This upcoming fall I will be in the 8th grade. I have choose to go the “untraditional” route in my area and apply to private and boarding schools. I don’t know of anyone who has applied to elite schools in my school as many of my classmates are applying to schools within the area. I live in Philadelphia so almost everyone is applying to Father Judge, Central, Franklin Towne, Nazereth ect. I have applied to boarding schools in Pennsylvania expect for Phillips Academy At Andover. As well as some private schools. I’m apart of A Better Chance which helps students of other nationality’s get a better chance in admissions. I have straight A’s in 6th and 7th grade as-well as 5th grade. I do ballet as well as swimming. My teachers think very highly of me so letters of rec won’t be an issue. I have done a summer program at UPenn for engineering and work with my dad’s business. I’m taking the SSAT soon but scored within the 87th percentile last time, excluding the vocab section which wasn’t my strong suit. I’m not sure if my application will stand a chance! Any helpppp
I am not sure how ABC supports its students in the process, but I would start with their resources and recommendations. Getting selected for that is an honor, so congratulations!
My understanding is that ABC has special relationships with schools, so that should help too. I think you will fare fine overall. You may want to search these boards as I think there have been others who applied this way and who may have insights that could help you.
Fingers crossed George is one of the schools you are considering!
Thank you so much for the feedback! I haven’t made my official list yet but I’ll make sure to check out George.
Small point - if you are using your real name, you may want to consider changing your CC username.
Best of luck in this process!
Your stats look fine. But before you get into the thick of things, have a serious discussion with your parents about how much they’re willing to pay. Boarding school can be expensive.
Without an outside scholarship, the costs are upwards of $75K per year. There is financial aid available, but the chances for admission are reduced if you apply for FA (well except for Andover). Make sure your parents are willing to pay before spending time applying.
If budget is an issue, look at smaller, less well known schools. They sometimes will provide scholarships to needy students who also bring added diversity. Also consider the day school programs near Philly.
I believe Exeter is now need blind as well.
I don’t come from a extremely wealthy family but my family is always willing to pay what they can when it comes to bettering my education. I have looked at a lot of schools endowment and to say the least it simply isn’t in my hands. The private day schools in Philly that I am applying to seem more likely to give me a scholarship but again I am not sure.
ABC will help you with this. Agree that you’ll be fine on this front!
Even some if the schools with small endowments can be generous if they really want the student.
My kiddo got huge financial aid to Deerfield. Many schools give huge financial aid. We are not “needy” by any stretch of the imagination. There are MANY BS that give aid to middle and even upper middle class families. If you can’t afford 65k a year you will have to apply for aid. I would suggest applying to the ones that will not accept you if you can’t afford it with their aid (we found the tuition estimator on the website to be accurate). It will avoid being accepted and not able to go. I would recommend applying to Deerfield. While they don’t recruit for dance, they definitely choose kids with that in mind as the dance program there is strong. Good luck!
thank you for the feedback it really means a lot!!!
I still think you need to have the discussion about money with your parents. These schools are not offering scholarships. They are offering financial aid. But the schools are very expensive as a whole and it is helpful to understand what portion they can pay and to work with ABC to construct your list. They will only allow you to apply to schools that agree with it/using their relationships. You are not exactly a free agent.
Ah yes. I should have picked up in that point.
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