New Forum: Prep School Admissions

Prep School Admissions
81

<p>There is a tendency to think that all of the top prep schools are in New England. This is similar to the mentality that says, "there is Amherst and Williams and everyone else". Or, there is Harvard and Yale and everyone else.</p>

<p>Many students would be smart to consider any of the following schools that are south of New York:</p>

<p>Westtown School where I work as an Admissions counselor.
St. Andrews School in Delaware
Peddie School in New Jersey
Lawrenceville seems to be the one school that gets attention here.
Mercersburg School in rural Pennsylvania
Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia
Madeira is a girls school that is outside of DC.</p>

<p>There are dozens more that could be mentioned here as well that are worthy of exploration, but students are missing out on some great schools if they limit themselves to New England.</p>

<p>Secondly, high SAT scores is an EXTREMELY poor way to pick a prep school or a college. We could easily have SAT scores that are stratospheric, but we routinely turn down kids with SSAT scores that are off the charts, but are lacking in other areas. As a boarding school, the students you accept are being accepted into your home. We would be a much much poorer school if we accepted a lot of kids who we know (based on SSAT testing which is highly correlated to SAT testing) would score in the 1400's (old scale) or 2150+ in the new scale, but who may not make great roommates or who may not bring much to strengthen the community in terms of extracurricular contributions. Now, I am NOT saying that schools with SAT averages of over 1350 do not also pay attention the the things I am referring to. Many and arguably, most of them also pick dozens of kids with lower SATS over kids who will be tremendous community members and make significant extracurricular contributions.</p>

<p>Families need to pay more attention to the values and philosophy, history and culture of the school. Families need to trust their gut when it comes to the feel that a school leaves them with when they visit it. Families should look at things like: courses offered, college matriculation, reputation, etc, but they should also look for schools where kids are happy and well adjusted.</p>

<p>As someone who is in admissions, it's amazing to me how SAT scores are overrated. A quality environment is one where the school is full of great kids with outstanding character; kids who if you were to meet them, you would want your son/daughter to be like 95% of the kids you meet. You can't measure that by a 3 hr and 45 minute test. </p>

<p>In selecting a school for your child, think of yourself as picking a home for your child to live in. If you think about this, you won't obsess over SAT scores and believe you can create a pecking order of, "the best schools" by how kids do on a morning test. Instead, you will make sure that the values, philosophy, cuture, history, priorities and feel of the school are as closely alligned to the values you want to inculcate in your child. The kids that are living with your son/daughter in a close community like a boarding school, will have an indelible impact on the character of your child.</p>

<p>I am happy to answer any questions that anyone has about Westtown or boarding school in general. Feel free to respond in this forrum or privately with an email directed to my attention. By the way, if your son/daughter goes off to boarding camp and loves it, I can assure you that there is a boarding school out there that they can thrive at. The close relationships between students and other students; students and faculty are what makes a boarding school special. Sure, the facilities at your finger tip are great. Sure, the time management skills, growth of independance and lack of commute are attractive, but boarding school is great because of the unique relationships that it fosters.</p>

82

<p>AMEN. Excellent post. These are the reasons we were so happy with the school our son attended. The kids were SO personable and you could tell they really enjoyed the school and their interactions with faculty and staff. You are correct in that this is your child's HOME and there is so much to consider besides test scores or how many kids wind up at Ivys. At my son's school, the kids were strongly encouraged (and assisted) to choose a college that was as good a fit for them as the boarding school had been. If this meant Dickenson instead of Brown, then so be it.</p>

83

<p>Thank you Admissions Rep. You make some very valuable points, and I hope you will stay active on this board.</p>

<p>I'm curious about the overall number of boarding applicants. I've heard that the overall number has been flat for years. Is this true? It seems to me that some schools, especially schools in New England, have had an increase in applicants during the last 5 years. Certainly, the number of high school graduates has been on the rise, although it will decline slowly starting this year. I'm hoping that you can answer my question. As an ex-Marketing person, I find this market very interesting. </p>

<p>I agree with you completely that there are wonderful schools beyond New England. My son will start at Blair Academy next week. He didn't want a school with a coat & tie required for the academic day. Had it not been for this requirement, we might have overlooked this wonderful school because of its location!</p>

84

<p>adminrep, you make total sense, however, many of these students are stuck on NE schools and I hope your message sinks in.</p>

85

<p>I decided to bump up this thread because I think it is worthwhile to read post # 81 from admissionsrep who is from Westtown School admissions. He has some valuable comments on how SAT/SSAT scores are viewed by many adcoms.</p>

86

<p>I applied to Cate School (undoubtedly #1 or 2 CA private boarding school competing with the Thacher School in Ojai, CA) couple years ago (about 2 I think) for Freshmen Entrance. I probably had THE WORST SSAT score from all applicants. I cannot recall my percentiles but it was a pretty bad grade. </p>

<p>Anyway, I stood strong and aced that interview. Yes everybody, I pretty much aced it. How? Be personal and be yourself. Interviews are a big chunk in prep school admissions (from what i have heard and from my own experience) </p>

<p>Unluckily enough, I got deferred/waitlisted. But man, even getting waitlisted made me happy. Can you imagine, my GPA and SSAT score (generally speaking, the numbers part) were very bad. I was competing with kids from Taiwan, Kenya, France, and other top kids from other countries. </p>

