I wasn’t sure what forum to put this under, correct me if I got it wrong. I am 13, female, and white(if that matters). I go to public school at the moment. I am interested in attending a boarding school for the 2021-2022 school year, but I’m really not sure where to start. I live in a small town in Kentucky, but my parents are very open to letting me attend school out of state. I am in 8th grade. My grades in 6th grade were all As with 3 Bs. In 7th grade, I got a few Bs again, but mostly As. This year I have all As so far, except one B in high school Geometry. I took Algebra 1 last year in 7th grade and passed with a high B average. I have been a cheerleader all 3 years of middle school, and for 4 years in elementary. We won regionals in 7th grade and went to state. I planned to play JV volleyball this year, but when covid hit I figured I had a better chance at a season in cheer, as when tryouts happened things were still shaky. When this school year is over I will have played 4 seasons of middle school volleyball, because I played a season at my old private school as a 5th grader. I scored Distinguished on all my state testing. I scored the highest in my grade in language arts STAR testing if that means anything. I haven’t taken any sort of testing outside of what is required for my grade. I have done Beta Club all 3 years of middle school and I worked on multiple community service projects. I have been involved with the local 4-H club since I was 4, and have received multiple awards at the county fair, but I’ve never been to the state fair. I am interested in taking a foreign language class, in particular, Spanish or French because I have studied those languages outside of school and I think I would do well. I am part of the extension office’s teen council and am planning on running for some sort of office, which I am very confident I will have won by late November. I did two years of math academic team and 3 years of the creative writing team. I’m not sure how much of this is helpful, as I said, I’m not sure where to start. I don’t know what my options are, and any sort of guidance is greatly appreciated. I don’t even have any schools picked out. Sorry, this is so poorly written.
I think you should start by taking a practice SSAT online somewhere, since that’ll probably give you a good idea of what kinds of schools you would have a good shot at in a non-COVID year. A lot of schools are going test-optional this year though, so maybe you won’t have to do that.
Besides that, start thinking about what you might want in a school. Do you have specific academic or extracurricular interests that you 100% want to pursue in high school? That might be a place to start.
Then things like the feel of the school: big, college-like, with very rigorous academics (Phillips Exeter Academy, Phillips Academy, Choate Rosemary Hall, etc.) or maybe the polar opposite with a smaller, family-like, more relaxed but challenging academics (NMH, Concord Academy, St. Mark’s, etc.). Maybe you want a very progressive education (Putney) or a more traditional one (not sure what examples there might be for this one sorry). There are some in-betweens like smaller, rigorous schools (Groton, St. Paul’s, Middlesex) as well.
By the way the examples are just what I’ve seen from looking at schools myself, but I haven’t actually visited or attended all of the schools, they’re just ones I’ve heard of! Hope that helped (:
That’s actually super helpful! Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I’ll consider all of this in my search.
In reference to post #1 above:
Based on your grades, schools such as Phillips Academy at Andover, Phillips Exeter Academy, St. Paul’s School, & the Groton School are not realistic possibilities.
Middlesex & Choate Rosemary Hall are also unlikely to admit you based on your grades.
NMH= Northfield Mount Herman (Massachusetts), St. Mark’s, Putney (in Vermont), Mercersburg Academy (in Pennsylvania) are much more reasonable schools to target.
St. Andrews School in Delaware is another to consider as are all female boarding schools if you are interested in attending a single sex school.
Most important, however, is your SSAT score.
Ah, I see. Thank you I’ll keep that in mind
@ghostotter
You are in the right place to explore schools and gather information!
Question: are you applying for next year? (meaning are you applying now?). Will you need financial aid? Do you have an option at home if you DON’T get into boarding school? (If not, then you’ll want to cast an even wider net.)
SSAT – not required (but optional) at most schools this year, and normally I would say that you might want to skip that because you are starting this process a bit on the later side (still doable, but a little bit on the later side). However: it sounds like you do very well in testing? Like when you say you had the highest STAR score, do you mean like 99% percentile? Because your grades are good-but-not-amazing, a very high SSAT score could help I’m thinking. (Note that a 99th %-ile in regular testing does NOT usually translate into a 99 for SSAT; just a heads up. but if you can get above an 85 I think it would be a worthwhile thing to do, as long as you also have time to do the applications and get the recommendations.
