<p>Two more thoughts before I leave you and your family’s decision making in peace…</p>
<p>1) The very first school our child/family fell in love with (not the school in the post above) was, in hindsight, the school that would probably have fit him least well. But we had no basis for comparison, and from where we were sitting, it was miles better that home.</p>
<p>2) While it might feel overwhelming at the beginning, it turns out that it is not twice as hard to apply to two schools as to one, and definitely not three times as hard to apply to three…and so on. If nothing else, visiting more than one school (and again, maybe you’ve already done that) is a good way to affirm that Favorite School is really the be all and end all of boarding schools for your family. And so much of the information on one app. is repeated on the next, teacher’s recs used for all, essays adapted and recycled, that it’s just not that much harder or more expensive to apply to 3 or 4 schools than to one (and I say this as a family on a tight budget, receiving significant FA).</p>
<p>Okay, three thoughts.</p>
<p>3) If finances are a concern, know that FA offers can vary wildly from one school to the next. There might be a school B out there that would make bs much less of a financial stress–but you don’t really know what that school is until the admits and fa offers come in.</p>
<p>+1 on classicalmama’s point #1, except that for our dd, it was the second school visited, about which she was over the moon… etc.</p>
<p>If you do a search for “hidden gems” and “fit” on the forum you might find some interesting insights—even if you think you really have your hearts set on only the one school ;-)</p>
<p>Here was our experience: For 9th grade, my DS was totally set on attending on of 3 top CHADES schools. It had to be one of those or nothing. Nothing it was…on March 10: 2 denies and a waitlist.</p>
<p>But so much was learned along the way! We got to visit those great schools. Wow - what a comparison to our public school! He started looking on CC at the chance me threads with so many amazing candidates. Seeing all those SWRK’s really expanded his pond. He realized he wasn’t such a big fish after all. Filling out those apps, writing the essays, getting the teacher recs, interviewing, visiting the East Coast…all excellent learning experiences.</p>
<p>For 9th grade he did indeed head back to his little public school. A cold wake-up call. Having seen what a great school could be, he was determined to leave it behind. He had renewed purpose as well as a better sense of reality. He applied to 7 schools for 10th grade. Just 2 big names this time (including the feature school of this thread) the rest hidden gems. The happy ending is that he was accepted to a hidden gem at which he is very happy. And he learned alot about himself and the world in the process. </p>
<p>Meanwhile…coming back to the general topic of of this thread (FA): by not getting accepted to 9th grade, his cash-strapped parents had 25% less tuition to pay. Phew!</p>
<p>So @GoForPrep…maybe it is okay to just apply to one.</p>
<p>@RuralMama: Here’s when it’s fine to only apply to one, IMO…when you’ll be cool with the results regardless of what they are.</p>
<p>Totally agree, SevenDad.</p>
<p>And what a great story about a lesson learned, with such a positive outcome!</p>