Handy little bit of Headmaster trivia I learned today.

[kewian]

Yeah...Dad tends schmooze really poorly..the kids are way better.

[Hook]

I've run that headmaster scenario at least 50-75 times just testing things.  Save the game about 4 PM, then call the headmaster and run the scenario.  Exit without saving.  Reload the game, call the headmaster.  Repeat as necessary.

At the time, I was trying to figure out why a headmaster would turn your family down the moment he arrived.  Weeds in the yard?  The headmaster will pull them.  Broken stuff, dirty stuff, homework laying around, nothing mattered.  In the end I concluded the only way a headmaster will turn you down immediately upon arrival is if you call him the day before.

I did learn a lot about headmasters. 

It seems that the headmaster's personality stats are randomized with each visit.  The same headmaster who is a slob one visit might be a total neatnik the next.  Slob headmasters don't care at all about dirty stuff.  Neat headmasters prefer clean.  Slob headmasters give a bonus for meals:  they eat faster so their hunger goes up more, giving you more meal points.  This is pre-Nightlife, and I haven't tested what all this chatting during meals does to your meal score.  It's possible that a neatnik headmaster will turn you down during the scenario with a message about how the environment isn't suitable for kids.  My best guess is having broken stuff around, or even the dirty dishes from the meal he just finished.

Serious headmasters will play chess.  Make sure you have someone playing with him to get a lot of schmooze points.  More playful ones will prefer the TV.  Make sure he's not watching alone.  When my Sims do the headmaster scenario, the only fun objects on the lot tend to be the chess board and TV, so there's not a lot of choice.

I usually check the headmaster's stats *after* the scnenario has ended by making him selectable with Meroloa's Mind Control Mirror.  Making him selectable earlier tends to end the headmaster scenario, at least with the Mirror.

My highest score was 164 with 52 for the meal, 52 for the tour and 60 schmooze.  Max schmooze is 60, max tour is 54 (39 points then show the bathroom for another 15 points).  Not sure what max is for the meal.

If the headmaster scenario is such a nightmare, run a few practice sessions like I did.  Play to play, not for score.  Knowing you're not intending to save the game takes away the pressure.

Hook

[BlueSoup]

This is pre-Nightlife, and I haven't tested what all this chatting during meals does to your meal score. 

Thanks, Hook, I'm sure that will be helpful for a lot of people.    When I have run the headmaster scenario since NL, I didn't notice a dramatic increase in the meal score (I tend to always serve pork chops), but I did notice it in the schmooze score when they're chatting at dinner.  I always hate schmoozing (must be a rub-off from real life  ), so that was nice to see.

[Bangelnuts]

This is pre-Nightlife, and I haven't tested what all this chatting during meals does to your meal score. 

Thanks, Hook, I'm sure that will be helpful for a lot of people.    When I have run the headmaster scenario since NL, I didn't notice a dramatic increase in the meal score (I tend to always serve pork chops), but I did notice it in the schmooze score when they're chatting at dinner.  I always hate schmoozing (must be a rub-off from real life  ), so that was nice to see.

also dont call the headmaster til 5pm any earlier than that and forget private school even post nightlife earlier than 5pm results in an instant turn down no matter how fancy the house is

[BlueSoup]

You have to call him a little earlier, considering he arrives at 5 pm.

[Twain]

This is pre-Nightlife, and I haven't tested what all this chatting during meals does to your meal score. 

Thanks, Hook, I'm sure that will be helpful for a lot of people.    When I have run the headmaster scenario since NL, I didn't notice a dramatic increase in the meal score (I tend to always serve pork chops), but I did notice it in the schmooze score when they're chatting at dinner.  I always hate schmoozing (must be a rub-off from real life  ), so that was nice to see.

also dont call the headmaster til 5pm any earlier than that and forget private school even post nightlife earlier than 5pm results in an instant turn down no matter how fancy the house is

or you could just not SAVE after calling him and before the end of the Scenario, as this seems to cause the problem.

[Bangelnuts]

You have to call him a little earlier, considering he arrives at 5 pm.

