<p>I am in 9th grade and have five schools that I want to apply to, but wouldn't 5 schools (around 10 essays) be too much? How do you recommend I complete each application with the most care put into it to maximize my chances of acceptance? Thank you!!</p>
<p>I’m applying to 6 schools and I’m a little freaked out about all the applications too but the basic applications are pretty much the same and sometimes schools ask almost the same essay questions so instead of doing 10 totally different essays you can do like 5 kinda the same essays 
other than that I recommend starting on them as soon as the topics come out because that’s what I’m going to um try to do because sadly I have a great talent at procrastinating</p>
<p>In general I’d recommend targeting 5-8 as worth “doing the process” on…if you go for an interview/tour and decide it’s absolutely not right, then just cross it off. We started with a list of 10, interviewed/toured 5, and submitted applications to all 5 after deciding they were decent fits.</p>
<p>Oh, that sounds great. I think I’ll just go with five because I think each fits me really well, regardless if the schools is a HADES or not Thanks for the advice!</p>
<p>Also, many of the schools accept the SSAT universal forms, so that you can send the same application (with tweaks, if you like) to many schools. This really minimizes the work.</p>
<p>That’s absolutley great. I didn’t know that but it sounds awesome. Thanks! Are you familiar with schools like Berkshire and Holderness? Does that work with them too? : D</p>
<p>5-8 schools are a good number. More than 8 seems very hard. I did 6 schools last year, and it was doable. Looks like this year I’ll be doing at least 7. Also, if you can, look at the application ahead of time if possible. For example, I’m strongly considering not applying to St. George’s because I looked at their application, and it scared the crap out of me. I think it involves 8 essays, if I remember correctly. The point is, 5-8 schools is a good number, and know how difficult each application is. Good luck.</p>
<p>I know, wow eight essays? That’s outrageous. I’m also doing the Short-Answer Q’s right now and so I’ll have just the essays and the rest of the candidate profile myself. The rest is paperwork for my parents. Does someone know if Andover has a “Parent information form” or something of that sort? Last year for Exeter my parents did not fill it out and I hope that they will this time, with a bit of convincing. ; D</p>
<p>Many applications have essay prompts that are similar to those from other schools (i.e., how have you overcome adversity/failure, shown moral courage, ideas about Green Cup Challenge, write a letter about yourself to your future advisor.) I’d suggest gathering the applications in late August - early September. Look at the essay prompts and decide which ones really require unique responses and where work can be shared between or among applications. At some point you may decide that a specific school’s application is too much work given your level of interest. Alternatively, you may decide that a school of marginal interest will require very little incremental effort to apply, so it makes sense. </p>
<p>I’d strongly suggest scheduling interviews in September-November so that you can drop schools from your list afterward if you judge them a poor fit. This way you won’t have wasted the time on completing their applications and neither will your teachers. :)</p>
<p>One additional point. Hockeymom18 references the SSAT application. It is true that the profile/short answer questions will be the same for schools using this application; however, most schools have a “School Supplement” which is basically a unique essay question(s). Make sure you don’t miss this!!!</p>
<p>I will do that. I’m now applying to the five schools I thought to apply to and will “erase” them off of my list if when I visit, I don’t like them. It would be difficult to go for more than five schools because even though my family is supportive I’m really close to them, so much more schools and my parents would reject the entire thought of me going to boarding school. I’ve always wanted to go. I’m also through with the the candidate profile, so I don’t think I’ll miss much, but thanks for the tip, Krao.</p>
<p>My son will be attending Berkshire this fall. He did the SSAT universal app, and I think most of the schools he applied to used it. I don’t think there was a supplemental essay required for that school. I think of the schools he applied to that accepted the SSAT app, only Tabor required an additional essay. Others have noted that there is a lot of carry over between the different schools essays, and that is true. We just looked over all the essays from each school and chose the ones that were most similar. If you go to the SSAT website, you can pull up which schools accept the universal application. I would then call office admissions at each school to confirm that they require no other supplemental forms. Also, I can’t remember which schools used some other kind of semi-universal app, where the main information was filled in for those schools, and then the essays were different. I want to say for my D, both Deerfield and Hotchkiss used the same semi-universal app, but I could be wrong. By the way, my S is very excited about going to Berkshire this fall. If you want to hear how it is going, feel free to PM me once he gets settled. Good luck.</p>
<p>Thank you so much! Do you recall if schools like Kent and Blair do the Universal application? Also, if you don’t mind me asking, was FA a problem with Berkshire at one point? Because I’ll be needing FFA and I’m worried that I won’t be able to recieve it. I guess the maximum amount we can pay is 5k. What do you think? Again, thanks! I really appreciate all the help.</p>
<p>Start early. If you break it up, it should be doable. Also, consider early decision!</p>
<p>Sorry I don’t know how to make it a link, but this is the site to search schools: [SSAT</a> School Search](<a href=“http://search.ssat.org/search/schools.html]SSAT”>http://search.ssat.org/search/schools.html)
