I have seen many discussions about repeating 9th grade at BS, but most of them are regarding kids who are in the proper grade for their age or those with summer birthdays. I have a 13 year old freshman at a small public school who is applying to BS for next fall (both east and west coast) and we we are deciding whether he should go into 9th or 10th grade. He skipped 1st grade upon the recommendation of his private school. He is very academically capable - he gets all A’s and scored in the 98th percentile on the SSAT and PSAT compared to 10th graders without any prep. He has always fit in fine socially with his grade level, even though his classmates are 1-2 years older. His private school was fairly rigorous, but his high school seems easy for him, even with honors classes. I never would have considered having him repeat at his public school, but everyone says that boarding schools are a different world. Also, since so many boys repeat 9th grade, he would be 2-3 years younger (instead of the 1-2 currently) if he starts BS as a 10th grader. He would most likely be one of the younger ones even if he repeats, starting 9th grade after he turns 14 in May. This is also an issue since he wants to play football, and he would be 16 until the end of his senior year if he does not repeat. This is not the primary concern, but I don’t like the idea of him playing against 19 year old seniors as a 14 year old sophomore. He is open to the idea, but I am torn since he is so capable academically. I welcome any input on this subject since his applications are all do shortly.
“playing up” is not usually wise regardless of the intellect/capabilities. How big is he physically?
He is in the middle of a growth spurt right now, so he is growing but hasn’t filled out yet. He is around 5’8"-9 and 120 lbs. Lifting and conditioning regularly, so building muscle, but he is by no means “big”. He will not play college football, but it is his favorite sport. He did not play HS football this year since he was still eligible to play with his 13 year old peers in the Pop Warner league. Football is not the main consideration, more of a safety issue. His best sport is alpine ski racing, but not worried about that since it isn’t a contact sport and he would be competitive at any HS level.
@skimom I am unclear on why you would consider having your son repeat. It sounds like he has done great academically and socially up to this point, so what do you hope to accomplish by having him repeat? It sounds like he would play JV football at prep school- whether he was a freshman or sophmore.
Having had multiple kids grade skip and attend a top prep school, I would never have considered having them repeat a grade. Our son will graduate Exeter at 17 and our daughter at 16. I can assure you that there are many kids who have grade skipped at the top prep schools- just like there are many kids who repeated. All that matters is what you think makes sense for your son. Based on your post, he sounds like a smart capable, young man. I wouldn’t worry that he would all of a sudden struggle academically or socially if he continued in his current grade level at BS.
One reason would be so that he can have all four years at a prep school instead of starting in 10th grade. A second reason would be because so many kids do repeat, even when they are at the age appropriate grade level (further widening the age gap). Third, the football issue of playing varsity at age 15. You are the first person I have seen post whose kids were young at a top prep school, especially a boy. My son would graduate at 16 or just turned 17, depending on the graduation date. We are looking at some of the top schools, but just took Exeter off of the list since we were told it was more fitting for kids who are used to bigger school environments, and it is very intense. Our son has grown up in a small town environment, a bit sheltered. I am certain he would be fine with the smaller west coast schools we are looking at; but the whole east coast BS environment is foreign to me. He was tested by a psychologist when he was younger and found to be in the 99.9%ile for IQ, so he is pretty much capable of anything academically but I want him to have a well-rounded HS experience.
@skimom our kids have similar IQ’s and that is one of the reasons that Exeter was such a great fit for them. Exeter allowed our kids to find intellectual peers without having to further grade or subject accelerate them. Sorry to hear it was cut from your list. There are lots of grade skipped kids there. It offered a great balanced high school experience for our kids (west coast raised).
Our youngest will turn 17 after graduating and has decided that she will reward herself with a fulfilling gap year after being accepted and deferring from college. She plans to volunteer in a foreign country for the year and then head to college as an 18 year old. Hope your son finds a school that is a good fit for him.
