With over 2,000 preschools in the metropolitan area, there is at least one that will meet your family's needs. Preschools differ by cost, ranging from free to over $50,000 per year. Some private preschools offer services for 6 week old babies, while the public preschools serve students who are 3 and 4 years old. Moreover, many day care centers offer services from 7 AM through 6 PM, 52 weeks per year. This section will help you:

• Understand the preschool application process
• Identify your child's educational profile as well as your family's academic goals and practical concerns
• Select the preschools with the characteristics that best suit your child's and family's needs
• Describe the services that School Profiler offers.

Most nursery schools begin accepting applications in August, the year before your child will enroll. In addition, many schools require you to apply before they allow you to tour the school. Since many good nursery schools fill up quickly, it is wise to select a few schools in which you are interested during the summer and contact them to request an application. After the schools receive your applications, they will contact you to schedule a tour as well as student and parent interviews.

To obtain more detailed information about applying to private preschools, please click on the Private Preschool Admissions Process link.

To obtain more detailed information about applying to public preschools, please click on NYC MySchools.

Please see the handout section near the bottom of the parent guide to learn tips regarding the school tours, student and parent interviews, admissions officers' pet peeves, admissions decisions as well as financial aid and scholarships.

To identify which schools meet your needs, you will first have to consider your child’s educational profile as well as your family’s educational goals and practical concerns.

Child's Educational Profile

Your child's educational profile consists of the following characteristics:

• Basic learning ability
• Skill development
• Learning style
• Motivation to learn
• Social issues
• Disabilities

Please click here to learn more about these aspects of your child's educational profile.

Your Family's Educational Goals And Practical Considerations

Regardless of your child’s skill development and interests, parents may also have academic goals and/or practical considerations that are important. Some educational issues that you may want to consider are:

• What content is emphasized
• Teaching methods
• Classroom behavior management approach
• School community
• Feeder schools

Moreover, there could be some practical considerations that may be important, including:

• School schedule
• Transportation
• Location
• Cost

Please click here to learn more about your family's educational goals and practical concerns.

There are over 1,000 public pre-kindergarten programs as well as more than 1,200 private preschools and day care centers in New York City. They vary by cost, educational approach, size, religious affiliation and the number of hours and days they offer preschool programs. To help you determine which preschools have the characteristics that best meet your needs, this section explains the various educational philosophies to which the preschools adhere and the differences between public and private preschools.

Educational Philosophies

Although there are three main approaches to preschool education—Montessori, Developmental, and Traditional—there are many preschools that follow different educational philosophies. Eclectic preschools choose not to ascribe to any one of the three aforementioned approaches but combine at least two of the three. Moreover, there are play-based, Reggio Emilia, Waldorf and cooperative preschools. There are also over 400 day care centers around the city that are less structured than nursery schools but offer longer hours in an intellectually and socially stimulating environment.

Please click on preschool educational philosophies to learn more about the different approaches to early childhood education.

Public vs. Private Schools

There are many good pre-kindergarten opportunities that are free. Unfortunately, the public schools offer programs to only 3 and 4 year old children. Moreover, the New York City public school system cannot guarantee a seat for all 3-year-old applicant near your home. To learn more about the public preschools, please click on the following link: NYC MySchools. There are also more than 1,200 private nursery schools and day care centers that provide an excellent education. Compared to public preschool programs, they tend to serve younger children, hold longer hours, have smaller class sizes and provide more resources. Unfortunately, they are not free.

School Finder and Comparison Tool

To help parents navigate the preschool admissions process, the website has a preschool finder as well as a private preschool comparison tool that will allow parents to identify a set of preschools that meet your child's and family's needs as well as compare these schools' characteristics (e.g., educational philosophy, cost, hours and days of service provided). Please click on the School Finder tab to learn more about this service.

Handouts

Moreover, the website has handouts that help parents prepare for the school tours, child and parent interviews, reference letters, admissions officers' pet peeves and admissions decisions.

Please click on the following links to download the following handouts:

• Preschool tour handout
• Preschool child and parent interview handout
• Admissions Officers' Pet Peeves
• Admissions decisions handout
• Financial aid and scholarships handout

We also provide more personal services to help parents navigate the preschool admissions process, including a workshop and individual consulting. The remaining section describes these services in greater detail. To learn how to purchase these services, please click on the Our Services tab.

Workshop

The preschool admissions process workshop provides parents with tips regarding 1) how to identify the preschools that meet your family's needs, 2) the logistics of the admissions process, 3) touring schools, 4) parent interviews, 5) preparing your child for interviews, 6) writing a compelling essay, and 7) juggling acceptances and wait-list offers. 

Individual Consulting Services

We provide individual consulting services to parents who would like help navigating the public and private preschool admissions process. More specifically, we can help parents with any one or more of the following steps:

Step 1) Develop your child's and family's educational profile

Step 2) Identify the preschools that meet your child’s and family’s needs

Step 3) Understand the logistics of the admissions process

Step 4) Prepare for the school tours as well as the parent and student interviews

Step 5) Complete the application and write a compelling essay

Step 6) Select the best school for your child and family

Child and Family Preschool Survey

We have created a survey that will help us determine your child’s educational profile as well as your family’s educational goals and practical concerns. More specifically, the survey asks you about your child’s basic learning capacity, skill development, learning styles, motivation to learn, social temperament and disabilities. In addition, the questionnaire asks parents questions regarding the importance of various educational characteristics (e.g., what content is emphasized, teaching methods, classroom behavior management approach, school community and feeder schools) as well as any practical considerations that are important, including the school's type, location, educational approach, schedule, transportation, and cost. Once we have reviewed the survey, we will send you information about your child’s educational profile as well as a list of schools that we think will meet your needs.