<p>Our son is really keen on getting into one of the top prep schools but he has averaged at the end of 7th grade only with B+'s and one A-. It was a new school for 7th grade and it was 3rd semester before he adjusted and started getting straight A's so that pulled his grades down. Does he have a chance at any of the top high schools</p>
<p>The admissions of most schools already know the caliber of many middle schools. They understand that an A in one town may not necessarily be an equal A in another town. Some public middle schools and certainly private schools are well known for their challenging English, Science or Social Studies departments. Take the ssat early and as often as you like and that should help tell you where he is in relation to others. Understanding the ssat is a whole other thread. It will also tell you where he needs help, if need be. But it’s not all ssat and GPA. Athletics, EC’s and certainly personality play big parts in this whole process. IMO, please don’t limit him to the schools you keep reading about on CC. It is an extremely competitive exercise. It is also hard work for the perceptive admission teams that do their best to build the next incoming class. IMO there should be no such thing as a pressure cooker for 4 years. To me that would mean the kid got in but struggled the entire time. Then again, some kids the admissions, for lack of better words, gamble on and excel incredibly well. Being that the kid never had the opportunities and environment that the boarding school has to offer and totally soak up everything. Sorry for the diatribe but yes he has a chance, everyone has a chance.</p>
<p>He is working hard on SSAT preparations. If he shows steady improvement in grades in 8th grade before we submit applications late in 2010 or beginning of 2011 and he gets very good SSAT scores we hope this will help with his admissions and his 7th grades scores will not be a huge issue.
Do extracurriculars like sports, music and other interests help with admissions?</p>
<p>The extracurricular activities you mentioned do play a role with admissions at all boarding schools. The admission teams are trying to build a class. An Admission officer can be very positive when meeting and speaking with a prospective student with terrific EC’s only to be discouraged later on when receiving their test scores. But, if the admission officer believes the student has the capability, given the chance, to experience an academic epiphany then he will go to bat for him during the selection process. Admin people love telling the tale of the kid they took a chance on and turned out to be the Senior Prefect. Yes, EC’s are important!</p>