<p>This year I applied to Deerfield as an incoming junior. I was waitlisted, but when my mom talked to someone from admissions they said I had a very good chance of getting accepted next year. I currently go to a public high school in the upper midwest, where hardly anyone even knows what a prep school is. I don't think I will be able to get very much out of the school if I only go one year. I am considering repeating 11th grade, but my mom doesn't want me to be a year behind. Is prep school worth an extra year?</p>
<p>I hate being concise but I find that sometimes the shortest statements are the most powerful. So to answer your question: it is.</p>
<p>Thanks. That is exactly what I wanted to hear!</p>
<p>YESYESYES! it IS!!!</p>
<p>I have family in the Midwest & understand precisely what you mean as to how folks in the region view BS – something between reform school and Eton.</p>
<p>On repeating, I am now a parent but repeated when I went to BS. You won’t lose a single thing; rather, you will gain much. Didn’t hurt me and I don’t expect it to hurt one of my kids who will repeat a year. You will get much more out of spending two years in BS than one, and that “more” will stay with you the rest of your life.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s worth it, if you’ve been doing well in your school you may as well just finish it off and go to college. Just my opinion, this board is kind of biased considering everyone here is going to BS</p>
<p>I am considering repeating (sophomore) year next year, because I learned of boarding school in March. :(</p>
<p>Although I haven’t yet been there, I think it will be well worth it, and I’m definitely going to try hard to get in next year as a repeat. Good luck!</p>
<p>Repeating sophomore seems to be worth it. Idk about anything above that but maybe…</p>
<p>I think the benefits of repeating outweigh those of not. If you go as a senior, you will only be there for a few months before you need to fill out college applications. Your teachers, who will have to write your recs, really won’t know you very well.
But more importantly, in my opinion, the overall impact of increased maturity, both in the classroom and out, will be lessened.
In my opinion, going just for your senior year is probably not worth it.
Btw, my son is just finishing up repeating his jr. year at bs. He is in good company with a bunch of others who did the same thing.
Do you play sports?
zp</p>
<p>Academically and socially, arriving at a top boarding school as a Senior would be difficult. The Junior year academics at your public school are in no way equivalent to Junior year at DA. For example, all DA junior Engish classes are taught at the AP level. They don’t even bother calling it AP. Imagine all your classes being with a community of students who ALL study at the AP Level all the time. The students will be way ahead of you, and well into college applications. Although one year is better then none, two years is much better.</p>
<p>Yes - it is totally worth it. </p>
<p>Note: they tell everybody to “re-apply next year” You may want to hedge your bets with some other schools.</p>
<p>I don’t know what your mom really means by “a year behind”. You won’t be with your public school classmates, so it’s not like you won’t graduate w/your class and at bs, repeating is common - possibly up to a third of your classmates are repeaters. Once you finish hs and college, that’s it…you are in the work force. One year extra of hs is a wonderful thing and is most certainly worth it.</p>
<p>Many who attend boarding school consider it the best time of their life…even better than college. When looking back, they realize their path in life was most influenced during their time at boarding school. Those who have not experienced boarding school often act incredulous to these statements.</p>
<p>For many, an extra year pays long-term dividends.</p>
<p>Why do you want to go to boarding school? Your answer is important. If it’s for the experience, it may be worth it.</p>
<p>ON THE OTHER HAND, if you’re interested in boarding schools due to college admissions, think carefully. A very able student from Fargo, North Dakota, who tests well, may have much better chances at the college admissions game applying from Fargo.</p>
<p>There are many reasons I want to go to boarding school. One of them is being prepared for college, not getting accepted. As I walk through the main hallway of my high school I see papers decorated with the names of the colleges the seniors are going to attend. I look for Ivy League schools but I only see NDSU, UND, MSUM, MSU (all state universities), or local liberal arts schools. From this wall, I do not think going to high school in North Dakota would better anybody’s chances of getting into a good college. My mom told me it was because people here aren’t ambitious. I am not like them; I do not want to settle for average.</p>
<p>I am not in any team sports, but I am a competitive gymnast, so I am very athletic.</p>
<p>But it sounds like you already have the drive, and that you will apply to rigorous colleges no matter where you go to high school. Periwinkle is right—you will have a much better chance coming from ND than being evaluated with the Massachusetts committee and with all the Deerfield kids applying to top schools. </p>
<p>Of course it’s not all about college admissions. I agree with others that starting as a new 12th grader is a bad idea. Repeating is very common and works out really well for people. Most repeaters are boys, and it is boys that usually have less of a problem with being one of the older kids in a high school environment. If you are a mature girl, you might find high school at age 19 to be tedious. That is my two cents worth.</p>
<p>Even if being from ND makes it 10 times easier to get into colleges, I think the overall experience of boarding school would be wellllll worth it!</p>
<p>IF I WERE YOU, I WOULD DEFINITELY REPEAT JUNIOR YEAR.</p>
<p>I also agree with Toadstool that you should also apply to other schools to increase your chances. There are many great schools just like Deerfield! :D</p>
<p>I hate to weigh in with what will be an unpopular opinion on this thread, but its completely not worth it. Even if you repeat the 11th grade, you will, most likely, be “that kid that came in 11th grade, whats his name”. Most friendships will have already been formed. Most teachers will not know you if you come in either in 11th or 12th, so any recs for college will not truly be genuine, and colleges do see that. Unless you are a nationally ranked athlete being recruited for a sport, you have very little chance of varsity since coaches do look out for those that have “come up through the ranks”. Similarly you have zero chance at a leadership role in a club.<br>
Essentially everything that one looks for in a BS will have passed you by.</p>
<p>Responding to mhmm - At most boarding schools, but particularly Deerfield, probably 1/3 of the students are new every year. And their are many new students for every class, including for the senior year - PG’s or true seniors. There is no stigma to arriving for the junior year. I do agree that coming in that year would be best - but mostly to be prepared for the college admissions process which kicks off around January of Junior year. But this will not necessarily give you a leg up in the college process as you will be competing against a different caliber classmate for admission slots.</p>
<p>I just think it would be a waste of time if you’re already being active and have good grades in your current school. No one NEEDS boarding school, it’s just a privelege and a cool expereince. I wouldn’t re-do 11th unless I needed to improve grades…</p>
<p>I say apply and then leave it to your gut on if you go or not. You may feel different once you get a good SAT score and grades and about to enter your last yr of highschool. I know I would</p>
<p>Thanks for all the responses. Its good to here both sides of the situation. This summer my family is going on a three week road trip to the east coast so I will have time to visit a few schools. The two schools I am most interested in visiting are Deerfield and Hotchkiss. I was not planning on being a varsity athlete, I would like to concentrate on clubs and organizations more. My birthday is at the end of May, so I wouldn’t turn 19 until the end of the school year. I am pretty set on going now, I just need to decide which schools to visit and apply to for back up incase I don’t get accepted to Deerfield. Has anyone started boarding school as a junior or a repeat junior? I would like to get a first person take on the matter.</p>