<p>@pdl100: Thanks for your advice. He will be doing interview prep with his current school’s principal, who he likes but is definitely intimidated by. @stargirl3: We are applying to 12 schools, four being reaches. I think your comment about keeping expectations low is instructive.</p>
<p>The other thing, @MadagascarMom, is to not absolutely close your list this early. If another school comes up in six months, don’t do what I did and tell yourself you have enough. There are a bunch of schools I didn’t even look at. </p>
<p>Agreed @stargirl. It’s a fairly flexible list, outside of the reach schools. I’ve had a few schools go on, then off, then on again; I’ve had new schools introduced to me that checked out and bumped others (temparily, perhaps) off. </p>
<p>One more interview point, MadagascarMom-- do have him practice with someone a couple times and, perhaps more importantly, have him think about what he might say to likely questions (what he liked about each school, favorite academic class, favorite EC and why, etc.-- you can find threads on CC that give some questions people have encountered). But make sure he realizes that you don’t want to remake yourself in an interview, and lots of quieter, more self-effacing kids get in. We know some kids who are whiz-bang sparkly interviewers who got in-- and some who didn’t. We know several quieter kids (including my DS, but also several others) who got in to top schools. In other words, the interview is just ONE PIECE of the process, despite what you may have seen on these boards. It can probably keep you OUT of a school, if, for example, you come off as unlikeable (who would want to be around you for 4 years) or like you’re not very interested in that particular school, but it won’t get you in on it’s own, and they don’t only take kids of one type of personality. If he thinks about a few questions ahead-- not to give overly prepared answers, but just so he doesn’t get flustered, he’ll be fine. I’m just trying to make sure he doesn’t feel pressured to suddenly be super outgoing or super confident in an interview if he’s not really that way-- that is what would come off as insincere. It’s ok to be a little shy.</p>
<p>Also, it’s perfectly acceptable to take a moment for an unexpected question and say, “Wow, that’s a tough question. Hmm…” Make sure he’s comfortable with that and, particularly, with a little bit of boasting and advertising himself (without being braggy!).</p>
<p>If there was a question I didn’t expect, I said that I was surprised. I twiddled my thumbs, mumbled, giggled, thought about it and came up with whatever was on my mind. </p>
<p>My D didn’t do any formal interview prep. But we did it between ourselves on the way up in th car to the first two. After that she just went on her own. She is a shy girl but I guess was OK speaking up for herself in the interviews as they went well.</p>
<p>Another interview tip: in the car leading up to the interview, go onto the fast facts page of the school and review them. Just so you have some knowledge of sports offered and things like that- it makes you seem interested.</p>
<p>The week before each interview, every time I was on the computer I would look at the school’s website. I got more interested, learned more about the school, and just got more and more excited about the school. </p>
<p>^^^I also recommend looking at the school’s website. The night before an interview I would spend 30 minutes with my parents reviewing the school’s website. It helped me to have some basic facts and info fresh in my mind the next day. </p>
<p>I view this as the last-minute studying approach vs. the spread out studying approach that @stargirl3 seemed to take. You can do whichever you prefer or both, which is probably the best idea.</p>
<p>The night before my SPS interview, I was on their website for at least 3 hours. Same for Loomis. I really wanted to make sure that I had those websites completely analyzed and memorized.</p>
<p>Never did get the chance to impress those AO’s with my knowledge of those schools though…</p>
<p>It’s not so much that u need to impress w your knowledge of the school. It’s more like u don’t want to embarrass yourself w glaring ignorance about the school.</p>
<p>Don’t ask questions that are easily answered on the school’s website. </p>
<p>Just to give a different perspective–both my kids were unhappy socially at our LPS. D1 went to a small alternative day school for junior and senior years, but it was clear it was not the right fit for D2. We literally started looking at day schools January 2nd (of her sophomore year), found 3 local ones that were a potential social and academic fit, and when D2 got the literature for the one that was her favorite (a hidden gem on this list), she came to me and said she’d like to board! It was the only boarding school she applied to, and we never found out whether she got into the day schools because they were rolling admission and we withdrew her application when she got into BS. </p>
