What should we (daughter and my husband and I both) be doing to prepare for BS during 7th grade? Are there open houses/visits for 7th graders or do people visit mainly during 8th? She is taking the SSAT to apply to a local school for next year and taking the ACT for the TIPs thing just for fun. Should we be looking for a consultant to help us? We are in the South, looking up North and out west for a strong school with a strong STEM program and a great theatre program if we can find that too.
My daughter and I attended an open house and visited another school while she was in 7th grade and it was not frowned upon at all. I personally feel you don’t need a consultant, but that is just my opinion.
Look into the Caroline D. Bradley scholarship and apply if your child has the minimum test scores and grades necessary. Only 7th graders are eligible to apply. Recipients get HS tuition for four years plus counseling about best fit schools and other benefits.
We did a few open houses in 7th to just get a feel for how the schools positioned themselves. It is not as involved as scheduling a tour and interview. BUT we were within driving distance of all of them, so this was often a matter of only giving up a weekend afternoon. This is unlikely to be the case for you. (Many BS do not even have open houses). If you are traveling near schools you might consider, I’d recommend stopping in for a game (or a theater production, if one is going on.) You will glean quite a bit about the culture of the place. You can also find out when there are BS fairs near you. Just chatting with reps and picking up literature can give you some idea of how you’d prioritize what you’re looking for.
Some people attend open houses in 7th grade (or younger but it can be a bit much if kids are young). Fairs are good and more relaxed. I am in the Northeast so secondary school fairs tend to be a combination of day and boarding schools.
There are also other programs which take 7th graders on in preparation for the admit cycle of 8th grade. My son is working with A Better Chance and the program started the application in the winter of 7th.
Thank y’all! I will go look into that scholarship now. We have our spreadsheet of places she is interested in, so I’ll see if there are any Spring open houses or the like.
@heregoesnothing we spent those years becoming an attractive candidate. We had the kids focus on becoming well rounded applicants. Joining clubs and developing into leaders in their areas of interest ( some robotics, science Olympiad etc…) honing musical or athletic potential, building close connections with teachers, counseling staff and coaches to help with recommendations and volunteering as much as possible.
In the northeast, many schools value applicants from the southern states as they are under represented. We did not use a consultant- you will find tons of information on this site that will be extremely helpful. Our kids attend Exeter and it is a great school that could meet your contests in stem and theater- as an most of the well
As a fellow Southerner- welcome!
It’s great to start early. Like Vegas1said- stay active- get your student involved-work on grades and test skills. Definitely take the ACT or SAT- Caroline D Bradley is a lot of work but worth it- helps with the essays for BS too! Duke TIP has a great program. (You will need a good score on ACT or SAT) My daughter took classes online with them for both 7th and 8th grade. Prices are much better than John Hopkins CTY- The schools we looked at last year seemed to like that she was taking academic classes outside of school. Once you get a good list- call the schools in August to set up interviews for the fall. That way you can get the dates you want- A lot of traveling- but well worth the effort to see and compare the schools. Enjoy the process!
Westover has a great WISE program ( Women in Science & Engineering.) They just expanded WISE this year to include more lab/robotics space, additional faculty, and more classes. They do an Open House for 7th graders. They also have a very strong theatre program… They win Halo Awards every year (these are awards for best HS theatre productions across the state of CT… the awards ceremony is held in a large city theatre with a red carpet arrival, etc. etc. ) Lots of fun and many seriously talented kids. For a small school, it has programs that provide a big experience.
Thanks everybody! She is hoping to attend one of the summer programs offered by the schools on her list so I guess we’ll start that process next month when the applications are released.
Caroline D. Bradley is great practice for applications. It is certainly good if you get the scholarship, but also helpful to go through the process, as it is similar to HS applications.
In 7th grade I took my son on a couple of school tours and to a few open houses, as well as to the secondary school fair that his current school hosts. I wanted him to start getting familiar with the process, and because he is so busy with school and sports right now, that there was no way we could do all the research, visits, interviews while also working on applications, SSATs and also doing well in school (and playing sports) in 8th grade. Also, he and I both find the visits tiring, so I wanted to space them out, plus he had very clear reactions when visiting the schools that really helped in coming up with his list. He said last year that he wasn’t really into doing the school visits so early, but this year, grudgingly, he has admitted that he’s really glad we did a lot of legwork in 7th grade Some of his friends – even at an independent school where they are coached and prepared for SS admissions – were really just starting the process this year. DS is interviewing at schools that he has already visited a couple of times, and I think it has helped him immensely. Good luck to you and enjoy!
Some of his friends – even at an independent school where they are coached and prepared for SS admissions – were really just starting the process this year. DS is interviewing at schools that he has already visited a couple of times, and I think it has helped him immensely. Good luck to you and enjoy!