Hi all. I’m new to CC, and our student will be applying this fall, 2019, to schools. A brief review didn’t reveal a thread for class of 2024, but I imagine there are many of us on here already, in anticipation of the coming application season. Look forward to sharing the process and learning from you all. Cheers!
^^yes please
@swparenting - we’ll be applying this fall too, class of ‘24. (How is that even possible?! Man, I feel old! LOL!)
I’d like to join this thread too if it’s ok with you all. My middle child is in the class of '24. He won’t apply next fall though. He will probably apply to boarding schools the following fall as a 10th grader.
What’s probably different from most of you is that my son is already boarding. He’s in 7th grade at Rectory, a junior boarding school. It has helped him so much, but I thought he’d want to come home for 10th-12th grade. To my surprise, he’s already saying he wants to go to boarding school for high school too! I guess that’s an indication of the positive power of the boarding school experience.
Also, his older brother is a repeat 9th grader at a boarding school, so maybe that helps.
@CaliMex My middle son isn’t sure where he wants to go. My oldest attends Williston and is absolutely loving it.
I just made an appointment for a ‘preview tour’ at SAS next week! We’re still very much in the gathering information stage, and I thought it would be useful for DS to go on a tour so he can start identifying what appeals to him; large/small, formal/informal, etc…
My DS is class of 2023, but we did start attending open houses in 7th grade and I think it let us really process what we saw and made 8th grade a bit less stressful. Good choice on starting early.
Not sure where you are geographically, but George School has an Open House later this month. (First time in spring, I think. ) It’s a perfect low key way to check out another school and work through what you like. And although it was years ago that we did this, that 8th grade fall felt really busy (kid also played a sport that took a lot of time in the fall), so being able to do a little bit of the process early would have been a great relief!
Anyone doing any school visits this summer? We’re hoping to start early fall.
We’re planning all ours for the fall. I just don’t think we can get the same feel for a school when there are no kids on campus, or even when it’s just summer school. It will definitely make for a busy and challenging fall, as I’ve already warned my son!
FWIW you should go to the Ten Schools Organization website to discover when they may be holding information sessions in you area this autumn. Many 7th grade families attend these information sessions to learn more about boarding schools and the application process.
I’m applying for class of 2024 too!
Thank you for this suggestion.
Hi there we are also applying for 2024! Let the fun begin…
We are applying to 6 schools. How about everyone else’s?
I’m applying for at most 3 or 4 schools. I’m for sure applying to 2 but not sure about the others. Haha it’s a quite meager number compared to other people, but my LDS is pretty good, so I’m okay with staying.
How many schools should you apply to? It depends on several factors:
- If you will need financial aid, apply to more schools. Include BOTH schools with a high endowment per student, which can best afford offering financial aid, and schools that might have slightly lower average stats than yours, which might have merit money or might be more eager to offer you a spot and make it work for your family. Don’t be afraid to ask for an application fee waiver.
- If your local day school or public high school are not options for you, also apply to more schools. Every school ends up rejecting applicants who looked perfect on paper. It is usually because of something arbitrary, like they didn’t like your personality during the interview, they needed more violinists than piano players, or they were in search of a lacrosse goalie instead of a tennis star. Don’t take it personally, but cast a wide net just in case.
- If you are perfectly happy with your local school, it is okay to apply only to fewer schools.
In any event, make sure you know why you love the schools to which you are applying. And you’d better have a better reason than “they are the most famous” or the ones whose marketing/enrollment departments are most adept at gaming the school rankings. Know what makes them special/different and what makes them a particularly good fit for YOU, not anyone else. There is no single school, no matter how famous, where every single kind of kid will thrive.
Which school is best for you? The school where you will blossom into the best version of yourself. Some people LOVE being in a hypercompetitive environment. It inspires them and fires them up. Others would wilt in that environment and prefer a more nurturing and collaborative community. Some prefer being in a larger school with deeper course offerings and activities in a narrow area of specialization for which they already have passion, experience, and ability. (Some of these applicants have already exhausted their local high school’s offerings.) Others are looking for a smaller community where they feel “known” and where it might be less intimidating to explore new things because there aren’t as many kids who have already developed deep expertise or ability in a particular subject matter, sport, etc. Some schools have cultures that are known to be socially competitive and focused on social status. If you were raised to be comfortable in those environments or have the ability to tune out that aspect of a community, don’t let that dissuade you from applying to these fantastic schools. But if it makes you uncomfortable or is contrary to your values, know that there are other schools with different cultures.
The bottom line: There are no right or wrong answers, good or bad schools. Figure out what might suit you best, then find the schools that might be right for you. Ignore rankings. Disregard prestige. Remember that these can cut both ways: For every person who is impressed that you attended a “famous” school, there is another one who will assume it means you are an entitled snob. Don’t think in terms of college admissions, either. The best way to become a high school student that colleges want to admit is to thrive and excel in high school. Start by developing the self-knowledge necessary to understand what you really need to blossom and take the opportunity to research and seek out the kind of schools and environments that are really best for YOU.
Clear and helpful points to consider, @CaliMex . Students and their families also seem to get exposed to schools they hadn’t considered through College Confidential interactions, as well as increased school engagement over the fall, which add to the application list. We’ve heard of families being surprised by finding a school that was a great fit that hadn’t been on their radar. We’re looking at applying to just three schools, as LPS is a sound option. Excited to share more with all the other Class of 2024 families.
Ah, good luck, good luck! To be an applicant again… I sort of miss it. The rush and the hope and the stress and the “will I make it”???
Tip FA applicant to FA applicant - schools do know everywhere you apply (they found out off my SSS, from what I understand). That got me a fat 7 waitlists last app cycle. Letting you know!
^ @RedLioness, you don’t know that the transparency from FA app is why you were WL. What you know is that you got into a great school and likely a fabulous fit for you.