My DC is applying to BS for the upcoming 2020-2021 school year. All the applications have been submitted and we are just waiting to hear back.
Placement office asked for a first choice letter from the families if there is a clear first choice.
Are there pros and cons for submitting a first choice letter?
Would be grateful for insight and advice.
Thank you!
Just read that your student is currently enrolled in a junior boarding school so that explains the term “placement office”.
If you have a clear first choice school, then you should share that with the placement office at the current school. You prior threads show that you have applied to seven different boarding schools so letting them know of your clear first choice can help them advocate on your child’s behalf.
Pros are that they will push hard for your first choice school assuming the school is also interested. The con is that because they want to place everyone, they will push other students at the rest of the schools you applied to, so you are less likely to end up with a lot of choices. But since you can only go to one school, it works out fine assuming there is a match between the school that wants you and the school you want to. Hopefully if the first choice school is a no go, the placement office would have that feedback and would be able to redirect you. The only real problem is if you don’t have first choice, in which case I would push placement office to get some feedback on which schools like your child before making some choices.
For those of us not at JBSs, do you think letters indicating first choice schools would help?
@417WHB - Thank you for your feedback. The first choice letter is directly sent to the BS and not to the placement office at JBS. Therefore, the latter will not know and will not be able to game the system by pushing others to the rest of the schools as suggested. Just my thoughts but I am a newbie at this.
@marvalcomics: But the first choice letter should go through your child’s junior boarding school placement office otherwise, if sent directly to the target school by the parent, the parents could send out first choice letters to more than one target school.
Does the placement office read the first choice letter ? Or is it sealed & addressed by the parent when given to the placement office ? Either way, the placement office will know each student’s first clear choice school.
Pro: may give an already qualified applicant an edge at their first choice school.
Con: removes choice after M10 if applicant does get into first choice school.
A first choice letter is only relevant if a family has a clear first choice. It is not enough of a boost to get an unqualified applicant into a school (for those kids reading this thread and hoping…).
@Publisher - The students at DC’s JBS were instructed by the placement office for them to send a letter to the first choice school if there is a clear first choice (not for them to submit the letter to the placement office who will then re-route it to the first choice school, etc).
I guess that the placement office knows the students/parents will not “game” the system nor take a risk of writing more than one first choice letter and later being exposed (just too high of risk for the students/parents to undertake after they have spent so much effort/time/resource at JBS to prepare for BS).
@one1ofeach - I agree with your Pro point above.
We have decided to write our first choice letter to our DC’s first choice.
Thank you all for your insightful and thoughtufl advice.
I haven’t dealt with it in BS world, but in NYC private school world, the school will call the placement office and verifies that the school is indeed first choice. The letter has virtually no value without verification from your existing school, because there are too many people who send first choice letters to multiple schools to boost their admission chances.
Since the first choice letter is sent directly to the target school, there does not seem to be any downside as it is not a binding committment if accepted.
However, the reputation & credibility of the junior boarding school faces a slight risk if families do not follow through with matriculation at a first choice school if accepted.
I was young and life was so simple back then 
A post from 2015 :
As parents, we watch our kids during this process to see which school(s) capture their imagination and usually have a sense for what school is in top spot leading up app deadlines. Some of us know before reaching the car in the parking lot after an interview/ tour- especially if everything went as beautifully as described above. However…
I’d just like to remind everyone that this ( tour/interview ) is a two hour snapshot for a 250K + investment. I don’t know about you but I’d like to see how M10 plays out before I’d allow my teenager to declare his/her undying love for only one school. What happens if FC dream school sends a waitlist or rejection letter M10? Do you think a mature teen ( who sent the FC letter ) can handle that? I’ll give you a solid MAYBE- depending on whether a viable #2 and #3 came through to soften the blow. But even then…
Why not settle ( for now ) that your FC dream school feels exactly the same way about you - and even more so after they read your application?
Reminder: A glowing report after an interview is fantastic and truly well-deserved but the AO hasn’t even seen the application yet… What they’re doing is encouraging you to apply- which is awesome but try to keep things in perspective: They haven’t had the opportunity to REALLY meet your child yet - through his/her application .
Regardless: If you get accepted to two or three wonderful schools (including your FC) chances are your child ( even though they’ve said they wouldn’t want to… ) will want to go to two ( maybe three ) Revisit Days. You can run but you can’t hide from the excitement of multiple acceptances … and why should you! ( Assuming you actually liked all the schools you applied to ) Why lock yourself in with a FC letter now and miss out on all the wooing and festivities later?
