Hello! I am in grade 8, and I will probably be applying to boarding schools next year for the 2022-2023 school year (probably will repeat grade 9). I’ve started looking at schools, but if you think you know of any that would be a good fit for me please let me know!
I go to a good private school in New York, and I’d prefer a co-ed school somewhat close to home. I will definitely need quite a bit of financial aid (at least 50%).
I am very strong at math and I have a lot of experience with math competitions (qualified for AIME). I also tutor math to students in grade 2 in a program at school (just started a couple weeks ago). I volunteer at a food bank (50+ hours). I am on the debate team and got 2nd at a competition, I’d prefer schools with a good debate program. I’ve played soccer for 5 years.
As for a ‘passion’, I’m not really sure what mine is. I’m interested in math and debate but I haven’t done anything significant and I’m not sure if that’s something I want to do in life. I want to go to a school where I’m not categorized (not sure if that’s the right word) and forced to stick with a single focus for the entire 4 years.
Thank you 
It would be helpful if you said what school you currently attend (or name three schools and mix yours in there if you don’t want to say). Do you want large or small school? Do you want rural or more town-type setting?
I go to the spence school. School size doesn’t really matter to me much right now but I want schools in rural areas or small towns
From your reply, it sounds like you want to get away from the intensity of NYC and some of the intense people that populate the private school world and/or trying to get away from the pandemic life in the city. I would recommend staying away from the “name” schools since there are a lot of new yorkers and super competitive people there (nothing wrong with this, it just sounds like what you are trying to avoid and you want to forge your own path). Since you are coming from a great school reputation wise, the application process should be a little easier.
If you were my child, I would recommend schools like Cate in California. I don’t know anything about Thatcher, since my kid is allergic to things like horse dander, but that might be a possibility too. I would also recommend any of the better PA boarding schools. Hill is in a town, so that would be less likely and I don’t know much about George’s location, but Mercersburg for sure is wayyy out in the boonies, but has a good student body. SAS is also fairly rural, although less so than Mercersburg. I would definitely stay away from schools in CT/NJ/NY and some of the MA schools if your goal is community, rather than pandemic avoidance. All these schools will be able to challenge you academically in all areas and good for you for wanting to be more well rounded. I would suggest going to boardschoolreview and doing a school search to help you start a list. Also, maybe reach out to a friend who has already gone though this process from Spence, or any of the ny private schools, to learn from their experiences. Good luck!
Hey, hey hey. Just because a school is located in NY/CT/NJ does not mean it doesn’t have a warm, supportive, collaborative community.
Thanks for the schools. Also, do you think it’s worth it for me to try to apply this year for grade 9 or should I wait until next year?
I always recommend entering these BS at grade 9 (unless there is a really solid reason to enter in 10th). Most of these schools are designed to be a 4 year process so if you skip a year it makes a difference in a lot of ways. Do you have any reason to wait?
@applying2schools if you were my child, I would suggest sending in applications for 9th grade and your list can be as small or expansive as how desperately you want to leave Spence. The upside is that you don’t “have” to leave and, hey, maybe high school will be a better experience than middle. If you are admitted to boarding school for 9th, you can always stay at Spence if you change you mind. That being said, you would have burned your bridges if you decide to apply for 10th and want to apply to that same school.
Qualifying AIME at such young age, I would guess you will stand out in any school’s applicant pool. Congrats on your achievements!
For strong STEM Boarding schools, I checked AMC honor roll school names and IMO/IphO team member high school names, it seems that Exeter, Andover and Choate are in a league beyond all other Boarding schools. Is this correct?
@ahala2000 That is not correct. Though Exeter, Andover, and Choate are wonderful, prestigious, and academically rigorous schools, so are most boarding schools. Whether they are better or “beyond” other boarding schools is up to the student. Exeter, Andover, and Choate are known for being cutthroat and pressure-cooking schools and might be fit for you if you’re a fan of an academically intense environments.
To be honest, most of the boarding schools mentioned on this forum are all on a league together and fame doesn’t really differentiate the schools you’ve mentioned from the rest. It’s all about fit, and once you find that in a boarding school, I’ve heard that you really can’t go wrong.