Will Being Bilingual Help My Child Get Into NYC Private School?

According to The New York Times, being bilingual makes you smarter.  For days, this article has been the paper’s most emailed.

I’m not surprised, because in my own educational consulting practice about two-thirds of my preschool clients are bi-, or even trilingual.  Many affluent Manhattan families include one or two parents who emigrated from Europe, Latin America or Asia, while other families often sign up their young children for language lessons or employ a Spanish or Mandarin-speaking nanny.

So while for life, being bilingual or trilingual is an advantage, how does this play out in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Riverdale, and Westchester private school admissions?

In short, it’s beneficial if a child’s English is excellent also.  The problem is that bilingual and trilingual children often have their English come in a little later, which matters when you’re being evaluated at four years old.

At our meetings, my educational consulting clients and I strategize together about language acquisition, working to balance all of the family’s objectives.