<p>My son goes to Blair Academy, so if you decide to consider it I am happy to answer questions. I did not suggest it because it has 430 students. My son loves it there! They have around 430 acres and are close to the Delaware Water Gap which is run by the National Park Service. There is skiing nearby. Also, they are next to the Princeton Nature Center (the benefactor of Blair was also a Princeton benefactor). Dress is casual (although there is a dress code), the students are very friendly, the campus is gorgeous, academics strong and college matriculation excellent for the top 25%. I like Mercersburg too, but it was beyond the driving distance I wanted.</p>
<p>I would really recommend looking at Holderness School in NH. I am an alum and taught there for a few years. Located in the White Mountains of NH, there are a ton of outdoor activities. Winter sports... skiing, hockey, etc... are very strong at this small school... about 260 - 270 students.... There is a dress code, but no uniforms. </p>
<p>The school year starts for new students with an orientation hike led by trained faculty members and student leaders. Each year the entire Junior class is broken up into groups of approximately 12 students who hike in the White Mountains for 10 days led by trained faculty and "guest" leaders. </p>
<p>Feel free to PM me with any questions.</p>
<p>what year is your son at blair? i know someone who got kicked out from '08.</p>
<p>He is in 9th grade '10.</p>
<p>oh ok. the kid i knew did something horrible and then they kicked him out and then let him come bck the next year without applying.. i think thats odd for a school to do that. i guess it just has to do with money.</p>
<p>How horrible a thing could a kid do in prep school without going to juvenille hall or something?</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for the suggestions and PM's. It got us started in the right direction. </p>
<p>I have requested info packets from a ton of schools (some that don't quite meet his requirements -- but are good for other reasons).</p>
<p>So far, these are the schools on the list:
Northwood School
Hebron Academy
Bridgton Academy
Scattergood Friends School<br>
Olney Friends School<br>
Interlochen Arts Academy
CFS, The School at Church Farm
Groton School<br>
Milton Academy
Peddie School
Woodberry Forest School
Hill School
Conserve School
Stevenson School
Orme School
Millbrook School
Mercersburg Academy
Blair Academy<br>
Choate Rosemary Hall
Holderness School<br>
St. Paul's School<br>
Thacher School
Cate School<br>
St. Andrew's School, DE </p>
<p>It is a ton of schools, but a good place to start. these included schools that various people recommended plus schools with good FA. I think that Financial Aid needs to be our starting point, since it will be critical for him.</p>
<p>His plan right now is to read more, write everyday, keep his grades up and work hard on his current EC's. His school just got a grant for after school tutoring and it is open to all kids (not just 30% who are currently failing) and he will be signing up. (I think he could really use help in writing)</p>
<p>He is busy filling out applications for summer programs (last year he did a CTD class, Boy Scout Order of the Arrow National Convention, Boy Scout Youth Leadership Training, and two Civil Air Patrol activities). </p>
<p>After spring break, we are going to look at having him take the SSAT to get an idea on his score possibilities.</p>
<p>I will be getting the Greene's book on schools and I have the giant Peterson book. I ordered the SSAT book from the company, so we will also do some reading and research.</p>
<p>Again -- thanks for the help! If you think of a school that isn't on the list that you think I should add, let me know.</p>
<p>That is one wild list! Ranges from the super preppy, "impossible" to get into, to the super chewy third tier to cowboy schools.</p>
<p>Bridgton only takes PG's by the way.</p>
<p>That's quite a list. Good for you for starting out so early! With this time, and the dedication that you and your son have, I think that he will be fully prepared to get into whatever school he wants by next year. He sounds like a great candidate.</p>
<p>
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Ranges from the super preppy, "impossible" to get into, to the super chewy third tier to cowboy schools.
