I think that ahead of offers, people could have worked out the practical stuff, in Fact usually before even applying.
So working out a school is too far away, or the transport needed to get there isn’t viable, could be worked out ideally before applying (why bother putting your kid through the entrance exam if it’s never goi g to be viable to get there) or at least before the offers come out, would mean decision making could be speeded up.
In reality though, lots of people actually revel in the process. Although they like to say it’s all terribly stressful to choose between x,y, and z, in actual fact there is some pleasure for some parents knowing they have all 3, in thinking about each place and goi g to offer-holder days and weighing the minutiae. Some people think the fact they’ve paid their application fee means they don’t need to consider those on waiting lists. And some like having all the topics open and find actually choosing (often on morning if deadline) difficult as they’d like to have all options and fear missing out on features of those they turn down.
So lots of people could choose sooner. But they simply dont actually want to. For Prep parents in LOndon, the next few weeks can involve lots of agonising at the school gates about poor little Flora and the strain of choosing between X, Y and Z, and discussing which school has the best meal service, or the best sports ground, or whether they should go to X because it has a large new drama theatre being built or Y because it offers Greek from Yr 8.
People secretly feel a bit smug about having a fistful of offers. They say they will choose quickly and how tricky it must be for those on waiting lists, but they often don’t really intend to release as quickly as possible. Quite often they have decided and still don’t release, because it’s so final….and just what if they change their mind?
People forget it’s hard for schools too. They over offer and some people always turn places down. But it’s impossible to know how many will each year. Is it better to run a waiting list and keep regular contact with those at the top you’d like, or better to just make more offers and hope you do t get too many coming…a problem some LOndon schools like City can’t foist on themselves due to space. If they have to go to waiting list, by the time they do, many on the list will have already accepted offers elsewhere, so how far down do you go? There’s a point after which the quality of student might be compromising…but it depends how much it’s bums in seats that’s required or top quality students…varies by school.
Hey ho, it’s all a big game isn’t it.
So schools run more and more daft ‘offer holders events’ to try and make sure those with offers (or at least the top offer holders or scholarship offer holders) will accept by trying to woo them with food and fun activities. It’s surprising how much a fancy tea in nice surroundings, or a lovely goody bag can sway people, when decisions are pretty marginal.