<p>Hi, My daughter is academically very strong, great rec. & grades. participates in 2 sports though not a star athlete.
She is applying for 7th Grade. Should we look for a back up school in addition to these schools or she'll get in to one of these. & how are these schools reputations? I know it's a broad question but it's a start of the admission season, might be beneficial to make pros & cons lists! </p>
<p>These are very good schools with low acceptance rates (20-25%). Your daughter may be well qualified, but many well qualified students do not get in. Whether or not you should have a backup depends on what your public school looks like. If you don’t consider your public school to be a viable option, then I would add a school or two that are not quite as competitive to get into. </p>
<p>Agree with momo. Does she have legacy in her favor or recruited athlete? It’s not enough just to be a great student and athlete. She needs to have something each school wants to build their class, and if they already have students who excel at her sports she may be out of luck.
Case in point: the 3 second conversation our student’s coach had with Andover track coach re our student who was a state champion. “We already have 3 sprinters, what else you got?” I think trying to enter at grade 7 gives her an edge. As more people compete for fewer spots, the competition gets tougher, as in grade 9. If you can get your kid into Milton at the ground level, that’s even better.</p>
<p>I would. The acceptance rates are tricky, as these are very good schools with strong, loyal alumni. They may well give legacy applicants and siblings preference in admissions. </p>
<p>I would add Winsor School and Dana Hall to your list. If you can get to the three schools listed, you should be able to get to those two as well. And how do you feel about your local public school?</p>
<p>Winsor isn’t any easier to get into than the three you’re already looking, and Dana Hall maybe a bit easier but not hugely so. I would look at some other options too, like Southfield, Brimmer & May, Beaver Country Day, Newton Country Day, and Rivers. Also, I wouldn’t say that it’s any easier to get into Nobles in 7th grade than it is in 9th, and Milton will be very difficult as 6th grade is a bigger entry point for them than 7th grade is. Case in point, my son sounds an awful lot like your daughter, and he is now doing extremely well at a top boarding school (honor’s roll!), but he got waitlisted at all three schools you mention.</p>
<p>Thanks everybody, I know about Winsor School & as soxmom said it’s not easier to get into than other school but Dana Hall, from what I’ve heard,at least academically is not even close to those other schools, Am I wrong?
Soxmom. Did your son get off the waitlist or he’s enrolled in another school??</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say “not even close.” Dana Hall doesn’t have as much academic prestige as Milton or Winsor, I’d agree with that, but I’m not sure it’s all that far off from BB&N or Nobles. And you can get a darn good education there, no doubt about that. My son didn’t get off the waitlist (pretty much no one does), but he’d already decided in the meantime that he wanted to go to boarding school anyway. He kept his name on the waitlist just to know what his options were, but ended up going to Hotchkiss.</p>
<p>That’s great, Soxmom. We’ll look into Dana Hall as well.thanx,</p>