<p>Jonathan – if you really want the boarding experience, I would strongly suggest you apply to some much less selective schools – and, unfortunately, with your grades and SSAT scores, even those will not be a sure bet. Take a look at Conserve, Midland, Asheville, Mercersburg, NMH and Fountain Valley (those are ones I am more familiar with – there are probably tons more)</p>
<p>“I think that if I were in a solid school all my life my SSAT scores would be much higher, and hopefully Andover, St. Paul’s, and Choate will take that into consideration.” – I don’t think this will be taken into consideration. If you were, perhaps, an URM who attended an inner-city ghetto school, they might cut you some slack – but even then, I think they would be looking for higher grades and ssat scores, and there are kids out there that are truly, truly disadvantaged that do score well. I did ask a number of schools about this – and was told that they look at the ssat scores to see if the kids are on par with other students. My son does attend an inner-city ghetto school where the majority (85%) of the kids are URM (he is not) and it is 80% free-lunch, title I, with four armed guards patrolling the hallways due to drugs and violence. I was told that it wouldn’t make a difference in how they looked at SSAT scores.</p>
<p>Attending boarding school isn’t a magic fix – your experiences are what you make of them. your SSAT scores tell me that you are most likely not prepared to flourish in an academically competitive school like Andover/St. Paul’s/Exeter. Your grades in 9th grade tell me that Greenhills is somewhat of a challenge to you academically and that you need to work on applying yourself – and my guess is that the teacher recommendations will say something similiar. </p>
<p>The boarding school admits kids that they think can succeed there and really flourish in their community – and I think that you would be overwhelmed at Andover and St. Paul’s. You are a great kid – but you need a school where you can really shine, not spend your time wondering about other opportunities that might be better.</p>
<p>Personally, I think you need to stay at Greenhills and work on solidifying your academics. It think the combination of a less than ideal middle school, one year at Greenhills and then a switch to another boarding school might just do you in. you seem to be struggling a bit at Greenhills when it comes to academics – which doesn’t bode well for a boarding school, especially since you would have to make another transition.</p>
<p>I would advise you to do this (and this is just me, as a mom with two boys, speaking – I am no expert):</p>
<p>Look for 2-3 boarding schools that you feel are a good solid match and aren’t the top 10-15. Ones where you like the community feel, the class offerings, etc. Apply there for next year as a repeat 9th grader.</p>
<p>If you aren’t accepted, stay at Greenhills and really ramp up your academic work. All the ECs in the world won’t overcome poor grades.</p>
<p>Apply to study abroad or to a UWC after junior year – this gives you a great experience, a plus for college apps and solidifies fluency in a language.</p>
<p>I wish the best for you! No matter the outcome of this spring’s applications, I know you will make something of yourself.</p>