I was recently contacted by a relatively “safety” choice (top 50) that I was a great fit for the school; however, they mentioned that slots for 10th grade are “very limited” and they would readily accept me as a repeating 9th grader. However, this is honestly not my desire, and I’m worried that the same case will apply to the top schools I’m applying to. I was told that if I still chose to enroll as a 10th grader, I will stay on their waitlist until slots opened. Is this scenario common among applicants applying for 10th grade? The school reached out to me even before their decision release date.
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It really depends on the school.
Some add a lot of new 10th graders while others make only modest increases in class size from 9th to 10th.
Some trend to older kids in each grade while others have student bodies more likely to balk at repeating.
You probably can’t assume that because one school wants it, all will. At the same time, you should give some thought as to whether there is something about your situation that could genuinely be generating this response. Are you young for your grade for example?
It sounds like you don’t like this option. It also sounds like you don’t love the school that’s asking it of you. With that said, I might agree to their request if you want to be assured of one option for BS - consider it as disaster insurance. If it’s the only option you have, you may mind the conditions less.
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I had pretty high hopes for the top schools, so it’s true I wasn’t too willing with this one. Is there any way I could determine the enrollment trends (as you mentioned) of these top schools? I’m also not as willing to repeat a grade because another year at boarding school will add on to my family’s financial burdens.
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How much do you want to go to BS in the US?
If you really really really want to go to BS in the US next year, and you want to “hedge your bets”, then agree to apply as a repeat 9th grader at this school. It’s not like you’d have to commit to attending before M10. And it’s not like you’d have to change your other applications. But you’d have the reassurance of having AN option… and come M10 you might have other options. Emphasis on “might”.
BTW applying for 11th grade would be even tougher. Of course if you have no options after M10, you could always look into rolling admissions, and if that fails you can reapply next year as a repeat 10th grader.
(Of course, if the school that contacted you was one that you regarded as a “safety”, but really not one that you’d actually stoop to attend, then don’t bother.)
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I’m not sure what you’re considering “top” schools. But I don’t know of many schools that add lots of kids in 10th grade, I know of some just not many. So depending on your stats repeating 9th may be your best bet across the board. It’s hard to know without knowing your stats and schools.
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It’s fairly common to re-class when entering BS. However you also have to do what is best for you and your family. Two of the three schools my daughter applied “strongly encouraged” her to apply as a re-classed 9th grader. The third school (her first choice) said it would not make a difference for her. One that wanted her to repeat, was a top choice for her, but even considering that, it wasn’t something that would work for her personally, or for me writing the check! She’s transferring (hopefully) from another BS so paying for 5 years of prep school just is not an option! There are other reasons more personal to my daughter but in the end we decided to just “roll the dice” and apply for 10th grade. What’s meant to be, will be.
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Sorry just realized you said pre application, so I deleted my original question. 
The top schools I mentioned are those in are the HADES and a few others in top 10. I was pretty discouraged by my family and friends to retake 9th, as we consider it a year sort of “wasted”, along with more money expended for Boarding School… Right now I’ll just keep my hopes high until M10. I was informed by many that repeating a grade is pretty common, but it just isn’t really my desire for the few reasons listed above.
I don’t think it’s quite like that since you are not necessarily repeating all your subjects. You will place at whatever level is right for you in all the sequence subjects.
FWIW, I don’t know what your situation is, but our school had to move back a lot of new students in Math and had to add sections for the lower levels. The expectation is that the gaps will be even greater with the ‘28s.
What I saw this year was that many families opted to reclassify on their own because of the impact COVID during middle school.
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@bbfaygo_55 , I know you don’t like this idea. My kid, who was on the young side, felt the same way.
What i would say, based on your comments, is that for kids who reclass, it’s that – a reclass, not a repeat. Think of it as an extra year of high school, not one year twice.
Just as students do PG year at the end, not with the expectation of repeating 12th but to get more from what a BS offers, this is a chance to do that. BS tend to offer many more classes, generally at higher levels, so this is a way to take advantage of that.
It may still not be what you want, but you are probably thinking about and framing it wrong.
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When schools talked to my daughter about re-classing, they made it clear that she would not have to repeat any of her classes. She would be taking 10th-grade-level classes, but her class would still be considered 9th-grade. For my daughter, the reasons had to do more with age (she is already one of the oldest in her class), so re-classing would make that age spread even more. Also, if she were to have to take a gap year for recruiting purposes, it would pose a whole other set of issues due to her age.
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Yup. Athletes have to be well aware of what reclassing may do in terms of eligibility.
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Thank you everyone for the advice; I now have a more comprehensive understanding of what it is to repeat a grade and the underlying benefits doing so will bring to me. There may still be financial constraints which makes me still reluctant, and I’m still not entirely sure how colleges perceive repeating a grade. Is there any way I could negotiate with the school about financial aid when I decide to repeat a grade, as I would have to pay for another year of high school? At the moment, M10 is approaching, so best of luck to everyone!
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It is VERY common in the BS world. They do not care. Also, you would be there from 9th - 12th so you would necessarily have to share your original transcript.
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This varies by school.
Although pretty universally, if you took biology, you would not repeat biology. If you took geometry (and passed the placement test), you would not repeat geometry. However, almost universally, you would take the 9th grade English class which is generally light years ahead of the same named class at the LPS.
Colleges are well versed on students reclassing when moving to a BS.
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As for negotiating FA, you can tell the school you are open to repeating 9th, but your family’s budget for your high school and college tuition probably couldn’t stretch to handle a full extra year. That alerts them to your need for a bit of tuition relief.
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Did you apply for FA at this school? Did you talk with the school about your package? It would certainly be something to find out if they are asking you to PAY anything for this extra year. If it isn’t you, it would be someone else, but still, that would be where your parents should get involved. It isn’t fair to present this to a student who really wants to go to BS but putting a burden on your parents where they ultimately may wind up being the bad guys because they won’t/can’t afford an extra year rather than putting the burden on the school.
Is it more than the finances as to why you don’t want to reclass? The stigma of your friends graduating a year before you? The extra year of work ahead of you until you get your diploma (3 years seems far but 4 years is even further and it was already 4 years away THIS year!) can seem overwhelming! Will you feel like you’ll be too old compared to your classmates or when you graduate? Do you really just not care about the offer because it’s “just a safety school”?
It’s a lot to think about just 10 days before decisions come out that puts a somewhat unfair burden on your shoulders. You’ve got to explore with all the pro/cons/questions/emotions about it. It’s a big decision.
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I guess repeating a grade itself is a multifaceted problem I must consider, but this safety school’s email tells a harsh reality about competition within the applicant pool, especially when slots are even further limited for 10th grade. I had pretty high expectations for myself and thought receiving acceptance to a safety school wouldn’t be too big of an issue. Yet, I was confronted with this dilemma regarding space limitations. You are right that because the offer was from a supposed “safety school” I didn’t put much thought, but it definitely exacerbated my anxiety and gave me less hope for the top schools which I aimed for.
I do believe that informing schools about my financial situation will clear out conversations about FA and I would then hopefully receive a more generous aiding package. I still chose to stay on the waitlist for 10th grade and wait for M10 decisions.
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