Thanks for your input vegas1. This was a very last minute decision for us - my son came home from school one day a few weeks ago and said, " I need to go to BS." So we are trying to do as much research and school visits as possible before the deadlines. Another thought is that my son is not getting the same level of education at his small public school freshman year as the kids at a BS such as Exeter, so if he starts in 10th grade, he will not have that same foundation. Do you really believe that Exeter is as balanced as schools such as Middlesex and Deerfield? There is so much information out there to sift through. We still have an interview scheduled at Exeter, so I am wondering if we should take a look.
I think that it depends on the school/kid. For us, the idea of repeating has everything to do with the 4-year experience - time to get involved in clubs & leadership positions, time to try out a new sport, time to get into more advanced classes. But DS is looking at relatively small schools, with fewer new Sophomores, and he’s a well-rounded “generalist” without years of background in any one area. He doesn’t really know what he wants academically, and would like time to explore some options. Some of the schools that we toured have a 30-50% repeat rate for 9th grade boys, which was a shock to me. Other schools that we looked at like Cate, Thacher & Middlesex accept very few 10th graders and seem committed to a 4-year program. There aren’t as many repeats at those three, but DS really feels like he would be missing a crucial part of the experience by starting in 10th.
@skimom22 if you’re concerned, I would contact the AOs and ask them some questions about how this is handled at their school. We asked about it in every interview, and got a lot of good information. For example, are the new 10th graders in the Freshman dorms, or with their fellow Sophomores? What is orientation like for them? How do they get placed in Honors/advanced classes? What are the rules about sports eligibility? (this is an issue for many sports in CA)
At the end of the day however, we were told that it’s really up to us, so we have spent a lot of time considering the ramifications on a school by school basis.
@skimom I highly encourage you to keep Exeter on your list. What exactly are you looking for when you say "balanced "? I think that Exeter is an amazing place for kids that are PG (profoundly gifted) like your son. I am happy to answer any questions via Pm you might have about specifics. Our kids path to Exeter sounds similar to your sons experience. Our oldest attended a public middle school on the west coast where Exeter came to speak at an assembly. He also came home and said- wow that sounds like an amazing opportunity. And the journey began…
I’m sure you are planning to do this, but just in case… Ask this question at the interviews. The schools are very adept at helping applicants work through this, especially if you are open to repeating. At some schools, there is a bias toward older kids. Your son is obviously bright, but it also sounds like you have some concerns about his preparation for BS academics. He’s interested in a contact sport for which he is small. Nothing they haven’t seen before…
It’s not only an issue of the individual, it’s also one of the school. I am guessing they’ll find him attractive and will want to give you guidance on how to make the best fit.
I would also suggest keeping Exeter on your list. It sounds like your son would find like-minded peers there, which is very important. Don’t worry about the size just yet - have a look and see first. Deerfield and Middlesex are also great, but smaller, so they will offer a nice contrast to Exeter. Are you just visiting those three?
I’m not a parent so take this for what it’s worth. My brother was in the same situation. He skipped a grade and was 13 as a freshman. He got good grades, had friends etc. He then went to a hard private prep school- not boarding- and decided to repeat 9th grade. He was mainly focused on the fact that he didn’t want to have to wait till senior year to drive. Anyway it worked out really well for him. First, the classes were still hard, but he was used to the way of high school so had an easier time as he already went through the adjustment period. Obviously since your son will be at boarding school this would give him a big advantage as that is a big change in itself. Also he was better at sports- in relation to his grade level. Before he always seemed to be about a year behind. Like everyone was at one level playing soccer then he would catch up the next year. Now he is the same/better then his classmates. It also didn’t help that some of the kids in class were 16 because they were held back just for sports. Friends wise he says it’s the same, but he will probably fit in better socially when he gets to drive around the same time as everyone else. Also he was a little thirteen year old and looked really young compared to his freshman classmates. He still looks a bit young as a freshman this year but he’s a bit more normal. I think whatever you pick he will be fine! Also like others mentioned many top schools want the kids for four years so they are able to really make an impact. Thinking down the road, your son may struggle a bit if he is a freshman in collage at 16. For some reason there seems to be a big difference in maturity between 16/17 year old guys and 18/19 year olds, so he may want to take a gap year anyway if he does not repeat.
