<p>My son is new to the boarding school application process (as am I) and has recently requested applications and started studying for the SSAT. He is a freshman in public school and plans to apply for his sophomore year. He is considering several New England boarding schools (i.e. Taft, Deerfield, Westminster, Andover, Choate and others). He has a 90 average, is an excellent multi-sport athlete (football, lacrosse, basketball) and a very good artist. I am somewhat naive to the application process and would like to give him the best advice I can. Any insight students, parents or administrators can provide would be appreciated. I have the following specific questions but welcome your general comments about the application and interview process.</p>
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<li><p>Team sports are very important to my son - some folks have advised us to call the coaches at each school and introduce ourselves. Is this appropriate and if so at what stage during the application process should it be done.</p></li>
<li><p>Not sure if a 90 average is sufficient for acceptance at the above schools -as a strong athlete many folks have told us our son would be in demand, with his grades is it worthwhile to consider these schools.</p></li>
<li><p>Is the protocol for applying for sophomore year any different than as a freshman.</p></li>
<li><p>Should we be using the services of an educational consultant - curious to know how many parents/students used a consultant. </p></li>
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<p>Your feedback and experiences pertaining to the above is appreciated.</p>
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<li><p>Definitely contact the coaches and arrange to meet them when you go visit the campus and have the interview. Be assertive and reach out on your own. Dontbe shy and dont necessarily rely on the admissions office to make the arrangements.</p></li>
<li><p>90 sounds pretty good to me but it depends on the level of the classes. Is that a 90 in an honors class? Also, the standardized test scores will matter. </p></li>
<li><p>Protocol is no different but there may be fewer admission spots. Dont let that daunt you because most places have quite a few spots available in the sophomore class. Definitely a question to ask. My daughter applied for sophomore year and the protocol was the same. She also wanted to know how the school approached assimilating students coming in as sophomores. Also another potential focal point. Although with a team athlete probably no problem since he’ll be friends right away with hsi teammates especially pre-season.</p></li>
<li><p>We spoke informally with a consultant who also referred us to a consultant who specialized in athletes. She was a friend of a friend and didnt charge us but gave us some very useful advice. IT was so useful I would have paid for it. BTW, the athletic consultant said that sophomore year, you should be getting in front of college coaches as much as you can, i.e., gaining visibility by going to camps, etc. We also got a SSAT tutor which was well worth the money. The scheduled time with the tutor made a big difference for my daughter. If your son is disciplined he might be able to make do with some practice exams. This is a great site and is very useful, I didnt find it until after we went through the application process, so you are ahead of the game. Good luck! </p></li>
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<p>Welcome to the forum. Here’s a link to a blow-by-blow recap of our experience with our older daughter a few years ago. She was not an athletic recruitment case, but the thread outlines pretty much every step of the search/apply/choose/matriculation process.</p>
<p>My younger girl is applying this cycle…and is an elite/recruitable athlete. We have already been in touch with coaches at the various schools on our short “consider” list, and have a few one-to-one meetings in the pipeline. We are timing our visits/interviews so that she can meet the coach/team and perhaps observe or even sit in on a practice (winter sport).</p>
<p>I advise that you take a very candid appraisal of your son’s potential impact on any of the teams he will go out for. Is he just a solid lineman or a game-changing running back? Could he start on varsity his first year? The answer will make a difference to the coaches involved.</p>
<p>Also, if you are set on New England schools, I’d add definitely add St. Paul’s to your list. And don’t rule out “lesser” (quotes very intentional) schools. For example, The Hun School in Princeton (which is mentioned rarely here and sometimes dismissively) can claim among its alum a guy named Myron Rolle…ESPN’s #1 High School prospect in the class of 2006 and an eventual Rhodes Scholar.</p>
<p>New England does not have a monopoly on great schools for the scholar athlete. Best of luck.</p>