<p>My child is a freshman at a prep school. He is doing well so far. Mostly As even in his area of weakness, LA. He gets academic support in that area, basically 5 kids in the class and less stringent grading than kids in normal LA class. That is probably helping him with 3.95 GPA. I must admit this is pleasant surprise. School said he is one of the only 9 kids out of 120 with all As. I asked them if the curriculum is on par with other prep schools and public schools. They tell me absolutely yes. Fine. And the school offers nothing more than 5 sports and no clubs. My son is far from athletically inclined. I asked advisor about community service opportunities and he said, they have a couple and I scratched my head at being told one of them is cleaning horse shoes. I am wondering if the school is a good fit going forward. The lack of opportunities concerns me. My son wants to become an engineer and they have nothing related to STEM outside classes. On top of that this kid has no real desire to take initiative and do something such as start a club. We didn't apply to any of the competitive school because of weakness in LA and also he didn't test well in SSAT. So, while I am unsure about this school, especially since we are full pay, it is too late to think of applying other prep schools as he hasn't taken the SSAT again. I am considering public school again. I hate the idea because of the class sizes and negative experience in the past. But I feel like at his current school he isn't doing much besides classes and getting good grades. Lack of opportunities is a major concern. What should I consider doing? Thanks.</p>
<p>I think it is fantastic that he is doing well at his current school. Don’t underestimate the huge benefit of the small class sizes, especially in his area of weakness, LA. Opportunities can be found in any school - sometimes it’s as simple as trying something new (a sport?) and growing by stepping out of his comfort zone, and pushing himself in a different way.</p>
<p>I believe high school should be about so much more than an unrelenting treadmill of more and harder classes, endless ECs, and a constant focus on building a resume for college applications. It should be a time to GROW - academically, socially, physically - to try new things, and to learn from failure as well as success.</p>
<p>And as far as opportunities go - there may be more opportunities for him to pursue the things that interest him than he realizes. Perhaps there is a science or math teacher at school that could serve as a mentor, or he might find that there are other students that share his interests. One of the most important “learning experiences” he can have in high school is to discover that sometimes, HE must take the initiative to gain what he wants in life.</p>
<p>Consider summer and spring break opportunities. Research experience (he likes STEM), including his local university, and/or community service/travel programs. See the summer opportunities thread. I agree, it sounds like he is very successful at his current school and the rest can be coordinated during his free time to supplement.</p>
<p>@mountainhiker: Sports are the last thing on his mind. He played tennis this year because he didn’t like any other Sports required for 1 period. I am thinking how to help him along in getting out if his comfort zone. I am hoping he will find that one activity he could concentrate on and grow with it. Certainly I am not going to push him into AP classes and ECs for college admissions. He isn’t the type who likes that kind of stuff. At this time, all I get is a roll of the eyes when I talk about what he should be ready to do to realize the dream of going to school offering Engineering.</p>
<p>@2prepMom: I am looking around for summer opportunities. One idea to do over summer is take a Pre-Calculus class for credit. With the time left, he may wish to go to a summer program to learn about careers in Engineering. I like the community service/travel programs such as those offered by Putney travel. However, I hear college admissions offices now frown upon something like that. I would like him to pick his own and follow through the rest of the 4 years at high school so that he is acting on something that interests him, rather than just do it over the summer to look good on college applications.</p>
<p>Re: Summer travel/community service on college apps.</p>
<p>My older daughter did Rustic Pathways for the last 3 high school summers (Australia, New Zealand). She loved it, and used her Australian teaching experience in her college essays. Worked out well for her, she was admitted to the program of her choice (in early childhood education). </p>
<p>The good travel/community service programs like Rustic Pathways are mind-numbingly expensive. However she would not have had the organizational power to devise or organize her own summer program at home, did not want to do anything “academic”, and being part of a well organized and well supervised summer program beat hanging out at home alone watching TV or worse. She enjoyed the leadership opportunity, found success, and grew immensely in confidence and perspective. Can’t complain about the cost for all that. </p>
<p>I think what matters is doing SOMETHING valuable that contributes to personal growth over the summer, whether it is extra coursework, a job (great idea if you can find or make one), sports camp, community service or a travel program.</p>
<p>@pcotten,
</p>
<p>If you want to apply to another prep school, it is late but it is not too late. </p>
<p>Our family did not make the decision to apply until Xmas time. Then it was an insane, exhausting rush for our S to take the January SSAT w 2 week’s notice, interview, write essays, get teachers recs. Because of his late registration for the SSAT, he could only register as a standby SSAT taker, so we were not sure on the morning of the test whether he would even be able to take it. </p>
<p>In the end, DS did make the application deadline-- all this was done without a consultant and done from overseas. In the end he did have good admissions results and is happily enrolled in a selective prep school.</p>
<p>If you have not yet reached a decision on whether to apply to another school during this admissions cycle, you might want to register for the Jan SSAT anyway, just to preserve the option.</p>