<p>I'm just curious as to how it differs from boarding schools. DS applying to prep day school (only applying to ONE school because we had always thought we would homeschool through high school, but my son and our family fell in love with this school and it's the ONLY school we would consider not homeschooling for):</p>
<p>Homeschooled all his life/ co-op for three years
Incoming Freshman for 2014-15 school year
GPA this year so far is over 4.0 (around a 4.2)
SSAT twice - first time overall 84th percentile, second time 91st percentile
Active soccer player - really good, potentially excellent player (MVP a few times)
ECs are great but not TOO much - piano, theater, film, skiing
Community service involvement is excellent
Has had summer jobs every year since he was 8 years old
Previous two year standardized test results in 97th and 99th percentile respectively
Great interview, stellar recommendations, pretty good essays
EXCELLENT school report from co-op teacher
FA need 90 - 100% (unfortunately)
Only real "hook" is that he is Hispanic (though non-Hispanic name) in a 99.999% white region, and the school has a very small percentage of minorities represented</p>
<p>School can only accept about 10% of applicants based on spaces available vs students applying.</p>
<p>Based on all of your experiences, what do you think his chances are of getting accepted? </p>
<p>I should probably mention that we have a few distant familial connections to the school, and all the staff recognizes our son on a first-name basis whenever we've gone on campus.</p>
<p>nobody on this board can answer your question, you will have to wait for the Admission committee decision. Based on what you posted, do you really need someone to answer your question. These “chance me” questions usually come from teenagers. Come on, Really? You can always go to a fortune teller.</p>
<p>Ok, well, that wasn’t very nice. I’ve been reading posts on this board for the longest time and there are MANY times where parents ask what the chances are for their kids. I know we won’t know until we hear from Admissions. My question was more based on the info I gave, if he seemed like a strong candidate to get in. Obviously, at the end of the day, no one knows for sure. My question was more how his chances STOOD to get accepted, not, “Magic 8 ball, will my kid get into XYZ School?” but thanks for your willingness to reply, even if it was to make me feel bad for posting in the first place…</p>
<p>I don’t think the process or chances differ for day schools.</p>
<p>You’ll need to provide more info about the school before anyone can give you a reasonable answer. For example, average SSAT score, etc.</p>
<p>When you say “School can only accept about 10% of applicants based on spaces available vs students applying,” do you literally mean the admittance rate is 10%? Or do you mean that the number of open spots is 10% of the number of applicants? If the latter, keep in mind that schools will admit significantly more students than open spots, because they’re not all going to enroll.</p>
<p>I apologize for making you feel bad that wasn’t my intention. I have been through the process and I am amazed at how many people think the process is so objective- here is my list what do you think? In reality, those statistics are only part of the equation. Home schooled kids outperform private school and public school students. The acceptance to day school may be a little easier because the school will not have 24 hour custody thus they do not need to scrutinize as closely. Boarding schools take on a tremendous responsibility when they accept a child because they are accepting a huge responsibility.
I apologize for letting my sarcasm come across so strongly. Many people get caught up in a false sense that what people say about their posted stats is going to make a difference and it won’t. When the rejection letters start to arrive, the fall is harder than it ever needs to be. Take the approach that you have done your best, it is now out of your hands and let the chips fall where they may. It will not be the end of the world if you child does not get accepted- come up with an alternative plan and talk about it. The end of the world is not coming on the 10th of March. Good luck.</p>
<p>Thanks, Photodad. Sadly, I haven’t been able to find average SSAT scores for this school, but I’m to understand that my son’s original 84th percentile score was considered “high,” and from what I’ve heard, they average around 65th to 75th percentile for admissions. They are NOT a needs-blind school, so the need for FA will affect my son’s chances in getting in. All the info we have for this school is basically that they value a well-rounded student, so grades and SSAT aren’t the only thing they look at (like most of these schools), but because it’s a rigorous academics program, they use grades and SSAT to determine whether or not the student will be a good academic fit to the school.</p>
<p>I wish I had more information to go by, but because it’s a very small school, there really isn’t a whole lot to find out there. I’ve been scouring and scouring the internet to try to appease our family’s curiosity concerning what my son’s chances are, but to no avail - which is why I turned to this board :)</p>
<p>And you are 100% correct - the number of open spots is 10% of the number of applicants, not that they have a 10% admittance rate! LOL! You can tell I’m new at all of this, right? :)</p>
<p>Thanks SO much for your kind words, firstgenbsp112 :). The truth is we always expected to homeschool our son through high school and only began the process of looking at schools because we had never been encouraged by the possibility. This school just amazed us, but the sticker shock of tuition as well as the small number of spots available quickly deflated our hopes. Our son is very happy continuing homeschooling and at our co-op, so that would be our second and only choice. The main reason we opted to go through the VERY rigorous process of applying to this particular school was the fact that the school impressed us so much and our son fell in love with it. Otherwise, we would’ve continued to do what we’ve been doing. The truth is, YES, we will be disappointed if he doesn’t get in. We feel he’s a strong candidate and should do really well. But we truly, truly have NO idea what his chances are at getting in because there is virtually zero information out there for this school.</p>
<p>I really do appreciate your words. I just wanted to know, based on what you guys see coming through here for boarding schools, if with his qualifications he would be considered a strong candidate. What you said makes perfect sense, and I do see how people might use this board to give themselves a false sense of security. I know our chances are slim because of the huge need for FA, but I didn’t know if based on my son’s qualifications and people’s personal experiences, he could hold his own in the admissions process ;)</p>
<p>I’ll be sure to post after we hear in March :)</p>
<p>OOPS! I meant to say that this school doesn’t only look at SSAT and grades, which is what I’ve heard of most of the boarding/prep schools on here - that they’re only part of the picture, not the whole thing. I think my post made it sound like I meant that the other prep/boarding schools ONLY look at grades and test scores, but I meant the opposite - that most schools DON’T only look at grades and test scores!</p>