<p>As a current sophomore applying to Groton and SPS, I was accepted at St. Paul's and waitlisted at Groton for my coming junior year. I plan to attend. Any parents or students who have had an experience of switching to the boarding school experience during junior year and are willing to share experiences would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>If it helps, I'm a lacrosse and basketball player, but plan to pick up squash after the switch. I am outgoing, but am a little bit worried about joining the already established community and social groups. I have been advised to pick up a fall sport (likely soccer), and I will likely join a club or try for some sort of leadership position.</p>
<p>At a school the size of St. Paul’s, new blood is very welcome by junior year. The new juniors at the school where I teach tend to first make friendships with each other (because of orientation bonding stuff) but get mixed into the fold of the school quickly. Joining any afternoon activity where there is a lot of peer to peer interaction–sports, theater, orchestra, community service–is very important in that first semester. (You sound sporty, but other kids reading this might not realize there are non-sports options that will still give new students the benefit of the team experience.) Boarding school is a fishbowl, and at smaller schools everyone tends to know everything about each other. New characters added to the mix are always exciting. I’ve seen plenty of new juniors get leadership positions, get drawn into established groups, and of course, asked out on dates.</p>
<p>Since you say you are outgoing, you will be able to find your place without too much difficulty.</p>