Hello, I’m a ninth grader in a public high school right now but looking to go to a private school for harder classes. I am in all honors classes (science, math, social studies, English, and Mandarin) and have an A+ in all my classes (99% is my average). I’m a team leader at my school’s environmental club and lead the newspaper and environmental clubs at my middle school. I’m also involved with a few local environmental advocacy coalitions (I’m the youth representative on the steering committee for one) and active in my state’s student sustainability coalition. I’ve heard a lot about test scores but haven’t taken any or prepped for any; I’m not entirely clear yet on how that system works or what tests I’m supposed to take.
I’m very new to this, my parents never considered that I would go anywhere but the high school in my town, but I’m very bored with the classes and would like more of a challenge and more options for electives. As a result, I don’t really know much of anything about applying to a high school for sophomore or junior year.
What schools should I be looking at, and what chances do I have of getting in? I live in NJ, and would prefer to stay in the state (obligations to the organizations and campaigns I’m working on), but wouldn’t mind going somewhere else on the east coast if the school is good. My household has a higher income, so I’m skeptical we’d be eligible for financial aid, but can not afford a tuition that is too expensive, so places with merit scholarships or lower tuitions would be the most feasible. I’m interested in ecology and environmental science/engineering as well as some humanities-related areas (government, history, sociology).
Welcome! You sound like a great, accomplished person.
A couple of thoughts straight away:
You're not (yet) late but you're not early either and you need to get going on your process. Application deadlines are mostly Feb 1 and though that may feel somewhat off in the distance it will sneak up on you very quickly. There are essays to write, recommendations to request, zoom interviews to schedule, etc. In fact, register with SAO and Gateway (these are the two common-app platforms) and poke around to get a sense for things.
-Look especially for the “Inexperienced Dad” thread and read through it - tons of great advice about the overall process including how to make a list of schools.
-Think about whether you’re applying to repeat 9th grade (a common thing in the BS world) or entering as a 10th grader.
-You mentioned academic rigor. That’ll be pretty much a given at most of the top, say, 50ish BS and even beyond. So ask yourself, why else do you want to go to BS? What else are you looking for? Size? Rural vs in/near a town? All girls? A particular sport or club that operates at a particularly high level?
I’ll add to @DroidsLookingFor fine advice: many schools have January 15th deadline so just be aware of that. Boarding school review website can also do searches on merit schools. Peddie comes to mind as a possible fit for you in NJ.
Thank you for the advice, @DroidsLookingFor, all of this helps a lot. I’m very aware of and a bit nervous that I’m a bit late to this, so if I can’t make it for sophomore year I was thinking I would shoot for junior year instead, and do two years public two years private. Definitely trying to pick up the pace to get in for next year, though it’s hard being busy and not really getting much help. I would not want to repeat a grade. I’m most dedicated to my environmental club and involved in environmental and climate activism. Are there any schools with particularly active environmental clubs or good for environmental science and ecology? (I know that’s pretty specific.)
Do a search for independent schools in your area. There’s a variety of websites that have this information.
Also do not despair. Some schools have “rolling admission”, meaning they consider students who apply after the deadline. They may be the schools with the greatest name recognition, but they may still offer more than where you currently are.
Since you want to stay in NJ, start by looking at Peddie, Blair, Hun, Lawrenceville, and George (in PA, but only about 20 minutes from L,ville and Hun - just acrossthe river.) If you need FA to make it work, George and Peddie are probably your best bets. You aren’t too late to make this happen, btw, and many schools are test-optional this year. But you will need to get to work quickly.
You are lucky in the sense that many schools now have many online resources available, so if you devote a little time to this, you can figure out what you need to do.
George, btw, has a lot of students who have been active on climate issues, so your interest could not only be well met, but you could also be seen as a good fit (which is helpful on the FA front.)
Note: among other typos, I meant to say that the schools with rolling admissions may NOT have the greatest name recognition.
Your goal is to find a school with greater academic challenges/opportunities than where you currently are, which will also be supportive of your extracurricular endeavors.
NJAIS has a list of independent schools in NJ. That would be a good place to start.
If you want to consider Mercersburg (it’s in southern PA), they seem to have a lot of classes dealing with the environment. My kid is taking a class on (I think) Conservation during the Intensive semester (this is only bc of covid schedule). Besides learning about the science, from what I overhear he is designing some kind of condensation mesh for water supply in an arid climate. He is also scheduled to take Stream Ecology and AP Bio later on this year. They also have PGs (it’s the required afternoon activity, which ranges from sports to arts) that relate to the outdoors. They hike and kayak and things like that and the school supplies all the gear; I think it’s called MOE (Outdoor experiences?). They also have a ski team and I think bc the hill is so small the kids have to hike up the hill too. I’m not sure about this either (my kid didn’t do this sport).
Choate has a very cool environmental immersion program that may appeal to you. It’s in Connecticut, but you can spend a semester living at Choate’s Kohler Environmental center (just down the road from the main campus), so it’s a pretty unique opportunity. More info: https://www.choate.edu/academics/signature-programs/environmental-immersion-program
In terms of admission, there are often fewer spots available for sophomores than freshman, and even fewer openings for juniors. If this is something you really want to do, I’d strongly advise you to apply this year rather than wait another year.
Lawrenceville has more sophomore openings than a lot of other BSs and it checks your New Jersey box. In terms of environmental focus, they do have a Leopald Scholar program where students work on sustainability projects, though I’m unsure of the details. They also have a farm on campus that students where students may work, as well as a solar farm (though I’m unaware of the extent to which students are involved). You can find more info here: https://www.lawrenceville.org/academics/experiential-education/sustainability-at-lawrenceville