Thank you everybody. After reading all what you said, we will try to make 2 schools in one day if reasonable. We will just schedule our favourite school in the morning so that D is still with energy going to first interview. We will leave the afternoon schools on the “just to find out” list if they are nearby. I will plan my route map once the list is finalized.
@Sue22 the schools we will be visiting are already talked about a lot within this forums. So we pretty much got it covered there. We have done our research as there are a lot IFS & BUTS in our criteria that needs to be fulfilled before even filling out the form. We just dont want to waste the AO and school time if we feel that we do not even want to apply for it.
BTW, we are from the middle east. So we just need to take things slow one step at a time. Its not going to be just a visit for us. Its going to be a journey. Thanks for all your input guys. More are welcome.
@msvmp27 You are very brave. This process is challenging even when you don’t have to travel halfway across the world. Best of luck to you and your family!
At our first campus visit and interview, while I waited in the lobby for my child to finish being interviewed, I met a family who similarly traveled from a very faraway country, for the first time. The mom didn’t speak English, the dad barely. With the help of lots of hand gestures we had a long and really nice conversation. I feel so much respect for parents who go way outside of their comfort zone to do want they see as best for their child. It’s such a great example they give to their child.
You also might want to think ahead of time about how much you are willing to rely on hard information versus your own irrational - but sometimes telling - impressions of the schools. For instance, someone suggested visiting Andover OR Exeter. This would work only if you make decisions based only on hard facts: large schools, same region, similar academic offerings and selecticity - why visit both? But we visited both (at the start of our boarding school adventure, when A and E were almost the only schools we had heard of), and we liked one of the schools very much and disliked the other. Interestingly, my husband and I agreed in most respects on our instinctive impressions of the schools we visited, although we don’t necessarily agree on much. Best of luck to you! I hope your journey goes smoothly and is productive.
You will have such a fantastic trip! If you come in early October, you will see peak “leaf changing” season which is so beautiful. When you have an idea of your schools / routes, let us know. There may be some some fun stops to take along the way (for example, Concord MA).
You may want to look at some of the threads about surviving college visit road trips. They contain good advice that will apply to a prep school road trip as well.
Welcome to CC. DS and I did 2 schools a day. We scheduled an early morning visit and an afternoon visit. Friday, Saturday, Sunday off and 2 on Monday. Total of 6 schools. Since you are coming from a far I would do 2 schools a day, it is not impossible. Just get a map out and plan it correctly. I flew into Boston, rented a car and made all 6 schools. It is busy but you do not want to leave regretting you did not visit a school you were possibly interested in seeing. Actually on Sunday we walked around the campus of both schools we were visiting on Monday. Have fun in your search…
We were also lucky to be visiting during concert season which was a plus. So we had the first appt of the day and the last at the second school. Then traveled to near the school for the following day.
It would be less stressful if you don’t have to change a hotel each day. Many of the schools are outside of the Boston area, roughly along Rte 495. So, if you were to stay in Westford, Massachusetts, you could visit:
St. Paul’s School & Phillips Exeter in New Hampshire
Phillips Andover Academy/Brooks School/Governor’s (choose any 2)
Groton School/Lawrence Academy/St. Mark’s School (choose any 2)
Deerfield Academy/Northfield Mount Hermon
Returning to the hotel each night.
Outliers (geographically): Milton Academy,
St. George’s School/Portsmouth Abbey/ Tabor Academy
Then there’s western Massachusetts. If you wanted to visit:
Miss Hall’s School & Emma Willard School (near Albany), you should arrange to stay in the Berkshires. Caution! It can be hard to find a place to stay at the last minute in the Berkshires.
Then there’s Connecticut. You could find a hotel in Connecticut. Schools close to each other:
Hotchkiss School & Berkshire School
Loomis Chaffee, Miss Porter’s School, Choate Rosemary Hall & Ethel Walker
i like that @Periwinkle we are going to do the exact same thing. but first i have to get my mind straight and firm on what school to choose from. choosing which hotel to stay is the easy part of the trip. thanks.
I’d recommend taking the SSAT as a practice run this spring. There is a SSAT session in June, I believe–I don’t know where/when it might be given in your part of the world. The reason for my recommendation is to give you an idea of any areas your daughter might need to work on over the summer, as well as an idea of which schools to include in your list. (She can’t use it for next year’s applications, but it is very helpful.)
Coming from an exotic country would be a definite plus. Even so, you’ll want to build a list which includes reach, match and likely schools.
