What can I do from now to January to make my artistic student more attractive to BS?

Prep School Admissions Prep School Parents
1

The more I study, the less I become confident on boarding school admission. Reading the decisions thread, I realize the extent of challenge that dd is facing with being Asian, needing FA, planning Skype interviews for East Coast schools… I can see that dd might not get accepted to any boarding schools at all, even with stellar academics, good essays, and great recommendations.

I am trying to figure how to make her more interesting. She hasn’t done any music, drama, leadership, community service, etc. I am guessing that it’s too late to start them now.

She is in an indoor rock climbing team. Currently she climbs top-rope 11.d, and bouldering v.4. She is pretty good, but not enough to win regional competition or anything. And she doesn’t want to do competitions since they are in Saturdays, in which she has Ceramics classes.

So that leaves really one option - arts, even though it is only a “pseudo” hook.

I think her portfolio is already great. And because her skill is now seasoned, I am expecting some more nice pieces to be created by the end of this year.

In addition to preparing a decent portfolio, I am seeing following advises on CC regarding arts;

  1. Talk to target school's art faculty: Are we talking about individually contacting each school's art teachers with dd's portfolio? What else should I talk? Ask about their art facility and programs beyond introductory classes?
  2. Collect award: I spent hours and hours last night to search them, but it seems due dates for K-12 arts competitions are already passed except for Celebratingart that I just submitted a piece. There is a local college hosted annual juried show that dd was a finalist last Fall. She will do it again this Fall, but chance for winning top 3 against adult artists is rather slim. Last year's competition was especially hot on 3d section which is dd's specialty. She can try more juried adults art shows this Fall. With some huge luck, some of her sculptures might get displayed in some galleries, even though she is unlikely to win any. Or I could be just delusional.

Am I thinking correctly? Any advise? A link to DD’s portfolio can be sent in PM to anyone interested.

2

Don’t worry about the awards so much, especially given her age. It would be great to have your daughter contact the head of the art department at each school she will apply to. Are you doing visits? If so, perhaps she can arrange to meet with them when she is on campus. She can send her portfolio to the art dept head as well as submitting it with her application. No need to contact every art teacher at the school - that is overkill.

Since she has many months before she applies, another thing she can consider doing is some sort of community service. She could even tie her love of art into community service. Be creative.

The best way to insure an acceptance at a boarding school is to make sure she applies to a broad range of schools, not just the most selective ones.

3

To put a slightly finer point on what doschicos said, make sure she applies to some schools where her SSAT score is quite a bit above the school’s average SSAT.

4

Thanks doschicos and soxmom! Community Services at that age would really need some creative thinking on my side. I will see what’s out there!

5

She should be good, kind, independent, curious, engaging.

She can display her pieces and have a newspaper cover the display- whether it is at a bank lobby, a retirement home, a hospital chapel, etc. She can enter her works in the county fair in the late summer/autumn. She can collaborate on a sculpture with someone well known (who could write a letter of recommendation). She could reach out to a faculty member at a target school to discuss specific aspects of their common interest (collaboration, advice on a raku, etc.). You should not contact ANYONE at the schools- she should do all of the contacting.

You should find a way to coordinate a 1-week swing to visit/interview at your target schools, and get on their calendar as soon as it opens so you can have your preferred dates and coordinate all of the school visits into a compact trip. I would go in November or December when she is more mature and really excited- and so she can get a feel for the culture to help her fine-tune her essays. Skype is really not the best, though it is ok.

You can try to find a way to get magazines or newspapers to cover her art- there are often great regional magazines- and give it context. This is great even if just for family scrapbooks.

She should consider taking the AMC 8 (math competition). Perhaps she can find someplace to submit drawings, poems, or stories to be published?

Mainly, she should be herself. Mainly, you should find ways to showcase this “herself-ness” to give it context and package it so it is interpreted and easier to digest.

6

Wow. Those sounds like good idea. She had two exhibitions at a local community college’s library two years ago, even before she started formal arts training. I think she can do another one this Fall with last two years’ works. I have been forgetting that. And she might be more open to calling a local newspaper this time, because her desire for BS is so strong.

