@CaliMex and buuzn03 Don’t really need FA owing to significant corp assistance. I was considering asking for the gap. But if it hurts our chances then I’d rather not. Still undecided whether to apply for it or not
Will let AOs know that FA is not a make-or-break situation.
@Lanco1465 I’m a current student at Berkshire and I know you mentioned it was on your list. If you have any questions about the school or admissions I would be more than happy to help you out. Feel free to pm me!
Don’t apply for financial aid at the top places if you could make it work without it. The reason is that many of them pride themselves on “meeting all demonstrated need.” If you would be an admit at those places if you were full pay, but don’t quite match the profile of who they are looking to spend their financial aid dollars on, they will simply reject you. I’d put most of the GLADCHEMMS in this category. Note that Andover and Exeter are materially less expensive than the others on that list.
At the next level down in prestige I think it matters less whether you apply for financial aid. Many of those schools will admit a student but deny financial aid or put him on a “financial aid waitlist.” So no downside to applying for financial aid at those places and you just may get some money. Just my opinion of course.
If your family SSS indicates that you could be full pay, you will be expected to be full pay at all schools. No school will fill an unnecessary gap just because you asked. We didn’t think we could be full pay, so we applied for partial FA to all schools. Both NMH and Choate called us just before M10 to say they would like to admit our son without FA; if we could somehow swing it (the SSS said we could), they would send an admit letter. If we couldn’t, they would send the rejection letter. So, some schools will give the option if they want the candidate and think you can write the check. But I’m with those who advise not to put your application in the FA pile if you can possibly avoid it.
Side note: If you are accepted as a full-pay student, you will be expected to be FP every year you attend. We’ve seen sad stories here of people who apply FP to increase admissions chances thinking they can get FA later. It doesn’t work that way except in cases of significant, documentable changes in finances after matriculation–which doesn’t include blowing the bank on the first year of BS.
@ CaliMex. Do you/anyone know what is the acceptance rate at George School?
I would add St. Mark’s School to your list.
@Periwinkle great suggestion!! Lol 
If you’re looking at Tabor & Middlesex, you should stop by St. George’s as well. My son just started this year and is very happy there. Aside from the spectacular campus, the environment is a great combination of academic & traditional, yet warm & close-knit. I have been incredibly impressed with the teachers so far and the new Head of School is fantastic.
We followed the same FA plan (applied for partial FA although our statement suggested we could manage barely without) as @ChoatieMom with a similar outcome. Our daughter ended up FP at NMH. Go hoggers! The year we applied our NMH AO told us they had 6x more kids they wanted to offer FA than they had FA to offer. Definitely do not ask for FA if you can swing FP. Awarding FA adds a step to the process - 1st bucket is all kids school wants to admit, nearly all of these FP kids will get acceptance letters depending on space per gender, class etc. However, kids applying for FA are then moved to a 2nd bucket and a separate committee meets and selects which of these kids get FA versus rejection or a FA wait list letter so merely applying for FA subjects an applicant to an extra layer of scrutiny, plus I would worry that the “Would you consider full pay” conversation might get overlooked at some point resulting in an unnecessary rejection. Truly, it is primarily hooked students who receive FA, and schools tend to favor giving 1 outstanding kid a full ride (more likely to make them competitive against other schools wooing the same student) over granting several smaller awards.
Thanks for all the good folk on CC for your input during our applications process! All wrapped up over the winter break, by ca. Jan 8th. Ended up applying to 8 BS across PA, NJ, CT and MA. Did not venture too far from major airports along the East Coast for ease of travel.
We did have the opportunity to visit the schools in the 1st week of December. Was totally worth the effort. Our DD was thrilled by some schools more than others. Looking forward to M10. Now that the hectic activity and adrenalin rush is behind us, not sure how to spend the next 6-7 weeks :). Kid is enjoying the time and back to regular school activities.
Thanks again…
If your kid is enjoying school and present for what’s going on around her, you are all doing exactly what you should be!
The wait can be tough, but just as the purpose of high school is not to produce a credential for college but to be an experience in and of itself, ditto for middle school.
Congratulations on getting to this point!
So glad to hear @Lanco1465 !!! I had been wondering how things had gone for y’all! And @gardenstategal is right…it is perfect if Lancokid is back to school things and not fretting over the process. Can’t wait to hear how M10 goes for you! Best of luck!
Best of luck to your girl! Very curious to hear which schools made the final list!
Hi @CaliMex Yes M10 has come and gone. Our DD got acceptances from 5 and 3 WLs. Kent, Blair, Peddie, Mercersburg, and Choate accepted. Super excited. Now we have to pick…
Thanks @gardenstategal We’re excited to report that she’s gotten acceptances from 5 of the 8. Will be trolling the forum again for guidance on Kent, Peddie, Blair, Choate and Mercersburg
Woohoo for Lancokid!! Congrats!!
All nice options! Congrats!