Once on the site, click on the schools you are interested on the left, and then each school has a category: “Accepts SSAT Application Service” A quick look, and Blair does and so does Kent. Another thing about this service, which is nice, but I did not notice until we had done it differently, was that all schools that accept this application accept the same recommendation. That recommendation can be filled out once, and sent only to SSAT, where they will post that it is received (nice to know) and then they will send it out to each school on your list. This is nice because it limits the amount of copying your teachers have to do to submit your recommendations. If you have a few schools that do not accept the app, the teachers may need to copy a few of the forms to send to those schools directly. It most likely would still be the same form, as I think every school my kids applied to last year accepted the Universal App recommendations. </p>
<p>In terms of Financial Aid, I really don’t know how that works. I know that most schools we looked at said that they had given FA to approximately 30% of applicants.<br>
This is from Berkshire’s website: </p>
<p>Financial aid is awarded based on demonstrated need. Our annual budget of 3.9 million dollars is allocated to 30% of Berkshire families with an average financial aid grant of $36,000.</p>
<p>Of course, this means some kids get more, and some kids get less.</p>
<p>Here is a webpage at Berkshire that shows more about financial aid:
[Berkshire</a> School: Tuition Information](<a href=“Berkshire School: Financial Aid | Independent Boarding School”>Berkshire School: Financial Aid | Independent Boarding School)</p>
<p>My thinking is if you have many schools on the SSAT universal application list that you like, you should consider applying to more than 5 schools, maybe 7 or 8. There won’t be that much more work, if the application is the same and it would increase your odds of getting accepted. Just do your research, so the schools you apply to would be schools you would be happy to go to.</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
<p>If you’ve established your account with SSAT for the 2011-12 application season, you’ll be able to view the different schools’ applications when they become available (Aug-Sep). I know that Taft and Lawrenceville both have school supplements. In fact, the school supplement is where the principal application essay resides for each of those two schools. It’s case by case, so just make sure you check. I’d recommend signing up for either the October or November SSAT so you have time for an additional test if you are unsatisfied with your results. Generally speaking, you will not need to discuss SSAT scores with your interviewers, so it’s not necessary to have results prior to interviews. </p>
<p>Also, I remember there was a thread over the past year or two discussing the degree of difficulty of different schools’ applications. There’s a considerable range for both applicant and parent.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>You should apply to as many prep schools as you can because it will increase the range of choices that you have. The more the merrier.</p>
<p>Well, it’s not ALWAYS “the more the merrier.” If you show a school that it is one of your FEW choices, they know that if you’re accepted, there’s a greater chance that you’ll choose their school, thereby increasing their yield. If you’re applying to, say, an obscure, not well known boarding school, and then all of GLADCHEMMS, it might send the signal that the school is your safety, not a top choice. All I’m saying is to be very careful with how many schools you choose, and which ones!</p>
<p>Do you have time to visit any of the schools BEFORE applying? My child had an interview at one school before sending in the application. Maybe you could look at one or two in the next month and get the interview out of the way, then decide if you want to apply.</p>
<p>In my experience, most BS are NOT need blind no matter what they say. Their big FA is reserved for truly unusual, truly poor students who will bring something special to the school.</p>
<p>I see a bit more sense in going with cassat’s insightful reply. I don’t even understand why applicants have safeties, I mean, if that is a school where the applicant should be and is not delighted to attend, then I see no reason for them. Boarding school is not the last resort, and if one is not accepted to the institution of their choice, that person should either apply again next year or go to a public school where he or she may be just as successful. At least that’s what I think. The schools that I’m applying to have a range of 45-14% acceptance rates, but none, I repeat none of them are safties for me. I think that all of them are spectacular fits for me. Anyway, for now, I think I’ll stick with the Universal SSAT application while applying to five schools. mom4college, a prospective applicant can interview and then decide if he or she wants to apply. I know first-hand because my brother actually had his interview at Exeter and decided not to apply. I also don’t think any school other than Andover is truly need-blind. Thanks for the help everyone! : D</p>
<p>I think it is generally accepted that both Andover and St. Andrew’s (DE) are the only co-ed schools that explicitly state that they have a need blind admission policy. That said, I’m pretty sure Madeira (all-girls, VA) also claims to have a need blind admission policy.</p>
<p>As for the number of apps, I think 3-5 is a good range. My daughter applied to 3 last year and was admitted to two (including one HADES), rejected from the third. She used all unique apps.</p>
<p>We visited 8 schools, and she did not start applications seriously until all visits were complete. Visits (and a few repeat visits) helped us narrow the list considerably, and while it was an investment in time and money to get that done upfront, I think it saved us from needless hassle later on.</p>
<p>If you’re interested, I posted a recap of our family’s complete BS search/application process in the Parents’ subforum.</p>