Hello, my son is a high school junior at a private school in NJ. It’s a good school but a tier below the top ranked ones (eg Lawrenceville, Pingry, etc) He has generally been happy at the school for the first two years but his brother is currently a PG athlete at a high academic boarding school (and his father was a boarder at one of the HADES schools) which has increased my son’s interest in going away himself. In many ways, we think he would thrive in a boarding school environment— he is friendly, mature, funny and independent and would likely develop strong relationships with teachers and other kids if together 24/7 (he’s especially interested to be surrounded by kids from many different countries/cultures).
But the problem is that he has ADHD, which has negatively impacted his grades (nothing terrible but mostly Bs and some As in subjects that interest him more such as history and English. He also has no APs since he fell a bit short to qualify at his school but he takes several honors level classes, instead), and he recently took the PSAT for the first time and scored poorly (around 1000) without any prep.
So the question is whether he could get into his brother’s school (which we all love) as a repeat junior next year even though it accepts fewer than 25% of applicants and it requires applicants to submit their test scores. Unfortunately, he is not an athlete like his brother, but he is very involved in tech theatre and the debate club at his school, he is entrepreneurial (has his own eBay business where he does quite well — makes much more than at his lifeguarding job ;), and we think his teachers would give him strong recommendations because he is an engaging, happy kid who works hard (when interested in the subject — again, the ADHD can be a problem but he has scored very highly on cognitive tests). We also would be full pay, which I believe helps.
Please share thoughts/experiences about applying as a repeat junior. Is it even possible at a strong school when not an athlete and the academics/testing are also a bit low? In other words, how much might sibling preference, full pay, relatively strong extracurriculars and teacher recs, good interview and personal essays, etc help? He has an interview at the school coming up soon and we are trying to decide whether it’s even worth the time and effort if his grades and test score (we realize he could prep now and retake but not sure with his test anxiety that it will improve much) will make admittance near impossible. Thank you for any thoughts!
From your description of the ADHD and grades, I’m wondering if the brother’s school would be a fit for this student. There are schools that have rigorous academics but also have support for learning differences such as ADHD. And if the ADHD is impacting his grades and test scores, the learing difference support might make a difference that he could carry with him into college and beyond.
Most schools have very few spots for juniors as they fill their classes with 9th and 10th graders. Reclassifying as a junior is fine, but if you’re going to do that, my recommendation is to look at a number of schools and find the right fit. That might be the same school his brother is in, but it might not.
I agree as parent of a son with ADHD who went to boarding school as a repeat junior.
We did the opposite, changing from a highly competitive private day school where he was an A/B student but without any true understanding of the ADHD challenges to a boarding school with far more balance between academic demands and extracurriculars (in his case sports) and supportive environment for kids w ADHD. It made for a much more pleasant school experience.
In my opinion the one trait that correlates with success at “high academic” boarding schools is time management. The one trait kids with ADHD struggle with. If your son isn’t already thriving at a fast pace, juggling many commitments, I would rethink which schools to focus on.
You’re right that your son has many of the attributes (sibling, FP) that would allow his application to go to the front of line if his application ends up in the pile of those the AO wants to admit.
This doesn’t sound like a great fit unless there are learning resources available and the school welcomes different types of learners. (Some BS have a wider range of students than others.) Junior year transfers really need to hit the ground running, and that can be hard for even the best of students who need to figure out what their new school’s expectations are. Students who might not do that aren’t usually admitted. Many junior transfers are those who are athletic recruits and who have been advised by college coaches that they need stronger academics. But those students are also ones who will succeed in college admissions even with a few academic missteps.
There are schools that would likely be a good fit for your son, and it sounds like your family has had enough experience with the BS world that you could do a pretty good assessment of whether the vibe is right at those you visit. I would be wary, though, of picking a school that’s not a good fit simply because his brother is there.
Hi: I think you are consistently hearing the importance of finding the right fit for your son. Changing schools comes with a host of adjustments and boarding school has added components. The competition and expectation at the top schools is high and there are fewer spots in the later grades. You would want to set your son up for success. There are many great boarding schools with more support programs. What schools are you considering? Mercersburg seems to have a large learning support center. Are you open to your children attending different schools?
Unfortunately, without the name of the particular schools involved, it is difficult to assess chances. No need to identify the schools at this point as there would be too much identifying information shared on a public website.
Consider providing a list of schools that you consider to be “high academic boarding schools” in order to generate reader comments about those specific schools. these comments might help as it appears that you are open to school suggestions.
as parent of a son with ADHD who went to boarding school as a repeat junior.