<p>I have been reasearching boarding schools for a while, and i was wondering, how can you tell if you are well qualified for a school or if it is a "reach" school.
what are some of your reach schools, qualified schools, and safety schools?
Why do you feel that they are in the catagories they are.
Thanks!</p>
<p>Schools under serious Consideration:
Hotchkiss-reach (legacy so…hopefully that will give a lil push )
Choate
Taft
Lawrenceville
Middlesex
Groton
milton
Peddie
Loomis</p>
<p>Qualified for: about…none haha so I can not really categorize them</p>
<p>All of the top schools are reaches no matter how qualified you are on paper.</p>
<p>yes agreed
all of the GLAD CHEMMS are reaches</p>
<p>G: Groton
L: L’ville
A: Phillips Andover Academy
D: Deerfield Academy</p>
<p>C: Choate Rosemary Hall
H: The Hotchkiss School
E: Phillips Exeter Academy
M: Middlesex School
M: Milton Academy
S: St. Paul’s School</p>
<p>I feel peddie and thatcher should also b added</p>
<p>The way my son and I determined whether or not a school was a reach, qualifed or safety school was to look primarliy at the acceptance rates. The app game is primarliy about playing the odds. </p>
<p>If a school to which you plan to apply has a low accept rate, counter it with a school with a high accept rate. Do this balancing act for every reach school to which you apply: balance it with a qualified or safety school. That said, make sure you like, and would be willing to attend, every school to which you apply, although you will clearly like some schools better than others. Stop this game around 10, so that you have 5 reaches and 5 qualifed and/or safety schools. </p>
<p>Why 10? No special reason, other than you want a big number. A double-digit number is a good idea. Why? The higher the number of schools to which you apply, the greater the chance you’ll get into a reach school. Hey, it worked for my son. With this strategy, he got into several qualified/safety schools and one reach school. He now attends that reach school.</p>
<p>Remember: you don’t need to get into every reach school to which you apply. It only takes one. And the best way to get into one reach school, I think, is to play the odds. There truly is safety in numbers.</p>
<p>I believe all schools with under 50 percent admit is a reach. When I applied I considered all schools reaches due to my grades but I ended up fine so
just focus stay strong nd I’ll b fine</p>
<p>I only applied to reach schools but I had a legacy component and if I didn’t I would have added in some safety schools. I guess I was gambling that I would get in somewhere and that is not smart.
Here’s a question: Did you tell the schools when they asked where else you were applying?
They all asked! I wonder if that makes a difference.</p>
<p>Does TSAO schools share the admission/applicant information among themselves? Is it possible that Choate may not admit you if it knows that you are also applying to Andover thinking that it may affect it’s yield?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Schools don’t share data on applicants.</p></li>
<li><p>Some schools ask where you are applying, others don’t</p></li>
</ol>
<p>----Queenie95…</p>
<p>what is a “reach” school for one student won’t be a reach school for another. Some look at admissions stats and determine it’s a reach school because only a tiny percentage get in. Others look at average SSAT score and determine it’s a reach school if the student’s score isn’t in that range. Still others consider schools to be a reach if they don’t have ec’s or play a sport that is significant to that particular school.</p>
<p>Don’t start there.</p>
<p>Start with - what do we want in a school - then ask yourself why?</p>
<p>Look at:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Academics and academic support. </p>
<ul>
<li>Is AP important to you? Some schools have them, some don’t. Some have a lot, some have a few (a lot is insignificant if your child doesn’t want to studying those subjects).</li>
<li>Does your child study a language or other subject they can continue in depth.</li>
<li>Will your child be challenged a bit above their comfort zone.</li>
</ul></li>
<li><p>How does the school communicate with parents?</p></li>
<li><p>What is the percentage of boarding students to day students?</p></li>
<li><p>Does you child want a school that is self-contained and rural, or one near a major city? One that is tight and compact, or spread out like a small city?</p></li>
<li><p>What is the atmosphere on campus? What is the diversity? (race, wealth, national versus international, number of states, etc.)</p></li>
<li><p>What percentage of students get financial aid? Is the school “need blind” or will your need for financial aid impact the application? (note a lot of students this year getting accepted with no financial aid - the economy is hitting schools hard).</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Then go visit a few. Some here have noted that a school was on their “must have list” until they visited - and were turned off. Others went to a “safety school” and fell in love.</p>
<p>We even looked at cafeteria menus, what fine arts groups visit the campus, opportunities to go abroad if you don’t want to do a year away, sports teams, and dorm configurations.</p>
<p>For the most part, people lose their minds over getting into a HADES school - and I guess I can understand that because the world is all about image and those schools have a lot of resources. But we mixed our list with non-HADES schools and found those campuses were still in the top 15 in the country and had state of the art facilities - and - more importantly - kids who loved being there.</p>
<p>And really - admit numbers mean nothing unless you know who - once accepted - can actually afford to attend. You can admit say 14% of the applicant pool (and look selective) but if you’re in the 4 percentage points that didn’t get FA - it’s the same as a “no” unless you have access to loans or are wealthy.</p>
<p>So yes - GLADCHEMMS are reaches - but who cares if you child would be miserable at one of them. Or if you don’t get accepted to any, but ignored other great schools because of “hype.”</p>
<p>Start with “fit” and the rest will fall in place. If your child applies to reaches (even with straight A’s and high scores) apply to a range even if people call them “second tier.” You’ll get the same great education and might have more fun while doing it because the pressure to fit a “stat” will be off.</p>
<p>I’m currently reading the interesting rants among NMH alum over the school’s decision to sell the Northfield campus to Hobby Lobby for a Christian college (for only $100,000). Had I applied there - it would have impacted my decision (not the college - but the low price of the sale).</p>
<p>So look at “other” factors. The school everyone “wants” may or may not be the right school for your kid.</p>
<p>But visit if you can - can’t express that enough. Visits are an eye-opener.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for the information and advice!
I am a newbie at this whole applying process so any advice is really appreciated.
I am looking at a few schools now that have a high acceptance rate and look like schools i actually want to attend. I deffiently dont get caught up in the “top schools” thing.
If i look at a school and see that they offer the things that i want, and it seems like that would be the best environment for me, then i request info. and put it on my list of schools.
I would love to visit if i could. I live over 6 states away from most boarding schools and my family just can’t afford to travel at the moment.
Thanks everyone!</p>