How Schools Notify Applicants (2017)

Prep School Admissions
1

Credit to @stargirl3 for compiling this list on google sheets… Just pasted it here :smiley:

Andover: Available on Gateway 5:00 PM ET…FedEx acceptances mailed M10 -> snail mail deny/waitlisted…check email: decision at 5pm, March 10 on Andover web portal

Blair: M10 online admission portal by 7 am-> letter mailed on M10

Brooks: M10 online admission portal by 5 am-> email sent out one week prior to make sure everyone can log in

Cambridge School of Weston : paper mail on M10

Canterbury: M10 email-> Followed by a letter

Cate: Email on M10 -> Followed by a letter

Choate: M10 3:00 PM EST on GoChoate ->Followed by a letter

Concord: Email on M10

Cranbrook: M10 Email @ 12 AM

Deerfield: M10 email between 6:30 and 8 AM EST -> Followed by a letter

Emma Willard: Email on morning of M10

Episcopal: M10 9:00 AM (email)

Exeter: Email on M10 @ 6:00am ET/Exact time frame from email-> Letter/package to follow

George: M10 email and through admission portal

Governor’s: Online @ 12 noon (or 10 am)-> mail sent on M10

Groton: M10 online @ 6:00 PM-> Followed by letter

Hill: Email sent out to make sure portal works -> M10 6:00 AM/3:00 pm on online platform -> letter follows.

Hotchkiss : M10 @ 6:30 AM EST online -> Letter arrive on M10

Kent : M9 Online (email) @ 5:00 PM EST-> Postal letters will be mailed to arrive on March 10

Kimball Union : M10

Lawrence Academy : M10 on Portal 8:00 AM EST-> Letters Mailed on M10

Lawrenceville: M10 @ 9:00 AM EST through Lawrenceville Admission Portal

Loomis Chaffee: M10 @ 8:00 AM through Explore_Loomis (Send an Email with link and time earlier)

Masters: M10 3PM

Mercersburg: M10 @ 12:01 AM-> Letter M10

Middlesex: M10 @ 9:30 AM

Milton-> letter mailed M10 => rejection=email at 1PM + snail mail/accepted=fed ex package on M10

Miss Porter’s: Online on Portal on M9 @ 8:00 PM-> letter mailed M10

New Hampton : M10 or (I am not sure what this means but) -> electronically notified today (3/7) at 6pm

Noble and Greenough: M10 @ 9:00 AM through admission portal

Northfield Mount Hermon: M8 @ 7:00 AM-> letter might be sent out

Peddie: M10 @ 12:00 AM (email)-> followed by a letter

Pomfret: Online @ 12:01am on M10-> M10 snail mail

Princeton Day School: Mailed on M10

St. Andrew’s (DE): Mailed March 10 (link on the google sheets)

St. George’s: emailed at 12:01 AM on M10

St. Mark’s (MA): M10 email @ 6am-> website says mailed M10 (send email to students one week prior to confirm email address. Parents and student emailed acceptance video at 6am for 9th grade)

St. Paul’s: M10 @ 3:00 PM online, instructions sent on M1-> Followed by letter mailed onM10

Suffield Academy: M10 email

Tabor: acceptance letter on M10

Taft: M10 through portal @ 8:00 am (they might send it out at midnight)-> letter follows M10

Thacher: email on M10 @ 4 PM PST

Thayer Academy: Snail mail: acceptance and rejections

Tilton: letter M10 (Tilton has link to get text notice on M7)

Webb Schools (CA): Log in on M10-> followed by email-> Followed by letter

Westminster: Email on M10

Westover: USPS parcel

Williston Northampton: Email on M7-> letter M10 (Email came in at 5pm)

Woodberry Forest-> M10 6 a.m. email-> Followed by parcel about 1 week later

Worcester: Online M14 or M10@12:01 am posted online

2

I thought Thacher sent mail… I was probably mistaken!

3

I feel sorry for applicants waiting for decisions that are only snail mailed!

4

Last year they only sent out email @magicthecat

5

I guess if they are too impatient they can always call the school @siliconvalleymom … but that would ruin the suprise :)) :wink:

6

Actually, they do both. My daughter received a large orange envelope from Thacher on M10.

7

If you are applying to any of the schools that send expedited mail, it is worth signing up for the UPS, Fedex, and USPS notice programs where they will ding you as soon as a mailer is generated. I found last year that in most cases an expedited package means an acceptance.

8

FWIW Financial Aid is different.
Some schools mail it several days later with their acceptance packages. Other schools send out separate emails on M10. My husband knew my DD had gotten into 2 schools M10 before she had checked the portal because they had sent him 3 emails- one tagged financial aid…pretty good sign

9

In past years Groton sent the financial aid information a couple of days later along with a small acceptance package. It was tough waiting to see if he would get enough aid to make it all possible!

10

Also wanted to add that I’m not sure about the above info for Northfield Mount Hermon. On the top of my son’s application it says that decisions will be posted to the portal on M10 at 12:01. Does someone else have any different information.

11

IIRC, my DC received an email with the acceptance from NMH on M8. Or it might have been an email letting us know that the decision was available on their website. In either case, we were notified prior to M10.

12

@Kthor626 My bad :smiley: I think that means they only do that for acceptances…

13

DD’s experience: 4 applications, with 4 electronic notices on M10. (3 emails and one portal link.) Two schools also had delivered by USPS that same day large envelopes with varied contents, including stickers, socks, pennants, etc. Later in the week she also received received mail from the other two schools. All were acceptances. The year prior she had one application for which she was waitlisted. Email on M10 and a letter to that effect later in the week.

Students with legacy status who are rejected or waitlisted are usually informed of this on M8 or M9.

Finally, if you are receiving your notice through a portal, be sure you have that info a few days before M10, as it can be very hard to reach admissions offices on M10.

14

Andover sends a FedEx package on M9, not M10. Several others do the same: hotchkiss, Taft, Deerfield. Not all send via FedEx.

15

Last year, Andover did not do the M9 Fed-Ex thing, probably to protect those poor workers from crazed BS applicants and parents who ought to know better.

I’ve posted this before but will say it again–feverishly checking Fed-Ex on M9 does not send a good signal to your kids. If any of you are thinking of doing that, please don’t let your kids see you. You’re sending the message that this is way too important to wait until the date you were told to wait. If that package doesn’t come, no words or facial restraint on M10 will override the message sent beforehand.

16

To all:

@ChoatieMom is beyond wise!! Please reread the above, and then read again.

17

Last year’s package from Andover arrived at our house on M10, afternoon. I didn’t check when it was sent but I’m pretty sure it was an overnight so it would’ve been sent on M9? I don’t recall a package from Hotchkiss on M10, maybe it came a few days later.

18

Based on comments on last year’s M10 Freakout thread, Andover turned off package tracking. Not one person posted prior to M10 last round that they knew one was coming, so Andover must have tightened their process. Previous years’ threads were full of people announcing Fed-Ex package confirmation from Andover on M9.

19

Agree with @ChoatieMom
Though personally I thought more calls were being placed by frantic applicants rather than their parents :wink: :))

To all applicants this year: don’t, just don’t
Frankly, its gonna ruin M10 either way. Either you won’t be as surprised and happy as you see the letter in your mail or you’ll spend the whole of M10 moping (esp if that was your top school, only school you applied to, or know before hand no acceptances are being sent your way).

20

@mom24kids My son’s application to NMH also has a date of 3/10.