<p>My parents says I can apply to only the top schools which in their opinion is Andover, Exeter, St Pauls and Hotchkiss. Having done so, I am getting nervous and think I should consider a few safety schools. The ones I suggested to my parents were St Andrews, The Hill School and Taft. My parents friends whose daughter currently attends Andover thinks my alternate selection is a terrible idea as they are all second and third level schools and would be a total waste of money. In Middle school I have maintained a straight A average in mostly honors classes and scored in the 93% range on the SSAT (Only took it once and did not really prep for it). Should I just stay concentrated on the best schools or try and convince my parents their friends are wrong. I have been reading quite a bit on this board that there are schools just a good as the so called best? </p>
<p>It is also important to know that prestige is extremely important to my parents, especially my mom. She keeps telling me that I am better than a second level school and to not embarrass her. Any suggestions would be welcome and I really want to go to boarding school.</p>
<p>St. Andrew’s, Taft, and Hill are NOT safeties. They are hidden gems, so their acceptance rates might be a little more forgiving, but no one is guaranteed admission. Your parents should be embarrassed to be embarrassed that their child goes to one of these three schools.</p>
<p>It depends on what your local options are and whether you and your parents are comfortable with you staying home if rejected at all your schools. If your parents aren’t willing to pay for other schools, there is no point in applying. It’s also pretty late in the game to add the schools you are mentioning. They are good schools, however, and you would get a good education at them.</p>
<p>I know it is late in the game but I see The Hill School has rolling admissions and I can spend most of the evening filling out the appropriate applications. As the recommendation letters, I scanned copies of each and will submit online if I can. I will work with my dad as he is a lot more understanding than my Mom (she wants bragging rights with her social group, ugh). Local schools were considered but I really want to go to a good boarding school.</p>
<p>Your teachers gave you copies of your recommendations? My understanding is that recommendations should be going directly from your current school to the schools you are applying to. You should not be the conduit for recommendations.</p>
<p>Safety School’s??? Wow… Please let your parents know that your second choices of schools are not safeties by any means if there really is such a thing. When someone mentions Safety, schools like Montverde Academy comes to mind. If you gain admission to any of the schools you listed, that would be a note-worthily accomplishment where you would garner a world class education. It sounds like your parents are all caught up in the marketing positions that some institutions put them selves in. I would assume from your post that you have neither interview nor visited the afterthought schools. If you have not done so already, please make sure that all schools of interest have been sent copies of your SSAT report and CALL them FIRST THING tomorrow. You might not get the highest priority but I am fairly sure they let you be a late applicant, who knows, you just might get lucky if any of your first choices do not pan out. At this point, it is hugely important to see if you can visit and do a in person interview if at all possible; get to know the AO and stay in contact…</p>
<p>doschicos, When our D1 was going through the admissions process, her school also provided copies of the recommendations. Like the poster, we scanned the copies and sent them to the various schools (Both acronym and hidden gems) with out issue. She was accepted at a acronym and a gem… In the end she chose the Hidden Gem as she felt it was a lot less pretentious and she could not be happier.</p>
<p>If you are not asking for FA, your chance will be substantially better with these three other schools. BTW, whatever has happened in your application process, don’t send a copy of rec letter by yourself. That’s definitely no-no.</p>
<p>First off, not safety schools, like everyone else already said.</p>
<p>My mom was like this at first too, only Andover and Exeter, but I showed her some of the stuff from other schools, and she let me apply to some higher accepting schools.</p>
<p>You might want to add some other “second tier” schools to your list such as Deerfield and Lawrenceville and Groton and Milton and then, when you get in, surprise your mom by showing her that they were “first tier” after all. Ironically, there was a time not long ago when the “H” in “HADES” was Hill, not Hotchkiss.</p>
<p>I think once you’re accepted, your parents will find out (rather quickly) that there isn’t a BS hierarchy. Kids in the Top Thirty don’t look down on each other or other schools. They look at everyone as equals. It’s not like kids walk around with Andover stamped on their foreheads and the “Second Tier” kids stand there in awe. I hope that won’t be a major disappointment for anyone…</p>
<p>Choosing a school shouldn’t be about which school decal your parents want to place on their SUV. Your choices should reflect what suits YOU the best. You’re the one going after all- not your parents.</p>
<p>PrepSchoolorBust, you won’t be able to change your mother’s opinions in the next week. See what March 10th brings. You may be accepted to one of your schools. If not, perhaps next year your parents will allow you to expand your search to include schools with fewer than 500 students.</p>
<p>You have to remember it’s a seller’s market. And unfortunately good stats will get you noticed, but won’t get you in. DD’s best friend ended up on 10 out of 10 waitlists. Prepare yourself for disappointment, but of course hope for the best.</p>