I have pretty much stumbled through this process as gracefully and quickly working full time and with 4 busy kids as best as I could for my son who told me he wanted to pursue BS on 10/27/22. He wants to enter BS as a reclass 10th grader. He needs basically full FA. I am a single mom of 4 kids who gets no financial support from their dad and he has no custody. I am feeling extremely anxious and pretty much convinced myself he wont get in or wont get enough FA anywhere although he is such a wonderful hard working kid who needs this opportunity so badly.
We have a significant history of domestic violence in my family and my son has been through many moves and we have limited resources however he is an amazing resilient kid. He has a twin who has autism who he has cared for much of his life. He plays hockey and lacrosse, has amazing grades and recommendations, didnt do as well as we both had thought on the SSAT (68 overall 53V 81Q) He plays AA hockey and HS hockey and lacrosse goalie but because of our limited resources he has never been a super high level exposed player in either sport. We have had some phone calls, emails, and zooms with coaches and the 4 schools we were able to visit we met with coaches either briefly, as the interviewer, or more casually. I definitely dont count him as a recruited type player although I do not know at all what that looks like I am only making assumptions.
He applied to schools where I had a sense he would get to play one or both sports at some level. While its a priority in his mind to play its not in mine. I want him to have life experiences and be unburdened from what he has carried for our family since he was born.
Any words of advice, comfort or support as we wait through this time? If he doesnt get in anywhere this year is it worth trying again next year? Where should I be looking? Is it too late to contact or apply to more schools?
If schools are truly seeking the diversity they claim to be then I would think his chances are decent but IDK. Do they get a ton of low income mixed race applicants that have stronger scores and athletic backgrounds?
Sorry for the rambling post. I wish I had found this community long ago as I stumbled through this process blindly and privately.
He applied to:
Groton
Taft
Hotchkiss
Kent
Brewster
Salisbury
Pomfret
Hebron (already told me no- they cant give him enough FA)
Unfortunately no one can predict the admissions decisions! Your son (and you!) sound phenomenal, and I am very hopeful that things will go his way. You will know soon. Hang in there!
Hi and welcome! I just want to say I am sorry you have had to go through, what sounds like, a lot of extremely distressing and difficult situations 
You must be a fantastic mom to have raised such a determined kid!
There is no clear answer to his chances on acceptances or FA. I do think schools genuinely want diversity of backgrounds and experiences, and that can be advantageous. Overall any kids chances are going to related to the school admissions rate overall - some are in single digits, some far far higher!
This is thread that may be helpful too: Here are your chances for boarding schools
Luckily decisions are only 2 weeks away. The waiting is sooooooo hard!
Hi - I really hope you have the best possible outcome this year so it won’t be necessary to reapply next year. But if it comes to that, I would add Westminster and Avon Old Farms to your list. Westy especially has great teams for both sports and is often very generous with financial aid. Best wishes!
I am crossing my fingers for you! Your son sounds like a great student who is worthy of lots of choices on March 10th. Unfortunately, acceptance rates are really low these days, especially at the first three schools on your list. I also worry that his SSAT score is too low for those same three schools. But fortunately, SSAT scores are not the be all end all.
In terms of recruiting, I suspect you would know if the coaches were actively interested. A friend of mine has a child who was “recruited” as a lax goalie to one of the schools on your list, and the coach showed up to games, and actively pursued the child. Another issue that family ran into is that a school only needs a certain amount of goalies…so if they’re short on goalies, your son will have an advantage, but if they already have an awesome goalie, and another coming up in the pipeline, they won’t be actively looking for another.
Since you do have such a well rounded list, I am hopeful that your son will get at least one offer that works! Best of luck to you. And if it doesn’t happen this year, I would definitely try again next year!
I will add we live 5 hours or so from any of the schools. He has friends already attending a few on the list he applied to or others in NE and several friends applying to schools for the fall. But they do not have the FA need my family does.
Do all schools recruit for all levels (like V JV and Thirds)?