Lots of good information here. I think it’s great advice to look at 9th vs 10th grade on a school by school basis and to discuss that options at the interviews with the AO. One interesting thing that came up is the sports eligibility. Will he be able to play sports all 4 years if he repeats 9th grade? I have not been able to find much information on that other than the eligibility clock starts ticking when you graduate 8th grade, and you only get 8 semesters to play. I don’t know if that is only for public schools, or private as well, or does it vary by state?
We are looking at Middlesex, SPS, Deerfield, Taft (all have alpine ski racing and football), Choate, Cate, and Thacher. We have only visited Cate so far and will be visiting the east coast schools in a week. Also on the list were Exeter, Andover, and Groton, but we just won’t be able to visit all of them and started eliminating some of those without ski racing. My son is very good in science and math but his passion lies in political science and history. I think he would be especially interested in debate and model UN. I am trying to figure out which schools have competitive debate teams vs. clubs.
I think that the sports eligibility varies - the 8 consecutive semesters constraint is a California thing. If they had that rule in CT/MA you wouldn’t get nearly as many repeats 
Definitely a question to ask in the interviews.
Does anyone has info on the SAO vs. Gateway? Do individual schools require all of the same supplemental essays through the SAO as they do through Gateway? I have only paid for Taft on the SAO, and they do require a supplement. The problem is that you can’t see what is required until you have already paid. We were planning to use the Gateway app and have the first part completed already, but each school has several essays to complete. I am wondering if the common essay questions on the SAO are all you need for most schools, or am I going to pay for the SAO for each school, only to find that the same supplemental essays are required? Please help asap if anyone knows specifically regarding Cate, Thacher, SPS, Deerfield, Middlesex, Choate, or Andover.
Actually, it looks like only Taft, Cate, and Thacher use the SAO (of the schools we are considering). When I looked before, I thought they all used it. It looks like Thacher does not require any additional essays, but Taft and Cate do.
skimom22- we currently have a younger freshman at SPS who entered at 13. I agree with Vegas1- Exeter would have been a great fit for her as well. She was deciding between SPS, Thacher and Exeter last spring. Exeter actually found her through the Caroline D Bradley. My daughter was afraid of their ‘sink or swim’ reputation but after they called and sent her a letter we convinced her to give it a shot and apply.
The age gap has not been a huge issue. She takes most of her classes with upper forms and its fine ( besides basic hum and the required physics first)- the classrooms are quite fluid. I would ask the schools about how many students are repeaters in 9th. Its going to be different from school to school. There’s a decent amount @ SPS. Also, Thacher does not have an additional essay but they do require the student to fill a blank sheet of paper- it was a lot of fun to see what my kid came up with! You have to mail the original. FWIW we absolutely loved Thacher! I will always wonder what it would have been like if my kid attended. She was on the fence until the day we had to let the schools know- Thacher is amazing but ultimately she worried about the size-
We used gateway last year. Im not sure how SAO or the common essay works. Every school on Gateway had their own essays. Some schools had short answers, and only one essay-PA & Exeter.
SPS, Deerfield, Cate and Thacher had more than one essay. Deerfield had the longest essay- but by far her best. While multiple essays are more work- it gives admissions more areas to get to know your child
Thanks for your input copperboom. It’s so interesting to hear from people in a similar situation. I think we will try to look at Exeter and Andover if I can work it out logistically. We will go ahead with the gateway app because most of the schools use it anyway. We still have Thacher to visit as well. Most of the west coast people I know have liked Cate better, but say that Thacher has a feel more similar to the east coast schools.
@skimom22 ^You are right, fewer schools accept the SAO. Of those that do, only a few require additional essays, such as Taft.