<p>I've only been to a boarding school once in my life, and that was in 9th grade. (I studied this year in a public high school nearby. My parents had financial issues)</p>
<p>My boarding school was in Sweden, and pretty expensive. But there were no application processes whatsoever, or entry exams, or anything that selected students. Your parents only had to be filthy rich and voil</p>
<p>Take the SSAT, Have an Interview, Send in grades, Get Recommendations from teachers. Yes, you can repeat. Some BS may still be willing to talk to FP students, but I doubt Blair or Peddie will. I’m not certain on that though.</p>
<p>Blair is a great boarding school. If you haven’t heard back from Ryan Pagotto, the Dean of Admission, it is possible that he is on vacation. School ended late May. Why not contact someone else in Admissions? You can call Blair to find out who is there and speak with that person.</p>
<p>If you want to, you can repeat 10th grade. You certainly don’t have to do this. Some people benefit from this because it gives another year of adjustment and the opportunity to gain some leadership positions. 11th grade can be intense with challenging academics and the start of the college process. </p>
<p>You should arrange to take the SSAT. At this point, you probably need to arrange a private test because I think all the regular testing is completed for this year. I think the website is <a href=“http://www.ssat.org%5B/url%5D”>www.ssat.org</a>.</p>
<p>If you have any questions about Blair, I’ll try to answer them. I have child who has been there for 3 years. You can send me a private message or just ask here. Sorry, but I don’t know if they have any openings for next year. Someone on this board received an acceptance after the regular admissions cycle. I think springisintheair, another poster, has some experience with Blair as well as Momofwildchild.</p>
<p>If you took the PSAT as a sophomore some schools will accept that in lieu of the SSAT. Exeter and Andover did for my daughter.</p>
<p>Burb Parent: Thank you!</p>
<p>I’ve been thinking about it, and repeating 10th grade would be the best thing to do. I’d benefit from this because as you’ve said, it would give me another year to adjust.
But the main reason is that this year was my first year in the United States, and I feel like I’ve “wasted my time”.
I didn’t know much english, and things like SAT, PSAT , AP classes/Honors were all new terms for me, so I pretty much spent tenth grade lost, with no counseling or guidance whatsoever, in regular classes that were not rigorous enough and trying to pass the language barrrier that seemed to separate me from the rest of the school.</p>
<p>Also, I’d already contacted an educational planner that arranges in-house SSAT testing. I think I wont submit my PSAT scores in lieu fo the SSAT (I had a 156! a high score for people that struggle with english, but not high enough to enter a selective boarding school)</p>
<p>I have some questions for you.
-Should I apply as an international student?
-Is your child living in a dorm? If so, how is the residential life?
<p>Because English is not your first language, you will probably need to take the TOEFL test.</p>
<p>I have not idea whether or not you should apply as an international student. Perhaps other people can comment on that, or you could start another thread describing your situation and asking that question.</p>
<p>If your family can afford it, it might be helpful for you to find an educational consultant who specializes in secondary school placement, and not therapeutic schools. These people know where the openings are, and can place you in good match schools. </p>
<p>Last year Blair’s admissions rate was 39%. I don’t know how it was this year, but I heard that applications were going well. Their average SAT score was 1850 for the class of 2008. I thought I read that 10th grade PSAT scores tend to be 10 points lower than 11th grade PSAT scores. I’m guessing that 166 would put you in their range, but on the lower side. Anyway, if you were still working on your English when you took the test, I imagine that you will score higher in the future. Your written English is excellent. </p>
<p>Residential life is great for the majority of students at Blair. There are many weekend activities and time for fun.</p>
<p>oh boy,
a student that spent a year in boarding school in Sweden and doesnt speak English? The two boarding schools in Sweden teach IB, and majority of students in Scandinavian countries speak fluent English by the time they are 10/12 yrs old. By the way Swedish system has their HS as 10-12, most kids dont board till then. Then a year later this non-speaker is able to post the two above posts full of idiom, etc? Cant afford school in Sweden but is able to afford educational consultants in US and US BS? My advice to the poster is – you would be more believable if you educate yourself in the subject you want to ■■■■■ about – dont confuse schools in Sweden with ones in Switzerland.</p>
<ul>
<li>edit*their HS as GRADES10-12</li>
</ul>
<p>Mhmm, you are right about the Sweden thing - I confused Sweden with Switzerland, and by the time I realized my mistake, I couldnt edit my post, and I didnt really feel like it was that relevant anyways. If you are interested, the school was called Le Rosey, and you could CHOOSE the language of instruction, and I chose french because its my native language. And fyi, kids from many countries are boarding there since the 9th grade.</p>
<p>And who said I couldnt afford the school? I said my parents had some financial issues, but that was not the reason I got out of le Rosey. I had personal problems that I wont explain because they are not related to the topic in anyway</p>
<p>I think its not me the one who should educate himself about the subject, am I right?</p>
<p>But thanks for your “help”</p>
<p>Perhaps it’s a language thing. If CieldeParis really were French, then he/she’d think of “La Suisse” and “La Suede” - and thus translating either/both into English could present difficulties. Or it’s just a ■■■■■…</p>
<p>if it smells like a ■■■■■…</p>
<p>The problem is that for Le Rosey, there IS an entrance exam… So, hmm…</p>
<p>WELL, regardless, I have no clue if you can still apply to Peddie or Blair, but if you apply next year for entrance as a junior or a repeat sophomore (so yeah, 3 years at BS, since repeating is fairly common there), then you should take the SSAT and maybe the TOEFL, if English is your second language.
