<p>My daughter has just been accepted to 2 boarding schools and we are in the process of deciding what to do. Does anyone know if you can defer for a year -- meaning she can go to a local HS for one year and then go to the boarding school as a grade 9 student without having to apply again? Do you know if you can defer a year by going to the local HS for one year and enter the boarding school as a grade 10 without having to apply for grade 10? </p>
<p>thanks for your help</p>
<p>Feelinlucky, I don’t think you can. I think you have to reapply every year. But you should ask!</p>
<p>I don’t think the BS have the kind of deferred enrollment that some colleges do, if that’s what you’re thinking about. (I totally understand why you wouldn’t want to go through applications again! 
)</p>
<p>It certainly wouldn’t hurt to ask about it, especially if there are extenuating circumstances and you are in the position to somehow guarantee that she would enroll the following year (maybe pay the tuition ahead?). They won’t rescind her offer or anything for asking and I’m sure you wouldn’t be the first to ask about it.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t divulge the reasons for wanting to do so on this public forum, but the Directors of Admission that I have met have all been very reasonable and helpful people. They want your daughter, after all. Perhaps after a candid talk with them, you could work something out with them. Of course, she would have to commit to one of the two schools for something like this to work.</p>
<p>Good luck to you and your daughter!</p>
<p>I think you should ask too. Was it her idea to apply or yours?</p>
<p>More often than not, the process would have to start again because the test scores, grades and recommendations would have to be current and weighed against the current pool of applicants. The question will be - if she’s not ready now what assurances will there be that she will be ready in a year? </p>
<p>Good luck with whatever you choose.</p>
<p>Exie,</p>
<p>I think children grow a lot in a year, the difference between by 12 year old C and the current 13 year old is startling. The maturation process has never been linear but leaps and bounds after a level period. Therefore if a child isn’t quite ready this year, he/she might very well be next year.</p>
<p>My older son was accepted to six schools when he was in eighth grade. After revisits, he narrowed it down to three schools, but we still had reservations as to whether or not he was ready to board. </p>
<p>We contacted each of the remaining schools on his list about deferment and were told this is not an option. The schools all said if he maintainded his grades and EC’s he would likely be accepted, but there was no guarantee as applicants pools and school needs change annually.</p>
<p>My son reapplied a year later as a repeat ninth grader and was accepted to the same three schools again.</p>
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<p>I agree - I saw the same blossoming in my household. My point is this - why apply if it’s clear the student is not ready to go? Boarding school applications don’t work that way and I’m always curious why parents pursue the path then back out.</p>
<p>It is unlikely she’ll be able to defer. It is more likely she will have to start from scratch. Given how many well qualified candidates are being waitlisted and rejected this year - rejecting an offer of admissions may work against her application the next year.</p>
<p>If she starts over - even as a repeat - I’d advise expanding the list beyond the ones considered this year.</p>
<p>I was glad to have my D home for the extra year - but that’s different than what the poster is asking. She’s asking if she can “defer” and skip the application process and just come the next year.</p>
<p>The answer in 99% of the cases is, “no.” She starts over just like everyone else with no guarantees but a definite handicap.</p>
<p>Ahhhhh, Exie, do you have boys? Boys mature more slowly. We set goals for our son in his eighth grade year that could not be fully evaluated until well after the application deadline. The biggest goal (and the one we consider important for success in boarding school) was his time management skills. In other words, assessing whether or not he could consistently complete all his work without me “reminding” him.</p>
<p>After consulting with several parents we knew whose boys repeated, we decided he would benefit from another year at home. A day school could have been an option too except he did not like the handful of choices.</p>
<p>@CKSABS,</p>
<p>It was good to see your post! I began the process, C did not “drive” the process, frankly how could C when it only occurred to Mom in August/Sept of C’s 8th grade year that BS might be a possibility. Since no one in our family has gone to BS and none of his friends, he would have had no exposure to these schools. I have lectured quite a bit about time management but until the last 2 months I have been C’s primary time manager.</p>
