Hello again… another thought: does it help for your kid to tell a school that it is their ‘first choice’? I know it does for day schools where we live, but I’m wondering if the same applies to boarding schools? Thoughts?
If it truly is the first choice, feel free to mention it. But don’t tell multiple schools they are the first choice.
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oh for sure… that’s obvious! 
One would think. But I’ve been here for several years, and there have been quotes asking about viability of that as a strategy
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Thanks, everyone! Another question: does anyone know what the BS use for organization/posting assignments, etc? I know Exeter uses Canvas… TIA!
Lawrenceville just switched to Canvas this year.
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PA = Canvas.
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So far 3/6 interviews done. After one, the admissions rep said to us during our parent interview that they “can’t wait to see where *** is in four years.” They also said that the consultant (US-based) that has helped us navigate the process from overseas is very well-regarded at the school and they know if the consultant is sending them a kid and saying it’s a good fit, that they trust her judgment and are eager to get to know the kid better. I mentioned the comment to our consultant about how the rep said they couldn’t wait to see where our daughter was in four years and said it was just vague enough to make us wonder if they meant they would be interested to see where she would be after four years somewhere ELSE or at that school. 
Our consultant said the rep also reached out to HER via email after our daughter’s interview and that the email she received was “very, very positive”. I know from reading everyone’s posts about interviews over the years that you can’t read too much into the positivity of reps during interviews, but hearing that the rep also reached out to our consultant without being prompted seems like it could possibly be a good sign! We are hoping so because it is one of our daughter’s top schools and she would be really excited to have an acceptance there. But, we haven’t told our daughter about the email to the consultant because we don’t want her to get her hopes up. The admit rate is low (as it is at most of these schools, right?!), so they might just be drumming up an application, but we are hopeful the rep really is excited about what our daughter can bring to campus.
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Of course, it isn’t done til it’s done, but often, the conversations between admissions and consultants are more candid because they are speaking the same language.
If a consultant is referring a student and admissions is “no way!”, they will often, as a business courtesy, go back to say “you may have missed something here and may want to make sure you have more appropriate options for this kid.”
On the flip side, a positive response is a “yes, send more like this. Is what we’re looking for.” It doesn’t mean they are in, but it’s positive. Which is good!
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When do most finish up their applications? I know the deadline of Jan 15 is standard for most but it sort of stresses me out that it is 2 months away! The biggest issue over here are the essays 
and then we have to wait 2 more months 
I’m not a very good waiter 
When I applied back in 2019, I think I submitted my apps around January 10 or so. I’m currently in college application season and still haven’t even started on my RDs (mostly January 1-5 deadlines), so don’t worry—2 months is a ton of time.
My daughter is working to finish hers before the winter break at her school (so before Christmas). Her teachers and school counselor have finished their recommendations and submitted those, her profile and achievements section is finished, and she is working on her essays. She has to meet with her English teacher to get some guidance on the required written paper because they don’t have any non-creative writing until next semester so he is going to give her an off-book assignment to do a literary comparison paper and then comment on it so she can send it to boarding schools, but it won’t count toward her actual grade.
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Wow that’s rough that it can be counted towards her grade. The additional work could easily show meeting benchmarks required using an alternative method (in this case, assignment). I mean it is nice that the teacher is helping her out to fill the void of a requirement (sounds like the schools she is applying to are asking for a work sample?) but it isn’t like your daughter is just asking for a proofread of an admissions essay about herself.
Sorry I wasn’t clear - it won’t be counted toward her grade.
And yes, even though it is not listed in requirements on the SAO, apparently just about all (if not all) of her schools require the graded written paper. Weird that it’s not in the requirements in the SAO, but our consultant did ask each school and I can’t remember which, but it was at least most of them, that said they do actually require it.
Sorry, you were clear. I mistyped. I’m new here and I can’t even figure out how to quote you let alone edit!
I’m guessing that if it isn’t in the application and most people go through the process not using a consultant, that most kids won’t be submitting these papers. Makes no sense how all these schools would have this requirement yet not tell anyone but a consultant.
My kid had to submit a graded written paper as part of the application process. I can’t remember which school(s) it was, but it was part of the regular application and written clearly in the steps required.
If it wasn’t written in the steps, then my kid didn’t submit one.
I do remember that there was significant leeway with the type of essay and grading for the written piece. My kid was in virtual school at the time because of covid and there were limited options of papers to use (it was oct/nov of 2020).
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Most BS schools DD and DS are applying to have a graded paper as part of the application. Not the day schools, however…
Looks like either the SAO has been updated or we just didn’t read it correctly before, but now the graded essay is listed as required for all but two of her schools.
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Hello all, Hope the application and school search is going well. We spread a VERY wide net and have started to trim the list. DS really wants to go away, so we’ve pulled all local HS and boarding school apps in our state. We are all in!
With that in mind, we have visited all but one BS he’s applying to (couldn’t get flights to work out). I’m wondering if anyone has any advice on how to find out about school (beyond the website) that will help come interview time? TIA
The website is obvious and good. Check out their social media accounts - most schools have a presence on IG and many do on FB as well.
You can also Google them or “X school soccer” (or whatever else interests you) and see what comes up in local papers online.
I think if you make that much of an effort, you’ll be fine. Many schools realized during covid that they saw a lot more good applicants when they didn’t require them to come to campus to get info. If this school os an option posr M10, it’d be great to go to the admitted student day and check it out. I’m impressed you got to all the others!
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