<p>don't forget summer break! so that's four times.</p>
<p>Maybe there are scholarships for extra expenses that you can apply for? you should find out.</p>
<p>I needed new clothes for Exeter b/c of the dresscode. I know nothing about Middlesex dresscode, though. Also, you might need a computer</p>
<p>Yes, you have to take the SSAT. What did you get on the SAT?</p>
<p>Also, Hotchkiss' website has a table on there website that has an income level and the average aid award. I'll try to find it.</p>
<p>Although i haven't taken the SAT, i would suspect that the SSAT would be a bit easier, since it covers things more age-appropriate for us.</p>
<p>Thank you for all this help.</p>
<p>Umm, well Im going to sleep now, so umm Ill read anything posted in the morning.</p>
<p>Thanks Again!.</p>
<p>For an income level of $60,000 - $79,999, the average award is $27,155. However, there are many variables such as divorce, assets, how much money your parents' have in the bank, etc.</p>
<p>SSAT = Much easier than SAT. Geared for measuring 8th 9th and 10th graders. Barely scratches Algebra.</p>
<p>Spring Break - typically 3 weeks between Winter and Spring terms usually beginning 1st week of March. You'll need it. With typical 6 days of classes a week and no Holidays at school, you'll be toasted (and sick of Winter) at the end of Winter term.</p>
<p>Don't sweat the transportation dollars... I've not spent more than $300 on a round trip. And we live in a small city with no direct flights to Boston. Work on the value part of the proposition. If you are going to TIP type programs, you are probably not challenged in your public school. This is where going to a SPS or MX is to be sold. It will challenge you, unlike the local public. Your parents will spend whatever it takes if they believe it is truly a superior product.</p>
<p>hey mistbandit what campus were you on for duke tip? i was on ASU.(:</p>
<p>in SPS you have to leave during thanksgiving, christmas, and spring breaks becuase thanksgiving is a week and the other two are 3 weeks
in some cases i know people at SPS who got financial aid which covered tuition, books, and transportation so they basically didnt have to pay anything</p>
<p>If you are good about watching SouthWest airline deals they very often have one way from the Northeast (Manchester which is perfect for St. Pauls for example) to Ft. Lauderdale for $49 each way. BUt you do have to watch. </p>
<p>The good thing about SW is that if you book at a higher rate and it goes down, you can get a credit for the difference with no fees to change very easily. </p>
<p>Some of the boarders at my kids school will stay with a local family over Thanksgiving. Now I know everyone boards at St. Pauls, but you could probabaly go home with someone within driving distance for that holiday. You would have to go home for Christmas and spring break I imagine. </p>
<p>But, these are details that are important to think about now - but you need to get your parents engaged a little as well. Get the view books and at least try to get them to agree to go on a visit. Check out the SW air "ding" fares and see if YOU can pay for the visit (for you and one of them). That would show them you are committed to it. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>That sounds like a good idea, thanks.
Probably the hardest part would be getting them to fly there and check it out. Im pretty sure if I can do that, my parents will be convinced.</p>
<p>One thing I doubt my parents would ever consider is "staying with a local family" during Thanksgiving.</p>
<p>1) Awkward? o.o;
2) Parents are super protective. M_M</p>
<p>I wouldnt mind doing so, but most likely not the first year because I wouldnt know anyone that well xD.</p>
<p>
[quote]
at $8-$10K per year
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Before you deem this expense to be "reasonable", calculate how long it would take your parents to earn that amount, after taxes. Then figure out what your family's living expenses are - housing, utilities, car, food, health insurance, activities for your siblings, clothing, etc. Most of us parents don't just have an extra $8-10K per year hanging around.</p>
<p>Now figure out how long it would take you to earn that amount - summers aren't going to cut it. Or exactly how much you'll be able to earn during the summers.</p>
<p>Once you have hard, cold figures in your hands, then re-evaluate. While a boarding school education may be "worth it" to you, it is certainly is not required, and most parents would say no. You'll have to come up with significantly better arguments than "I think I'll get a better education and be more mature" to convince them.</p>
<p>I urge you to respect your parents' judgement. They are already paying for one child in college, and are probably aware they have two more college-bound children.</p>
<p>If your local high school is not challenging enough, you should investigate local options. A state magnet high school? Finishing high school early, and enrolling in a local community college? I am assuming that boarding schools are writing to you based on the results of an SAT or other national standardized test. Local private day school?</p>
<p>In other words, your test scores may open many doors for you. Before you complain about your parents' stinginess, it behooves you to do more research. Many parents are reluctant to send their children away to boarding school. You may find a local option which they can accept.</p>
<p>Misbandit,</p>
<p>I admire your desire to find a better school for yourself! I'm a consultant who works with families in helping them to find boarding schools. I have a few comments and ideas for you.</p>
