<p>I'm in 7th grade right now and planning to apply to different prep schools for my 9th grade year.
1) When should I take my SSAT?
2) Which schools should I apply for?
3) What should I write on the school's inquiry form and does it matter?
4) Advice/Tips to help organize and handle all the different appication processes
5) When to start getting reccomendations and tours and interviews and etc.
6)Thanks!:)
Sorry if this has already been partially asked before</p>
<p>inquire about applying now. Use boarding school review or similar websites to research based on what you want in a school.<br>
schedule tours/interview so they are between October and Thanksgiving, so you get the essence of the school and not the first few weeks after break or before the main holiday season.<br>
Take the SSAT in November; retest in December if necessary
Start essays over Christmas break.
Finish them.
Mail out application
Wait.</p>
<p>what are your interests? I would say apply for some of the big name schools like Exeter, Andover, Deerfield, Middlesex, Choate, Hotchkiss, but also look at smaller, but equally prestigious schools such as Concord Academy, Mercersburgh, maybe an all boys or girls school. Do NOT limit yourself to HADES. Not all applicants get in and, frankly, many would be happier at other schools but think that HADES are the only schools in the world.</p>
<p>Just personal opinion:</p>
<p>Take SSATs early on, like an October test, so you’re comfortable with the idea. And, if you do well, you’ll have designated other time to work on more important things, like applications and schoolwork.</p>
<p>Schools to apply to depend on interests. Like pittsburgher said, don’t limit to HADES or GLADCHEMMS. There are plenty of great schools that aren’t in that “tier” which send kids off to college, where they do amazingly well. Believe me, HADES is talked about a lot on here, which bugs me a bit because there are so many other schools that may give you a better experience. Prestige is definitely not everything. </p>
<p>To handle the admissions process-Uggh! I remember doing that–it took forever :). Just block out time to work solely on applications. Spend the first part of the fall working on studying for SSATs and beginning to think about the application forms and essays. After taking the SSATs (hopefully in November), then you can begin to fill out the applications in the order of which school you visit. That way you can present yourself in a way that is specifically appealing to that school that you’re sending the application form to. </p>
<p>You’ll want recommendations and tours early on. People will want to meet with current teachers and visit schools between November and February. If you snag the teacher earlier then they will have more time to devote to your specific recommendation, and then that will elevate you to a higher status. When you have an interview early, you beat the rush, and more time will be used to look over your application, I believe. It’s just easier to do it that way.</p>
<p>Hope I helped :)</p>
<p>1) When should I take my SSAT?
If you take it now, I don’t think it counts. Start preparing now, and take it in the summer before 8th Grade or in fall. (Though I didn’t take mine till December, which can be risky if you want to retake)</p>
<p>2) Which schools should I apply for?
Look at school size, location, see which ones you like best. Don’t apply unless you would definitely go if you were accepted. But if you want to go to a boarding school no matter what, then make sure you have a safety school.</p>
<p>3) What should I write on the school’s inquiry form and does it matter?
Not sure about this… but schools get a lot of inquiry forms, so it doesn’t matter that much. Your actual application is more important.</p>
<p>4) Advice/Tips to help organize and handle all the different appication processes
Start early, and don’t procrastinate! Use your Winter Break wisely.</p>
<p>5) When to start getting reccomendations and tours and interviews and etc.
Teacher recs can be done before winter break (some teachers do them over the break). For tours/interviews, I guess you should schedule them earlier so that there are spots left, don’t leave it till the last minute.</p>
<p>This may be one of the most important things to do now because you CAN do it, which is suck up to your teachers. it doesn’t sound right, but it helps with reconmondations, especially with you school advisor/counselor (most schools require recs from school advisor), fore 9 times out of 10, you don’t speak to your counselor that much. It wouldn’t hurt to go into his/her office and just talk for a bit so she could get to know you. Another thing to think about is to buy SSAT or ISEE test prep books that have tips and practice tests in them. I started my application process VERY late (january), and had to rush everything (stood up till 12 or 1 every night to do applications). luckily though, i got accepted into both schools I applied for. I had decent grades and a decent score on the SSAT. what I think the admission officers look for though is :
- GREAT INTERVIEW-be very amiable and ASK QUESTIONS! (I spoke some spanish in mine, even though I am asian :D)
- GOOD RECOMMENDATIONS-if you can get an alumni or someone high up or someone who really knows you to give you a rec, then that will boost your chances greatly
- EXTRA CURRICULARS- in your applications, this is the time to essentially brag about all your accomplishments. Schools LOVE community service,educational awards, and sports honors. If you’ve done something nationally or internationally, mention it. I mentioned my people to people friendship games involvement, and at the interview, they talked about the experience a lot with me.
- PASSIONS FOR EDUCATION-if your school offers a very diverse class that you absolutley love, mention it in your interview, and explain why and how it appeals to you</p>
<p>well this is all I have for you, but good luck!</p>
<p>Inquire in the summer
Take SSAT at the first date (October), then take it again in December, and send the beter score
Visit/Interview before January so you have everything done with, I visited in the summer to most schools
Hand our recs in october, so its early but the teacher knows you well enough to write a rec
Apply to what you think is well fit for you, if your looking for a “harvard” of prep school apply to HADES
If your looking for just a nice well rounded school apply to hades or taft,loomis chaffee,northfield mount hermon, berkshire, kent,choate
most of all don’t get too stressed during the process, it will all work out in the end :D</p>
<p>Because you’re new to all this, it might be helpful to know that the acronyms “HADES” and “GLADCHUMS” were made up by the folks who use this site as a shorthand way of referring to the schools that have high matriculcation to the Ivy League and high numbers of applicants, which leads to extremely low acceptance rates–meaning even kids who are beyond qualified to attend those schools do not get admitted. Same thing with “Tiers.” There are no official, universally agreed on stratifications, so feel free to make up your own, or ignore them alltogether. The nice thing about all the cheerleading for schools on this website is that it means there are kids who go to these schools and absolutely love them. Just don’t make the mistake of assuming that a school that isn’t mentioned here isn’t good!</p>
<p>The fun in chosing where to apply is in doing lots and lots of reseach. I’d recommend making a list of things you think might be important to you in a school–academics, pretty campus, excellent music department, specific sports offered, size of school, whether the school is in a rural, urban or suburban area, and yes, prestige if that is something you value. You may find that what you think you want changes once you start visiting schools.</p>
<p>Best of luck on your journey!</p>
<p>I think an early start on scheduling interviews is important.<br>
Depending on how many schools you plan to visit, and whether they are day trips for you or longer, you will want to talk to your parents about your visit plans. It can be tricky to match your school schedule with the available interview slots.
Another plus of getting your interviews done on the early side is that you can get your essays done and your applications finished earlier.</p>
<p>Thanks for all your help guys.
Also I live on the west coast of the us. Considering that all the schools I mainly want to apply to are on the east coast and I don’t know how many schools I can visit, what should I do?</p>
<p>You can try and visit some during the summer. Also, check out Cate & Thacher. They are two awesome schools on the west coast.</p>