Hi, We have decided to move back from the southeast to northeast and would like our son (currently 9th) to apply to prep/boarding school(s).
Given it is now March 1st, is it possible to apply late? Does that mean no aid? He may not qualify for financial aid anyway; we are hoping for a merit scholarship. He took the PSAT as a freshman and scored in the 94th percentile.
We are looking at Blair Academy first, then CT schools second (any suggestions?).
Please advise if anyone knows whether we need to wait until he is going into 11th or if there is a chance he can go this fall (10th). He is very smart and will have no problem with the work. He’s also a computer whiz and has some experience etc that will demonstrate that.
@sunnyschool I suggest that you inquire with each school that you are interested in applying to directly. Many boarding schools have rolling admissions and may welcome your son’s application. It may be a bit late for financial aid, but you should ask nonetheless and also inquire about merit based scholarships as you stated. I hope this helps a bit.
He basically cannot go without some merit or financial aid. So would it be better to hold off our inquiries until next fall, when his PSAT goes up? The 94%ile was against sophomores and he is in Geometry Honors now (A+ student and won a county math competition), his math score was lower than English since there was Alg 2 on the test.
I also think he may need a year to be ready for being away from home; but at the same time 11th is the hardest year academically and with college visits (and how do boarding school students do these visits?).
He is academically sailing through a top public school and the “competition” is more about getting every point on classwork (busywork) than it is about true learning. The more challenging the work, the better he does. And, he is a computer programming/coding whiz…but will he have time to pursue this interest outside of school in a boarding school?
I seriously doubt you will get aid at this point. There is very little merit aid anywhere. I would wait. Most schools with rolling admissions are smaller and lower tier academically too.
What level of aid are you looking for? Could you swing private day school tuition which tends to be cheaper than BS? In your move, do you have flexibility to relocate to an area with good public schools or good private day schools?
If it was me, one concern would be changing schools twice in 2 years. That’s tough on a teen.
As far as time to pursue his programming/coding interest at BS, BSs do have more mandatory requirements like sports participation than public school. That might be a factor in terms of the amount of free time.
He is also a competitive swimmer (year around) and would swim at prep school. We don’t plan to move until summer 2017, but we could move this summer 2016 if needed.
We would live 50 minutes from Blair Academy. I think it’s far as a day student, though it’s possible.
Need at least 50% aid/merit scholarship, maybe more. He can go to a catholic prep school for $10-15K or public school for free. The problem we’re running into is he is on a more advanced track in FL than the small public HS offers in NJ (not as many AP classes). We will be tied to a certain town in NJ due to his siblings (prior school/sports experience/friends there).
We were thinking he would need to board during the week and come home weekends. It’s just a really long drive each day to do it twice (ie, driving him there and back in AM and PM).
Especially if he is a swimmer that has times that would make an impact at a school like Blair, than I think there is no harm in reaching out and inquiring. Great thing about swimming is how objective the evaluation is.
Sounds like you have some flexibility in the move so if no success this year, you could make a broader search the following year.
I agree it is too long to commute but most boarders don’t go home except for the occasional weekend. That would really cut into a social life and isn’t looked upon well by boarding schools. Many schools even limit weekends off campus.
LOL, good point! We looked once at Princeton’s curriculum and it was most impressive! Tons of choices in coursework – advanced classes, computer science, math, etc. And then students are allowed to go to Princeton University if they want to take a course not offered at the high school.
We know some kids in Millburn. The culture in the town is a bit much for us.
Yes, I read in the news that the kids in Princeton are being driven to the brink. I think that’s the culture also, of the families self-selecting that environment. It may be appropriate for some kids, but others cannot handle it.
Most boarding schools will be very similar: seems like you are trading one for the other. Like people in Greenwich public verses Greenwich academy or Brunswick.
