Hello,
I’ve read most of the posst of the last few months on the Prep School admission (literally been stuck on the screen for hours), I hope these questions make sense.
My 14 (1/2) Freshman daughter attends a public school. The school is ranked in the top 300 public schools in America. She has a 4.0 GPA, PSAT 8/9 is 99% and her SAT is also 99%. She has won gold medals at national level for writing and languages and regional debate competitions. No sports, just physical activity for fun and health.
So, two days ago our daughter asked if she could go to a prep school/BS as she felt the majority of students at her school were not into the subjects, not paying attention and the few girls who were also dedicated were leaving for private schools this year.
I had asked her about BS a few times in the last few years, but she declined before. I’m supportive of what she wants (with a broken heart of not having her at home, but understanding that she may need more challenges); I’m thinking that it makes sense to do this if she attends a selective BS… my logic is that a selective BS will have the type of peers she is missing at our Public School…(I’m I missing something?). We are not applying for FA.
I would love to get your perspective, wisdom on these questions:
In June 2018 is probably almost impossible to apply for a fall’18 sophomore start (10). Are there any selective BS with rolling admission now?
Are there even open seats for 10 or 11 (Junior)? or are there so few that regardless of the stats it won’t work?
The ‘repeat’ year topic is also unclear to me. She is doing very well, she is not planning to do sports so graduating a year later is not appealing, is there another benefit I’m missing of repeating a year?
Socially, she is not an extrovert, how easy/likely it is to make good friends in Junior year? (I hope I get some views from students). Our concern is that 11 year is very busy and most of the kids have been together since freshman.
College admissions. She is part of clubs at HS and she would have to start again and won’t be able to have any leadership roles… Would this be compensated by any type of boost she will get from the BS? if I roll the clock she will end of being a 4.0 gpa, 99% SAT public school kid with a range of strong ECs… at the BS she may be a high GPA, 99% SAT private school kid with …(new ECs/better view of the world/stronger ECs…?)
If you got to the search page linked above you can specify region/state and co-ed or all-girls to see schools that have openings.
Some schools (especially larger ones) have programs to integrate any new 10th or 11th graders. Check with each school on this.
Students repeat 9th, or sometimes 10th for a variety of reasons - sports, academics, social. That is a discussion to have with the AO at each school. It might not be the right choice for your D.
College admission is hard one to predict. Focus on what would make a better HS experience for her. She might be able to have leadership roles - it depends on the clubs and the school.
Repeating a year/“ReClassifying” - by ALL means do It! If it is an option. Going from public to private “should” be a huge transition. The culture - collegial versus authoritarian. The rigor - critical thinking versus regurgitation. The “increased” likelihood of inspiring peers/teachers. Being a practiced self advocate versus having a parent fight your battles/ask for help. If the school is worth its salt, your daughter will NOT lose academic ground. If she runs out of courses, every decent school offers her to apply for a course of her making - meaning she talks with the department head, discusses what she wants to learn, then gets a teacher to agree to teach it. As you can imagine the most basic freshman courses are at or above AP level - most students should come in ready to do to do pre-cal work. Don’t get stuck on class labels (Algebra, biology, literature,…). My son (7th Grade) is taking Adv Pre-Algebra - they were working on Trig functions and Coding after Christmas break.
Reclassifying is not just for athletes - PG year is highly usual for athletes.
1b. Yes, transfer to a new school for the academics… EVERY one is smart, EVERY one is gifted. But, it’s the experience and environment which is going to really impress everyone. Being in charge/responsible for getting yourself up and ready. Living with 100s of people that you Intially have NOTHING in common. Having nerdy conversations in your dorm room way past bedtime… The Culture shock, and then being immersed in that kind of culture,… she is going to Want to take it all in.
Q5 is NOT random and I would say is very astute!
DO NOT worry. Amoung the MANY assets she will gain at the new School is the low student to college counselor ratio. Instead of literally +100 students per counselor, she will have a college counselor which at most will have -30 students (that’s a high number), she will have at least 5 levels of support (dorm super, prefect,…). To be honest, the amount of clubs/leadership kids list is over kill. Kids are inventing clubs just so they will have leadership and “groundbreaking” activism,… Colleges are NOW looking for depth of experience (not breadth and an over abundance of captain of this or that). If she has a steady resume of participation, they will be more impressed.
You should look into United World Colleges. You apply to the US committee during your sophomore or junior year and if you are selected, you get to go to a top boarding school in Asia, Europe, South America or the US with top students from around the world. Oh, and tuition is covered! It is a 2-year program.
Oh yeah, with her being only a rising sophomore, PERSONALLY I would not try to rush the application process. I would stick it out the next year and reclassify on the application the next year. TRUST me - the application process is worth doing the long version. The college application process IS easier than private school. Plus, it will also allow for the mental transition for her and YOU in terms of taking that big step. If she hasn’t taken the SSAT/ISEE, it is NOT like the PSAT/SAT. Private tests are based more upon critical thinking, SAT/ACT is based more on regurgitation. Have her take a practice SSAT online for fun - fun for you!
@HMom16 , thank you for the link, I will check and see which ones are available. I get what @WildCat2023 is suggesting and probably give her more tine to prepare for her application.
I spoke today with two New England BS’s and they told me their fall class was closed but there could be spots for the fall’19 intake. @CaliMex, I didn’t know about the option of world colleges.
Thank you all for your ideas, very useful.
@tryone there are several very good academic schools in regions not normally sought after that will have rolling admissions and will relish taking very strong candidates, especially if you do not need aid. Some that come to mind are Hockaday, St Stephens, Indian Springs School, Cranbrook, North Broward. I would look at boarding school review.com and see what you find. You really aren’t rushing the application if you start now for September entry…and because it is summer, may have more time to visit some schools. There won’t be kids there, which I know is a huge “feel” factor, but many international kids never get to visit before they enroll, either. The schools I mentioned by name have some of the very highest SAT averages, so you know she’ll be academically challenged. If none of those options pan out, then you can apply for next year and consider the repeat route…