<p>I compiled my list both before I went on interviews and, in one school’s case, after. I originally wanted to apply to Deerfield, Andover, Taft, Loomis Chaffee, Choate, Lawrenceville and Middlesex. This list was based on reading viewbooks, doing research online, and watching the admission videos. However, when I approached my parents with this list and asked them to schedule interviews, they said that it was too many schools and too far away. Also, I had just taken a practice SSAT and got around a 70%, so I decided that I needed to cast a wider net. I reread the viewbooks for some schools that are closer, and re-narrowed my list to Deerfield, St. George’s, Lawrenceville, and Blair. I wanted to apply to more, but my parents wouldn’t let me. I finally persuaded my parents to let me visit the Hill School, too. They agreed under the pretense that I would eliminate one of the schools after visits, but I loved every one so much and my parents couldn’t find one that they didn’t like, either.</p>
<p>I chose these schools initially because when reading the viewbooks, something about them really excited me. Sometimes it was a specific thing, like the Society of Skeptics at Blair, and other times it was just that I could imagine myself there, like Deerfield. Either way, there was something special about the school. After I visited, for every school there was a moment where something just clicked. Of course, it happened more at some schools than others, but I love every school that I have chosen to apply to. I don’t have any “safety” schools per say, because all of the schools are pretty selective. However, the acceptance rates range from 13.5% to 39%, so hopefully I have cast a wide enough net that I am accepted somewhere.</p>
<p>I know that this thread is partly due to one of my recent posts, but I do believe the SSAT is a small part of the proccess, as according to what the schools say, and I also believe that my overall score is acceptable for these schools. In no way do I excpect to be accepted to any of these schools(Exeter, Andover, Deerfield, and Hotchkiss), but I picked these four schools out of a list of 20 or so others. I feel they are the best fit for me and while my SSAT score on the math section was quite low, it wont change my list because I’m taking it again, and even if I wasn’t I still believe the other parts of application to be as competitive as any other applicants.</p>
<p>ballerina22: did you actually get to visit Blair and Loomis Chaffee?
And what did you think of the Hill school when you visited?</p>
<p>Sevendad: I am not visiting any of my schools, so everything I have to go on is from online research and viewbooks. Yes, it makes me very skeptical because they are so hard to choose from if you don’t visit. But I feel pretty confident with my list, though it needs adjustments and I keep having a few second thoughts. I made sure that I wasn’t putting any safety schools on my list because if I was going to leave my current high school the boarding school I would attend would have to be academically stronger than my current high school. And for some of the boarding schools I’ve looked at, that’s not the case. However, I do have schools on my list that are not considered “the best” only because I really liked them for other reasons.</p>
<p>I suppose, if it had to be summed up in one word, it would be somewhat prestige. I know that this sets off a lot of alarms (opportunist! snobby! ignorant!), so I will try to explain.</p>
<p>It wasn’t really the notion of the word- fame, etc.- but more of what resulted in the prestige. If one thinks about it, why would a school gain such a widespread reputation as being prestigous? No smoke without fire, they say. In these cases, I did some research based off the list of the “prestiged” and thought that prestige did indeed favor some worthy institutions. So that’s why my list consisted of schools mentioned often in acronyms; not from prestige, but from what causes prestige.</p>
<p>I have not visited any schools yet, because of financial/time/location constraints. But in the end, if I get to make a decision, it will result from visits and the “gut feeling”.</p>
<p>I visited Blair, but not Loomis Chaffee. I loved the Hill School. The campus was beautiful, and everyone was so warm and friendly! Everyone always says this about the Hill, but it really felt like a family. Plus, my tour guide was so nice! My visit left me with a great impression of the school.</p>
<p>After my visits/ interviews, I really just knew which schools I would be applying to. Some of them I instantly clicked with (fit)…others I only warmed up to after my visit. I love all of them, though. </p>
<p>My “worth checking out” was based on online research. Final list based on fit, tour, how well I thought the interview went, stats (college matric’s, average sats, endowment, etc). Any school that gave me a “Red flag” (bad facilities, uninterested tour guide/ interviewer, no feeling of fit) was instantly off the list.</p>
<p>Now, I have four schools. I’m feeling really proud because I only have one school’s essays left.</p>
<p>None of my “apply-to” schools changed because of my ssats, btw.</p>
<p>I originally narrowed it down to schools academically better than my current one. Then, I went by what the environment seemed like (ex. Warm, friendly, diverse, ect.) Then, I Narrowed it down to schools that were somewhat close to each other (limited travel time) I ended up with Andover, Taft, Hotchkiss, SPS, and Choate</p>
<p>One thing that really factored in for me was financial aid. Although some schools really did look great online, their FA didn’t seem like it would be substantial enough to afford. So those were off the list. No huge heartbreaks though.</p>
<p>To start from scratch, it’s helpful to make a table/spreadsheet and list all the selection criteria and then tick off which schools fulfill the most of your criteria:</p>
<p>SCHOOL PROFILE
Size of school: big ~1000 students, medium 500-800, small
distance from your home: can u drive? must fly? want to be able to go home on weekends?