I had already reached two arts faculties on boarding schools on my own through email, and I did feel that something was not right. I can see that what was wrong. Daughter will design a new portfolio after this Summer’s 3 weeks arts camp, hopefully with some more mature drawings and paintings. Then she can contact the arts department on her own in the Fall.

An arts history professor will write a LoC. He has been trying to convince Daughter to attend BS for months, with a promise to write a great LoC for her. Perhaps her Ceramic teacher of two years can be asked too, she is an art professor and professional artist. I have been somewhat discouraged of importance of non-academic LoCs. Hopefully they will be more effective than I heard.

She could take AMC 8. It didn’t seem too important but perhaps I was wrong. She has been studying math with AoPS Pre-Algebra and Algebra, so she has some competition math practice, but I doubt that her performance would be stellar. Still it can be some additional validation of her homeschooled math learning, in somewhat difference angles of SSAT math section. I can see that how it can provide some missing pieces in problem solving area.

Interview trip would be very challenging for me. Leaving work for a week was something I couldn’t do for years, not to mention all the travel expenses from west coast. And Daughter skipping class for a week. She is taking challenging Fall courses and that’s a big challenge too. I will see what I can do. We visited a local school informally. Daughter didn’t want to bring her portfolio, but I showed her work to the art teacher anyway with my cell phone :slight_smile: I liked the visit very much. But then I read all the great interview then rejected stories on the decisions thread. :frowning:

In that informal visit to the local school, her story was that although she has spent majority of her time and effort on arts to become an artist since 7, but now she wants do arts as a hobby only. Instead, she wants to explore other areas in high school for a different career that she doesn’t even know what it would be. It is her true story and I can package her application around it. But sounds indecisive and I wonder how BS admission will take it.

Thanks

7

@jwalche - My thoughts meant with the best intentions:

Do NOT overdo supplemental letters of recommendation. Maybe one at most. There’s an old saying in admissions: The thicker the application, the thicker the student.

Don’t be a helicopter/high maintenance parent. Let your daughter drive the application process, you can assist by helping facilitate eg providing application fees, driving to interviews/visits, etc. But not this: “I can package her application around it.” or this: “Daughter didn’t want to bring her portfolio, but I showed her work to the art teacher anyway with my cell phone”. Boarding schools are looking for self-motivated and mature students who want to attend of their own volition and who will be able to advocate for themselves while living away from home.

Community service doesn’t need to be complicated. She could sell some of her sculpture and use the funds to donate to a favorite charity. She could work with senior citizens/disadvantaged or disabled youth doing some kind of arts & crafts project. Something at the local library with younger kids. There are all kinds of ideas, whether her interest in art is part of it or not. Again, it doesn’t have to be complicated.

“But sounds indecisive and I wonder how BS admission will take it.” Boarding Schools aren’t expecting applicants to have their lives and career paths decided at the age of 13, 14,15. They are looking for maturity, independence, and a willingness to be involved in the community and to try new things.

Don’t over think things or try to package your daughter too much. The admissions folks see a lot of applicants and can determine the genuine article from the overpolished candidates.

8

Right! Thanks for cooling down my head :slight_smile:

9

She is very mature and independent. I am confident that they will show themselves on her essays. She has been on her own for academics, including decisions to what to learn, for last 3 semesters already, except Math. This BS plan is her desire and choice, I had another plan that has been working perfectly.

Her willingness to be involved in community … I don’t know. She loves to be in her current classes. She even more loves to be in BS classes with her age peers. But to community outside that … I will have to ask her what she thinks. She used to volunteer for a severely autistic kid for a half year. But that was couple years ago. Even as a homeschooler, not having enough time per day to do what she wants has been her major pain. If she isn’t willing, well that’s that.

About packaging her application - that would be as a homeschooling school counselor rather than as a parent. I will have to write at least two letters of recommendation - one as her Math teacher and one as her school counselor. Hopefully I can delegate English recommendation as she is going to take an English course this Fall.

10

By “packaging” I mean helping choose what to highlight, and giving context to what is. For example, writing up a press release about the child’s exhibit and sending it off to local papers in advance of the show is a form of this “packaging.” Helping your daughter to have consistent “planks” in her campaign for BS admission is “packaging.” It helps her to think through the campaign, and to better know herself by categorizing and valuing her activities, and noticing habits and trends.