<p>Turns out it was the Universe looking out for us when she decided to board. ex-DH was the primary driver as I work more than full time, and he passed away unexpectedly 3 days before accepted students day last year. There is no way I could have handled driving her to local activities at our public schoool, let alone a day school (and the BS is 45 min away). She is thriving at boarding school although at times it’s been a challenge dealing with the grief while away from home. </p>
<p>^^ Sudsie, losing your husband just as your daughter headed off to school must have been an unimaginable double whammy - I am sorry it happened that way.</p>
<p>But regarding driving - it was also a huge issue for us at our local schools because we are physicians and work long unpredictable hours. Public transportation is very poor here, and with no-one to drive DD to all those sporting and enrichment activities, even early college classes at the nearby university, the local school (while very good), lost out to the boarding school. </p>
<p>Hello - My son applied for BS this past year and it was a great ride. Here are some tips/suggestions for future parents. Wishing the best for all of you on this journey!</p>
<p>Things We Did Well[ul]
[li]Outcome: Son was accepted at many many top tier schools (including Andover, Deerfield, Choate, Taft, etc). Did not receive a single rejection letter.[/li][li]SSAT scores: Son was always a great test-taker, but needed a little extra nudge to get his scores in the mid 90-percentile range. We tried Kaplan (which was waste), and later found that using practice tests from SSAT along with vocabulary flash cards was all that he needed[/li][li]Creating a Cohesive Package: We helped our son craft a great application package that highlighted his strengths, and helped him stand out in the reading process[/li][li]Essays:Found a retired English teacher who reviewed his essays, and helped him brainstorm to find his ‘voice’ for the written prompts. The teacher did not write the essays for him, but helped edit and tweak things after finding a suitable topic. This was worth its weight in gold.[/li][li]Meeting Coaches: Outside of the scheduled interview times, we setup times for DS to meet coaches. DS played two sports and met several coaches at each school. Most BS coaches don’t have time to recruit and therefore cherish the opportunity to meet potential athletes. Although athletic recruiting probably doesn’t have a huge impact in the BS process, I believe it can certainly help tip a candidate toward the admit pile.[/li][li]Talking Points: Starting in 7th grade, try to find an award/accomplishment that your child can do that can be used on the interview trail. The goal is to find something that is unique and that you child can talk about during the interviews. Barely 1-2 months pass in the fall of 8th grade before interviews start, so you need something to ‘brag’ about from 7th grade that is memorable.[/li][li]Filing/Notes: Had son keep a small notebook and filing cabinet during the process. Each piece of mail went into the folder. Made him write a short journal entry in the notebook after the interview and school tour. Any other interactions and personal observations went into the notebook. At the end when we ranked out the schools, the notebook came in handy.[/li][li]Pile on the love: Prep school admissions is a lot like dating. After interviewing and applications were complete, we sat down with son and had him come up with a rank order of schools. Schools at the top of his list got a lot of love: emails to AO, phone calls to coaches, second visits, followed sports teams on twitter, attendance at regional events, etc. Schools want to know that you would accept their offer, so don’t be afraid to show them love. We heard stories of students who told every school that they were #1. Don’t do this, as it will come back to bite you. But before March 10, be honest with the schools and how much you like them.[/li][li]Interview Prep: Don’t over-prepare for the interview, but practice a few basic stock answers to the common questions: Why BS, Why our school, tell me about yourself, what is your favorite book, etc.[/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>Things I Wish We Had Done Differently[ul]
