<p>Hmmm, I’d be careful about flagging to a school that you think your kid would do better with special treatment at an interview…</p>
<p>I see your point lemonade. I guess it didn’t occur to me that it could be looked at as be special treatment, just kind of a “by the way, if possible” kind of thing. I just figured the schools would want the kids to be as comfortable as possible.</p>
<p>You need to have faith in the holistic nature of these applications.</p>
<p>My son was waitlisted at 2 schools 2 years ago and denied by 2 schools. In retrospect, 1 of the schools he was denied at I should not have pushed for him to apply. It was apparent at the interview and on his essay that he did not connect with the school. 1 of the waitlisted schools was a high reach and 1 was a match. When all was said and done and we were into summer, my son told me he really wanted to stay at his day school and there was only 1 boarding school he loved – the high reach waitlist. </p>
<p>I realized I should have “seen” all this and realized he didn’t want boarding school, but instead wanted a specific school or his current school. I was looking at his passion for learning and the opportunities; he was feeling things he could not express in words. The Ad Coms seemed to see what I was missing and read in between the lines of what my son presented.</p>
<p>My son is happy and challenged at his day school. It worked fine for him in the end. IMO the Ad Coms just have a 6th sense. Introverts who do not shine in the interview process can shine in the written application.</p>
<p>Great conversation going on here.</p>
<p>Interesting…</p>
<p>Shushugah: Just because you’re introverted doesn’t mean you’re not nice. I think you may be assuming that introverts are “cold” types. It’s possible to be on the quiet side and not be a total ice cube. Also, how are introverts less helpful to the school environment than extroverts?</p>
<p>I second the idea of AO’s having a 6th sense. It is amazing that each AO was able to give me such insight into my child after just a 30 minute interview. All were right on the mark.</p>
<p>I believe on the outside my d would be considering an introvert. In actuality she is a very deep thinker who chooses her words very carefully, in order to be clear. </p>
<p>The best advice I can give is that kids need to just be themselves.</p>
<p>I never said anything for against Introverts, I am simply stating different schools have different preferences of the student fit, Exeter is more of an Introverted school than Andover, and simply stating that AO will want a certain fit, of course apply, because you never know, and both schools with have both introverts and extroverts, and environments need to be diversified, </p>
<p>I made a poor analogy by bringing up the fact that andover want’s nice kids, not to compare, but I am simply saying it’s equally fair/unfair that the school (for sake of argument) arbitrarily chose to only accept nice kids (hey what’s wrong with the nasty kids?) and or only extroverts (not that there’s anything wrong with introverts either)</p>
<p>Not to take this off-topic, but kids do develop at different rates. A kid who’s right for 10th grade at school XYZ may not have been ready for 9th. As part of the application mix for applicants to 8th or 9th grade, I’d recommend considering junior boarding schools, especially if you’re applying only to a handful of highly competitive BS. This provides the opportunity to demonstrate success as a boarder in a more nurturing environment. We’ve seen this work well first hand, so feel free to inquire if this sounds interesting. This also prevents you from locking into a safety school you’re less than thrilled with.</p>