Choosing which schools to apply to, and whether you need BS

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>I'm just going to cut to the chase here, because I sometimes DRAG my posts to be very long.
So I've FINALLY whittled down the schools I want to apply to. Initially, I had a very long list. I decided against Groton (They didn't have the programs I wanted) and Milton (what's up with only having 9th, 10th and 11th grade?? ) and I just don't really like Choate (please don't rag on me. I have my own reasons, some of which I'm not willing to share (personal reasons.))</p>

<p>Anyway, here they are--Andover, Cate, Exeter, Blair, Hotchkiss and Deerfield.</p>

<p>I was going to decide against Hotchkiss because they don't have a such a great film program (Andover, Cate and Exeter have extensive ones.) but they have an AMAZING graphical design program. I don't know if anyone else is interested in this stuff at my age, haha but it's comforting to know there might be hope! I'm not sure why I'm applying to Deerfield though. Haven't looked at the course catalog yet, so crossing my fingers it could be for me! (And yes, I've procrastinated on this part. But hey, it's summer!)</p>

<p>But now, I've been second guessing myself. Do I really need to apply to Blair, Hotchkiss, or Deerfield? Do I want to go there? I don't want to get my list too long. Then again, there are also great schools I would like to go to, like Emma Willard, St. Andrew's, and Milton. (aside from that funky no-12th grade thing...)</p>

<p>I've been thinking about net size. I definitely like my school here where I live, but the people there aren't the type of crowd I would like to hang out with. That crowd would be intellectual people willing to actually discuss english and books during free periods-- not asking me for the answers. But is BS worth leaving your family early, homesickness, and all that money?</p>

<p>I'm still going to apply, and I would love to get in. I feel like the experience would be beneficial for me, and I would be a good fit in the community. I want others to mull over this thread too. Many think BS is a dream experience, but for some it's not. Some go too quickly into this process and I want to make sure I'm doing the right thing, and that YOU are too.
But here I pose questions to you:</p>

<p>What BS are you choosing to apply to?
How did you choose?
Do you have a safety back home?
What advice do you have for me?</p>

2

<p>Which funky no 12th grade thing?</p>

3

<p>I don’t know, but on the website, it only had boarding options for 9, 10 and 11th grade.</p>

4

<p>It should be a K-12 school. Perhaps they just don’t allow people to apply for senior year?</p>

5

<p>Oh. I’m not sure, haha. Well, in that case, maybe… I’m trying not to cast my net wider than 7-8 schools.</p>

6

<p>EnemyOfTheSun is right. Milton is a K-12 school. They just don’t accept applications for new 12th graders.</p>

7

<p>whoops, my bad :o thanks for the clarification :p</p>

8

<p>I’m applying to Concord and Choate. I would like to be a writer (and, by the way, I do some things with film and graphics on the side as a hobby, so, yes, there are other people who like that kinda thing)! I might apply to Milton, still considering.
I don’t know if this is TOO small of a net though. Personally, I think that six schools is too many, but applying to possibly only three, all with below 30% acceptance rate?
Does anyone know of another school in NE with LOTS of English courses (the #1 reason that I adore the above schools)? That’d be appreciated. </p>

<p>And I don’t think you should apply to the school unless you absolutely love it. I was going to apply to NMH, but their average SAT scores are lower then my own public high school’s, so that’s a bit pointless.</p>

9

<p>I currently attend a boarding school but when I was applying I looked at 10 schools and applied to 9. I would say to apply only to the schools that you really want to attend. Maybe add one (or at most two) that you are unsure about but ask yourself if it came down to that school or your local option, would you be excited to attend? If you are applying for financial aid then you MUST cast a wider net and do more research into schools with more than a 25% acceptance rate, nothing is guaranteed even if your family can swing the cost of tuition so it’s probably best to have a couple of “safer” schools (just in case). Blair would be a good school but it’s still highly selective with only 30% receiving acceptance letters. </p>

<p>I personally didn’t have safety school back home so casting a wider net was essential. My decision of which school to attend was purely a financial one. From personal experience, I would discourage applicants from having a first choice school, as hard as it may be, in order to reduce possible disappointment in March.</p>

<p>It’s good to look for schools that have specialized programs and extensive course offerings but realize that you will not be able to fit many elective classes into your schedule at boarding school. I believe most boarding school students typically have a schedule consisting of five courses (six at some schools for honor students). Your schedule will almost always have a math, English, and foreign language course each year along with a science/history or both depending on your year. Add arts requirements, religion requirements (depending on the school), and other required courses and the room to undertake certain specific programs is reduced quite a bit.</p>

<p>Good luck and don’t forget to do some extensive research on the schools you’re considering!</p>