I call him at 5pm on the dot and he arrives instantly

[GloamingMerle]

I have to agree with Pescado.. I don't get why people have so much trouble with the headmaster visit! It's easy. The only time I've failed is due to the no food points glitch (and I can usually pull through even then), oh and once before I realized they'll get stuck in the hottub if you have one (I hadn't saved in a while so I didn't want to reload, stupid me. But I was new to the game, ok?). As a test, I had Brandi Broke call the headmaster for Beau the day after he turned into a kid... I think she was on her second day of pregnancy, but I don't precisely remember the timing when you start that household for the first time. Anyway, I had her shmooze with him on the lawn a tiny bit, go serve mac & cheese, then sent her off to bed because she was about to pass out. Beau took care of the rest and got right in. I didn't change anything in their house. I didn't even buy Beau a bed, he slept with his mom (that sounds so wrong). I didn't bother to clean, I think there was homework on the lawn, the works. Now surely, if it can be done under those circumstances, it's insanely easy.

[MissDoh]

Same here, never really had any problem making a Sim go to private school, I was so nervous the 1st time since I read a few add a lot of problem with that but it went like a charm, he played with the dartboard a lot, shmooze him a lot and make the tour and he ate spaghetti for dinner.  Maybe some are trying to get the perfect score I don't know.  For me as long as they pass I am happy   

[RainbowTigress]

Same here, never really had any problem making a Sim go to private school, I was so nervous the 1st time since I read a few add a lot of problem with that but it went like a charm, he played with the dartboard a lot, shmooze him a lot and make the tour and he ate spaghetti for dinner.  Maybe some are trying to get the perfect score I don't know.  For me as long as they pass I am happy   

Me too, never tried the headmaster thing for a while because I read about people having trouble with it.  But I decided to try it after reading some tips, and it was surprisingly easy.  I love the challenge, except for the AWOL headmaster bugs as someone mentioned, but that was solved wtih JM's lot debugger and not saving the game after inviting the headmaster until he was done.  I usually go for the food and tour points and have more points than I need.  I don't usually do the schmooze thing because I ended up loosing points, but I might try it next time after reading some suggestions here.  I did discover my sims could just chat with him to get schmooze points without having to specifically click on "schmooze."  All my sim children go to private school.  It helps with their careers when they go for the Young Entrepreneur scholarship, they only have to go a day or so and they are usually promoted to the top and become an Overachiever.  I've been saving this right before I send them to college so they have plenty of time to work on their skills and have all the scholarships I can manage.

[MissDoh]

Although some people say there is no real advantage having a Sim go to private school I always make the teens I intend to have job join it since they start at level 2 job instead of 1.

Also, their moods decrease a lot slower so they are in a better mood to go to work.  And last but not least they receive skill points instead of money.

[RainbowTigress]

Although some people say there is no real advantage having a Sim go to private school I always make the one I intend to have job join it since they start at level 2 job instead of 1.

Also, their moods decrease a lot slower so they are in a better mood to go to work.  And last but not least they receive skill points instead of money.

Yup yup yup.

[MissDoh]

Rainbow an off topic question for you... Did the girl say yes in your picture?  For some reason I always wonder....

[RainbowTigress]

Rainbow an off topic question for you... Did the girl say yes in your picture?  For some reason I always wonder....

Of course!  It was the stuff dreams are made of...thanks for asking!   (I love Sim romances...)

[Andygal]

that's great. She looks so pretty. I bet she had really pretty children right?

[RainbowTigress]

that's great. She looks so pretty. I bet she had really pretty children right?

To be honest, I haven't played her lately.  She was part of an experiment I did with 7 toddlers and 1 adult.  I cheated, LOL.  I liked her the best.  I need to play her again and see what kind of kids they have.  Her name is Jasimine, and her fiance is Robert.  They are both Knowledge.  Here are some pics:

[SciBirg]

Awwwww!
 

[MissDoh]

Yep same here.

Awwwwwwwwwww really cute and romantic 

[RainbowTigress]

Thanks.   It was a pain keeping the dormies out of the way though.  All they want to do is get in the hot tub, and when they are making out or woohooing, they want to stamp their feet and complain that they can't get in!  So I got some of my other sims to keep them occupied playing chess and stuff.

[bluecatvon]

Rainbow, those are lovely pictures! i wanna take proposal and wedding pictures too..but the cut scenes ruin everything (but I ain't complaining much)

[RainbowTigress]

Rainbow, those are lovely pictures! i wanna take proposal and wedding pictures too..but the cut scenes ruin everything (but I ain't complaining much)

I don't get cutscenes.  I believe you can turn those off though.

[bluecatvon]

yes i can. but i still can't decide between taking pictures and watching cutscenes..:p

[Assmitten]

Thank you so much for figuring that out, Trepie! I had all but given up on getting my Sim kids into private school post-NL. So simple, yet so ingenious. I posted a thread about this a couple of weeks ago and got no real help because I was using "call to meal."