<p>But I think the reps from Cate looked more deeply than that. I wrote a good essay, got good recommendations, and did very well on the interview. </p>

<p>Emphasize what you like. Emphasize your positives on your extracurriculars. This school really emphasized service toward the community.Luckily, as part of the Student Council (Community Service Chair), I connected my passion of serving the community to what the school really cared about (I think this was the key in interviews) So, if time allows, try looking in the schools' sites you are applying to, and look in the About (Enter school's name) link and read the school's bio. Know about the school and ask clever questions. Show proof that you are deeply interested in learning more about the school and that you really want to go to the school. </p>

<p>Probably the story is different when applying to N.E area/East coast top prep schools (ie Andover, St. Paul's, Exeter et al) But generally speaking, do not disregard the essay and interview section, for they are very important parts to consider for admissions. </p>

<p>But do not follow my recommendation with all your heart, since I write this based on my own experience 2 years ago when I applied to a WEST COAST school. Many students in CC apply to EAST COAST schools, so things might change a bit. </p>

<p>I hope this helped a little bit. Anything else you want to ask me, PM me or write on this thread. </p>

<p>Happy Holidays!</p>

87

<p>Nope, prepparent, but I just was reading a review at BSR about SGS and they mentioned that. It's the first rview on there. Why don't you check it out?</p>

88

<p>Oh whoops. I put this on the wrong thread.</p>

89

<p>My son has expressed a strong interest in attending boarding school. We live in Ct, so I sent for info from most of the scoolls in CT, Mass and NH. I was hoping to keep him within driving distance. Now I wonder if I am limiting his opportunities. </p>

<p>Also, in order for him to attend he would need financial aid. Is there any way to find out which schools are more likely to give fin. aid?</p>

<p>Lastly, can the 2 hours that a student spends visiting a school really tell you what you need to know???</p>

<p>Any input is greatly appreciated...</p>

90

<p>try making a thread on this subform, it will make it a lot easier for people to express their opinions</p>

91

<p>Comments on Northfield Mount Herman as a post-grad school? Anyone go there or have info about it? We visited and were very impressed. My son needs another year of strong academics (bad gpa but is getting all As and Bs first term senior year....) Any advice?</p>

92

<p>You might consider starting a new thread asking this question in this forum.</p>

<p>Looking back at your posting history, with a 2.4 GPA (after Junior year), I take it that you are trying to use the extra year to raise it. Of course, there isn't much you can do about the water under the bridge, but 1.5 solid (3.5 or better GPA) years (college admissions only gets to see the 1st semester) looks better than 1/2. The trend is important.</p>

<p>There are quite a few around here who have some knowledge of NMH and all of them seem quite favorable. Don't know about the PG aspect, though.</p>

<p>It will hurt that he won't know his teachers very well to get good letters of recommendation before they are due. You may want to think about how this will work.</p>

<p>If you had come here last year, I would have recommended a 11R year this year, but that too is water under the bridge. And I doubt a mid-year transfer is practical or even possible (plus PG year of course) but you never know.</p>

93

<p>I've wanted to go to boarding school for quite some time, but my parents have never really been too into it. I'm now a junior, and I still want to go, but I'm wondering if it would make sense. I know how hard it is to get into schools as a senior, so if I were to apply, I would probably repeat 11th grade. I get pretty good grades, mostly B's in honors courses at one of the top public schools in the country. My one major academic downfall is math though. I've always struggled with that. I want to go to college and do premed though, so math is extremely important. This year, I'm also a little worried about physics since it's a very math based science. What would you do?</p>

94

<p>im appling to 4 schools:st marks, st georges, st pauls, and middlesex.
if i get into all three i would have no idea where i would go
anybody have an opinion on the best school?
o and my brother goes to st georges and my sister is a senior at st marks.
and what are my chances of getting in with an 81 on the ssat?</p>

95

<p>Thread is a bit too old, but you've got good ssat scores. :)
and i don't know which school is better, cuz it differs for everyone</p>

96

<p>wait for the revisit days then decide</p>

97

<p>My D is graduating from Cushing Academy in Massachusetts this spring of 08 after 3 wonderful years. She is a top student and picked Cushing over the better known New England boarding schools. I highly recommend Cushing. Most of the faculty hold advanced degrees. The classes are small and most importantly the school is extremely supportive. My daughter has thrived at Cushing and was accepted at Vanderbilt EDI where she will be a member of the Class of 2012. Her friends have had similar experiences and were also accepted ED at other top colleges. The school has embarked on a new 5 year capital campaign to build new buildings in addition to the new academic and art buildings recently completed. Cushing's art program is one of the best in the country and its students are highly recruited. It has a significant international population and does a great job teaching these kids our language. Many of these international students have incredibly high math and science SAT and AP scores and with Cushing's help achive good English scores as well.</p>

98

<p>As we discussed many times, SSAT is only one factor in application.
I like the schools you applied. I applied to those except St. George.
They are pretty good schools. I know Transcripts, recom letters, EC
are far more important, and SSAT is just one marker. Even though I got
higher SSAt score, I am still anxious about the admission. I am looking forward to hearing from them asap. Let's keep fingers crossed. That is the only thing we can do. Of course pray hard!</p>

99

<p>you know, that was from last year?</p>

100

<p>wow, God bless CC mods.</p>