Ask Questions About Junior Boarding School!

Prep School Admissions
1

There hasn’t been one of these in a while, so I’ve decided to bring it back!

I’m a recent graduate of Fay School, and I think that the JBS experience isn’t talked about enough! Especially since (as a similar thread has mentioned before) the guidance they offer through the application process is so great. Which makes sense, considering they do have to get rid of you after the 9th grade.

Stats for the past 5 years list 52 at St. Mark’s, 19 at Middlesex and Exeter, 18 at Andover, and 13 at St. Paul’s. E/A attendance has doubled since the last thread (9 each), and is on the rise, with 6 attending Andover from my ninth grade class, and 3 others who left the year before to start freshman year there. Lawrenceville is also gaining popularity. Really, I couldn’t imagine a more supportive school - the secondary school placement office is AMAZING, and “mini fairs” and lunches with admissions reps are organized for ninth graders. Ninth graders also receive a week off during fall terms for school visits, as well as on campus help with mock interviews, recommendations, etc.

Boarding is offered for grades 7-9, and the upper school is a very diverse community. There is a primary/lower school, but many day students arrive for 7th as well. The school sticks to a ton of traditions (think Latin words, tree planting ceremonies, a school-wide color team competition). It’s also one of the few co-ed schools.

Similar schools would be Fessenden, Eaglebrook, Rectory, Indian Mountain School, Cardigan Mountain, Rumsey Hall…

I can answer questions about admissions, school life, dorm life, and the secondary school placement program. To anyone considering applying: do it!!!

2

How many years did you go to Fay, and do most students go for 8th and 9th, and do you see repeats at 8th and 9th? My son is in 8th grade now, and looking to either apply to 9th grade at boarding schools, or repeat 8th and 9th at a junior boarding school to get more prepared. Do you know classmates who repeat, and/or how do you think your experience prep you more for the big prep schools?

3

@AnxiousMom22 I was a three-year student who started in seventh grade - the first year of the upper school happened to be my first year at Fay - but class size does increase considerably from 7th to 8th grade (~70 kids to 120) and then decreases going into 9th (down to 50-60 kids). I have seen repeats for all grades, but mainly in 7th and 8th, as there are usually no more than 3 or 4 new students in 9th.

Repeating is definitely an advantage, but many will “save” their repeat year for their secondary school to be both physically stronger and more prepped academically for graduation requirements. However, I would recommend repeating 8th at a JBS over starting in 9th, then repeating, just because an extra year at the school will help you get more settled before application season. Still, I have seen new ninth graders apply to and attend HADES schools.

The experience teaches you not only to manage your studies, but to manage and improve yourself. While at Fay, I learned how to conduct myself and become so much more confident in my interactions with other kids and adults. Looking back as a day student who went on to board for high school, the hours I spent in my friends dorms were some of the most important - dorm hacks, learning to communicate with teachers, and even just remembering that other students survived the same things I would struggle with later on.
Also, you establish so many connections, whether with secondary schools through the placement office, or simply through the friends that you make. You end up with a network across the NE preps. As a new student at Andover, it was weirdly comforting to have friends at Exeter, St. Pauls, Deerfield, Hotchkiss, Groton, etc., and to be able to talk about the experience with them.

Also, as a side note, repeating AFTER the ninth grade program at Fay was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Even though some 8th graders opt to leave, you can always tell who stayed for the extra year because they’re the ones crying at commencement.

4

Thanks so much for your reply. Did you consider other junior boarding schools? Why and how did you pick Fay? Since Fay is closer to Boston that not all students are boarding, does it make any difference to your experience? Do you have to have stellar records to get into Fay or similar junior high schools? Or it is more like a formality to take the SSAT?

5

@AnxiousMom22
I picked Fay because I had just moved to the next town over. I was a day student and didn’t actually know what I was getting into at the time. I have a friend who applied to several boys schools (Cardigan, Fessenden, etc) but chose Fay because it’s co-ed and not in the middle of nowhere, like many other JBS are.
It is convenient having a suburb-y setting. Downtown isn’t GREAT, but there are plenty of weekend trips to places very close by.

Honestly, the SSAT is pretty much a formality. While some students will submit scores in the 90s, I had classmates who scored <15 with good interviews, etc. Admission seems harder for international kids, but probably only because of the TOEFL, which they seem to take into account pretty heavily. You don’t need great grades either if applying to 7th or 8th grade. 9th grade seems to be more competitive as they only take a couple of kids.

6

Is there a particular high school that Fay is considered a “feeder”? e.g. Eaglebrook is more tied to Deerfield, and Cardigan perhaps to St Paul’s, mostly due to proximity. How many % of your graduating class go to their first choice boarding school?

7

Hi @AnxiousMom22 !
We are considered a feeder to St. Mark’s (just across the street), but those who choose to go there are mainly day students looking for another close-by school after completing the 8th grade.
Since our secondary school placement department forms each of us a ranked list of realistic schools, I would say that the majority of my graduating class were accepted at one of their top 3 schools.
This is EXTREMELY late, and I apologize for that! Please let me know if you have or are still considering applying to Fay or another JBS!