Location: urban, suburban, rural
% boarding vs. day (will the campus be dead on the weekends when day students are home?)
co-ed, single sex
% international
% minority
% receiving FA
tuition & fees
Endowment Size (generally the source of the FA money)
dress code: formal, casual</p>
<p>ACADEMIC PROFILE
avg SSAT/ISEE scores for applicants
avg SAT scores
% admission rate (strongly advise against applying only to schools w low admit rates)
does offers a special academic subject you are interested in (e.g. foreign language: Dutch, Swahili?)</p>
<p>ATHLETICS/EC
is there a particular sport or EC you want to pursue? </p>
<p>i dont understand the reasoning for this thread or why this guy is trying to over complicate the application process, all i see is a bunch of total nonsense?</p>
<p>The process does not appear complicated to me but what does strike me is how little time there is between the receipt of SSAT scores in the middle of October and the application deadlines in January. Then, if a student needs a retake, we are into the holiday season. Over these ten or so weeks, prospective students need to visit schools, interview, narrow the list down, get teacher recommendations, write essays, fill out applications, meet family commitments (holidays), attend to current school requirements, and of course prepare for that recital at Carnegie Hall.</p>
<p>Doesn’t it make sense for 7th graders to take the SSAT in June and visit schools in the summer rather than being time crunched in the Fall? I suspect the reason for many kids having too few or no safety schools on their list. Time.</p>
<p>@Weatherby; I understand where you’re coming from, and even though I do agree that the scheduling you proposed makes sense, I would have to say that the process is like that for a reason. For one thing, you being able to compile a successful application in that amount of time shows good time management - something you’re going to need a lot in boarding school. Also, if you are truly what these schools are looking for, most of the time you will not be needing a retake, which is the main turn of events in your post. As for attending to current school requirements, the reason most people apply to boarding school in the first place is for more rigorous academics, and honestly, most naturally “smart” people don’t need to study much to maintain exceptional grades in middle school, which is where most applicants are coming from. Interviewing and school visits can be done starting in September at most schools, so it can be pulled apart from the application crunch time, and teacher recommendations should’ve been done around November too - also, all that involves is handing a stack of papers to your counselors, most of the time, so that’s not too much hassle. So really, all that’s left for the applicant to do is to write the essays and enjoy their holidays - plus your recital at Carnegie Hall.</p>
<p>This is just my opinion, and perhaps I’m making it sound way simpler than it is. If so, I apologize. :)</p>
<p>Edit: Also, I just read over your post and realized you mentioned visiting schools in summer. This IS a plausible plan, and I almost did it myself this summer. Some schools allow interviews then, some schools don’t, but you definitely get to visit the schools and those who don’t give interviews then, you could always replace later through skype or with alumni.</p>
<p>The timeline is not fixed, it seems to me that most candidates wait to the last minute for much of the application. I see no reason 7th graders cannot take either practice tests or the actual SSAT in June, which would then help guide the narrowing of their list of potential schools. This can be done over the summer. How many hopeful PA, PE, SPS, DA, etc. sweat SSAT scores in November when in fact they may well have been better served researching lower level schools.</p>
<p>Your post does not take into consideration the (un)availability of a parent’s time over a relatively short period, which is one reason I suggested a longer timeline. The application process is not merely about the prospective student’s time management. I bet many kids have had challenges organizing visits and interviews due to parent scheduling conflicts. Just my 2 cents.</p>
<p>I didn’t decide to apply to boarding schools until November, so I didn’t have the luxury of all that time. That’s one reason it’s hard to fit into that timeline, people change their minds.</p>
<p>@Weatherby;
Yeah, most candidates do procrastinate until the last minute, because that’s what teenagers do. But if you’re really serious about the process and want to do your absolute best on the application, you would’ve started earlier. Not that I’m saying the people who procrastinate aren’t serious about boarding school, but the essays will definitely be more crammed and it might show, to the AO’s, who’ve been reading applications for years. And I’ve also seen all those hopeful students sweat SSAT scores in November (I was actually one of them last year. This year didn’t involve much sweating at all.), but they should already know their own score range - because they know themselves and their level (and might have taken practice tests). </p>
<p>About the unavailability of a parent’s time, I will admit that I hadn’t taken note of that, since I am lucky enough to have a stay-at-home mom with not much to do every day. I did have difficulty scheduling visits just because I live in China, but we got around it. </p>
<p>This all being said, I do agree with your proposed plan of 7th graders taking the SSAT during the summer, as it would make the application process easier for a lot of people - I was just attempting to provide an explanation for why the process is how it is now.</p>