<p>I have been concerned about C’s ability to do this next year if C had gotten in BS. Since C was rejected/waitlisted I have begun to explore having C reapply as a repeat ninth grader which I am beginning to think is the best result although given recent changes and growth I think C could have managed bkz the whole process of applying to BS has opened C’s eyes in a way my lectures couldn’t :)</p>
<p>Repeating has worked out very well for my son and the friends we know. Although anecdotal, we have never heard of a student who was unhappy with this decision. (There’s only been some grumbling from parents having to pay an extra year of private school tuition…Dads actually.)</p>
<p>For me it isn’t an issue of whether this is a boy or girl (I know they mature at different rates.) This is an issue of:</p>
<ol>
<li>applying for BS when the child isn’t ready to go</li>
<li>Asking if declining the invitation or deferring allows them to “skip” the application and just slide into a spot the next year (repeat or not).</li>
</ol>
<p>I’m just scratching my head over why someone would leap first then consider the consequences last? I mean boarding school is not like picking between schools within driving distance - it’s a major life changing decision. If he/she’s not ready - they clearly shouldn’t go and I have no difficulty with that. I do know of students who repeat a 9th or 10th grade year and are happy with the decision.</p>
<p>The poster is going to have to apply fresh the next year but with a deficit. Why would an Adcom consider them a viable candidate if they can’t really trust that the family is committed to the process (even if they’ve had a year to think about it?)</p>
<p>There are 1,500+ qualified candidates in the applicant pool that are ready to commit now - and a huge waiting list. Once declined, that spot is going to someone else. It’s not going to be “held.”</p>
<p>So my answer to the original post was “no.” The child can’t defer and just attend the next year. Might work for a local school. I’ve never heard of a BS doing it.</p>
<p>Exie:</p>
<p>Why apply if child isn’t ready to go----C will be growing and maturing throughout 8th grade. If you don’t begin the process, you give up options.</p>
<p>Regarding asking if you can defer, if you are not familiar with boarding schools policies, you might come to a board like this to ask, you certainly wouldn’t want to ask during the process. </p>
<p>As to why you might think that it is possible, at the college level it happens, also I’ve seen a private school bulletin where it listed the private high school the c was going to next year before M10. I assume that they applied in their 8th grade year and received deferred admission for after their 9th grade year…</p>
<p>anyway, just saying that a lot of things occur within organizations that are not always apparent to outsiders.</p>
<p>
I could not agree more. It is a long and painful process to go through and then get cold feet.</p>
<p>Honestly it makes me cringe when I think of all the great students holding wait lists letters that are just dying to go to bs…</p>
<p>Assessing a childs readiness for boarding school is not as black & white as you make it out to be. My son was well on the path to developing the skills we thought he needed to board, but was still as work-in-progress as an eighth grader. Four months after submitting his applications that first time through the process, we determined he was close, but not quite ready to go.</p>
<p>For us, we had not seriously considered boarding school for our older son. We always thought he would do better as a day student. He attended a junior boarding schoool as a day student and really bonded with the boarders. For the first time, he could see himself as a boarder (although we were not convinced). Still, he drove the application process while an eighth grader. It was great to see him driven to take charge and complete the process.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, in the classroom we did not see the planning and organization skills we thought he should have to board. We also did not see the initiative to ask teachers for help. These are necessary survival skills as a boarder and successful student.</p>
<p>In summary, we let him drive the process when he applied and believe it was important for him (not us) to acheive the success he did to prove to himself he could do it. In the end, we decided there was no real downside to repeating other than going through the process again.</p>
<p>Okay - that makes a lot of sense. The added explanation helps me see the picture more clearly. If he’s a good student now, he’ll still be a good candidate if he reapplies as long as his grades and EC’s are consistent. Someone on the admissions council liked him enough to advocate for him over all the other candidates. </p>
<p>I think you should call the school and talk about what you’re planning. And they’ve seen it all. It will let them know it’s not cold feet (or a better offer) that’s causing you to decline the current offer, but a conscientious decision to let him mature a bit more. If done well, he’ll still have to reapply but it may smooth the path for the next round - especially if he’s applying as a repeat 9th grader.</p>
<p>Seems like you know your son pretty well and aren’t rushing him when he’s not ready. Kudos for putting his needs first.</p>