<p>So I'm new to these boards and I was just wondering, as the subject states, how early is too early to start your application? I know that schools change their essay questions every year, but do they change the rest of the application? When should I start my application? I'm going to apply as a freshman for the 2014-2015 school year. Should I start it in the summer or in the fall? Also, how do students apply for like 10 schools with unique applications for each, don't their teachers get annoyed from writing too many recommendations? I'm going to apply to 3-5 schools, and I heard that schools prefer their unique application, but would 3-5 recommendations be too much for my teachers? I don't mind doing the applications, but I'm not sure about my future teachers' attitudes on recommendations. Sorry about the question overload, I'm new and ready to learn. :) Oh and any application tips and warnings would be appreciated. Thank you. :)</p>
<p>@lost
Now would be a good time to carefully review your achievements and awards (make a summary sheet, like a cv; this will also be good to give to your recommendation writers in the fall), and carefully think about what is unique about your application (a sport, passion, instrument, location or similar).</p>
<p>get an SSAT review book and spend time over the summer taking practice tests, reviewing the math and vocabulary and learning about analogies.</p>
<p>Most of the schools use a common application website, certainly check on the schools you are interested in and look the website over. Many teacher’s recs are online, but you can supply them with forms and postage paid envelopes if needed, and a copy of your achievement summary in the fall (before Thanksgiving)</p>
<p>Summer is also a good time to take a first tour of schools if you live close by, or even schedule an official visit if you live far away. Interviews are important and the fall will be very busy with your applications and school work too. Saturdays for fall interviews fill in a snap for competitive schools, if you need them, call the admissions offices and find out when interview scheduling opens and then call them that day in coordination with your family. </p>
<p>Poke around on this forum. Applying to a range of schools is important, including a couple that accept more than 50% of applicants.</p>
<p>The schools my son applied mostly released their new academic year application forms from Aug 1. So, you may be able to find the application forms with essay questions. (if there is any change in that) </p>
<p>My son started his test prep in summer break for about a month, using the various test materials. Some schools also accept ISEE scores as well, compared to SSAT. Some only SSAT scores only which is the mainstream, I guess. </p>
<p>You may want to contact the schools in consideration right after the summer break and arrange campus tours and interviews. Schools encourage applicant’s visit during their schools days so that the visitors may actually see the classes. My son completed school visits and interviews by early November and started application process. </p>
<p>It is ABSOLUTELY critical that you let your current school teachers and advisers (if any) know that you are applying to schools and need to ask them to write recommendations in time. The biggest headache comes when you get them to write and send the recommendation in time. It means you maintain good relationship with them. </p>
<p>When you get the essay questions from schools’ application forms, you may want to start writing a draft.</p>
<p>If you know now which schools you want to visit, call them NOW to ask when they start making appointments for tours and interviews. Some schools start filling up their fall slots in the summer. If you can start planning your “tour” now, then you can call for an appointment time the minute they start booking appointments.</p>
<p>My D’s middle school has a two day break every October and we wanted to visit schools then, so as to minimize missed days of school. By scheduling as early as possible we were able to get the days and times we wanted.</p>
<p>Others seem to disagree but I feel that if a school says they accept a common application, they will not downgrade you because of it. D used Gateway to Prep online application and each school had a customized section. The beauty of it for teacher recommendations was that teachers composed their recommendation online and then could submit it to any number of schools. If the wanted to, they could edit and tailor it for different schools.</p>
<p>When you call to ask when they start scheduling tours and interviews, you could also ask when the applications will be released, or you may find that information on their website. Whether online or on paper, there will be an application specific for that year so you can’t actually start filling it out ahead of time.</p>
<p>I would encourage you to get familiar with your target schools and the ins and outs of their apps this Spring/Summer — plus the SSAT as mentioned above.</p>
<p>I WOULD NOT start actively filling out apps until the Fall. Actively cultivate relationships with the teachers who have to write reccos…not in an obsequious or “glad handy” way…but wait until Oct to give them a heads up that you are thinking about applying to BS and that you’d love them to write a recco. At our private middle school, they suggest you get in reccos/transcript requests BEFORE thanksgiving break to give the office/teachers time to complete the forms before EOY.</p>
<p>I also suggest making a few school visits in the summer, keeping in mind that the vibe of the campus is different when school is in session. Plan to go back in the Fall/early Winter for the schools in which you are truly interested.</p>
<p>As for the Fall, we had a few visits over the Columbus Day weekend and I personally feel that that not a great weekend to visit schools because the volume of visits is so high (many non-boarding/public schools have off for that weekend).</p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>
<p>Here’s a thread I started after our family’s first time through the search/apply process:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-parents/1174214-one-family-s-bs-search-application-process-start-finish.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-parents/1174214-one-family-s-bs-search-application-process-start-finish.html</a></p>
