Just curious if anyone knows whether private schools can see on Ravenna or elsewhere if your child has applied to other schools and which ones. I understand some applications ask if your child is applying/applied to other schools or during interview but if this information is not disclosed can they somehow see it? One school reached out to us this week saying, “I can see your child applied to some other schools. Is your child still interested in our school?” This did not come up in interview or on the application. Weird!
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Oh that’s very interesting. I am curious to hear responses. My daughter was asked in 4/6 interviews which other schools she was considering. And one school asked that question in the app.
I suppose that regardless of what people say, that seems like a good sign that they are reaching out to gauge interest!
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My guess is that almost all of the top boarding school admissions officers share information (gossip) informally and know each other since that profession is a niche industry and small in numbers. Not to mention also that admission officers have ambitions to move onto other schools which further reinforces their clubby network. This does have the value of preventing one applicant from “gaming” the system.
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I don’t think they can see what other schools you applied to. However, a specific student may come up in conversation amongst AOs. But, considering the 100s (1000s?) of applications they receive, I think it would only be disclosed by specifically asking by name to find out. And honestly, there isn’t a single school that expects your child only to be applying to them. They know you are looking at multiple schools. I know that if students already enrolled in a school start looking at other schools, the AOs inform the school the student is currently at. We found this out when we went to tell my daughter’s current school we were looking elsewhere; they already knew!
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I am pretty sure they don’t discuss applicants for a whole host of reasons. They are all careful, for legal reasons, to avoid anything that might appear as any form of collusion.
If, however, your used a consultant or you have a school placement office who talks to the various admissions offices, there is a reasonable chance that your list and preferences were shared. Those people who represented you want to help you get placed – hopefully at the school you want to attend – but are not there to make sure you have 10 acceptances.
When schools ask you this question during the interview process, it is usually to understand what you are looking for. At this point, it’s to gauge interest and possibly to figure out what they might have to do to get you to say yes. For example, some schools have scholarships they can offer to students fitting a certain profile (like state) or they have a "scholars program ". They are limited in number so are used as an enticement but only to those who they think can be enticed.
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What is the purpose of TSAO (Ten School Admission Association)? They travel together all the world to promote the 10 schools, and agreed to release the decision at the same time. Are you sure they do not share the student information?
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I had asked something similar about whether schools that receive info from FA “group” apps, SAO, Gateway, EMA (SSAT score release), etc have that within the data that is released. Are you 100% certain your daughter didn’t provide this info in a discussion at some point?
This is absolutely correct.
Schools are very focused on yield - and not because of rankings. They literally have to try and not over-enroll because if they do, a whole lot of single dorm rooms become doubles, and doubles become triples. Under-enrollment in certain areas has its own host of problems. And of course, they want great “fits”, so they want to make sure their outreach is good if there’s a kid with a certain specialty they need to fill.
Knowing which schools a kid is looking at can affect where a kid gets ranked internally for athletic recruiting, so these applicants should hold their cards pretty close to the vest.
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It’s a marketing organization. It allows them to share venue costs, and it makes it easier for everyone to attend events. Prospective families can commit to one afternoon or evening and see 10 schools. The schools benefit because the kid who is interested in School A might stop at School B’s table and decide it is also of interest. In some markets, the number of families interested in BS may not be huge, so it makes much more sense for the schools to have a “super event”. This is a very effective way to solicit inquiries.
Colleges do this as well. But it doesn’t mean they are in cahoots on admissions.
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Regarding lax_girl’s comment about the Ten School Admission Association, I have always had the same feeling. One good reason for their partnership would be to know which of their applicants are applying to which other top private schools.
I would be very surprised if they don’t have complete access to each other’s applicant lists. What purpose would it serve any of them if a strong candidate was accepted to all or most of the ten schools? It would really improve their admission processes if they could work together to select applicants.
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I am sure they would like to do that, but can not as it would be illegal/risk legal action, is my understanding. I would be absolutely FLOOORED if they shared full lists.
Universities got in trouble a long time ago and were sued under anti-trust laws when they were coordinating financial aid packages. They are well aware of this and I am sure NAIS has all sorts of guidance on how to avoid such issues.
That said, as someone else said, admissions and prep schools are a VERY small world. Of teachers that were at my prep school in my 4 years there, I can name 5 that are current or recently-retired head of independent schools (not all boarding). People talk, chat, compare notes some, but I doubt in any great detail and in hushed tones. And with 1000+ applicants at many schools the odds they talk about you seem slim. I’d be more worried about coaches…
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I’m pretty sure that some of the K-8 feeder schools share this info too. Their job is to get their graduates into elite high schools, and in the ideal situation, they have some sway to talk schools into accepting some kids. And part of that is being honest with the schools about which of their students are likely to actually matriculate there, and which other schools are competing for the top kids.
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yes! and if you are applying to totally different sorts of schools that will raise an eyebrow. They know if a kid is applying to 5 progressive schools like Putney or CSW and 1 more traditional school, that traditional school will very much question why they were added to the list and be kid will enroll… That said, this is all minor in comparison to your grades, interviews etc.
I always thought it was also to see how much the kid actually knows about their applications. A kid who looks frozen and says “Um, I don’t know. My mom gave me a list…” isn’t particularly invested in the process, and doesn’t bode well for being able to navigate through the required independence of boarding school. A kid who at least knows the schools that he’s applying to probably filled out at least SOME of those applications.
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Not necessarily as they have zero idea if said student picked a particular school to apply to for any particular reason. One school may appeal to the student for one reason but not another, and another school appeals for other reasons. So many people here say they apply and accept a school without ever stepping foot on a campus. Some kids do little research. Maybe somethings aren’t as concerning for a student as it is for others. A student’s list of schools is as unique as they are for whatever reason. So whether a school is progressive or conservative or it’s sporty or it’s artistic, different vibes resonate for various reasons for a kid. A school isn’t going to guess as to why another made it on your list.
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Kind of on the opposite end of the spectrum, but when my daughter had her interview with Millbrook, the AO asked what other schools were on her list. She named them and then, during my parent interview, the interviewer asked me if she had a learning challenge or needed special supports because she also had Proctor on her list. Both Millbrook and Proctor offer learning support programs and I guess the interviewer was making sure there was not a special need on our end they should be aware of, but that told me the schools do occasionally try to figure out connections or understand a list from a certain perspective.
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Many students get accepted by multiple GLADCHEMS, Ten Schools whatever. The schools are not comparing one another’s applicant lists.
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I’ve wondered this. With schools concerned about yield, and some yields so high, they can’t be admitting the same students. For instance, Andover and Exeter both have high matriculation rates. It mathematically can’t be possible for them to have a lot of overlap in admits, right?
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I’ve wondered about this as well after reading the results threads. It appears for the most part, that kids are admitted to one and not the other (at least as is reported on here).
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My kid was admitted to both. It happens.
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