Community service can be once-a-month demonstrations of simple art techniques at the library or through the program director at an assisted living facility, or it could be signing up for an existing once-a-month program. It is surprising the impact a very simple and low-number-of-hours activity can have on a child’s community perspective and outlook.

The visit will give a real sense of the culture and is much more helpful (in retrospect) than one realizes. Also, be aware that there is a short discussion at the end of the interview with the parent(s). I do believe that a part of the admissions process is sizing up the parent- are both parents on the same page, will the student be well supported (emotionally) from home, is the student independent or is the parent guiding the process? In other words, will the FAMILY be a good fit with the school?

11

“The more I study, the less I become confident on boarding school admission.”

Good. I wish ever parent felt that way in the early stages of the search/application process. That’s at least 20% of why/what I’ve posted about over the years. Getting into the more selective BSs, meaning the ones everyone knows about and holds in such high esteem, is as hard as, well, HADES. Even with the stellar academics, good essays, and great recommendations you mention…there are absolutely no guarantees a kid will get into Exoverhotch Hall Academy. And if you are an Asian female, the pool gets even more competitive. Add in that you need FA and well, honestly, I’m not too enthusiastic about your DD’s odds at the “top” schools. She is literally in the most competitive applicant pool she could be in. You know how many AA girls are virtuoso violinists, excellent at tennis/squash, and also paint — all while making honor roll at rigorous private middle schools? A lot. And many are full pay applicants.

I’m not being harsh, I’m just being realistic. My point of view is informed by having gone through this process with two daughters of mixed race (half-Asian on their father’s side) and seeing not only their results, but those of a few cycles of applicants over the years I’ve been active on the forum.

More than anything, I think a kid’s outcomes depend on matching their profile to a school’s needs. Focusing on “fit”. I have posted repeatedly that I think applying exclusively to the “brand name” schools is folly — especially if the applicant is just your average smart kid. Some people defend this route by stating that “they are only schools that can afford to give generous FA”. This is an errant assumption. At this point in your process, I’d advise on keeping your search very broad.

You haven’t shared the schools that your daughter/family are considering…and I’m not asking you to do so publicly. Just be warned that if you only apply to schools like Exeter, Andover, and Deerfield…your daughter may come up empty handed next March.

“I am trying to figure how to make her more interesting.”

I will be more blunt than those who have posted above and say that this kind of thinking scares me. Trying to make a kid’s applicant profile more attractive though some carefully orchestrated 6-month campaign strikes me as very dangerous. What if, after you scramble to put her into whatever programs, competitions, etc. that you are seeking guidance on, she’s really no more “interesting” to schools (who will vote with their admissions decisions)? Will you/she consider those 6 months a complete waste of time?

From what you’ve shared, your daughter seems pretty interesting as is…with a deep love and commitment to art. A gift for it, perhaps. Some applicants don’t even have that. I advise working with what she has instead of desiring for her to be more “attractive to BS”.

Best of luck…there are a lot of parents (and kids) on this board with great experience who can/will help out.

12

I hope you will need all the good advice (SevenDad, doschicos, etc.). Heaven knows I’m no expert, but the whole extreme packaging and master planning thing feels wrong to me. It seems to me that if your daughter is an outstanding student with excellent SSAT scores, has a genuine and demonstrated artistic interest, and is an engaging person (and if you aren’t especially obnoxious :slight_smile: ), she has a fair chance at admission and won’t benefit from any more “packaging.” Because you need financial aid, her chances drop way down and are more cold-bloodedly determined by what a school “needs” to round out its student body at any given time, which you can neither know nor affect. All this is a long-winded way to say just let your daughter be herself, do the best you both can during the application process, and let her take her chances, because all your master planning is unlikely to change the outcome and will cause unnecessary stress for both you and your daughter during what is already a stressful process.

13

Heed, not need…

14

Thanks for the advises! I plan to let her be herself. I won’t be able to do otherwise anyway. She wants to take college courses one more year. I can’t change what she has done, and don’t plan to change what she will do, except suggesting some volunteering.

