<p>I am just wondering how many of you have this experience where your kid went to an interview and the AO interviewer absolutely loves your kid and lobbied him/her to come to their school?</p>
<p>Not to turn this thread into a "chance me" sort. I will simply say that my daughter gets straight A's, (should be) outstanding recommendations, 99% SSAT, plenty of EC's where she was ranked top 10 in New England in one particular popular sport,etc.</p>
<p>But none of these were known to the interviewer at the time. According to my daughter, they just chatted some other "random" stuff. When I got to talk to the AO officer afterwards, I was asked to definitely come to the revisits with all the logistics. My daughter told me later that she got the impression too that they absolutely wanted her in.</p>
<p>So here is my question -- what exactly are prep schools looking for in their applicants? What's the process? Also importantly, what should a parent look for among these boarding schools exactly?</p>
<p>I’m not a parent;I can’t say what a “parent” should look for in boarding schools so I’ll just give my own opinion. </p>
<p>In my opinion, schools are looking for confident -but not arrogant- students who are motivated and have a passion for something. I believe that they definitely scope for that type of thing like if maybe your daughter plays basketball or if they’re apart of some band or something to that effect. It doesn’t have to be anything major, like winning a tournament or being the best in your area -don’t get me wrong though, it is definitely an advantage if it is. I think that they look for a certain passion that your daughter has. For her, it’s probably that sport you said she plays. </p>
<p>However, even if your daughter is dedicated, confident and knows what she’s doing, if she doesn’t have a sort of stable “balanced” personality then that could be a problem.
The admission officer who had a chat with your daughter was trying to get a feel for her and her personality. Credentials aren’t everything, and I’m sure that he/she wanted to see your daughter as a whole -which could be why they just talked about “random” stuff. </p>
<p>It’s really rather simple: They look whether or not your daughter matches the way the boarding school works. They look instinctively whether or not your daughter will be able to excel by going to such an environment. Even if your daughter is perfect in every way, if she doesn’t fit inside the school then what use is it?</p>
<p>A parent should do just the same thing: Try to get a feel whether or not the boarding school fits his/her child. A school could have the best facilities and teachers, but if your child isn’t comfortable and can’t excel then what’s the point? </p>
<p>I’m still young and I made all these assumptions and opinions after visiting the boarding schools. This is my 2nd year I’m applying, because it didn’t work out the first time. I’ve learnt a lot from the application process and this is what I think they look out for. </p>
<p>As for the process, they assess your daughter by interviews and all the other paperwork thats sent to them (recs, essays, grades).</p>
<p>Hope I helped and who knows? Maybe I’ll bump into your daughter one day without realizing it.</p>
<p>What should parents look for? I would say to look closely at the students. Try to interact with them as much as possible (which admittedly, isn’t very much before revisits). You want to get an idea of the culture of the school. I have said that I want my kids to be where they are most comfortable but that’s not entirely true. I want them to be where they feel most normal, where they feel like they can be themselves without reservation. I don’t necessarily want them to be “comfortable.” I want them to struggle a bit and find out what it means to have to work hard for a grade. I want them to feel a little bit of stress - academically, not socially. I really think there are two sides and a lot of people get caught up in all the wonderful academic possibilities, because that is, after all, the main purpose, right? I don’t think so. I’d say the social/EC and academic sides are at least equal. I think it is comforting for a lot of kids to know that they aren’t the only ones passionate about XYZ, or that have read this and that book just for pleasure.<br>
This is why I think looking at the students is probably the most important part. What are they like? Can your child find kindred spirits here? There are a lot of schools that aren’t mentioned often on CC that would fit the kindred spirit part for a lot of kids. It’s a lot easier to take on an independent study when you’ve outstripped your school’s offerings than it is to make friends when you feel like an outcast. </p>
<p>As for interviews…if an AO seems like they really like your child, then it probably means that they really like your child. No more. No less. Decisions are made by committee and when you hear of a candidate that had an over the top interview only to be denied on March 10th, (and you will hear of this because it happens) it doesn’t mean that the AO was being insincere or anything sinister like that. There are a myriad of reason why one kid gets in and another doesn’t and I doubt it has much to do with the “worth” of the kids. I love what Jane Fried said last year, something like “Don’t take an acceptance as an anointing.” There were plenty of kids just as or more “qualified” who didn’t get in. </p>
<p>As for your last question about what the schools are looking for, I dunno, nice, smart, interesting kids that they wouldn’t mind living with for 4 years? And the under water tuba player and whatever other niches they need to fill.</p>
<p>The process? I think that’s a closely guarded secret. ;)</p>