I think the biggest “reach” school is the one we have had the most positive and frequent coach interactions with that the school initiated.
I’m just venting here but there are amazing kids and athletes that never get access to play in an event or in a league they could get recruited from.
I hope I can stay calm through March 10 and help him cope with whatever news comes.
I will always support him in his dreams to the best of my ability.
Thank you for listening and being a community.
I can answer one of your questions, which is no, schools don’t recruit for JV or thirds, and most don’t recruit for most varsity positions! There are definitely exceptions to this: if a school is a national powerhouse in the sport, then yes, there is more recruiting. But at selective boarding schools there actually isn’t that much recruiting going on.
For example, the sport I know best, soccer, South Kent recruits super heavily, and is right up there as possibly the best team in the country. Hotchkiss maybe has one player on their radar that they hope to land but the coach has little pull. And I believe that’s true of other sports at Hotchkiss.
So it really depends on the school and the sport.
As far as applying elsewhere at this point, if playing sports is key, I’d make a list of the schools with lax and/or hockey and/or both. From that list search their websites to see if any offer open or rolling admissions. From there, get on the phone and call to see if applying now comes with any FA opportunities. You might be surprised at what’s there. Last year a coworker’s daughter was recruited for softball AFTER A10! Full ride (and the family could afford it but the school needed players). There may be schools out there needing to fill rosters and are willing to extend aid to do so. Extend your reach if you’re willing. Look at schools out west, in the Midwest, even further south. Probably not as concentrated as New England, but my son still gets info sent from schools in VA, GA, CO and CA (he’s not interested) so maybe they are still looking to fill beds at this point in the year.
Add Deerfield, they have strong Lacrosse team and great financial aid. Sorry- I just skimmed the post, thought you were looking at next year. Good luck!
I think Exeter is need blind as well, so that may be an option.
Worry less about his SSAT scores. They will take into account the quality of the schools he’s attended, etc. to put that into context. Amazing grades help.
Remember: none of us have met your kid. We have no idea what was in his letter of recs. We have no idea how he presented himself in his interviews.
Yes, schools want diversity. And yes, if a school really likes a particular applicant, they will find a way to meet financial aid. Even if it’s over 90%. And the reason a school likes an applicant can vary. If your kid came across to the AO as a joy to be around, and someone that would make the community a better place to be, that could be enough. They want kids that can dive in and wear many hats!
Also, schools can surprise you. People seeking loads of FA sometimes limit themselves to schools with huge endowments. However, schools with smaller endowments can be very generous if they think an applicant is a great fit.
If the worst happens on M10, look into rolling admissions. There may not be as much FA available, but it’s worth a try.
Winchendon and Hoosac both have rolling admissions (as well as some others that I am probably not aware of) and both offered significant FA packages for my daughter. I am also as a single mom with minimal help from dad (disabled, not because he’s not willing). Check those schools out. She is at Winchendon now.
I have had a hard time communicating with Winchendon it’s been so bizarre. Like I can’t email I have to use some portal but when I tried to go there it was like a spam link !
I will keep trying. And Hoosac told me no room for hockey goalies so I didn’t pursue it.
How does she like winchendon ?
At this point in the cycle I’d suggest calling not emailing.
Yes. I had tried and left messages. This was early December. But I will retry if needed
She does like Winchendon, we just both wish it was a bit closer to home (a big reason she is applying to other schools this year). She’s my only child so it’s been difficult being so far from her. But she has made great friends and has for the most part loved being there!
I’m not sure what portal you are referring to unfortunately! Have you tried reaching out directly to the hockey coach? I know their season just ended so maybe he’d be more likely to respond now that the season is over.
Not a parent so I can’t give you advice like everyone else, but to cool down your nerves just start thinking positively and have him more focused on academics. That’s what I’m doing right now and I only come to this site read any new facts, give congrats and just say good luck as of now. Easier said than done, but once you do life becomes a lot easier!!
Got good news on M10 for anyone that was following us. I’m grateful for this community.