Loomis Chaffee is on the docket for early November @ProudLoomisDad!
Excellent. We couldn’t be happier, I wish you luck.
At Loomis specifically and probably others as well, try to meet coaches/department heads where there is real strength or interest. I feel certain that if a real connection is made they will advocate for you. Likewise, I feel that if one school really feels like home, you should communicate that strong preference to the AO. People disagree on that, but I feel it helped us.
SSAT scores are just one facet, as I’m sure you’re aware. In order to make the admission interview/conversations easier, consider making a one page “resume” of child’s accomplishments and interests. We found it to be a great confidence building tool and conversation starter.
Cast a wide net and be yourselves. I can’t agree more that it’s all about “fit”. Enjoy the process, use the opportunity to grow and become more self-aware and directed. You will see amazing growth just by going through it.
Lastly, regarding FA. As an FA applicant, you will face a tougher path to acceptance - no doubt about it - but that is actually a blessing in disguise. Being FA almost by definition means you only will be accepted where the AO feels you will really fit and will be “top of class” in several areas. Any competitive school is going to be a wonderful opportunity. The most important thing is to be in a place where you will really fit and thrive (which to me means being top third in academics, sports and/or arts.) The FA component is a gift because it helps make that decision for us.
Thanks much for the advice @ProudLoomisDad. DD is very mature for her age and interviews well. She can articulate her dreams and hopes for school and the future amazingly as her teachers have told us. We will definitely be reaching out to the coaches/music etc. beforehand hoping to meet them. As her parents, we joke that her athletics, music talents, and of course academics are her strengths, but we were recently surprised that another one of her characteristics might just put her over the edge in terms of a hook. Not wanting to out her – I will privately message you:)
She’s going to be a great asset somewhere, no doubt.
Unfortunately, there’s only so many spots. Widen that net!
We found Kent very generous as well. And gorgeous! Closer to home, take a look at Governors.
Emma Willard has great food. @SevenDad may or may not have seen me stuffing down mushroom wraps during the open house 
Good luck @LaxPrep! The interview may be important, too. Be yourself, and have your parents be themselves, and supportive! 
@MAandMEmom If your swimmer would be on the Peddie all-time top 10 list, she would certainly be fast enough to swim there, especially if she’s in 8th grade this year and continuing to get faster–if her best times were in 6th grade, that’s different. But keep in mind as well that some of the parents of the best swimmers in your area might be very provincial regarding the prospects of boarding school in general, so though Peddie is a really good school with an absolutely insane swimming program, not every single top swimmer in America with Bs or better in middle school is in the applicant pool. (Applicant pool. Pool. See what I did there?) I ran into this exact scenario (again) this year with a swimmer who has AAAA age group cuts in their best events, better-than-I-thought grades, and is taking the SSAT next week–or took them last week; it all runs together–but the parents refuse to consider boarding school at all. The family IS planning on private school, but that means local Big 5 boarding school as a day student or one of the four or whatever other boarding schools within driving distance. They absolutely refuse to consider the all-important wider net with boarding/prep schools like Peddie–and are probably all too sanguine about getting into that world-famous, more or less local school. Kid is fast in the pool, though. Amazing to watch, so maybe that’s why they are so confident. They can’t be convinced that another school might (or might not) be so much better for their kid because they can’t conceive of why all the most famous schools are not exactly alike every way except particular location. I guess for them much rides on that SSAT score.
Thanks @GnarWhail for the advice. Many of the swim parents 'round these parts are so focused on the club team/swim career thing that they can’t see the forest for the trees. They have their (not their child’s) minds set on the college career and will not move off that point. In our case my DD is bright, plays an instrument pretty well, and is interested in STEM options. We actually left a club team (as if!) in favor of a YMCA so she could focus on rounding our her options in preparation for applying to BS. I’m going to go pun on you too now…at Peddie she would be a small fish in a pretty big pool while at other schools there are more opportunities to shimmer (like the kid’s book Rainbow fish). I talked with my hubby about this last night and its worth talking with DD in more depth to let her guide the focus. Our focus has been within a two hour drive so that would be MA, RI, CT, and NH. I know DD would love to go to one of the Big 5 you mention and like others, that SSAT from last week will shine light on whether that’s even remotely a possibility for her.
@MAandMEmom For our family the (preliminary) filter for schools is swimming and crew + St. Paul’s & Groton, so we are in similar places when considering schools, for there are so many worthy schools but not enough time to apply to all of them. If you do decide to expand your geographic search area, you will find some excellent, well-known schools with swimming teams beyond Connecticut besides Peddie, including Lawrenceville and Blair and Mercersburg and St. Andrews. (Lawrenceville and Northfield Mount Hermon play in the same self-selected sandbox as the most famous boarding schools in the Eight Schools Association. NMH has been one of my favorite schools for a long time, and they did an astounding job making the school smaller and more selective in 06. I would be happy as cake if my kid went to NMH and recommend the school to any who will ask and/or listen.) Since your swimmer is a girl, Miss Porter’s is a great option to check out in your prime area, atmo (according to my opinion), with a nifty pool and facility in addition to being a great school that is almost somewhat understated in its excellence considering its fame and cultural impact. I can also see the benefit to a Y swimming program if you are not able or willing to chase multi-day USA meets for six months in the winter. At least where we are the Y league offers a decent number of meets where you can swim enough events and relays to get your racing, along with two levels of championships at the end of the season. The only place the local Y league is lacking is in distance events. Since the 7th and 8th grade years are often the first times you see signs of swimmers who have peaked, as long as your swimmer keeps dropping time, any coaches should be happy to have her apply. Swimming is great in the sense that if you have the times, there’s very little doubt as to whether you are capable of performing as an athlete at any particular school.
@MAandMEmom …my DD is at Loomis as well. I have learned in the past two months that Loomis is incredibly low key and un-presumptuous. I had no clue that they were so incredible at most sports. Check out the athletic link on their site…they are phenomenal!
I’m also reapplying this year, I’m mainly focusing on trying to get my SSAT scores up and email my interviewer with questions, even after the interview so they remember me better. Hope we both have a better M10.
Thanks @dreamcatcher3! We are visiting Loomis in about a week or so and from reading here, I look forward to the visit.
Peddie can be more generous with FA than the GLADCHEMS. I know of a case where that was true.
@GnarWhail just finding this thread now and very interested in your comments re NMH.