I think your first order of business, assuming you are applying for 9th grade, is to get a list of schools. First, get a sense for what you are looking for in a boarding school. and then, develop a list of schools with varying levels of acceptance rates. Run some searches here on the names of schools you find. Poke around their websites, sign up for a few zooms that they are all offering these days (gosh we have been on SO many zooms yikes), and then start applying. Boardingschoolreview is a great website to gather preliminary info, like admissions stats, etc. Also, if you let us know what you are really looking for specifically in a school, I’ll bet we could offer suggestions to help start you off. But don’t be afraid to settle in and run some searches and read away! You’ll be amazed by how much you’ll learn about schools!
I’m in 8th grade now, and ideally, I am looking to enroll for 9th grade. I will need financial aid. I live in a 4 person household with the gross annual income being somewhere between 100,00-140,000. I have a strong preference for co-ed schools, but it is just a preference. I have attended schools with 120 students, and schools with 750 students, and I didn’t have trouble in either. I make friends very easily. I’m pretty confident in my volleyball skills since I was offered a JV position on my school’s team in 7th grade(I didn’t accept because of cheerleading). Volleyball is something I would like to continue through high school, and possibly in college. I’ll ask some adults I think could help me with taking the SSAT asap. I’m not sure about the percentile for my STAR score exactly. I will double-check but if I remember correctly, my score was 1346 out of a possible 1400. If I don’t get into any boarding school I’m interested in, I will stay home and attend public school for the first 1-2 years of high school to try and improve my GPA and get some years of higher-level volleyball under my belt, and transfer later. Thank you for the recommendation to boardingschoolreview, I’ll check it out soon.
Indian Springs School is a well respected academically challenging boarding school in Alabama that might be of interest to you in addition to a dozen or so boarding schools in the Northeast US.
Check out The Culver Academies in Indiana as well. Culver is a very wealthy school which awards a lot of financial aid.
If going far away from home–such as to the New England region of the US–it might be wise to look at boarding schools with a high percentage of boarders as opposed to day students.
@ghostotter: I want to assure you that the level of care and instruction at Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania and at The Culver Academies in Indiana is outstanding.
Schools like Andover, Exeter, St. Paul’s, Groton and a couple of others are for students who are off the charts brilliant and need much more challenging instruction than offered in typical high schools across America. (Talented athletes can be an exception, but are often asked to repeat a grade upon entering an academically elite boarding prep school.)
@ghostotter I would pay close attention to the advice @Calliemomofgirls offers. Also, click through her profile to see her comments in other threads. She has been extremely patient and generous with super helpful advice and insights.
I would counsel to consider the size of the boarding population rather than the percent alone as well as where kids are from. There are schools where lots of kids leave for the weekend.
But at this point for you, I would think about what you would like the school to offer. It’s often hard to pick up on the vibe, but there are schools that might feel more comfortable for athletes/artists/URM/students with FA. So you can work your way through that too.
Take a look at Peddie, George, Westtown, Hill, Blair as well as those mentioned upthread. Overall, these Mid-Atlantic schools are a bit less competitive. They have very different vibes, but sometimes, looking at a variety of options can help clarify what you want and what you don’t.
@ghostotter - How exciting for you to be considering boarding schools! You have definitely come to the right place for info and support.
Do you have any current teachers you click with? You will need letters of recommendation- English and math in particular. As you are coming from a public school in an area that doesn’t have a big boarding culture, teachers might need some educating on what you are doing and why before they can write their recs. Now would be a good time to run the idea by them and see their response.
Cheer isn’t a thing in most boarding schools. Volleyball is, but not at all schools. So cheer would be helpful in an app insofar as it shows athletic ability generally and commitment to an activity. Volleyball would be a quick way to narrow options if it is important to your high school experience.
You have some time, but not a lot, to get your school list together. Come back here with a top ten list, and why you like them, and you can get some feedback. You have had some great advice so far.
When looking at schools, think about specifics for what you hope a boarding school can give you that you can’t get at home (beyond strong academics - all of these schools have that). What do you love about school? What do you love about your family, your community? What stresses you out? What feeds your soul? What do you need to get away from? There are no wrong answers, but asking yourself these big questions will help you narrow the list of schools. Big questions are, in my opinion, how much do you want adults to be involved in your life - do you you want independence or more of an extended family feel? Do you want to get away from campus or do you want a self-contained community? Do you want a school that is super sporty or artsy?
One option a lot of people take is to do 9th grade at home then repeat it at boarding school. Not suggesting that’s what you should do, but just know that it is a legit option if you are feeling time pressure.
Go you! ??
^^ George has cheer. (But nothing like the Cheer on Netflix!)
