<p>
[quote]
but it sounds to me if a 9th grader is only taking Algebra I, isn't that an academic deficiency? I thought top tier BS's only accept students of exceptional aptitude who are very well prepared.
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That is NOT true. It is not a negative to be "only" in A1 - even if the school offers Geometry for 9th graders. Math is something that all schools - even the "top tier" schools recognize that not everyone will excel at. I know more than one person who was accepted at a "top" school that was in A1 in 9th grade (and yes, Geo WAS offered at their school). The key was that they were going their personal best in that class.<br>
If the schools all wanted 99%, A++ Math Wizzes, they could fill every spot with them. It would be worse to be in Geo and not applying yourself.</p>
<p>Linda S, the context of that comment was that when I thought I heard that having to take A1 was THE reason that someone should be accepted as a repeater. But I see your point and agree that the school would want a "well-rounded class" not just one type of talents.</p>
<p>My daughter is a senior this year and just turned 18. She did not repeat a year when she went to boarding school. Her best friend did repeat and will be 19 in a couple of months.
Her room mate who is a senior will turn 17 this week. I think you will find a broad sprectrum of ages within a grade and your child will find a place where he fits in.</p>
<p>Quote:
"but it sounds to me if a 9th grader is only taking Algebra I, isn't that an academic deficiency? I thought top tier BS's only accept students of exceptional aptitude who are very well prepared. "</p>
<p>My child's school is a K-8 public- there is no option for taking Algebra I in 8th grade. She is gifted, skipped a grade and is of exceptional aptitude- math included. But she will not have had Algebra I when she enters BS.</p>
<p>My son repeated third grade and now is a 16 year old sophomore at bs - was 15 as a freshman. I am so happy we repeated him; he is still relatively small and definitely still maturing. There are plenty of kids his age and there are many younger, but it does not seem to make any difference except to the individual. For my son - and many other boys I know - another year to mature makes all the difference in the world. Just my two cents!</p>
<p>And my daughter had finished A1, geo, and A2 before she applied - yes in 8th grade - but her math placement test put her back down in geo. You can't really go by class levels, some of them don't translate to "Exeter math" or "Deerfield math" or whatever. They also had some difficulty in finding the proper placement for her in her foreign language because she was advanced in some areas and deficient in others. They ended up placing her in a higher level where she was definitely challenged and is still working to fill in the gaps.</p>
<p>She also has the same experience to relate concerning classmates ages. The ages vary within approximately 2 years within the class. So there are a lot of kids doing a lot of different things.</p>
<p>Don't put too much into this repeating issue. The fact of the matter is, it's right for some kids and not for others. Boarding schools don't penalize kids who repeat but they are not going to fill a whole class with them, just like they won't fill a class with underwater tuba players. </p>
<p>If you feel strongly that a child that is repeating has an advantage over yours who is not, then wait and have your child repeat. My guess is that it is not going to make that much of a difference.</p>
<p>BS ages range between 13 and 20! My son turned 15 one month into freshman year and he was never held back. August 31 is the cutoff for our local school, so he was a late starter. He was the 2nd oldest of his 8th grade class and the 2nd smallest. Go figure!</p>
<p>So it sounds that there are many benefits to hold a child back for a year for boarding schools. Are there any negatives? I assume that kids always compete with each other within their grade (9-12) academically. How does it work in terms of sports? Is there a limit on how many years one can play on a sports team (as is the case for college)?</p>
<p>Just ask Jimmy Clausen the 20 year old sophomore QB at Notre Dame. He hasn't used a redshirt year in college....yet. His father held him back for sports..and he still isn't D1 material.:)
But he is on a FULL sports scholarship at a D1 school. He went to a D11 HS in LA and boy did they run up the passing yards stats with those laterals and Wendell Tyler's son running the ball for him, and ND bit hook line and sinker.</p>
<p>Hats off to a local top 3 BS adcom. Over the years I've seen them offer "direct to 10th grade" admissions and "repeat 9th" admissions to just the right students. Usually based on maturity. They are amazing at seeing what parents sometimes do not. Your kid is very bright and motivated, but needs a year to mature. What better place to gain that year then at a top rated boarding school.</p>
<p>quote "I assume that kids always compete with each other within their grade (9-12) academically. How does it work in terms of sports?"</p>
<p>At boarding school, due to the many levels of classes and teams, students generally are not locked into competing within the grade only, particularly in Math or Science. Schools usually have sort of "equalizer" classes in freshman year (deadly boring for the brightest kids) but after that each subject is offered in varying levels* (I know of one Boarding school that has 5 different levels of Chemistry). Similarly, team levels are sorted by ability, not grade.</p>
<ul>
<li>exemption. DA has canceled "AP" English classes and teaches all Junior year English at the AP Level. They assume that all their student are AP students.</li>
</ul>
<p>Would the schools recommend some kids to apply as a repeater next year, or would they admit you in the 10th grade even if you have applied as a 9th grade repeater?</p>