Are Private Boarding Secondary Schools Supportive of Students Wishing to Apply to Another School?

[imccnj]

My son is currently enrolled in a Junior Boarding Secondary School in 8th grade, with a option to continue in 9th grade. He has completed 6th and 7th grade at the same school. Many students generally leave after 8th grade and go to Senior Secondary Schools for 9th grade. The 9th grade academic curriculum at current junior boarding school is not well structured, and few students when they apply out to senior secondary schools end up repeating 9th grade.

Earlier, we were double minded in November 2019 to Jan 2020 and missed out on the application cycle to most high schools. Now, we started to look into the application process and applied to few schools that were still considering students for 2020-2021 school year. My son got accepted to 2 of the top 150 boarding secondary school in USA. One school is a top 75 rank school and the other one is between 125 and 150th rank. He want to go to a top 50 rank school. To me most schools are good schools and more or less the same. They all provide tools for students to use them to do well and get ahead in life. It’s up to individual student of how they use those tools and services at each of the school. If a student is not motivated then even the top rank school can only help so much. Bottom line is: students need to be motivated to take advantage of the opportunities in life in order to succeed.

My son after talking to his friends seems double minded. Someone told him that if he accepts and goes to a high school for 1 year only, and then tries to reapply next year to his preferred schools, then his current school may not like the idea of him leaving after 1 year, and not give him good recommendations (even if he deserves them and academically does well and well liked by his teachers) nor the school considering his application would look at his application favorably.

Could someone who transferred to another boarding school successfully, please help my understand that schools in general do not create obstacles for students who have specific reasons to transfer out, and are overall students in good academic standings and moral character.

[bouders]

I agree with your son’s friend in general. That being said, it will depend on the school. They may give him a great recommendation, or they may not.

My son is transferring out of his BS after spending 6th to 9th there, but he was applying because his current school didn’t offer the EC that he shows promise in becoming professional. His principal gave him a fabulous recommendation.

I don’t see a “specific reason” for a transfer for your child, other than wanting to be at a higher ranked school.

If it were my child, I would give them the option at remaining at the current school for 9th grade or taking one of the new options, with the understanding that they would stay there for 4 years.

[PhotographerMom]

Okay, OP - I’m a little confused. The majority of kids do NOT leave JBS for SS in VI Form ( 8th ) , but FWIW- here are the two big reasons why they don’t :

1 ) Alum status. If you don’t graduate with your JBS VII Form Class - you give up your alum status ( and valuable lifelong network ) and can’t attend reunions. It’s almost like you never attended or existed if you don’t finish with your Class … so people tend not to give it up.

2 ) JBSs do NOT provide VI Formers ( 8th grade ) with SS placement services ( maybe the reason why you “missed” it? ) because this service is reserved only for the VII Form graduating Class - which is a huge ( obvious ) perk for both parents and students .

Do a few kids leave for SS after their VI Form year? Yes - but mostly for family/ personal reasons or the desire for specific SS diehard status - which is usually planned well in advance by the legacy family and supported by the school.

I don’t know which JBS your son attends, but I’ve never heard anyone use VII Form curriculum as a reason for early ( VI Form) departure - so that’s a first for me. For most kids - VII Form is a highly anticipated year that also happens to be the toughest and most rewarding ( on many levels ) - plus JBS Commencement is a big, big deal.

To your question : Yes, you can try to transfer and you might be successful, but how are you going to frame the reason? Oh, hey - we spent two years at a JBS and this SS placement thing kind of snuck up on us?

Because whether that’s true or not - that’s how it will look to your new school and future SS admissions unless there’s another reason that better explains the departure. After all - you’ve been a JBS family for two years now and there’s a real expectation from all ( Top 100 ) SSs that you know what the drill is … so why do we now find ourselves at a Hail Mary lower ranked BS?

Bigger Question : Will the future "higher ranked " Secondary Schools ( you apply to ) agree with you that VII year at your JBS is substandard or would’ve been a waste of time for your son based on their knowledge of the school and his stats?

And let’s think this through for a minute…

You’re asking your new " lower ranked " SS/ BS to push JBS paper upon arrival , write recommendations out of the gate ( without really knowing your son ), and you’re asking them to allow time for your son to interview/tour other schools, submit apps/ essays with no intention or desire to stay or bond with classmates, teammates or the school- without first giving them a fair shot .

And you’re concerned or worried about not receiving a fair or glowing recommendation from " lower ranked" bus stop school ? Based on all the above- IDK- maybe you should be concerned - because ( as a JBS alum and a former JBS parent 3X ) this entire exercise makes very little sense to me unless I’m totally missing something.

And if all this fails… then what ? I’ll tell you. You’ve wasted a critical year of your son’s life and you’re stuck at a school that you’ve deemed unworthy compared to others based on rank.

I’ll leave the risk assessment ( for this adventure ) up to you and your family, but I would suggest that you weigh everything carefully and then maybe checkout some past CC M10 Decision threads for a better understanding for what you’re really up against - especially if you plan to target more competitive/ selective schools.

Burning Question : Do you think your son is better off applying to a bunch of highly competitive/ selective SSs from lower ranked bus stop school as a new - haven’t really dropped my bags yet - transfer student or would he be better off if he applied as a three year JBS veteran who is fully backed by his school and a JBS/ SS Placement Office?

My best advice: Have your son stay at the JBS for his final year ( finish strong and have a wonderful time ) and benefit from their SS placement expertise by applying to SS IV Form from there.

All the best to you and your son and good luck.