@CateCAParent – agree with your question, so I’m pulling it out here to give it extra airtime for the OP:
What are you looking for a boarding school that you can’t get at home?
That one question will help sift through a bunch of options.
Why?
Because if the answer is: you simply cannot find a class that you can’t get an A in with your eyes closed, then that points to a certain bucket of schools. (I suspect this is not your reason, but just an example). Or, you need to find world-class math classes because you are too advanced in math.
other answers: living in community, study abroad, specific courses/languages not offered at home, the ability to do more activities without needing to drive in between, certain ECs or sports not available at home (like crew, or ice hockey or whatever).
So if you can be as clear as possible to explain what you are looking for that you can’t get at home – both for yourself and for us to help with suggestions – I think that would be incredibly helpful. (Also: it will help you in fit, which means you will have stronger interviews, and more importantly: it will help match you up with schools where you would be happy).
both my DD’s are volleyball players so I dare say that I’ve got my arms around a LOT of schools that offer VB.
Other answers can also include:
- pedagogical philosophy (whether you’re a Harkness person or a Putney fan or for some reason you’re reading “Summerhill” for fun).
- there are no private day schools near you worth considering and your LPS is just awful.
- you want to be around more people who share your values.
@Calliemomofgirls
When I look at my Language Arts STAR testing, my scores from last year are 96th-98th percentile. But my math was much lower, only in the 78th percentile. Two weeks ago we took our 8th grade 1st quarter Language Arts STAR test, and I think I performed similar to last year or improved. I took my 1st quarter Math STAR test today, but I’m not confident I did much better than 80th percentile if I’m being honest. We take them again in January or early February, and they could improve by then if that isn’t good enough(I don’t think it is based on what I’m reading). When we took K-PREP(if you aren’t familiar with that it is state testing in Kentucky, I believe. I’m relatively new to public school so I’ve only taken it once) I scored higher on math by far. My scores were both high, probably the 2nd in my grade in math(one kid got a perfect score) and possibly 1st in LA. I’m not at all 100% about ranks on K-PREP, but I think I was above the 85th percentile in my state on both tests. These were my tests from 6th grade so my memory is hazy. That is a low expectation they could be higher. Since I don’t have much time to prepare for SSAT, what would you recommend? As I mentioned in my previous post, I have already completed Algebra 1, and am taking Geometry. Is it likely I will retake these classes? I have also seen some other people in this thread saying that taking 9th grade at home, then retaking it is an option. Is this something you would suggest for me?
Volleyball is far more important to me than cheer, so that is something I think is essential to my high school experience. I’m not big into any sort of arts, so I don’t think I would do well in a school with a heavy focus on that. I think I would be able to do well in a more athletic focused school. I also have an interest in the French language and possibly culture.
Thank you for reading!
@CateCAParent
Thank you for your response!
I can think of a few teachers I can get recommendations from, and I will try to contact them as soon as possible. I have three math teachers in mind, but one taught me while I was technically in elementary. I was in 5th grade, but he was a middle school teacher and taught me 6th grade math. I didn’t take 5th grade math, and his letter was enough to get me into 7th grade math in 6th grade and then Algebra 1 in 7th grade. I think he would be able to write a good letter, but if I can’t use him I do have a second pick. I also think I can get my Creative writing coach who was my Advanced ELA teacher to write me a good recommendation. I will come up with a school list, keeping what you said in mind. I will come back and post it at a later date. Thank you again for your feedback!
I think STAR testing is pretty close to CASSP testing. DS also took NWEA for many years. The last couple times he took the NWEA ending in 6th grade he has a 99% in both subjects. He had perfect CASSP scores for three years in a row. But he had to study a lot of get high ISEE scores. He is also taking Geometry as an 8th grader. Is first SSAT is a 90. He’ll take it again.
I’d recommend taking a few solid sample tests and get a sense of where you fall. It is pretty normal to repeat a year in bs, in fact it would be my plan for my young daughter.
@SweetBoy1
Thank you for your reply, it helps me understand this better. If you scroll up a bit, some of my responses have my test scores in them. Would you say I should take the SSAT this year? From what I’ve read about it, it doesn’t seem like I have enough time to prepare. Also, I found a free SSAT practice online, would that be adequate to see where I am for now? Like, to see where I would score if I were to actually take the test, just so I can get a better idea of where I am. I understand it might not be perfect, but do you think it would be worth my time? I’ve never had a test like this and I guess I thought it might help me see what I’m testing for and put my options into perspective. I might be interested in the idea of repeating a grade since you said it is common. That might help me in my time pinch.