Changing School

Prep School Admissions Prep School Parents
1

<p>My son attends a not-so-selective prep school (freshman now). He has had issues with Learning difficulties in Language Arts. He is making great strides there. He is doing extremely well in STEM area. One problem I see with this school is that they don’t have many EC opportunities or honors/AP classes. They have sports and my son doesn’t care for sports, even though he plays tennis to comply with an hour of sports per day requirement they have. He doesn’t play it competitively. They also don’t have any honors or AP classes for non-juniors. He has no ECs this year and has a 10 hour Community service requirement. I am beginning to think he might be short changed in this school in terms of academic and non-academic opportunities. I have no intention of pushing him to take dozen AP classes. I don’t want him to join the rat race of APs, ECs, etc. If he takes APs in Physics, Chemistry and Calculus, I will be happy and no more is needed. I encourage him to pick an activity of his choice and pursue it and hopefully it will grow into a passion. </p>

<p>No expectation of any Ivies in future. I do want him to be challenged. He has the promise but I don’t think the current school is giving him enough choices or opportunities. He will be a Sophomore in the Fall. It is obviously too late to apply for admission for Fall 2013. I am thinking of letting him finish Sophomore year at the current school and sending him to a more selective school that offers him opportunities and challenges in Junior year (Fall 2014). That does not mean any of the top schools like Andover, Exeter, etc. He just won’t fit there on many levels. He is also very shy and doesn’t often speak up in class. But the current teachers rave about his class work, grades and willingness to work hard. How feasible is it for him to get admission as a junior? I am open to him repeating Sophomore year as well. While he is 15, he tends to act a couple years younger and could use some maturing time. He will be spending this summer taking Honors Algebra II and also prepping for SSAT. What do you folks think? I would think schools don’t typically have many places in Junior year compared to freshman year. Is it feasible?</p>

2

<p>This is where I think you want to talk to an educational consultant. Have you identified some schools that you think will offer more?</p>

3

<p>Its hard to opine without knowing what school he attends and the exact range of offerings. However, if it was my child, I would have him do something else in the summer besides taking a math class, something that would broaden his interests or help him discover new passions. Personally, I think that will help him more in terms of college as you don’t want him to come off as one dimensional.</p>

<p>I also believe that kids need a break from academics for a little while. Freshman year tends to be a little easier and workload and expectations usually pick up during 10th and 11th grade.</p>

4

<p>A few thoughts:</p>

<p>There are fewer openings for higher grades but there are also fewer applicants.</p>

<p>If you are full pay, some schools still do have openings for the coming year. </p>

<p>Discuss repeating with the schools.</p>

<p>If you can afford a consultant your situation might be a case where you reap a great benefit. (I don’t have any personal experience using a consultant.)</p>