I agree with @magnetnh – take each step one at a time because it can seem overwhelming once you become part of the cohort. I paid for the test prep for my daughter and it was money well spent. She worked the whole summer from when she was accepted right up until she sat the ISEE. I signed her up for the beginning of September and she sat the ISEE one weekend and the SSAT with ABC the very next!
@Joyandrosesmom yes, my daughter did get into our preferred schools! She is very happily in attendance now and has just completed her first year and is on to seventh grade in September. We were looking at day schools in the area because she was going in to middle school. The referral process guides your final decision only if ABC feels that your child’s scores aren’t competitive enough for a particular school. With that being said, you can still apply (and should) on your own if they don’t refer you and you feel strongly about the school. Through ABC we listed six schools, my daughter was referred to five of them. She gained acceptance to four and was waitlisted at one. We did NOT bother to apply independently to the school she wasn’t referred to because for us, five was a good number of prospects.
@maroca If your child is of boarding school age and you are hoping to send them, then you can form a list of schools you have an interest in BUT ABC will still form a list based on your child’s scores, interests, the schools’ needs etc. If your child is too young for boarding school then you would obviously look at local schools in your area that are partnered with ABC. Again, regardless they will also make a list once they have the final scores in the fall – some of your preferred schools may or may not be on it.
Congratulations and good luck! It’s a wild ride at times!
Thank you @SkysTheLimit2007 and @magnetnh for your wealth of information. It is good to know there are people to discuss this with so the process doesn’t seem so daunting. Thank you
Thanks for the congrats! As a new independent school, and later a college, ABC parent, ABC was INVALUABLE- Full Stop. I’ve been an ABC parent for 10 years and I’m always learning something new from the ABC Parent network. I’ve leaned on and learned how to assist my sons in navigating the private school setting. With my youngest (3rd son in ABC), I was an experienced parent and was better able to utilize the ABC resources. I could have done the application process without ABC, but he would have missed the comradeship of his ABC peers, social events, community services,… and MOST importantly to me - Seeing himself as a scholar 1st. I could talk chapters how kids allow “others” to label them as athletes… only.
Getting into your school favorites is truly a balance of the solidness of the application AND what the schools need - talent and demographics. Application and salesmanship is an art. LISTEN to what your directors are telling you. Even when you have a relatively “perfect” application, you will be waitlisted by schools who think you are out of their league. With my 2 oldest, they received acceptances to a school that they didn’t apply. The youngest got accepted by all his top 1/3, waitlisted by his middle 1/3, and denied by his bottom 1/3. When the directors gives you your recommended list, these are your best bets.
You do your research in terms of the schools schools are the best fit and why. ABC will look at your list and child and say, these are good, these are so so, ahhhh don’t think so, we also encourage you to look at these as well. The “these as well” list are gold. The directors know the schools and they are getting to know your child - they are a wealth of information. Mind you, they are not perfect, but you can perfect any situation.