Exactly! With my son that is the exact conversation we had. And we added to that - “Do you think this is a much better place for you than XYZ public school at home?” “Can you see yourself here?” </p>
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We had one visit where we all knew about 5 minutes into the tour that this was just not the school for our son. One of those “should we even stay for the interview” kinds of places. The admin told us what a great kid we had, very mature and a great interviewer (we heard that a lot) and but never said he thought he would go well there. It also must have been clear in the interview that it was not the place for him. The 11 others said they hoped he applied and that he would be a wonderful addition…blah blah blah…</p>
<p>Our family will have to apply for financial aid, and of course, that makes me nervous…Because I didn’t do my homework for round 1 of this whole process, and didn’t realize just how competitive the school that was 7-12th grade was, I want to make sure I do it now. And you are all right about the “back up school.” A) No such thing as back up, and B) You better love all the choices…For the child and the parent who will feel comfortable trying to pay for it. We had 2 choices the first time. One with an acceptance rate of less than 20%, and one school that we ended up not liking or feeling it was a good fit. Too much of an after thought. We should have had more choices…And realized just how competitive the whole process is. I love all of your answers! Keep them coming. I am saving them to share with relatives who are big cheerleaders in this whole thing.</p>
<p>Newebs, or others. How do you “always make sure you receive good recommendation letters?” Once you hand over the forms with self-addressed stamped envelopes or the teachers provide them directly via the school’s website, u never see them again, or are you suggesting you ask the teacher to return them to you to mail in and or give you a copy?</p>
<p>Sorry, you can’t send them yourself or read them first - most schools require the teachers to place the letter in a sealed envelope then sign the back over the sealed flap to insure there was no tampering.</p>
<p>I seldom post but I got something to share for parent new to boarding school. - A real/deep talk with kids before starting the process</p>
<p>We are first generation here at South. My wife and I did not hear about boarding school until last October.
My D told me she will stay after school for an event that counselor/recruiter will introduce boarding school at New England area.
A week later she came to me that she will like to apply boarding school. I have no idea but I didn’t reject her immediately. I told her I’ll do some research and discuss with her mom.</p>
<p>The first reaction is why she don’t want to go to the same high school as her brother. second is we did not have enough money for private high school. The savings are for college for 3 kids.</p>
<p>A week later we had a talk. My D also knew the talk will be either ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and no second chance. She well-prepared all our concerns. she also knew well about family financial issue. We reached a conclusion that it will be end of journey if she will not get certain amount of FA , she also need maintain her current grade and prepare to go to local high school.</p>
<p>The talk at that night changed her a lot, she did all applications, scheduled test, visit, booked ticket/hotel online and asked teachers for recommendation. We watched her but only give her little advise. She pretty much did all by herself. She is only 13 years old.</p>
<p>She applied 2 schools. she was luckily accepted by one and rejected by the other.</p>
<p>Does that mean she is ready to go boarding? Her mind probably is but her habit/behavior is not. Her room is like hit by a cannonball all the time. We are working on that before let her go.</p>
<p>Thank you, bluegene, for your post. It sounds like your daughter has taken the lead on this. I wouldn’t worry too much about her room. As a matter of fact, I’d worry more if a 13 year old’s room was tidy! If she handled the entire application process by herself, it’s a good indication that she is indeed ready for the experience.</p>
<p>Best of luck to you! I have a feeling our kids will be fine and it’s us parents that need reassurance at this point.</p>
<p>She’s ready. She sounds like my daughter. You would be surprised at how different she may be once she’s immersed in a BS environment where expectations are high. Sounds like she would thrive there.</p>
<p>The only way I know how to make sure you will receive a good recommendation is to ask in advance. With my eldest son he had one class that he was struggling in but that teacher was one of the required recommendations. I went in to the teacher and asked him if he could write a good recommendation for my son. He assured me he could and gave me the reasons why- staying for extra help, working hard in class, etc. I scheduled meetings with each of the teachers that he needed recommendations from and asked each one about writing him a good recommendation.</p>
<p>Now I don’t know what you would do if the teacher said no I can’t write a glowing rec and it was a required teacher! I guess, make sure you covered that in your application and interview.</p>
<p>Coming to this website is the best thing ever!! </p>
<p>Wish I knew about CC before we decided. Communication from the school is critical. Do you live within driving distance of the school you are considering? That makes a BIG difference. It is much more involved than we expected.</p>
<p>Hope you have a great experience. First year is much tougher than we thought. Hope that second year is better</p>