<p>Your mileage may vary, but it maps out pretty much every step prospects have to take.</p>
<p>I started a Year early so In Tear 7 I applied for year 8</p>
<p>My view is that you should spend the summer working hard to prepare for the SSAT, thinking about your list of schools, and where possible visiting the schools and/or having an informational interview if you don’t know where you want to go. Once the school year begins in the Fall, you will find it much harder to study for SSATs, etc. You definitely want to do well academically in the Fall term(s) as it will be your current teachers writing the recs. I have seen various friends’ families basically put their lives on suspended animation while they spent the September though January engaging in the process. If you give it 5 months, it will take every spare minute for 5 months. </p>
<p>To avoid making our lives any harder, we decided that we would do nothing until Thanksgiving break other than prepare for SSATs (DD took them once in October), hand out the recommendations to the teachers in mid-November, finalize our list of schools to visit (we did 6 schools), and making interview appointments for December and January. Nothing else. Starting at Thanksgiving. our kids began working on their essays. All campus visits were scheduled for mid-December through January 15, as we wanted the recency effect. </p>
<p>Are essays better if you start them in September and work them for 4.5 months? I’m just not so sure, as I think there is a lot of mental efficiency and productivity that happens when you have only a finite time to get it done. Since many of the essays are drawing on a similar set of substrate thoughts/experiences/facts, I think there is a lot to be said for doing it all in close temporal proximity. Others will no doubt take the opposite view.</p>
<p>I do not believe we sacrificed any quality by following this compression schedule, and we kept the craziness to just 7 weeks. Outcome was positive for us.</p>
<p>P.S., I believe that a lot of the success (or lack thereof) comes from what you do to support your application outside of the “regular” application requirements. Have you contacted teachers/coaches? Have you gotten 1 or 2 folks to provide supplemental letters of reference highlighting differentiating points? Did you visit the school to take in a play/concert/major game (remember the faculty and AOs attend these)? Did you provide supplemental materials such as songs you wrote, videos of you doing a capella, sports or whatever, art portfolio, etc.? Had your educational consultant and/or head of school place an advocacy call to the AO? If you just do the straight application process, you are selling yourself short.
Its a game, baby.</p>
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<p>And, thankfully, there are many here who can tell counter stories with no gaming, still with positive results.</p>
<p>Two and a half years later, and I am still thankful I did not find this site until after our son had sent in his decision. Sometimes ignorance is bliss. I am grateful for the camaraderie and generally solid advice I’ve found here since, but I sure am glad we were totally unaware during the process of all the concerns/strategies others have posted here. I can’t imagine how nerve-wracking it would have been to have allowed the BS application process to consume our lives. We didnt even know our son could take the SSAT more than once.</p>
<p>It was very important for our kiddo to find an alternative to the dismal education system here, but we were totally unaware of the blood-sport that CC defines the application process to be; otherwise, Im sure we would not have encouraged him. It never dawned on us to analyze admissions statistics or school rankings or college matriculation. We were aware of BS from living in the Boston area for several years and knew what a quality education they all offered, so we just told our son to research programs that appealed to his (then) passion. Knowing that all the schools he was interested in were competitive (meaning, not everyone gets in, but no numbers behind that notion), we told him that if he was accepted anywhere, he could go. We applied for FA not knowing that we would not qualify and were later faced with the dilemma Ive shared several times about what to do.</p>
<p>I offer these comments as a counter-point for all the silent hand-wringing and anxiety those who lurk suffer over the seeming impossibility of it all. DS is not a genius, does not add much in the way of diversity, and brings no hook (learned that term on CC) that we could see other than our last-minute decision to live very close to the edge to pay that bill. Is he bright, articulate, expressive, and a good student? Sure just like your kid. He applied to four schools (never heard of the wide-net thing), did only one on-campus interview (oh no!), and never gave a thought about what to wear to those interviews beyond clean clothes. He took the SSAT once with no prep because his antiquated parents still believed that these tests just covered a general body of knowledge that you either knew or you didnt, like they did when we were in school. We thought the best prep he could do was getting a good nights sleep, having a good breakfast, and making sure he had multiple sharp #2 pencils.</p>
<p>Were we naïve beyond believability? Obviously. But, our story (and there are others like it even if only a few have been brave enough to share them here) says that perhaps all is not lost for your child. Digest what you read here carefully taking away what appeals to you, and disregarding the rest. Most of it does not apply to you anyway. I wish you and your children all the best.</p>
<p>Look at your school calendar for next year and see if there are any days when you can visit schools if you are close enough. My son’s school had several days off in the fall, and we scheduled interviews/visits during week. There are also some holidays (Columbus Day or Veterans Day) where some schools are in session and others aren’t. In August it is good to start lining up appointments for the fall. They can be later, but you want to get on the calendar if you have specific days in mind. And Saturdays fill up too.</p>
<p>I sent out inquiry forms to a few schools the other day and I got a couple in the mail. One of them sent an application. Do you think I should just recycle it and wait till fall or start working on my essays and basic info?</p>