But I can form plans to how to represent her best right? It seems just focusing on well rounded education with near perfect scores and etc, won’t give her a fair chance.

Daughter has spent 20~30 weekly hours on art during last 6 years, has taken many college art courses, and has dozens of polished art works that I can submit to some juried art shows. If she is represented as a proven artist whose future works can be shown on her BS’s website, there might be some BS that will be interested in taking her. Since she will need only one acceptance from a decent girls-only school, the risk of looking specialized seems justifiable.

15

SevenDad, I fully agree with your analysis about the slim admission chances that my daughter is facing. I had some shocking moments reading the decisions forum. Not getting admission from any of the 10 schools with near perfect stats in all areas. About 6 months campaign - she only will need to write some artist statements. She has done it before and it’s good practice for her anyway. Good thing about visual art contests is that you only need to submit photos of your arts online, and she already has 1~2 dozen pieces of submitable works. She will get more pieces from her Summer Camp at Interlochen and an intermediate level college ceramic course she is taking this Fall.

We initially planned to apply to four girls-only schools, Emma Willard, Westover, Santa Catalina and one more to decide. But now we are thinking about adding more girls-only schools, and perhaps apply to several co-ed schools as well, including some of those top 10 schools and couple of west coast schools. We might have to use SSAT common application instead of individual school applications, because there will be no way to get that many letters of recommendations.

16

I am VERY pro Emma Willard, even though neither of my daughters applied. If you are willing to go outside of all-girls environment, I might put Idyllwild (California) on your list. Friends have a son there and I think are very happy.

17

Thanks for the recommendation. We had indeed considered Idyllwild, along with Interlochen (explains her Summer Camp at Interlochen next month.) But while co-ed schools are reluctantly acceptable, arts schools are no longer. Daughter says she wants to use the high school period to find something else, and a normal school will help her better.

She now wants sculpting as a lifelong hobby, that she already has enough basic training to continue on her own. Thinking about it, she has always been adamant about not making arts as a profession. She doesn’t want to teach, sell, or be commissioned to do certain arts. I mistakenly thought she might change after growing up more. Ironically, the most influential people on her giving up art school have been artists - her arts history teacher who persistently recommended a normal BS, and a retired doctor friend who has taken four college ceramics/sculptor courses with Daughter.

18

Take a look at The Putney school, their evening arts program gives everyone the freedom to create, as well as rigorous courses for credit. You will know very quickly if it’s the right fit with a visit to the farm. http://www.putneyschool.org/content/evening-arts

19

Thanks jdewey. I studied it. It looks like a great program. But daughter will probably take a non-visual art if she is given that choice.

For visual arts, she prefers working longer sessions. Her first art class was a two hours long drawing class for teenagers. She got in provisionally at 9yo by showing her drawings portfolio. Since 11yo, she always had two art classes - one with two 3 hours long sessions and another with one 6.5 hours long session per week. 13 hours in classes and equally long homework, combined with personal art projects easily add up to 30 hours per week. This Fall will be the first semester with just one 6.5 hours long session. She made room for more English and Science.

Some students do amazing things in short time, But she would be barely warmed up with a 90 minutes long ceramics session. Hence she is considering other group activities - sports or drama for after school activities. Enjoying childhood with more social interaction is why she wants BS in the first place too.

Her personal works are ~8" size polymer clay sculptures, which she would continue to build during evening hours at dorm room and common room. If she gets in a BS, she plans to sculpt only when something inspires her, instead of constantly making class projects to enhance her skills. That way she probably will spend 10 hours on arts, instead of 30. The reclaimed hours can be spent on exploring other interests and building friendships.

20

@jwalche, would love to see the link to your D’s portfolio thagt you referenced earlier.

At BS, she would have no problem filling the extra hours in her day gained by cutting back on her art commitment, through mandatory sports involvement, socializing, and most likely more homework/studying than she might currently have. I think it would be great to emphasis to the schools that she is applying to that she would like to take advantage of the variety of opportunities they provide to have a more well rounded experience than she currently is having. 30 hrs per week in any activity for a 13 year old is a lot!