Chances on getting into Blair Academy?

Prep School Admissions Prep School Chances
1

<p>I'm an 8th grader looking to apply to Blair Academy for high school. I know it's already January 1, but is there any chance that I might be able to attend freshman year?
Also, please tell me what you think!! Do I have a chance? And does anybody know of any good backup schools? (Sorry this is so long!)</p>

<p>(I've been attending a private quaker school since I was 3. My school is very selective and we have an 8th grade class of 62.)</p>

<p>--Current Grades--
Biology: A-
English: A-
History: A-
Algebra I: A-
Mandarin I: B+
Computers: A
Health: A
Studio Art: A+
Woodshop: A+
Music: A+
P.E: A-</p>

<p>--In-School Clubs/Activities--
Yearbook: Yearbook positions at my school are reserved for freshmen and older, but I was given a position as a photographer in 7th grade and an additional job as photo editor in 8th grade. I was the first middle schooler on record to be accepted onto the staff.</p>

<p>Service Leadership Club: As a member of this club, my peers and I help organize clothing drives, food drives, supply drives, etc. at school.</p>

<p>Science Olympiad Team: I've been a member since 2011, and I've placed in the top 3 out of 20 for 5 out of my 8 events.</p>

<p>--Extracurriculars/Honors--
Pennsylvania and Philadelphia Girls Choirs: I was a member of Pennsylvania Girls Choir from 2007-2011, and a member of Philadelphia Girls Choir since 2012-present. In 2012, during preliminary auditions at the Philadelphia Girls Choir, I was asked to audition for the top performing choir. I got in, and I am the youngest member by 3 years. I'm going on our European tour this summer.</p>

<p>Girl's JV Crew: I'm on a club team, and I was promoted to JV female coxswain a year and a half early as a middle schooler. I was the youngest of 3 promoted athletes this season.</p>

<p>Photography Jobs: I have a job as a photographer at the Perkins Center for the Arts. My photographs are used in their advertisements and open houses. I got this position through an application process.</p>

<p>Newspaper Photographer: I'm also a photographer for the Burlington County Times, and a stand-in for the Courier Post. I also write captions for their photos. I was an 8th grader when I got this job.</p>

<p>Summer Institute for the Gifted and Talented (SIG): I was a day student from 2006-2009, and residential student from 2010-present. I recently completed their Princeton University program. In 2011 at age 11, I was asked out of 200 students to give a speech at closing ceremonies. The CEO of the National Society for the Gifted and Talented was there to listen to my speech, and she personally thanked me afterwards.</p>

<p>--Test Scores--
I recently took the ERBs, and the scores won't be back for a while. I'm confident that I did well. :) If I were to apply, I would take whatever necessary tests to get in.</p>

<p>What do you think? I got a lot of my promotions a year or more early. Do you think that could help me get in? I'm also a good public speaker, so if I were to nail my interview, do you think that could help as well? And how soon do you think I could start attending? (If I were to get in.) Perhaps by freshman year?</p>

<p>Please let me know ASAP! Thanks so much!</p>

2

<p>Wow. That’s a ton of EC’S. You seem likely to get into any school and especially Blair with your grades and your ECs. But, Blair has an acceptance of 29%. So I would suggest some other schools to add to your list, but you better start working now because most schools due date for App. is Jan.15</p>

3

<p>I’d say you’re definitely qualified for Blair! I’m applying there too, so let me know how your interview went! Their AOs are great and the people there are super-friendly (or at least they were to me in particular). One thing, though - you have less than two weeks to get all your recs/essays in! Hustle, hustle!
Another thing is that you’re past their deadline for FA, if that’s an issue. Judging by your ECs (go crew, although my cox is a jerk :P) and the fact that you go to private school I’d say on first glance that you don’t need it, but I can’t rush to judgement!
PM me if you want to talk!</p>

4

<p>I am a parent who is considering sending my son to Blair next year as a sophomore. I am wondering if either of you got in, chose to attend Blair and if so, how do you like it so far this year? We visited Blair last spring and he loved it! We live on the west coast so it will definitely be a challenge for him to be so far from home. He’s a football player and a wrestler so if accepted he would arrive early to practice football. Does it take long to make friends and get acclimated? What do you like most, least? Thanks for your response!</p>

5

<p>Try posting this in a new thread on the parents forum rather than here on the chances forum. You may get better discussion there, although there are not a lot of Blair folks posting. My guess is that those above posters from last year are long gone.</p>

<p>Your child’s impressions will be borne out if he attends. Blair is an incredibly friendly place and they work hard to build a supportive community. So do most boarding schools, of course, but I can speak first hand to the great job Blair does. I can only speak as a parent, but other parents I know and kids I have spoken to are all pleased with what is going on there. </p>

<p>All incoming kids make friends pretty quickly. Again, I think this is true for all schools. Coming early for football will give him a leg up on the process, and at Blair at least the kids are not cliquey, so he will not be stuck in a jock pigeonhole. </p>

<p>Blair has a great website for exploring and getting a taste for things. I posted this somewhere else, but I will put it here again. Take a look at this video from their news feed of their convocation. It is a rather long video, but the headmaster does a great job of laying out what the school strives to be and do. You can skip to the headmaster’s speech starting at about minute 18:15 of the video:
<a href=“http://www.blair.edu/news/item/index.aspx?LinkId=5323&ModuleId=74”>http://www.blair.edu/news/item/index.aspx?LinkId=5323&ModuleId=74&lt;/a&gt; .</p>

<p>Blair admitted 26 new sophomores this year, along with 90 freshmen and a dozen juniors and seniors. My kid knows some new 10th graders and says they have not has a problem fitting in with the returning sophomores. Here is their news feed on the incoming students: <a href=“http://www.blair.edu/news/item/index.aspx?LinkId=5302&ModuleId=30,37,74”>http://www.blair.edu/news/item/index.aspx?LinkId=5302&ModuleId=30,37,74&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I know out of all their students they have only about 10 from the west coast, and they like to build on their geographic diversity, so that might give your son a small advantage in the admissions process. Most kids seem to come from NJ, PA and NY within a few hours of the school.</p>

6

<p>@jensi22 Blair parent here and can give you a very positive review of the school. We too live far from the school and are so delighted with how things have turned out. DC is thriving, happy, has learned so much, grown so much, and has such a bright future ahead. Blair is just amazing. Nice kids, warm community, amazing teachers. We had high expectations and truly our greatest hopes have been exceeded. What an incredible school. We place a very high value on education in our family and feel that this decision was truly worth every penny. Will be happy to answer PM if you have specific questions. Not on the forum as much as I used to be (and typically avoid the ‘chances’ board), but happy to help however I can. Funny enough, it was two Blair parents that even put this school on the radar for us, and I will be eternally thankful to them. Neither are on CC anymore but glad to see that BlairParent has graciously taken up the slack! Don’t let the distance from home stop you. We wouldn’t have traded this experience for DC for anything!</p>