<p>Thanks for referencing our schools with openings list. We’ll be updating it later for 2012.</p>
<p>A few thoughts, I’d urge readers to keep in mind when thinking through this thread. There is no best school. The best school is different for every student. All but the most competitive schools (and you can count them on less than two hands) will consider applicants all spring and summer until the school is full. This primary hurdle to clear at this point is financial aid. Schools are in the process of awarding aid to returning and traditional application timeline applicants. FA becomes difficult outside of the traditional application timeline. Any FA process from here on out needs to begin with an conversation with each school.</p>
<p>Thank you! Well, so far, I have been calling many schools… probably about a list of 30, asking if they nr. accepting late applications this year. They are all giving me the exact same vibe… They are irritated at how late I am (naturally), but if I want to send in an application, to do so as soon as possible and they wild see if they can consider me or not. I even asked the if I should wait until April 10th to see if they have more open spots, but they all told me definetly not, that the longer I wait, the chance decreases dramatically. Is this really the case?</p>
<p>If you ask a school a question, and they give you a specific answer, then that is the information you should listen to.</p>
<p>@Spldaisy, I know you’re feeling nervous about your chances, but I think you should wait until you get your decisions on March 10 before you actually apply to any additional schools.</p>
<p>I think you will have a very hard time finding a school at this date that will offer full financial aid. In fact, I’ll go out on a limb and say it’s close to impossible. I’m not saying that to be mean but to be realistic.
I’m sorry for the bad news you received today.</p>
<p>Spidaisy - unfortunately the vast majority of competitive schools are exhausting their financial aid packets for students in the current admit pool and for returning students. If you need full financial aid, the chances of finding something at this late date are slim. Few people on the boards can tell you “what” schools because even those rare schools that took a student with full or partial aid may have had a rare open spot that doesn’t normally exist otherwise (or the kid had some amazing resume item that piqued their interest).</p>
<p>Uderstand that the irritation is because the BS staff have duties related to the current school year in addition to fielding all the calls from admitted students, and little time for new applicants. They’re also working on contracts for returning students and fielding those calls as well.</p>
<p>Also, given the number of families on this CC board that applied “on time” and are getting FA waitlist letters it’s probably not the most sensitive time to ask them to help you create a list of schools that will have better results for you after the deadline. If that list existed, more families on the boards would be finding spots for their children.</p>
<p>But it was a rough admissions cycle last year and rough this year and I don’t see it getting easier any time soon.</p>
<p>Unfortunately - the best you can do is send applications to those who requested it and hope that some part of your resume stands out and fills a need in the student body. Or look for less competitive schools with a high admissions rate and adequate funding that might have an opening. The SSAT usually posts a list of schools with openings. But more often then not - those openings work easiest for those people who can pay the full tuition.</p>
<p>Still - I’m not a fan of no-win scenarios (as Captain Kirk would say). Just call and research schools that indicate they’re still looking (for instance StonyBrook in Long Island has rolling admissions). Or get a jump now and create a list of schools for next year that is broader than this year and more funds for a full FA kid.</p>
<p>Spldaisy, I’m also looking into schools that have rolling admissions. I don’t need full FA, but I need a pretty substantial amount. If I find any schools that have spaces, I will let you know!</p>
<p>The conundrum is that schools that offer generous FA tend to be the most popular ones to which to apply (i.e. the most applicants). And as the FA budget for a given year is finite, I would expect that the large group of on-time applicants will have exhausted the FA budget.</p>
<p>That’s not to say that it is impossible to get admitted as a late applicant AND get awarded hefty FA. If the applicant is uber-exceptional (e.g. a scholar/swimmer w Olympics record times) then the school might find a way to make it happen.</p>
<p>bobrien2020 - Milton is difficult to get into - no matter when you apply or for what grade. And, although it’s possible they might have financial aid funds come available, I wouldn’t count on it, especially if you need a “hefty amount.” But the best people to ask are the admissions staff at Milton. Tell them your situation and ask what they’d recommend. I’d tend to think it’s a real long shot . . . but I also know nothing about you. It certainly can’t hurt to ask!</p>