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</p>
<p>lol what schools do you think are the preppy and cowboy schools?</p>
<p>sorry -- we put bridgeton on the list for my older son.</p>
<p>It is quite a list -- but it should give him something to think about.</p>
<p>What schools are third tier (and what schools are in the top two tiers?)? Is there a list (it is the most selective or another criteria)</p>
<p>some of the schools really sounded interesting and very different (scattergood, olney)-- those appeal to him -- but I am looking on down the road. He is 13 now, but will eventually be 18 and applying to colleges. That is why I want to make sure that he would have a chance at a top school/Ivy if he wanted it. Not a sure thing, but at least chance if he has the stats. i am thinking a third tier school would make it less likely?</p>
<p>My goal is to make sure he expands his opportunities -- not limits them -- when he goes to high school. I also think we need to look ahead so that he doesn't outgrow the school and want to transfer. What he wants in 9th grade may be vastly different than what he wants in 12th grade.</p>
<p>The only for sure criteria is that it has great FA.</p>
<p>What hasn't been mentioned and is important is that like with colleges, if seeking merit aid you must apply to schools where you are at the top of the pool. It's my belief thast this is true even with the few "need blind" schools. So if your son is not a URM, athlete or genius of some sort, you should focus on schools where his scores put him at the top. If he scores 85-90% nationally, he will probably score about 75% on the SSAT. I would look atschools where the average SSAT is about 60%.</p>
<p>suze -- good thing to keep in mind. Not only would that be important for FA, but I think he will want to be in the top 25% of the pool anyway. </p>
<p>We will start by looking at all the info and I will see if we can come to a conclusion of what he is really looking for and what he likes/dislikes about certain schools. Then we can compare that to his stats (by the end of the school year, we will know his GPA/test scores/EC's better) and figure out where he wants to go, who gives good FA and where he would be at the top of the pool. I think we should be able to come up with 6-8 schools that will work from match to reach. </p>
<p>suze -- other than average SSAT scores, is there any other way to tell what the pool is? Like, what the top 25% SSAT scores are? And for the "top of the pool" would that just be SSAT scores? since curriculum and GPA can be so arbitrary and EC's can really vary.</p>
<p>For my brother, applying this year, we're using boardingschoolreview.com for scores as well as checking with the schools (they really went up at some schools last year and are not yet reflected on the site). It didn't exis when I applied so it's only a few years old.</p>
<p>Expect at the usual suspect top schools (Andover, St. Pauls's, Exeter, Deerfield etc.) that many applicants are top students at top private schools around the Country. It'sclearly harder to assess GPAs at schools they don't know, but if your school is pretty average, he would need to be at the very top of his middle school to get into top schools, aid aside.</p>
<p>For my brother, who is a competitive applicant at top schools (has done well on national level, top student at feeder school) we are hoping schools in the Peddie range might be generous with aid. The basic thought being that with his 4.0/98 SSAT, schools with averages considerably below will want to attract kids like him. We noted that even though he is a URM, much of the aid goes to URMs who enter the school a part of programs like Prep for Prep and to athletes, which he is not.</p>
<p>I honestly believe when a lot of aid is needed, you need to have a skill, talent, interest or background that the school really wants. My focus would be not only on scoires, but on what unique your son can bring to a school.</p>
<p>One thing I want to add is that I don't think it's like college, where if you apply to a good range you'll get in with aid somewhere. I guess I would want my kid to understand this. There is no Federal money and there is not a spot at A school for every kid. This is about the school's money and who they want for diversity and a well rounded student body.</p>
<p>suze -- thanks for the info, it is a reality check. Although my son is a great kid and student, he is not going to bring anything to the table other than maybe geographic diversity (which will most likely not matter at all). He is not an athlete, musician or genius and he is still young enough that he has not really discovered his "passion". His only real interest is environmental science --which so far he has only pursued through a science fair project, some merit badges and a school club. He may increase his participation in this in the months coming up, but he isn't going to do it just for Boarding school admissions. Plus -- that doesn't sound like something that he would bring to the school (but it would help if a school had a similiar slant since he might be the kind of student the school is looking for).</p>
<p>His middle school is a school within a school and he is in the Middle Years IB program so that might at least help a tad with being able to compare his grades to other schools. At least it is a standardized curriculum and pretty rigorous.</p>
<p>I am thinking that the only really super competitive schools he will apply to will need to be need blind (there are a few) where he would be in the top 30% and otherwise he will apply where he is in the top 20% for the student group. He has a few on his list that don't even require tests, so he might do well there (I think he would do well with a holistic eval).</p>
<p>Luckily we have plenty of time for evaluation, reflection and improvement. He isn't set on any particular school (although he does love the one that is local)</p>
<p>He has a decent back-up -- the local school's IB program or a charter school where the kids take college classes.</p>
<p>so -- if he has decent stats (say GPA of 3.8 and SSAT scores of 80-85%) with good recs and good ECs (great for our area) -- does he have a chance at some of the schools on the list? with good FA? or am I completely off-base?</p>
<p>Some of the schools on the list seem to have good FA and they looked good to him (Conserve, Scattergood, Olney) and they didn't seem to be on the same competitive level as Exeter and Andover.</p>
<p>Sounds like a good plan. My mother was just telling me how much different she felt the competitive environment is now than it was when I applied (just graduated from Andover). My brother started out really wanting SPS but is now understanding that he better love some easier schools to get into as much! Good luck!!</p>
<p>I think Suze has it right. We went through this process last year and I mistakenly thought it would be similar to the college process we'd been through a couple years ago. If you are dead set on attending a b.s., you need to really research the schools. We've heard the same thing - the competitive environment is very different from just a few years ago. It's taken some siblings by surprise. </p>
<p>Regarding need blind boarding schools, other than Exeter, what schools have a need blind policy? This information was very hard to come by last year, maybe it's different this year.</p>
<p>Isn't Scattergood very small? Under 100 students?
I am not sure if this is correct, but I think many of the Friends Schools FA is for Friends. That seemed to be the case when we looked at George School a couple of years ago.</p>