What’s next after you say yes?

Prep School Admissions
1

I was wondering what happens after you say yes.
Do you get assigned to a parent mentor, student mentors for questions?

Placement tests- what’s the timeline for when the students take it and get placed into courses?

Boarding survey- when do these go out?

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2

which school? Groton has an overview of what is happening when in the parent portal (which we could log into starting 3/10)

3

This is going to vary by school. With Kiddo1, we received no information for quite a while after April 10th. For Kiddo2, we already have a timeline on the welcome page outlining most everything. For example, we have several forms, and Kiddo2’s language placement test, that are due by May 15th. Roommate assignments go out August 15th, but no info yet on the roommate questionnaire.

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4

Andover

5

There is no specific parent or student mentor. However, you might be contacted by a current parent to welcome you to the school.

The housing questionnaire comes out mid summer. Room assignments are released at the very end of the summer.

Placement testing for math and language is in the early summer. Your student’s class schedule is released a day or two before classes start.

You might find useful information here:

6

Honestly? A whole lot of waiting until next September. At least that’s how I felt :joy:. Everything was so intense up until April 10 and then pretty much nothing till the fall.

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7

Yes. Next up: paying, and waiting :rofl:

Also @houstonmoma don’t cram for the placement tests. You don’t want to over place.

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8

Hahaha! Pay and wait … funny!

9

sorry if this isn’t the right thread, but does anyone know the procedure for late applications?

i got in 5 schools on late apps, would my placement tests be the same timeline?

10

Yes. Once you’re accepted you are just folded into the schedule.

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11

“What’s next after you say yes?”

First, stay calm and be patient….Every spring it seems questions are posted on this board about the silence from the school you just wrote a deposit check to.

  • Be prepared to hear crickets
  • Boarding schools are busy graduating their Seniors, finishing Spring Term, making the course schedule and course offerings for next year, fielding course requests, and hosting alumni events through mid-June.
  • In May, your student might receive a new email now that the deposit has been submitted. The old email they used for applying will be replaced. Please have your student check their email on a regular schedule. Realize that you parents might not get copies of the emails - so your kid needs to check.
  • May - many schools send out links to online placement tests for math and foreign language. Your student will complete these if they want to continue studying their foreign language - if you don’t have one, don’t worry. Everyone gets to take the math test.
  • May - you might hear from the school’s parent network rep welcoming you and answering your questions.

HELPFUL HINTS:

May is a good time for you to schedule the school physical. Our school wanted the forms completed by late July. It’s tough to get a doctor’s appointment and you should try to schedule it for early summer.

May/June is a good month to make hotel and car reservations for drop-off and Fall Parents Weekend. I am NOT kidding. There are several parents on CC (you know who you are) who did not take my advice and later contacted me with a “You were right” DM. While I always enjoy being right, I don’t enjoy seeing families having to bunk down in some “No-Tell Motel” in Chicopee. Same with making your hotel reservations for Fall Parents Weekend. The hotels close to the schools book up very early - also get your car rental early - you can always cancel if there is a better rate later this summer.

You can never be too OCD! Make a file folder with the hard copies of documents you need for the new school. Bring this file with you to move-in. This includes copies of the vaccine cards, health forms, emergency forms, permission forms, and your student’s final transcript.

  • June - This is often a very quiet time until later in the month. Students/Parents might receive an envelope or a large email file of forms to be completed. Make sure your high school sent the final transcript! Our school did not, but I had a copy of it in the kiddo’s file.

  • Late June/July - More $$ due.

  • August - make sure all those forms are completed and submitted. Many schools send emails about dorm assignments and roommates, but other schools wait until move-in day to tell your student where they will be living. Depends on the school.

  • CONFIRM your reservations.

  • Make dinner reservations at the local hotel or restaurants near your school - a few weeks (at least) before move-in. You can always cancel, but at least you have somewhere nice to eat. If you dine near school, you will have the advantage of meeting other families.

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I know that you weren’t kidding. But I thought that I’d take your advice and book these for drop off and Fall Parents Weekend. I can see that my usual go-to hotels are already booked for October. Wow.

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should we wait to book hotels/rental cars until our schools release final calendars?

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the calendars are up for many.

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DO NOT WAIT - if you don’t see calendars online, call the school and speak to the admissions office to get dates for Move IN/Drop Off and Fall Parents Weekend

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Andover’s up

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I already booked drop off and parents weekend :slight_smile:

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On those hotel reservations - if you find a place you like, find out how far in advance they open reservations and get those dates on your calendar.

You may find it useful for things like parents weekend, graduation, etc. I was SHOCKED to find that the one chain hotel in the town where DS went to college was fully booked within the first 2 hours after reservations opened for graduation weekend - one year in advance!! And I thought I was so clever being there on the day reservations opened…

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I booked a VRBO for my DD’s graduation next year a few months ago because hotels already had jacked up prices and many were full.

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