<p>Hi everyone! So after much debate and discussion (trust me, we have been talking about this since I was in 7th grade) my parents and I have finally come to the agreement that I will be applying and hopefully attending a boarding school my junior and senior years. This is exciting for me, because boarding school has always been something I've really wanted to do. The only problem is, my parents have told me they will only pay the large tuition amount for these schools if the school I attend is really really good, and since I am already attending a really great school they want to make sure I am attending a school that is even better than my one now. So basically, in their minds right now there are only about 6-8 schools they would let me go to, but these schools are also (as far as I know) very hard to get into (exeter, andover, deerfield etc). I have good grades, good extracurriculars, and interviewing is something I consider myself to be good at, but I still feel nervous I won't get into to any of these schools, and like I said, I want to go to one of these schools very badly. Are there any boarding schools that maybe aren't as difficult to get into but are still very good schools that I can show my parents?</p>
<p>The elite schools take few new 11th graders, and the new 11th graders are disproportionately int’l. Strategically, it is better to apply for 10th grade at the latest; your chances will be much greater. </p>
<p>Also, junior year is the toughest year, in terms of academic work load-- not the ideal time to be starting a new school when the college placement activities kick off.</p>
<p>@GMTplus7 i’m not worried. but thanks.</p>
<p>Can you tell us a little bit more about you personally? Are you particularly interested in the arts or athletics? Do you have a favorite subject? There are plenty of good schools, but fit can eliminate many of them fairly quickly. Both Loomis and Taft are great schools, with slightly higher admission rates. We could give you more suggestions if you are more specific. Are you looking in a certain region?</p>
<p>I’m not sure what good throwing out names of schools will do. Applications are in and none of the Top 30 have rolling admissions. The bottom of the T30 list is a school with a 35% admit rate. Many kids with the same exact stats (as those applying to the “Top Schools”) WANT TO GO TO THESE SCHOOLS. Are you thinking about next year? </p>
<p>Hang in there and try to stay positive ( I know it’s hard) and see what M10 brings. It will be here before you know it! </p>
<p>I see in the other thread that you are considering Blair. There are a few schools just as well or even better known than Blair, which are not super selective that you can present to your parents. Among the very top schools, Exeter, Lawrenceville and Choate have slightly higher admit rates than Groton, Andover, Deerfield.</p>
<p>I think this person is applying for the 2015-2016 school year and is beginning to think of schools to apply to.</p>
<p>Oh… I see that now. Thank you, needtoboard. You’d be surprised at how many people think they can turn to other schools after being denied M10. </p>
<p>@prepschoolhopes: personally i am interested in the arts, I love painting, pottery and I play the piano. my favorite subject is French. I would like to be on the east coast (nearer to my family), and I would also prefer a larger school. </p>
<p>@photographermom: yes I am planning on applying for 14-15 
this all might be a little far in advance, but I want to make sure I have everything in order well before even starting my applications to reduce the stress! </p>
<p>@benley: really? I had looked at Blair because it is about an hour away from where my grandparents live, and I currently live in Hawaii, meaning no matter where I end up going my immediate family is going to be really far away from me and I thought it would be nice to have some family somewhat nearby. what other schools are you talking about? </p>
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<p>Applications for '14-'15 are done. You meant '15-'16, right?</p>
<p>Off the top my head - Peddie, Hill, SAS in Mid-Atlantic, Taft and Loomis in NE…</p>
<p>@choatiemom oops! yes that’s what I meant sorry</p>
<p>@benley I’ll check those out thank you for your help :)</p>
<p>@potentialborder, my son was also interested in large schools with strong languages & arts, so I would recommend looking at Choate, Milton & Northfield Mount Hermon. I’m assuming that you are already considering Hotchkiss and Andover, but those are the other two “top schools” that he felt were strong in those areas. I won’t get involved in which schools your parents consider to be “good enough” (!!!) but really look at the admissions numbers for 11th grade. Not many schools take juniors in any meaningful quantity, and as somebody else said earlier, it’s a tough year to start. GL!</p>
<p>@GMC2918 thanks for your help! I also am very interested in the sciences, namely psychology and all things genetics. also, I have been feeling pretty worried about the whole “applying to junior year is difficult” thing. I would repeat sophomore year, but I’m already one of the oldest kids in my grade. do you have any sorts of advice on ways to help myself get in? thanks again for your advice!</p>
<p>@potential, most boarding schools typically take only a small number of new 11th graders. The admit rate for 11th grade however is not significantly lower than that for other grades because of a smaller applicant pool for 11th. Still, people believe it’s relatively more difficult to be admitted as a new 11th grader, and applying as a repeating sophomore may give a better chance. That said. it sounds like you and your parents think BS as a “nice-to-have” rather than a “life saver”. In other words, you are JUST giving the best schools a try and if you don’t land one of them you’ll be happy to continue your high school career in your current school. If that’s the case, are you or your parents willing to extend your high school by a whole year? Would your parents be ready to pay the hefty tuition for an additional year? If either answer is no, then you may want to stick with your current plan. And if you want to increase your chance of getting admitted, apply to a few more less selective schools with a decent number of new 11th grade spots. Good luck!</p>
<p>BTW, there are students who are one or two years older than “the norm” in every grade at every boarding school, so don’t worry about the age issue.</p>
<p>@benley I suppose I would be fine at my current school, but I’m trying to do everything I can to go to BS because honestly I hate my school. I am deeply unhappy here and going to boarding school has always been a sort of dream for me. I’m not saying if I go to a boarding school I expect my life there to be perfect and a 1000 times better than my current school, but I definitely feel as though it is the place for me. I will look into possibly repeating sophomore year, what exactly is the procedure for making that happen? thanks for all your help, I really really appreciate it :)</p>
<p>I don’t think there’s a special procedure other than your applying for admission to 10th grade (and be ready to talk about why you want to repeat), but I’m sure there are parents out there whose kids repeated a grade who can help you with more details. </p>
<p>I have a suggestion for you: Concord Academy in MA. Feel like I’m always cheerleading for my son’s school, but it really does seem that it could be a good for fit for you. The arts are extremely well supported, but academics are very challenging, not at all cushy, as they are at some “artsy” schools. The students are very bright, and test scores going in and coming out, and the college matriculation list, are comparable to those of other top New England prep schools. Admit rate is higher (around 30% I think), probably because the athletic program is a bit weaker, and perhaps also because it is only 50% boarding, which means the school is more dependent on local applicants than the other boarding schools around here. The only thing that doesn’t fit you list of preferences is that it’s small - about 100 students per grade. Feel free to PM me if you like. CA is a very accepting, be yourself, come as you are kind of place.</p>
<p>Choate would definitely be a great place to look into if you particularly like the arts. I would second the vote on Hotchkiss, but it is one of the smaller schools. Exeter does take a sizable amount of 11th graders, so you may want to check that out.</p>
<p>@potential: If attending a BS is so important to you as you said, you should start looking to add to your list a few schools with admit rates around 30% or lower (Yes, Concord may be a good choice to you, as well as NMH, St. Georges, etc. in addition to some of those I suggested earlier). Do you need substantial financial aid? If so, it’s even more important to apply to as many schools of varying selectivity as you can handle. </p>