<p>My daughter might go to Exeter summer school this summer. She is in 7th grade. We are using summer as a trial run to see if she would like boarding school as a 9th grader.</p>
<p>Do students who attend summer school and do very well have a higher chance of being admitted to Exeter as a 9th grader? What about if their 7th grade school attendance is spotty? (She missed 3 months of school because we were out of the country. She did the home work at home and turned it in when she returned to school.)</p>
<p>Not the same teachers or coursework. You could ask that the grade report and teacher comments be forwarded to Admissions, but it doesn’t give students an advantage. I had my own daughter attend Access Exeter so she’d be able to make an informed decision about whether she’d enjoy that “life.” She loved it. I would recommend it even if a student was not going to apply to BS.</p>
<p>We have met several current Exeter students who started in the summer program. It gives the school a chance to get to know the applicant somewhat better. However, not all teachers are regular Exeter faculty, it is expensive, there are several hours of homework a night, and the courses are not the same as regular Exeter courses. Be prepared to work very hard there, if this is a prelude to applying for admission.</p>
<p>A second opinion, albeit from Princeton Review since I don’t have time to find the right link on the Exeter site (may be embedded in the PDF of their summer school material):</p>
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<p>The same can be said for Exeter or any of the other schools. It’s not a “look see” opportunity. Many of the summer students who plan to apply to boarding school go on to matriculate to other programs or return to their local schools. If anything, it allows the accepting school to see that the student has already gone through a dorm and/or homesickness adjustment. But it’s not a competitive advantage, many of the teachers aren’t there during the normal term and the course load is no where near the same level as regular term courses.</p>
<p>Yes, some students go on to become Exeter students but they would have been admitted anyway on the strength of their application. So go because it’s a fun opportunity to take boarding schools for a test drive (my D had a blast and had to be dragged home kicking and screaming), or because your child wants a different experience than what is available at home. But if the sole goal is leverage with Admissions, then summer school will prove to be a waste of money better reserved for tuition payments down the road.</p>
<p>My son went to the Exeter summer program-and it was a VERY positive experience for him. The financial aid was also very good.</p>
<p>We’ll know on March 10 if helped with admissions. My sense is that it may help more at other schools than at Exeter itself. Exeter is so selective they can bet on “sure thing” candidates. If you have a kid who simply doesn’t fit their traditional profile, I think it might make more of a difference.</p>
<p>For my son, Access Exeter literally opened the world to him. We live in rural Washington-and it was his first taste of real independence.</p>
<p>Yep - Highlander, that was the general consensus when we made the interview rounds. Once other schools heard “D” had done the summer program, they didn’t have to wonder about her ability to adjust to campus life. </p>
<p>As for Exeter, even if someone who attended the summer program gets into Exeter, the summer experience has absolutely, positively no bearing on Admissions decisions. They would have gotten in without it. It’s based on the strength of the application. And the reason why I’m saying that as loud as I can on this thread is for everyone that posts here, there are thousands who simply lurk CC for information (I did before my D decided to apply). Giving the impression that going to a Exeter’s summer school will give a student an edge will result in thousands of applicants chasing a false premise and will edge out the summer students who really want to be there for the right reasons.</p>
<p>It is what it is - a way for students to “taste” BS life, to have a different experience than they could get at home, and to broaden horizons. Unless something has drastically changed, at one point Exeter actually published a note saying summer school doesn’t help students get into Exeter and if I ever run across it, I’ll post it here in bold letters.</p>
<p>Go for the experience (my D loved it), not for the perceived insider advantage (because there is none.)</p>
<p>Just heard from Exeter! Our D did not attend Exeter summer school but she did attend the CTY program during the previous summer and it helped her confidence that she can enjoy the BS experience. It came up in the Exeter interviewing process. A focused science or writing program in the summer will look better than a “general” Access Exeter program.</p>
<p>@Exetermum
Actually the ACCESS EXETER program does have specific (6 I believe) clusters with a specific theme. Each cluster is composed of three classes that are centered around this theme. For example, I was in the Global Community Cluster, which consisted of: Foreign Languages, World’s Literature, and Contemporary Global Issues.</p>
<p>I would like to reiterate, as a student who DID attend ACCESS EXETER, that it is not necessarily helpful in regular admissions. I was waitlisted during the regular admissions cycle. </p>
<p>However, if you receive “Honors” in all three of your classes, it will probably be seen in a positive light by the AdCom.</p>
<p>Oh, and ACCESS EXETER is wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. I don’t usually cry on “last days” of anything. But during the last dance on the last night, you could hardly see anybody that wasn’t crying/hugging, including me.</p>
<p>I think its not like it’ll grant you an all access pass, but it definitely won’t hurt (unless you performed poorly), and it will help, just not a lot! :)</p>