I really want to go to private school, it is in the town that i live in, Williston Northampton School. is there anything that i can do to convince them into letting me go for my junior and senior years of high school? I’m an A student with a B+ in APUSH.
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What is your budget? Do you know whether your parents could afford this?
Why do you want to attend a private school?
Would you be a day student?
If so, then maybe their reservations are about tuition? Maybe set some time aside and show them the brochure about Williston and what you prefer about it over your current school and then point out their financial aid stats. Maybe posit it like “Can you take a look at something I want to show you? I understand that it might now be possible, but it’s something I’m excited about and want to share with you.”
If that goes well, ask them if it would be ok to schedule a tour and reiterate “I know it might not work out, and I’m ok with that as long as we tried.” Sometimes parental resistance comes from not wanting to be the roadblock/cause of their child’s disappointment.
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One thing that I thought I might add. You can get into a highly ranked university from a very average public high school. Among my family and friends we have lots of examples of people who did exactly that (including me). If instead you attend a “top 150” university for your bachelor’s degree, there is still the possibility of attending a highly ranked university for a graduate degree (and yes I know people who did this also).
It sounds like you are doing very well at your current high school. There is a high probability that you would be better off in the long run to stay where you are, work hard, keep ahead in your course work, and do well where you are.
In terms of ECs I like the “Applying Sideways” blog on the MIT admissions web site. As I understand it, the blog recommends that you do what you want to do and what is right for you, and whatever you do you should do it very well. This is exactly what I did in high school and it did work out for me (but I did it at a relatively mediocre public high school).
Which is why I asked you why you wanted to attend a different high school.
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ill definitely give this a try, plus my cousin attend there right now, so i might try and use that as a way of persuading him into letting me apply.
i want to attend a different high school, mainly because i want a better experience during my high school years, i know that many people say that the years they went to high school were the most fun years of their life, and i just feel like my current high school isnt the most fun. we have a limited selection of clubs, most of the people are boring, my school is not very diverse, and i just want to have more fun. I have a cousin that is currently attending Williston Northampton, and he always tells me about what hes doing at school. and it all seems more fun than my current high school. they also have a better way of learning their in my opinion. students work together and collabrate with one another after school while doing their homework. I also want to att
my budget isnt good, which is why i think that my parents cant let me go. i know that with the help of my uncle they can definitely afford it. do you have any information on how much money in financial aid private schools give?
Don’t guess call:…
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As an adult it’s hard to ask another adult for money, even a brother (unless it was life or death of course). I know it might sound strange. I think just be totally up front and let them know you understand the financial aid might not work out but you want to give it a try. Maybe expand to other schools to increase your chances of FA, although you will have to board. Good luck! You should like a nice kid.
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I just choked on my water when I read those tuition rates 
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I completely understand wanting to switch high schools BUT if tuition is going to be a struggle it means that college tuition will also be a concern. Think long and hard about making the best out of the next two years and then having a bit more leeway when choosing a college.
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One single B+ is not going to significantly impact your university applications. If you are mostly an A student, then you are very likely to have the options of attending some very good universities. This suggests that you will want to save money for university.
I think that this is relatively rare. High school is more of a drag for a lot of students. Straight A or near straight A students will frequently meet a lot more people who are “like them” after they get to university.
I will admit that the best years of my life have been the years since I met my wife, which happened quite a bit later than high school.
“Fun” is not usually the reason to attend an academically very demanding private high school.
Yes. I think that this is a very important issue. I also was a bit shocked when I saw the tuition rates at Williston Northampton School. You should also be aware that a high school that is this expensive is going to be full of rich kids, and some of them may look down upon anyone who is not rich.
To me it sounds like you are doing well at your current high school. My personal opinion is that you should be thinking about what sort of college or university makes the most sense for you, and you and your parents (and possibly your uncle) should be saving money for university. Sometimes patience helps you get to where you want to be in life.
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ok i may just be patient and stay at my current school. i also wanted to add that my current high school doesn’t offer a lot of AP courses, they only offer 4 AP in total, so i also want to go for the rigorous courses, because i know that students in williston can take all AP courses in 11th and 12th grade and they have a wide selection do you know if colleges consider how may challenging courses you take? and if ill be at a disadvantage during my admissions process when im applying. also my dad has stated that he wants to send me to williston for atleast one year.
My understanding is that colleges look at your application in context of you school’s profile.
If your school only offers 4 AP courses and you take all 4, that is more impressive than taking only 4 AP courses at a school that offers 12 AP courses.
Many prep schools offer 0 AP courses.
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You will not be at a disadvantage based on the courses your school offers. In fact, the more higher-level courses your school offers, the more highly selective schools will expect you to take.
What you can do if you decide to stay at your current school is take a couple of AP classes or even just Coursera courses outside of school. It will show that you went above and beyond what was offered and found a way to explore interests your school didn’t offer an opportunity to study. Showcases intellectual curiosity/vitality.
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You’ve been given some good advice here. It sounds like your parents are supportive of the idea but may be struggle with the financial commitment. It can be hard to justify paying tuition when there is a free, public option.
I’d think through what Williston can provide that your current school cannot. One of the main reasons people choose private schools over their public option is that it provides something their public option does not. This could be the flexibilty to pursue a sport at an elite level (because the private school is willing to be more lenient about time off and better able to provide “make-up” support.) This could be different learning resources - perhaps to accommodate an LD, to allow very advance work, or more individualization. It could be because of a school’s values or ethos or community. Or it could be, particularly for boarders, that it makes possible in terms of activities what cannot be achieved at your home.
Schools also can be generous with FA, so it’s worth having this discussion with them. Some work very hard to take local kids as part of their community relations and will give scholarships for this. Williston has a pretty big day population, so may not “need” day students as much, but you should ask. Williston isn’t super diverse, so if you are in a demographic they don’t have, you might have a better shot at FA. Schools also get excited about students who bring something to their community they don’t have, such as high level performance in sports, music, or academics. This is all to say that if you are a student who can bring something highly desirable to them and have the need, you could find your tuition highly subsidized.
But you first need to articulate why you want to go and what you can bring to their community.
The good news is that if this doesn’t work out, you can probably use this exercise to figure out how to enrich your current situation. And that’s not a bad place to end up!
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I want to go to Williston because of the classes and EC’s they offer, and because of the college prep environment they have with the multi-building campus. I also want to go to Williston because of the teachers. I feel like a good amount of teachers do not care of their students, and don’t give enough support when necessary.
I am Indian, and i was born in India, I’m a pretty serious person, not necessarily humorous but i joke when it is the right time to. I feel like I’m an understandable person who people can like if they get to know me. I know a fair amount of kids at Williston in 10th and 11th grade. I have good grades, I get 90’s in academics, and I play baseball and am interested in EC’s i’m only in student council at my current schools because they only offer like 8. I would love to try out other sports such as basketball or football again(i play one year of football. I did play trombone for a year but i quit, and now i want to get back into music but its too late i think.
Please please please - at your age, do not think it is too late for anything. Something might require you to prioritize differently or to devote extra effort and possibly instruction, but if you want to pursue something, do it.
I think you should apply to Williston AND have a very honest conversation about the financial limitations with your family. If dollars saved for college are spent on this, you may have to make different decisions in a couple of years for college. Fwiw, there are many families who choose to spend on high school, figuring that a better prepared student can make more of whatever those college options may be with a more limited budget. But you need to be convinced that you will be so much better prepared with private school that it is worth it. This is not a given!
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I can understand wanting to switch high schools if it isn’t a good fit. Are there any other high schools in your area that aren’t as expensive as the one you are talking about.