All-girls schools can be attractive, as many girls in the US do not want to attend single-sex schools. To the other all girls schools I listed above, you can add Dana Hall School in Wellesley, Massachusetts. You could pair it with Milton Academy.
In general, you can visit schools even if they don’t have a tour & interview slot available. It’s a good idea to contact the admissions department in advance of your arrival. As you may travel such a long distance, schools may well be able to find someone to show you around, or at least say hello and get your contact information as you arrive. Some of the schools have material for self-guided tours, for those who want to visit but didn’t call or email ahead.
When contacting the schools, make certain they know you are traveling internationally to visit. (Local people are often told firmly that certain times are reserved for those traveling great distances.)
If possible, I would have your daughter interview while on campus. Interviewers are generally very good at getting adolescents to talk. If you are given a tour, the tour guide will usually be a current student. (Some schools arrange for the applicant to tour with a student, and the parents to tour separately.) It is expected that the applicant will want to ask questions of the tour guide. Some good questions on the tour: How’s the food? How do they assign roommates? What are some fun traditions?
October is a busy time, so don’t panic if there isn’t a free slot, or if you tour with other families. Schools now can arrange Skype interviews.
SSAT made changes to their policy this year and June 2015 SSAT were available to use for applications for fall of 2016. They used to only provide tests taken in the academic year (August-July).
Thank you for the update; I’m obviously out of touch.
Nevertheless, you probably won’t end up submitting that SSAT with the application, unless she does really, really well. Four to six months in an 8th grader’s life can improve standardized test performance.
Agreed. I remember DS saying that he learned more on geometry and it helped him in math the second time. DS took the Upper Level test in June (registered as a 8th grader even though in 7th) and then in October.
@Periwinkle D already had her first SSAT last December. mid 80s percentile. Good enough for me but not good enough for her. But okay for first timer. She will be taking again same time next year before BS. She’s in 8th grade, so she will join BS in 10th instead of 9th. So we will be focusing more on schools that have more 10th grade opening in the mid 80s ssat acceptance.
I will contact the schools ahead of time to say that we come from kingdom of far far away, and given a slot for interview/tour. Thank you for this.
Another itinerary:
Exeter and Andover in 1 day
Deerfield and Loomis Chaffee in 1 day
Choate and Hotchkiss in 1 day
It was a VERY long few days but I’m so glad we interviewed and toured each one. Those 3 days totally changed the way my child viewed the schools. What he thought was a favorite went the the bottom, and what was his last choice moved to second. If you are making the trip, I can’t imagine why someone would encourage you to NOT do the interviews. Most schools require them, and making the trip from the Middle East shows your commitment to the process and idea of BS. Call in July to get the dates you want!
If visiting Emma Willard and Miss Hall’s, I wouldn’t stay in the Berkshires. The schools are an hour apart. If you have to be in one area, stay in Albany, NY… an easy shot to Emma (15 minutes to any of the Wolf Road hotels) and easy enough to Miss Hall’s via I-90. There are loads of inexpensive options in and around Albany/Colonie/Troy.
Thank you @girlgeekmom . unfortunately my daughter has strict criteria that she made them clear upfront. One of them is she doesn’t want to go to all girls school. No offense to all girls schools parents, its just her choice.
Anyway… I think we have our choices line up… not in any particular order… Berkshire NMHS Williston Loomis Choate Taft all in 3 days and a half. I think that’s quite a wide range and spread. Let me know what you guys think. Will have to think of where to stay next.
LOL @msvmp27 – I totally get it. I was basing my advice on @Periwinkle’s post about how to maximize visits while minimizing hotel-changing. FWIW, GG was not particularly interested in an all-girls school either, and we had plenty of schools on the visit list (more than a baker’s dozen, of which she applied to eight).
For the record, Emma (as all who know that school well call it) was the last school visited, done as a sort of sop to all the people who said, “you have to check it out.” GG walked onto the campus, toured and attended a class, and fell in love with it. Who knew? In the end, she had to decide between PEA and Emma, the top two (of her) choices of the schools that admitted her. It’s been a great journey, and a great process. And the fact that it’s a girls school did actually enhance the experience and bring out the already-budding fierce feminist in GG.
You and your d are looking at some interesting (and very different from each other) schools—I’m assuming for next year’s cycle. Best of luck with the visits!
Best of luck to you! I hope your journey goes smoothly and is productive.