<p>11th grade? I'm not sure, but I guess it might be</p>
<p>Hey, knealon,
Listen, don't sweat it. I was shaky myself in applying for 11th grade at Exeter, Lawrenceville, and Deerfield. There wasn't anything very stand-out academic wise on my applications (all As bar 2 Bs, 4.0^gpa, about an 1800 on my psats), but in my opinion, I had a terriffic interview and pretty killer essays. Just make sure that you get the message across to them why you want this change in your life and what is special about you (ie-how you would change the world, etc). Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention first that I got into Exeter, waitlisted @ Deerfield, and rejected at Lawrenceville.
Hope this helps-good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks, sball. I have a 3.9 but All As (save for one A+ and two a-). But I played #2 singles varsity tenis my freshman year and I'll be playing either tha or 1st this coming year, and I'll be taking AP Latin (Latin IV) and Honors spanish (Spanish IV) this coming year, and I volunteer at the hospital if thats anything close of the community thing Joe was talking about...Oh and I won a Spanish award and Creative Writing award last year. & first place national spanish exam and 2ndplace national latin exam.</p>
<p>Depends on the boarding school... but i think i've heard that at St. Paul's they only accept two people. Also, some of hte time, everyone has already made their friendships so it may be a little harder to make friends (or so my dad told me when he went to taft as a junior)</p>
<p>Did anyone here take the National Latin exam level II this year? If so, what did you get out of 40? I want to know how my score compares. I got a 38/40, or Gold medal.</p>
<p>for anyone who applies junior year and really wants to go to boarding school should definetly apply to more then one</p>
<p>well i was appying for 11th grade this year and got into 4 out of 5 schools i applied to. Hun, Hill, NMH, and the gunnery. Just try to bring something new to the table and have confidence in your self.</p>
<p>does being waitlisted the previous year help at all?</p>
<p>How did it work out for you all applying as a new 11th grader? It’s what I’m doing but all this about only accepting 2 people for 11th is discouraging me. Is it really necessary to apply as a repeat sophomore?</p>
<p>Honestly, I don’t think any of the schools plan on saving space for 11th graders (although I could be wrong about that!), but the reality is that the larger the school, the more likely it is that there’ll be some turnover in 11th grade. But I already know of at least one school that is accepting NO applications for 11th grade - they just don’t expect to have any openings! So, it really depends on the school . . .</p>
<p>I’d strongly recommend contacting each of the schools directly and asking an admissions counselor for some advice.</p>
<p>And just one thing to mention for those of you who’ve just discovered this thread . . . there was NO mention here of any of these applicants requiring financial aid, and that could well add another very significant wrinkle to the decision-making process.</p>
<p>Thank you! That’s probably the best idea, to contact each school.</p>
<p>Having been friends with a 2 year guy at a HADES years ago (I was a 3 year guy), for all of you thinking about this I would suggest you seriously consider either of these alternatives: 1) apply as a repeat sophomore or 2) finish at your current high school and consider a PG year. IMHO coming into one of the top schools in your junior year WILL put you at a disadvantage in terms of college applications. You’ll have a scant 12 months of prep school transcript for the schools to be evaluating, and you’re going through the grueling junior year rites while you’re trying to adjust both to living away from home and integrating into an already established social scene. I watched one person go through this on a day to day basis for 2 years, and while he was unusually gregarious and succeeded with the social and athletic aspects and did an above average job academically, his success rate with top tier colleges was not great and he ended up going to a school that was far from his top choice. Just a couple of words of caution and some friendly advice to think through carefully if 2 years at such a school will be enough for you to achieve your goals.</p>
<p>So the worst aspect of entering 11th grade year would be hurting college admissions?</p>
