<p>OP - please make sure your daughter knows you are proud of her, and always will be, regardless in the outcome of this process. Even if you don’t get in it would be far from a crisis. Sounds like your daughter has a bright future and make sure she doesn’t feel the stress that you are feeling. Good luck!! :)</p>
<p>I’ve not been in your shoes, so forgive me for what I’m about to say as maybe I would be like you in your situation:</p>
<p>I think what is far, far more detrimental to your D (and her future) than not getting into a particular prestigious prep school in 7th grade is having a mom who is worried sick and about to have a heart attack! because she is so stressed out about it. </p>
<p>Step back and use your perspective that surely 30 or more years of life have given you. Your D sounds wonderful, healthy and talented. And she is only 6th grade. There are no doubt tons of other educational options and you are blessed to be able to (I assume) afford them. Not to mention, nothing you’ve said so far about this school makes it sound particularly impressive to me, so possibly she’ll find even better options if this doesn’t pan out.</p>
<p>Dear soflomom,</p>
<p>You’ve received great advice in this thread. All I can add is the perspective (I wouldn’t quite call it “wisdom”) of an older parent whose older son just graduated from college in the spring and younger daughter is a sophomore in college. Please try to not worry too much. I know that is easier said than done but I’ve found through many ups and downs that things have a way of just working out.</p>
<p>I feel bad for you if you live in an environment where kids are pushed towards private schools at a young age because “that’s where all the good/smart kids go”. We don’t live in such an area but my wife and I did explore private high school for our son but ended up leaving him in a plain vanilla public high school and he still got into one of the so-called dream schools, so listen to all the good advice, take a deep breath and just “be OK” with however it turns out because in the long run everything will probably be alright.</p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>
<p>I have to say, that this connection between her swimming and schooling at a Prep school baffles me. I guess I live in a different world.</p>
<p>Enroll your daughter in a school that is a match for her academics and manage her swimming separately with swim teams etc which in our town are not connected to the school, especially at the 6th grade level.</p>
<p>What a shame to pour on the pressure at such an early age so that your daughter feels such stress trying to devote energy to both.</p>
<p>Thread drift…Just a heads up on female competitive swimmers. As they go through puberty, they get slower as their body fat increases faster than their muscle. Many get discouraged and quit, as can take nearly a year to get back to some personal best times. (boys are the opposite - they pile on the muscle and times drop considerably during puberty).</p>
<p>Oh man…thanks for all the great advice and support. But just to answer a few questions</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The school has rolling admissions throughout the year for middle school and high school and it is known to be one of the most prestigious schools in the area. But whatever- it is what it is.</p></li>
<li><p>I only mentioned she’s a swimmer to show she can do extra curriculars and get excellent grades in school so she knows how to organize and balance her day. I don’t put pressure on her to swim at all- that’s her gig. So @Lakemom there is no shame because the only pressure I put on her is to do well in school- when school work gets tough, I always make her push aside the swimming because school is always first.</p></li>
<li><p>Sadly the public schools in my area are as crappy as they come so those of us who can, have to resort to private schools. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>I do have options…they include longer commutes, etc., but in the end it can be done. The reason I got so stressed was because I put all my eggs in this basket and I <em>REALLY</em> have to see what else is out there because the other school at the same level is one we refuse to consider (great academics, very crappy moral compass and discipline so not going there).</p>
<p>Thanks all.</p>
<p>I feel for your situation soflomom but a 93% of math is no disappointment. The SAT in math is worth 800 points. 93% of that would be a score of 744. Kids on this forum would be thrilled to have that score. I’m not sure why the school is insisting she perform higher. My concern is that their standards are a warning of the pressure that will come in later grades.</p>
<p>@lakemom have been thinking a lot about that over the last few days :)</p>
<p>The good thing that came out of their not accepting her is that you now are forced to investigate the other options and you may fine that those options are a better fit even though it requires more driving. </p>
<p>My son has a friend who in HS decided he wanted to go to a private school that is over a 45 min bus ride from our neighborhood plus his mom has to drive him to the bus stop. I applaud him, really, for choosing something different from his older two siblings who went to our town’s HS. It would have been so much easier for his parents to insist he do what the others had done but this boy walks to a different beat, always has.</p>
<p>Good luck in your search. You can always try one choice and if it doesn’t feel right change to another. This way you will have researched your options and be able to weigh the pros and cons. Good practice for making the same decisions for college :)</p>