Sorry, I know I wasn’t of much help… Good luck with Peddie/Blair, though! : )</p>
<p>Someone with that background that spent the past year in a U.S. public school would have explained dozens of times in English that they came from a boarding school in Switzerland. It wouldn’t make sense to suddenly confuse it with Sweden.</p>
<p>Wow, the whole Sweden-Switzerland thing is starting to be rather controversial…
As I explained before, I confused both of them when I wrote this thread in a rush. (In french, Sweden is Suisse, and they sound alike)</p>
<p>I would say I’m sorry, but I’m not , because really, it is not that relevant! I started this thread to receive feedback about US boarding schools, but I find that the only thing you guys post is about the Sweden mistake. Geez. </p>
<p>DiveAlive, I didn’t do an entrance exam for le Rosey. I visited the school, had an interview, and filled out some papers. </p>
<p>Padre13, yes, there have been several times when I had to explain that I came from a BS in Switzerland while studying here.
But considering I talk in french most of the time with my family and old friends, confusing la Suisse with Sweden does make sense, does it?</p>
<p>Are you serious??? In French, Sweden is La Suede. Switzerland is Suisse. They dont sound anything at all alike. In English or French. Do you seriously think that people as moronic as you make them out to be? Also your posts really show that English is, if not your first language, at least something you have been speaking/writing for at least 5 yrs or so.
CC is a wonderful resource allowing both parents and students to gather information about issues relevant to them, give advice for those that ask, etc. Its posts like yours that pollute cc and make it inconsequential.</p>
<p>Mhmm, you are starting to be really annoing and kind of obsesive. It looks like the first thing you do everytime you log on to CC is check out my thread to see how you can make people think I’m a fake. Im really flattered by your harassment.
I wont even bother looking at your statistics, but I wouldnt be surprised If I wasnt your only “victim”.</p>
<p>So, lets get things straight, shall we? I was born in Lyon, France. I’m a girl. I went to a boarding school in SWITZERLAND (Suisse), called le Rosey. I love skiing. Im a rising junior. I’ve never been to Sweden. I moved to the US last summer. I went to a public HS. I’m looking for a boarding school in the US, preferably in one of the northern states. I have a cat named Minet.</p>
<p>Mhmm, I’ll consider the whole “Also your posts really show that English is, if not your first language, at least something you have been speaking/writing for at least 5 yrs or so” a great compliment 
So , thank you! You know, considering I spent this entire year with afterschool classes to help me improve my english, this means they were really worth it.</p>
<p>I know CC is a great resource of information for international students like myself (yes! I am French!) who dont really know what US admissions, schools, etc, are about. I really appreciate people like Burb Parent that give great advice.
But you arent really “gathering information about issues relevant” to this thread, arent you? Nor helping. At all.</p>
<p>So if you dont have suggestions or advice, please dont post. If you dont have anything nice to say, please, dont post. And if you are going to reply to my post with some witty remark or telling I’m not French but probably Chinese or Mexican or whoknows, please, dont post.</p>
<p>J’esp</p>
<p>I mix up Sweden and Switzerland all the time</p>
<p>that makes two of us ;)</p>
<p>so if you really are who you say you are my advice to you is that there is a student at one of the two schools you are interested in that was at LeRosey at same time you were. If you went there, you will know who it is and how to get in touch with them. Im sure they will be happy to advise.</p>
<p>Mhmm, when I attended le Rosey there were 300-400 students. I knew their faces, but only a few of them were my friends. And none of my close friends are studying in a BS in the US. But if you know people here on CC that came from le Rosey and are attending a boarding school here I’d be happy to contact them.</p>