<p>My son is currently in the process of applying for Fall 2014 admission to Exeter and here are a couple of things we're pondering:</p>
<p>1) Only two academic recs are required (English and Math). Are more encouraged/discouraged?</p>
<p>2) Similar question...only one extracurricular rec is required, but my son has more than a few people he'd like to ask? How many is too many? </p>
<p>3) What is the general feeling about the Parent Statement? Not required, so is it an asset to his app or a hindrance? How is it viewed by admission staff? Is the decision not to submit one seen as making its own statement?</p>
<p>AO’s are only human; they will gossip about annoying application packages. At the risk of annoying them as they wade through more than 3000 applications, I would resist sending more than what is requested, unless it is REALLY SIGNIFICANT. </p>
<p>My take, as merely a parent, on not submitting the Parent Statement is that shows lack of engagement/interest on the part of the parents.</p>
<p>I would suggest sending what is requested only. The schools know what they want. Only submit additional information if it is not included elsewhere on the application, or requested separately (i.e. art portfolio you could send photos). There is a place to list extracurriculars on the application, so he can list them there. I don’t remember Exeter’s app specifically, but for some schools it was a list, for some there was room to explain a little more. </p>
<p>We did parent statements when requested - either optional or required. </p>
<p>I would pick one that “completes the picture” when considered along with two academic rec and transcript. Meaning, I wouldn’t ask the Math Club mentor to do one if he is already getting a Math teacher recco and has great math grades.</p>
<p>Pick the person who is the best writer and who you think will put the most heart into the rec, not necessarily the person who you think would be most appropriate for Exeter or advises the most important extra curricular activity. </p>
<p>Our example–my kid needed a teacher rec for studying overseas this year. We initially went to his foreign language teacher. Fortunately all the recs. for this program are uploaded by the parent, not the teacher…because that recommendation–from a teacher who liked our kid very much and from whom he had always received A’s was blander than bland, and could literally have been written about nearly any other decent student in the class. He then went to his English teacher who wrote a beautiful recommendation that was about exactly the kinds of qualities a foreign exchange program would look for. Both teachers were equally fond of my kid…one was simply a MUCH better writer.</p>
<p>The parent statement is probably designed to weed out wacko helicopter types who admit to same. Something supportive and polite about appreciating teachers who devote their time to educating students, education as a family priority, and being comfortable partnering with educators are all good thoughts. </p>
<p>Suggest AVOIDING using the term gifted, highly gifted, exceptional, special, giving IQ numbers or 7th grade SAT scores etc. to show how smart your kid is. The SSAT, grades and teacher recs, as well as your child’s essay, will have done that. Besides, your amazing child will be joining other amazing children, and will not be exceptional at Exeter. Basic smarts are assumed if you’ve made it to the reading of the parent essay. It’s OK to mention your child’s passion for music, art, theatre, a sport, etc. </p>
<p>Also AVOID criticizing your local school, blaming teachers, ranting about crummy US education. Parent application essay is not the place. </p>
<p>SPS asked for our family motto. That was harder.</p>
<p>Classicalmama raises a great point, although it’s often hard to know in advance who the passionate, well-written advocate will be.</p>
<p>On the parent essay, we took a couple of characteristics that we thought were differentiators (and relevant to the school) and provided paragraph-long examples that validated the claims. We wanted the Essay to be as interesting and fact-based as we could make it, and readable in less than 5 minutes. Parent essays are especially important in small school environments. They are equally good barometers of the parents and the family dynamics/values.</p>
<p>I worked on the Exeter parent statement a few days ago, so it is fresh in my mind. The questions are fairly specific, and there is not much room to answer them, so they eliminate the possibility of anyone getting long-winded. </p>
<p>I tried to be honest in my assessment of my son (they ask for both strengths and weaknesses), but I particularly tried to highlight those traits of his that (I think) make him both a very good fit for Exeter and someone they would be happy to have around.</p>
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