<p>I know most of you students are busily working on completing your applications. From the tone of recent posts, you sound nervous albeit excited. </p>
<p>So, I thought it would be a good time for me to provide you with some unsolicited advice--hopefully it'll help you, but it'll also help the admission offices to which you're sending your stuff, which is why I'm doing this! </p>
<p>1) SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION BEFORE THE DEADLINE, IF AT ALL POSSIBLE.</p>
<p>While you will not be penalized if yours is postmarked by (or arrives on) the deadline, there are some TINY advantages to your file arriving early. (a) As long as the other pieces of your application are there as well, yours may end up being reviewed in the first half of the process, when admission committee members are fresh and not overtired. As well, they have not read as many applications at that point. By the end of the process, it's hard not to compare the last few you're reading to the hundreds you already read, especially if your profiles are similar to a lot of students who have already been placed in the "admit pile." (b) It just helps the process if some mail starts to trickle in before the deadline, those who work in admission offices opening mail, entering it into the computer as being received, and filing it into candidates' folders, really appreciate getting some of this done ahead of time before the DELUGE of mail comes on the application deadline day.</p>
<p>2) BE SPECIFIC, BUT NOT OVER-THE-TOP, WHEN IT COMES TO LISTING YOUR EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES AND AWARDS. </p>
<p>No admission officer wants to see a six-page-long resume of a 13-year-old, nor do they want a binder full of Xeroxed copies of every certificate you've ever received since Kindergarten (especially that 3rd grade Physical Fitness Award)...but it's very helpful to have specific information related to your extracurricular activities and awards. </p>
<p>For example, you can list your top three extracurricular activities this way:</p>
<p>Piano, Flag Football, Babysitting</p>
<p>Or, you can list them this way:</p>
<p>Piano (seven years experience, weekly lessons); Flag Football (Smith High School Varsity Team, Co-Captain, four years experience; Detroit-Area AAU Team, starter, first year on AAU team); Babysitting (20 hours per week for neighborhood families, three years experience)</p>
<p>You should limit the list of any awards you've won to those won in the previous three years. For instance, if you're applying for Grade 9, any awards earned in 6th grade or higher are relevant. Anything prior to 6th grade is really meaningless by now. Similar to your extracurricular activities, specific information is appreciated:</p>
<p>"Science Award" means nothing to me. "Science Award (given to the most outstanding 7th grade student chosen by the 7th grade science teacher) is more helpful."</p>
<p>3) DON'T JUST USE SPELL-CHECK ON YOUR ESSAY. Your computer might not always catch common mistakes like their/there/they're, or simple typos like for/fore/four and admission officers do. :) Moreover, it's really disconcerting when you work for Academy A and the third to the last line of the student's essay says, "I believe that School S is the right place for me to pursue my passion in _______________." </p>
<p>4) SEND A SMALL PHOTO OF YOURSELF, EVEN IF THE APPLICATION DIDN'T ASK FOR ONE. It's much easier to read the files of students whom you've interviewed, just because you've actually MET those kids and you can picture them in your head while you read their files. However, most admission officers read more than just the files of the students whom they've interviewed. After reading dozens, then hundreds of files--which are full of words and letter grades and SSAT numbers and more words--it's fun to have a little visual stimulation now and again.</p>
<p>5) DO NOT OVERWHELM YOUR APPLICATION WITH EXTRANEOUS RECOMMENDATIONS. There is a saying in the admissions business, "The thicker the file, the thicker the kid." Admission officers don't need to read 12 recommendations about the same student, all saying the same things over and over again. The rule about EXTRA personal/extracurricular recommendations is this: if you think that person can write about you IN A DIFFERENT WAY than the other person who is writing your one REQUIRED personal/extracurricular recommendation, then have him/her send it in. For instance, let's say you're really into two things: FOOTBALL and OPERA SINGING. Both your flag football coach and your voice teacher know you very well, but you are a very different person in each setting. Your football coach sees the aggressive, go-get-'em-and-knock-'em-down side of you, but your voice teacher sees the more graceful, artistic side of you. Both recommendations will be helpful in the assessment of your application, and decidedly different from the other required recommendations (guidance counselor's, English teacher's, math teacher's). But, please don't send the required ones (guidance counselor, English, math), AND your football coach's, AND your voice teacher's, AND your 7th grade science teacher's, AND your 7th grade history teacher's, AND your father's co-worker's sister who just happened to go to Hotchkiss's, AND your state senator's, AND your next door neighbor's, and your mom's college roommate's daughter's. </p>
<p>Last, but not least, DO TAKE THE TIME TO ENJOY THIS BOARDING SCHOOL APPLICATION PROCESS. For many of you, this is the first time you've ever been asked to do this much self-reflection (in your essays and interviews). For many of you, this is the first time you've had in-depth discussions with your parent(s)/guardian(s) about something this big: the pros and cons about different schools under consideration, about the pros and cons about seeking an education far from home (at a boarding school) vs. staying at home and attending a public/day school. I think this is an exciting process, one that will benefit you in ways you cannot even imagine, even if you don't get admitted to your top-choice school. When it's all over, you will have gotten to know yourself better, hopefully this will have brought you closer to your parents, and you will have valuable life experience in interviewing skills, writing skills, researching skills, etc. </p>
<p>Best of luck. I hope the New Year brings you lots of "fat envelopes," health and much happiness.</p>