Post-Grad HS a good choice? Hockey Player.

Prep School Admissions Prep School Parents
1

We know very little about prep schools so any advice, pro or con, is very valued. Thanks in advance.

  • S1, youngest child in class (he was ready and we didn't want him bored)
  • Reasonably talented hockey player (varsity as freshman passing over many older players and upperclassmen, AA club player). His play gets a lot of attention but he is not a "phenom" though.
  • Decent student (B+) but getting much better and more focused as he matures. Tests well and like many kids capable of higher grades when he puts in more time. Does the "B+ minimum effort" for the most part now.
  • In mostly honors classes
  • Unlikely to grow large enough for NCAA Div 1 or Div 3 hockey but could probably play ACHA Div 1 or 2 and wants to.
  • Does not particularly aspire to super-elite colleges but his current career goals include Law School. Wants mid-large sized undergrad college.
  • Good kid, no behavioral problems, many other interests besides hockey (Band, Debate)

We know many people who have gone the gap year Junior-A hockey route to get their kids recruited but that does not seem like a good choice for him. I am wondering if a 13th-grade experience at a prep school would give him time to continue toward maturity in academics, athletics and life and set him up for both more college admission possibilities and better undergrad success for law school admission.

Any similar anecdotal experiences would be great.

FYI we are fortunate and can afford it if we deemed it valuable. Thanks in advance.

2

Tough one! I know only one person who did PG for hockey and that was years ago (Exeter, and at the request of Dartmouth.) He did it for the academics – was a decent student but coming from a large public high school where he had not elected a particularly rigorous path. He did not end up as a top player there, but what that year did for him was make him an acceptable candidate for a school that otherwise would not have taken him. In his case, he needed more academics, not more hockey to make that happen.

I’ve also known kids who did that PG year in order to become better at their sports, but these were typically sports offered primarily through school. (Football being the notable one.) It sounds in your case that if that were the goal, there’s a better way to make oneself into a better hockey player.

I guess what I’d ask is what kind of college do you think would be good for your son and THEN I’d ask whether a) he can get in without PG and b) if the answer is yes, would it be advisable for him to do so. He may or may not abandon the law school dream depending on how his interests develop, so I’d be less likely to consider that than the years in the nearer future.

If you think Bowdoin, for example, would be perfect for him (I know, doesn’t fit the description above), would they take him without PG and would he be a good student there without PG? Or do you think he really needs the PG year in order to succeed at all? How rigorous is your school now? Is honors the toughest track or are the AP classes he’s not taking? What year is he now? It DOES sound to me that he would be an attractive PG candidate to schools, so the question is whether that’s the best path for him.

DS sounds a lot like your son (except that he doesn’t play hockey!), and while he was a decent (B) student in very hard classes at BS, it really took him until senior year to hit his lick and consistently earn As… And he did fine with college admissions because, believe it or not, there are a lot of late-blooming boys out there, and adcoms are pretty good at figuring out who will peak in time for college. (The crazy selective schools take kids who started blooming early and never stopped, but plenty of others, particularly when athletics are involved, seem to be able to tolerate this.)

And not to be really negative, what happens if he gets hurt in the course of any of these plans?

3

@gardenstategal , thanks for a very thoughtful reply. It really is academics I am interested in him having more time to develop, as he is the youngest of his class and something of a late bloomer. He’ll be on the second-most rigorous track at one of the top HS in the state. In his school, APs start Junior year but he probably won’t take any until Senior as he is in a synced-honors program for English and History and not exactly a STEM whiz (although he got an A- on his geometry final yesterday! Yay!)

Some of his local Hockey friends are doing the Junior-A GAP year – no academics – (including a kid who was in the top 5% of the class!). I don’t want him to do that.

PG seemed like a possible compromise; and I have also long believed kids go to college too soon anyway. How can you know what you want to spend up to $250K studying when you are 17?

I think Bowdoin is a perfect place for EVERYBODY. :slight_smile: But he’s probably headed more in the BU-Penn State-Syracuse-Rutgers direction. He should be able to get into one of those without hockey, and try out for the club team then, and that’s probably how it will go.

Thanks again for the comments. Would love any more. And BTW I meant to type “S2” above.

4

If I sound questioning you, please take it as a sounding board….I am also looking into PG for DD, but keep this as my background –DD is “special needs”, has above average IQ, but learns differently. She plays a competitive sport, but will very unlikely to continue in college as it will be difficult for her to handle the school work. She is currently in 12th grade. I agree with the analysis from @gardenstategal in particular on the question “whether he can get in without PG?’

A few things to consider
a. How does the kid feel? As a parent, I am sad as I feel I have pulled her back that she is not able to move to college with her peers. She is also young for her class.

b. Have you looked into which school he will be attending? Will it provide the academic that you think he needs? Will he be able to get into those schools? You may want to talk to those schools as well.

c. Have you visited open house of those schools? I found out, when we did, we could talk to the kids directly and had a sense on how they felt.

d. What exactly do you want him to achieve in terms of maturity in academics? More classes, higher GPA, or just better prepared in reading and writing. (I asked myself similar questions to finally decide that PG is right for her)

e. I am also looking for maturity in life for DD, then her counselor asked me whether DD has ever worked. Not exactly for this kid. Then I found out two of her classmates were EMS, the two kids were serious when they worked even they acted immaturely during class. Hence she will be volunteering, along with her sister, next year. She will also be a camp counselor in the summer. I don’t know yet, but I hope that she learns to take up responsibilities, takes order from adults who are not her parents and who do tolerate mediocrity. (When my younger interviewed with a hospital to volunteer there, they treated her as an adult and I could see she acted differently).

f. You mentioned BU-Penn State-Syracus-Rutgers, will his goal be higher tierd ? I assume, without the PG, he will get in anyway, right?

Sorry, can’t be more help.and I am looking for answers myself :wink:

5

Based upon what you write above, it seems like a PG year would really help your son mature intellectually and athletically. Being the youngest in a class can sometimes be intimidating. Boys always take longer to mature than girls.

If you can afford it, I would say go for it. The academics at a top prep school for PG will be just as tough as taking college classes. The PG students end up taking the upper level courses anyway, which are mostly college level.

As you know, there are lots of boarding schools on the east coast with PG programs. Good luck