[li]Interview Impressions: Don’t place too much weight on how the interview went. After the Andover interview, I was convinced that DS would not be accepted (due to the fact that the interview was only 15 mins). At other schools AOs spent nearly an hour with him. Don’t place any weight on the timing or content of the questions from the interviewer. We had no idea until M10 what the outcome would be. No nods, winks, tips or anything else that hinted the great news.[/li][li]Timing of interviews: I wish I would have scheduled interviews at the New England schools early in the season before all the slots filled up. My son had 5 days of unexcused absences due to my poor planning. Suggest that future parents call to schedule in August/September once the admissions offices open up in the fall.[/li][li]Missing Items: Be aggressive with following up on all missing items. Son’s application was incomplete the day before the deadline at many schools because of a teacher who failed to submit the recommendation. Be gentle and polite, and don’t let teachers slip. I let my son keep in contact with the teacher who ended up procrastinating until the end. Perhaps more involvement on my part in the early stages would have prevented this. [/li][li]Follow the Email Trail: Parents make sure to keep reminding your child to check email frequently and follow-up to inquiries from the schools. DS received lots of emails from coaches and even a Department Chair for follow-up questions (son ended up getting a merit scholarship to Choate on M10). If we hadn’t been having DS diligently follow-up I’m sure there would have been some of these lost to follow-up.[/li][li]Plan for Waitlist: Keep collecting awards, etc even AFTER all the applications are in. In case you are waitlisted, need to have a list of ‘new accomplishments’ that can be sent to the AdCom after March 10. [/li][li]Repeat SSAT: My son didn’t need to retake but I think having the option to re-take the Feb and Mar SSATs would be useful in cases where kids are borderline. I remember reading somewhere that having each individual subscore > mid 80th percentile is a valid target for the ultra competitive schools (Andover, Exeter, etc). For ORM I suggest a bit higher. Being able to raise the SSAT score even a few percentile points can make the difference, especially if your child is waitlisted.[/li][*]Size up your competition: Most of the schools have a ‘Highlights’ card that is stapled to the front of each application folder. On this card are the raw numbers (GPA, SSAT, gender, FA status, geography, legacy, etc) as well as some of the soft numbers (ECs, writing, musical talents, athletic prowess, etc). Try to get a good sense of who else your child will be competing with. Have your child make a list of kids that are applying. Take 4x6 Index cards and write out the relevant stats from each of these potential ‘competitors’. Then create a similar card for your child. Cover up the names and then try to pick out your child from the competition. If you have difficulty picking out your child from the stack of cards, then so will the AdCom. Bottom line: Find ways to make your child stand out from his/her peers.[/ul]</p>
<p>@Madagascar,</p>
<p>Since you reside in an exotic destination, do not underestimate the value of proximity to a major int’l airport. Take a look at flight connections from Madagascar to JFK, BOS, BDL, and other airports around your schools of interest. Look at schedule, frequency, airline options to Madagascar.</p>
<p>For our family, no other East coast airport comes remotely close to competing with JFK on schedule, frequency, number of airlines. I cannot tell you enough what a royal pain in the wazoo it has been these years to arrange int’l flight bookings for S1, because his school’s location does not allow quick access to JFK. When S2 picked a school closer to JFK, I flipped somersaults, opened a bottle of champagne and put on a goofy hat! Woohoo!!! (OK, I didn’t really do the somersaults, but I did pop the champagne and wear a goofy hat <:-P ). </p>
<p>As S1 approaches the college application game, proximity to a major int’l gateway airport is high up on our list of priorities. </p>
<p>@sgopal2, I wish we had done ANY of that! :-)</p>
<p>“almost always places 2nd in the meet, right behind her classmate and good friend. She runs hard and always does well but clearly she never tries to beat her friend. I asked her why the other day and she simply said- it doesn’t matter- what is important is that the team have 1st and 2nd place runners and that her friend likes to beat her way more than she wants to beat her friend. She doesn’t want it to get “weird” and she is perfectly happy to get 2nd. This attitude makes me think she might just be OK with where ever she ends up ‘rank’ wise. Again- is this a big thing in BS? Forgive me if I am being ridiculously naive- go easy on me!”</p>
<p>Nothing wrong with this. Friendship is more important than competition.</p>
<p>“May be you send your kids to the most rigorous schools they get into and in a year or two from now we can find out if Gladwell is right or not.”</p>
<p>Typical</p>
<p>At the risk of sounding heretical, as to “what would I do differently”… I’d probably have moved to a city like Boston or Cambridge and sent my kids to a day school where they could have the academic advantages and come home at the end of the day. To me, that would be having the best of both worlds.</p>