<p>I think that you have to understand that boarding school WILL be a financial sacrifice foryour parents. By definition, that is what the financial aid calculation does. Sometimes kids on this board or kids at school will hear about full scholarships, but they are often an alliance between the school and a private scholarship program. Most families who make $75,000 a year, end up paying about $10,000 in tuition, plus another $2000 in books, clothes, transportation, and possibly health insurance if youdon't have it. I see many middle income families who take loans, get money from relatives and piece it together to make it work. It is rare for a school to give a student an offer that is so good they just can't refuse it. I don't want to discourage you, but you should go into this knowing that it will indeed be a stretch for your family and they will have to cut back in some areas to make it work for you.</p>
<p>Have you considered any of the wonderful private day schools in Miami? Some of them have merit scholarships along with financial aid that may end up costing your parents very little. </p>
<p>There was a study done that said that students who were accepted to Ivy League schools but did not attend, ended up being as successful as those students who did attend. That shows that it was their intelligence, drive, ambition, etc. that made them successful, not the school they attended. You already have that. So if you don't make it to boarding school, work your hardest at the school you attend, and I bet the end result will be just the same as if you attended Middlesex. Good luck with however it works out for you!</p>
<p>I agree that it is the intelligence and not the school. But it has its limits. With a good school, one can surpass those limits. That is my belief.</p>
<p>On the subject of cost, I can agree that it would be a financial "stretch" but honestly, I don't see it being a stretch at all. Why?</p>
<p>Because my parents spend thousands of dollers per year ( Approximately 3,000 I would estimate), on the hobby of my brother. GoKarting. For Hotels, Gokarts, Travel, Gas, Parts, Track Entrance Fees, Racing Fees, etc. It adds up fast.</p>
<p>But when it comes to me, they arean't willing to lift a finger. What I wish to do has way more benefits than that of my brothers hobby. I've always tried to be a respectful, kind, outgoing, intellectual person. But I will be honest, my middle brother is scum. He is one of those "wannabe gangsters, "imallthat", cocky, jerks. My Parents are unbelieveable when it comes to him. When he starts an argument or starts instigating a something with me, my parents blame me. He's not the "Good" Child they so seemingly assume. They've punished him before, but nothing has changed. I'd say moreso, he is worse than ever. He thinks everything is free in this world, because he has lived off the "money tit" his whole life.</p>
<p>I always take responsibility for my actions, and think through my decisions.
I am the one who CARES about my education and my future, yet they cannot support me, and can support my brother who doesn't deserve it?</p>
<p>Maybe it isn't my place to judge him, but then who will? ...</p>
<p>You know, when I first started looking into boarding schools, I was genuinely, and still am interested in them. The way they work, there uniformity and as far as I know, students eagerness to evolve their ways of thinking and further there knowledge.</p>
<p>I want to be at a place where people WANT to learn. Not a place, where people are EXACTLY like my brother, like my local high schools.</p>
<p>And I am still interested in these aspects. And yet, I think and the better the idea of getting away from my family for part of the year, to have a place to vent all my anger bottled up inside me, into my passion for learning.</p>
<p>I'm one of those people, who put up with stuff for years, and then just burst, go crazy pretty much, and do self-destructive acts.</p>
<p>you better check that attitude before interviews b /c that will NOT get you into a boarding school</p>
<p>a boarding school is not going to solve all your issues</p>
<p>I never said it would.</p>
<p>Do not think that I am going to boarding school " to get away from my family" or any such thing. Though it would be nice sometimes.</p>
<p>Im doing it for my education upon other reasons I have stated in my past posts.</p>
<p>i would think twice before airing "dirty laundry" on some random message board</p>
<p>Re: airfare. While on one carrier in September your trip from Miami - Boston will be $203 roundtrip, it will VERY likely be much more expensive for Thanksgiving and for Winter Holidays (depending on how close to Christmas week you leave school, and how soon after New Year's you return).</p>
<p>Sure, you can always look at carriers like Jet Blue and Southwest which are generally cheaper than other major commercial airlines, and definitely book your tickets as soon as you know your dates of travel and shop around online at expedia and travelocity type websites. </p>
<p>Re: your disdain for public schools. Sure - maybe the public school in your immediate town isn't the best and doesn't seem (at the surface -- are you currently enrolled in this high school?) like it has the most academically minded students, but to be so dismissive of all public schools is a bit naive. In Miami there are plenty of top shelf public high schools and magnet high schools, and there's also excellent private day schools where kids are not only super academically motivated, but care deeply about their extracurriculars and the overall community and these schools have excellent college placement rates. </p>
<p>Boarding school will be a stretch for your family, and they will have to make sacrifices, and yes, it's unfair that your brother's hobby gets a lot of their time, attention, and money, but you have to present your concerns to your parents in a fair and diplomatic way. Telling them exactly what you wrote here will not win you any favors and very likely not convince them to consider something that wasn't on the radar for them.</p>
<p>i agree creative1 ... some things best stay inside one's home</p>