<p>I'm a freshman currently, and am planning to apply to a boarding school for my sophomore year. I have pretty good stats, 99% SSATs (last time I took it; will have to retake next month), straight As, and some clubs/community service (JV cross-country, debate, newspaper, service league, volunteer at the library, science olympiad.)
My problem is the teacher recommendations. I have just started at a public school this fall (went to private school before then,) and haven't had nearly enough time to get them to really know me, especially in such a big, impersonal setting. I answer a lot of questions in English and is the top of my class, while in math I'm just a hard worker. I don't really volunteer for anything because I'm in a class with a bunch of sophomores and juniors (Algebra 2.) I just wish they'd let me pick the teachers, because I could get a really good one for biology. Anyways, how do I leave a good impression on them, and fast? Should I just volunteer and speak up more? And the whole category asking about leadership and classmate relationships... I'm new so I don't really have any connections with a lot of people...
Also, any recommendations on essay ideas? Is it just a standard five paragraph essay or something that tells a story or what?
Thanks!</p>
<p>Please help?</p>
<p>@chloechloe1017</p>
<p>I’m also a freshman applying for boarding school soph year. This year I’m taking Pre-Calc and 10th grade English so I had the same experience of not knowing many people when classes first started. But I realized that everyone is insecure about not knowing anybody, so if you can get the nerve to talk to at least one person you’ll soon feel more at home, and the teacher will notice this, since teachers know everything 
After a while of getting comfortable with classmates, it should be pretty easy to become a leader. Just keep all the members in mind, and coordinate everything without seeming like “the Leader.” It shows that you’re both humble yet have good leadership skills. That should help for class participation, leadership, and cooperation.</p>
<p>To answer your question about teacher connections, definitely volunteer and speak up so the teachers know you, but I also noticed that they seem to value deeper answers that require more thought. So I guess what I’m getting at is quality over quantity. You want to be remembered for giving thoughtful, well-planned answers rather than a plethora of unimportant questions. Also, even if you have the littlest bit of trouble with anything, don’t be afraid to ask for help. It shows the teacher that you care about learning and want to improve.</p>
<p>This is just what I have learned so far as a freshman. I’m sure an uperclassman could give you more insight into this topic, but I hope this helped. Did you pick up any useful tips that I missed? :)</p>
<p>Just curious. If you scored 99% on the SSAT, why in the world would you take it again? As long as your score is at or above a school’s posted average, you have no need to repeat the test. No school is looking to fill all their seats with uber scores and once the basic bar has been met, incremental points are not important. Just how much better do you plan to do? I say move on.</p>
<p>As for recommendations, you might want to set up appointments with your math and English teachers to talk to them about your desire for BS and how you will want them to help you with recommendations for your application. We did this with our son in September of the year he applied so that his teachers would be more aware of his participation and performance in their classes and so they would have a good idea of what the schools were looking for as well as have ample time to complete the forms. We also gave them paper copies of the recommendations and pre-addressed/stamped envelopes if they did not care to file out the recs online. In our school system, none of the teachers had ever done this or heard of the schools our son was applying to; hopefully, your teachers are more savvy.</p>
<p>Also, when I say “we”, I mean that we suggested this route and prepared the rec packets for DS to share with the teachers he met with. We suggested that he do this (and we spoke with the teachers later at parent meetings) because of the utter lack of awareness of boarding schools by teachers sharing our corner of the planet.</p>
<p>ChoatieMom-
If the OP took the SSAT before this admissions cycle the scores may no longer be valid for this year’s applications.</p>
<p>OP-In addition to following ChoatieMom’s good advice, if you have an advisor or teacher from last year to whom you were particularly close and who you feel would write an extremely strong letter of rec. you may want to ask them to write a letter for you and submit it as a supplementary recommendation.</p>
<p>Sue–good point.</p>
<p>1) Make it easy for your teachers. Write up a one-page summary of your achievements, and hopes for the future (brief, like bullet points, they don’t have a lot of time)
2) Ask them personally if they would be willing to write a letter in support of your application. If they are hesitant, thank them for their honestly and ask another teacher
3) Give them plenty of time. Best to ask BEFORE THANKSGIVING
4) Check repeatedly to make sure the recommendations arrive. Many do not. Remind your teachers beginning in early December that they are due, try to get all in before the holiday break. Schools start reading in early January.
5) Spend time getting to know teachers (go up after class to ask a questions, go to conferences, ask for recommendations for books or websites to learn more about the subject)
6) Send them a nice thank you note for their efforts in writing your letters (we also gave them a little gift basket AFTER the letters were all sent out. It really is a lot of work for them to do this.
7) Keep copies of your best work (papers, projects), that you can give to them to remind them of your work in their class.</p>
<p>2prepMom said,
“2) Ask them personally if they would be willing to write a letter in support of your application. If they are hesitant, thank them for their honestly and ask another teacher”</p>
<p>Unfortunately, THIS year’s math and English teacher recs are generally considered “non-negotiable” – however, as Sue noted, you MAY send supplemental recs. So if last year’s teachers might write thorough, glowing recs, it’s good to note.</p>
<p>Also, while it is a very good idea to give the teachers plenty of time, don’t expect them to act on your requests in December. At that time, many are still working on COLLEGE recs for the seniors. At least that was what we learned when we asked for recs (in our case from prior year teachers, as we were the math and English teachers for our homeschooled student). And some teachers do seem to bump right up against the deadline.</p>
<p>I also agree that AFTER-the-fact thank-you’s (NOT by email, if you have been following other threads ;-)) are absolutely in order.</p>
<p>If you’re relatively new to your current teachers, which is very typical in public schools, especially large ones, you might want to consider asking your teach for a brief sit-down meeting, either before or after school. In 10-20 min, you may be able to explain about where you’re from, what you’ve been lately up to, what your primary interests are in the subject s/he teaches, and your plan for applying to boarding schools. </p>
<p>This idea might make you a little bit uncomfortable, but it is one of the qualities that most middle school students are encouraged to develop–self advocacy. And your prospective boarding schools would be looking for such a candidate of maturity and independence. So try to think of this as an opportunity than weakness.</p>
<p>Hopefully this helps.</p>