This article shares data, insights, and visualizations meant to help you get a sense for the scope and nature of parent statements. It is organized into four sections: (i) qualitative insights; (ii) grounding stats and themes; (iii) a few visualizations; and (iv) assumptions / examples.
It is important to note that the 'themes' around which statement prompts are organized were devised by me (and not the schools); similarly, the concept of 'short,' 'medium,' and 'long,' and each respective character threshold / range are also mine.
Qualitative Insights
Seven of eight schools required parent statement(s). Deerfield did not require one. There were 23 prompts in total (19 mandatory, 4 optional).
I underestimated the parent statements. Across seven schools, there were between one and five prompts, with character limits ranging between 700 to 2,500 (or 140 words / 0.3 single-spaced pages to 500 words / 1.0 pages).
I organized around five thematic categories: (1) Support & Partnership; (2) Mutual Fit & Motivation; (3) Core Identity & Character; (4) Growth, Resilience, and Adversity; (5) Contextual & Disclosures.
Outlier observation: most schools asked three to five prompts. One school (Hotchkiss) asked for one.
Generally, schools seemed to want to know about values, parenting philosophy, level of self-awareness about one's own child and one's willingness to let go. Similar to student essay prompts, several schools offered optional space to note 'contextual and disclosure' matters (e.g., medical, family, circumstantial).
Visualizations
Parent Statement Prompts - By Theme
Parent Statement Prompts - By Length
Grounding Stats and Themes
(For definitions and examples of what is meant by each theme, and the approximate character >> word / sentence / page conversion, see the last section)
Parent Statement Prompts - By School, and Character Limits / Length
Parent Statement Prompts - By School, and Theme
Assumptions / Examples
Theme - Example Prompts
Character Count - Conversion to Equivalent Words / Sentences / Pages (single-spaced)
Most schools noted a character limit; a couple schools framed the limit in terms of words.
