. So, you are essentially ceding your chance to show the great parts of who your student is as a person … but it’s the person that the admissions team is looking for.

The Takeaway: Parent Essay Advise

My advice to every parent is that you take this opportunity as a chance to thoughtfully consider both who your child is and what you want from the next school community you choose. Those answers are always a home run.

Help your child reach their full potential with individualized one on one test preparation.

A Roadmap for High School Students & Parents

Search our Blog

Search for:

Popular Posts

Some students struggle with one test yet excel at another, so finding the right fit is crucial.

Our team is enjoying some much-deserved time off with their families. If you need assistance, please email your tutor directly. You can also email our operations team at  [email protected] .

Our operations team will all be back in the office on January 2nd.

Regularly scheduled practice tests will resume on Saturday, January 4th.