<p>neatoburrito: I wish I could clone you.</p>
<p>HAHA LOL. hard question. i’m definitely super intimidated by all the 99th percentilers out there (especially since there seem to be at LEAST a kajillion on this website), but i think joining CC secured my interest with boarding school (i actually just stumbled onto prep school forum. i was browsing harvard stats… eheheh)! i think this year, i’ll be pretty occupied with just convincing my mom and making up good arguments (y’know. to convince her :D!). i’m an only child, and she seems terrified with the thought of “losing me”, so… /: hm. there’s a challenge for you!</p>
<p>there’s also this whole new motivation factor going on… my most realistic goal for this/next year would probably to maintain a great GPA and keep up with extra-curriculars. the education in this area is seriously lacking (no honors/accelerated classes!) so getting into basically ANY boarding school would be a dream! going to school with people who actually want to learn something would be very refreshing. ;)</p>
<p>so, bottom line (hehe, sorry! i ramble on and on ALOT) : i’ll keep myself occupied with school/ECs! of course, i’ll still lurk CC alot. yay, 2010! =D</p>
<p>question for… er. GemmaV? : have you noticed a spike (if so, of what degree?) in financial aid apps? do you think that boarding schools (in general) will be able to give out necessary financial aid (as in… demonstrated need)? will needing FA make the admissions process alot more competitive? (very money-centered, eh? hehe, thanks in advance!)</p>
<p>Nah, I like being unique…just like everybody else. ;)</p>
<p>To answer Gemma Vs question: for us it was several factors</p>
<p>1) COURSE CATALOG: does the school offer more than his current school academically? So for this we used the course catalog. Since he is a couple yrs ahead of his chronological age I didn’t want him to “run out of” math to take for example</p>
<p>2) FINANCIAL STATEMENT: Is the school stable financially? Is it possible it could fold/close? His current school is in trouble monetarily. </p>
<p>3) WEBSITE/MISSION/VIDEOS/ INTERVIEW and TOUR: I was most concerned with advising. Would I feel comfortable leaving him there? Would they teach the kids to be good citizens or is it all about prestige and competition? </p>
<p>This is where reading the mission, combing through the website and watching the videos, talking to the tour guide during interviews and reading the viewbooks to see how advising and grouping of students works at each school came into my decision process. </p>
<p>I would say even if a school met 1 and 2 I couldn’t send my son there if I didn’t feel comfortable about the advising set up. That is really key to me. I have to feel like there is someone I can trust looking out for the kids- not just my son but those living with/around him since we all know peers are ultra important at this age. </p>
<p>So I really used everything!</p>
<p>PA-C: Great answer! We did the same thing! I loved looking through the courses though, that thing was like a novel! It was huge! 
By the way, you didn’t ask another question.</p>
<p>Whoops, sorry!
Ok I’ll ask you something: </p>
<p>thingslost: How did you start fencing? It’s such an unusual EC!</p>
<p>My school started offering it, and I showed up because it sounded fun. It turned out to be completely different from Pirates of the Caribbean/Princess Bride. It’s a lot harder, and a lot more fun than I expected.
TomTheCat: Where are you?
ItalianBoarder: What do you think the best part of boarding school would be?
GemmaV: How long before the official decisions date do the admission officers generally finish?
RingTingTing: How did you come up with the username?</p>
<p>thingslost: We are nearly halfway done w/ our initial reading of applications in my office-that-must-not-be-named. </p>
<p>Don’t know how my colleagues at other schools are faring or when they finish. I have to say, the “countdown” thread is making me a little anxious myself!</p>
<p>Good luck to all. :)</p>
<p>I didn’t know Voldemort had his own school! Academy of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Now we all know who GemmaV, or should I say Beatrix, works for. ;)</p>
<p>neato: what did you think the V stood for in GemmaV? ;)</p>
<p>GemmaV: Do prep schools ever send likely letters? I read about them on the college threads.</p>
<p>No, not to my knowledge.</p>
<p>I heard a school in Connecticut sends out likely, possibility, and unlikely letters on February 15; a month after deadline.</p>
<p>which school?</p>
<p>Haha sorry I didn’t see I was asked.</p>
<p>Where am I? Right here! Took a break from CC for a while…</p>
<p>italianboarder: how many schools did you end up applying to? has the order of your favourite list changed?</p>