Not to mention another opportunity to see the schools with a fresh set of eyes…especially now that you’re back in the driver’s seat again.
And- let’s not forget: If you’ve sent a FC letter and were accepted to that school you’ve forfeited your right to attend Revisit Day at other schools- right? Right- because the FC letter is your word. Just so we’re all clear…
Parents/applicants thinking about FC letters today aren’t necessarily thinking about Revisit Days tomorrow. It’s interesting how schools can feel one way ( to a family ) in Fall and then completely different in Spring- Not always but definitely more often than you think. If you choose two schools to revisit you’ll see what I mean. If I had a dime for every time second ( or third ) choice became first choice…
I’ve seen it happen in my own life ( My siblings - no Revisit Days back then but a lot of back and forth! My kids and many nieces and nephews- who attended Revisit Days ) and on threads here M10-A10. Checkout threads from last March/April- and you’ll see it, too. It’s like herding cats ( and I mean that in the best possible way ).
I really don’t want to sound like a killjoy… As a 3G BS Alum, I’m truly excited for every family beginning this journey. I just want to caution applicants/parents to think (a little bit) further down the road. It’s easy to get swept up when you see all these beautiful boarding schools and everything they have to offer. And- there’s certainly no denying a connection when you feel it. All I’m saying is: Let it play out and see how everything unfolds M10- A10… be enthusiastic but maybe just a little bit guarded , too.
When you write the deposit check ( which is non refundable- by the way ) and mail it before the A10 deadline- chances are ( by that time ) your child will be certain ( of their choice ) and psyched. And, as the parent writing the check ( after you’ve kicked the tires one last time )- so will you! I don’t know about you but ( as a parent ) I’ve always found comfort in knowing that we followed everything through to the end… whether it was exploring other schools despite an obvious Legacy BS (staring us in the face ) or allowing time to choose between two ( sometimes three ) schools - even if that route ended with a frantic ( A9 ) call to an AO and a check sent via FedEx.
What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger… or something.
So… stock up on the Purple Pill ( for M10 and Revisit Days ) and pass the Beta Blockers ( for the deposit check ) because you’re in for a ( wonderful ) ride.
As always- just my extremely long- winded two cents…
The entire thread from 2015 is still relevant and worth reading :
Boarding schools don’t sent a FC applicant letter before M10. Why should you? 
I find this thread very interesting, as we had gone through the whole first choice letter fiasco back in the day when applying to private K in NYC, and again last year when applying to college. I never knew it was a thing for boarding schools though, it seemed to me that they accept who they want and hope to close the deal on revisit days. Glad we did not know!
Boarding schools, like colleges & law schools, are concerned about yield so a first choice letter could be enough to elevate a qualified applicant above other qualified applicants–especially if a full pay applicant.
A student’s genuine enthusiasm for a school that shows forth during interviews and through the submitted application should give the admissions office a pretty good idea whether the applicant is a fit for the school and has a strong chance of attending if admitted. That is the role of a quality admissions department. The benefit of a JBS can also be in that there are often informal communications between the placement office and BS admissions departments, and the JBS placement office can let the BS know about a student’s possible intentions. At our kids’ private school (non JBS), the placement office was VERY close to senior admission department BS staff at a number of well regarded BSs. No pre-M10 FC letter required.
@Publisher speculates the pre-m10 FC letter could help, given a school’s concern about yield. Is there any specific evidence that pre-M10 FC letters help? Myth or fact, anyone? The BSs we are familiar with try to boost their yield through a well-thought through admissions process, fabulously planned revisit days, word of mouth, coach/student/teacher/parent outreach after M10, and many other methods. They don’t need “tricks” to get kids to want to attend. Personally I think the FC letter may be more about parents’ desired school choices than those of kids.
Agree with @PhotographerMom above, and will add (perhaps unoriginally), it is a lot for us to expect a 14-16 year old to know what single school is “best” based on a cursory one hour campus tour and a Fall interview. Let students attend Revisit Days and dig deeper - meet students and coaches from the teams, arts department, some faculty, spend some quality time on campus with host student(s). A First Choice letter can set a kid up for disappointment, or a very serious moral quandary if they change their mind about school choice, which they should be allowed to do at a young age.