<p>^^It is THE critical year academically, and you’re starting fresh in a new, hyper competitive environment AND trying to fit in socially AND trying to excel at your ECs/athletics. And by competitive, I don’t necessarily mean overt; it doesn’t mean that people won’t be friendly and accepting to you, but it does mean you will find yourself in a new pool with some of the most gifted and motivated peers on the planet (and they’re already in “competition shape.”). It is not an easy environment to excel in (or distinguish yourself) scholastically. So you had better have something else in terms of hooks (recruitable athlete, concert quality musician, inventor/entrepreneur, or granddad has a building named after him at Princeton). If this is NOT the case, I’d seriously reconsider rocking it out at your existing school so on college applications you can make the case you’ve done the absolute best you can with the opportunities that were possible for you, and now the added opportunities at a top notch college will really open new doors to you, OR, consider doing one year at one of the top prep schools as a PG to demonstrate basically the same thing: that you are "top-tier, and you’re taking one year at Andover/Exeter/etc. to finetune yourself for an elite college run.</p>
<p>Ugghhh . . . I’ve got to respond to what PelicanDad said.</p>
<p>I understand that for many of you, everything is a means to an end - and you always have to keep your eye on your NEXT objective. But I’ll tell you, I lived a good part of my life this way . . . and missed out on more opportunities than I care to think about! More often than not, it’s worth it to take advantage of the opportunities that are available to you right now, that may not come your way again, and let the future take care of itself.</p>
<p>If you are not challenged at your current high school and have the opportunity to attend a really great private school, why would you not want to do that? Because 3 years down the road, it might mean you’d be attending College A instead of College B?</p>
<p>If you have a really great opportunity available to you now, take advantage of it! Most prep school grads wouldn’t trade those years for anything . . . so why gamble them away on a chance at a better college? The “college of your dreams” is never a sure thing, no matter how well you’ve prepared. If you’re offered the chance to attend the “high school of your dreams,” I’d say to go for it!</p>
<p>And, by the way, to get back to the original topic, if you think you’d be miserable having to repeat 10th grade, then don’t do it. Apply for 11th grade at those schools that have the most 11th grade openings, and hope for the best!</p>
<p>I don’t disagree with you, I think it’s a choice you have to weigh seriously, though. 2 years at a prep school may be it’s own end, and worthwhile if you need a change of scene now.</p>
<p>But coming in to junior year probably isn’t easy at any school, and <em>especially</em> at these schools.</p>
<p>My experience was that the 2 year juniors didn’t enjoy it at all until senior spring. Whereas…the PGs seemed to come in knowing what they were doing and what they wanted, and had both the perspective and added maturity (plus a full high school record behind them?) to be both productive and engaged.</p>
<p>I might apply 11th grade to the places that offer more spots and 10 th grade at the places its almost unheard of to come in junior year.</p>
<p>And that’s what I was thinking. I do have a high school of my dreams but I have so many colleges that I would be ecstatic to attend. And getting into a top university is my last reason to apply to boarding school, I really just want that boarding school experience.</p>
<p>Thacher usually has one, maybe two spots open for junior year. I’m only chiming in here because I knew the young man whom they admitted in my son’s junior year. He was not an academic or extracurricular superstar, although he was certainly very strong. However, he was an exceptional leader, a person that people loved to be around and who was able to seamlessly integrate with the community. These were his truly distinguishing traits: leadership, interpersonal skills and positive energy. He’s off at Middlebury today, doing great.</p>
<p>While junior year admission is always tough at competitive schools, you don’t have to be <em>the best</em> athlete or scholar, sometimes you can just be a really great kid who will strengthen the community.</p>
<p>Statistically, from what I have observed with the schools that have significant presence of new 11th graders, the percentage of students that go on to the most selective colleges among the new two year students is NOT significantly lower than other groups of students. I think one of the reasons for that is that in many cases the new 11th graders are the ones that are so very strong in academics and/or leadership or have such big “hooks” in the first place before they join the BS. Besides, colleges look at the FOUR years of academic and extracurricular records when making admission decisions, so some of them can actually have an advantage considering the grading in top BS can be so harsh.</p>
<p>What about at a less competitive school - The Hill, George, Westtown etc. Anyone have any knowledge of how easy integrating at 11th grade is? I noticed Westtown has compulsory boarding for all 11th and 12th graders. Does that mean it feels like a new start for incoming juniors? Anyone any knowledge of these or other schools for junior integration?</p>