<p>Hi guys! I'm new here at CC.
I want to apply to prep schools for my freshman year (I'm a 7th grader)
I don't want to start to 'late' and miss an opportunity to send a better application.
Can someone tell me the basic components of an application?
So far i know:
-SSAT scores
-Interview
-Essays (I'm not too sure what these are)
-Recommendations (Advice anyone?)</p>
<p>When should I start preparing? and how do you deal with different dates and processes for each school?? It seems so confusing D:
BTW
I'm planning on applying to
Andover
Exeter
Choate
Deerfield
Hotchkiss
^ Anymore suggestions?</p>
<p>Also, I live on the east coast and I have no idea how to schedule all the interviews.</p>
<p>I probably have more questions, but I'll add to this later as they come to mind...</p>
<p>I would suggest starting the application in september (not january like i did last year) so you will have plenty of time for fitting interviews and writing your essays whilest still having enough time to keep your grades excellent.</p>
<p>definetly, I wouldnt apply to more than 5 or 6 schools though, as it takes up too much time and, afterall, your not going to attend more than one school.
Maybe have a look at some good schools that are slightly easier to get into. And think about what you want from the school, the list you have there has a real mix of schools: are you looking at something big/small. Sporty/arty/academic?</p>
<p>Right now you should be doing test prep. Preferably take the June SSAT as a practice to see how you do under test conditions and guide your study. This is probably the key summer priority.</p>
<p>You should define what you want in a school based on your own personal strengths and weaknesses. There are BS ranging from 200 to 1100 students, with strengths in various arts, math, science, humanities, particular sports, debate, etc. To the extent that a school’s perceived strengths line up with your own interests, you are more likely to be perceived as a good fit by the school. In addition to reading the threads about schools here, you should look at <a href=“http://www.boardingschoolreview.com%5B/url%5D”>www.boardingschoolreview.com</a>. This will help with the basics, but also take time to read the student reviews on that site. They are often quite detailed even of some aren’t very recent.</p>
<p>If you’re in the northeast, you might want to visit some of the schools and perhaps interview during the late summer. </p>
<p>The applications/essays will not become available until August/September based on the school, so do the other things now, because you will almost certainly be working on your essays until near the Jan 10/15 deadline.</p>
<p>It’s never to early to start! I agree with what some others have said, get a head start on the SSAT. It’s not a fun test and i’ve had horid expiriences with it! Honestly though, if you prepare it’s perfectly fine. I didn’t do that very well. </p>
<p>I agree with broadening schools. There are so many wonderful, though a bit lesser known, schools that you shouldn’t cross of the list yet. Have a variety of reach schools and a balance of “easier”/backup schools (though none truely are “easy”). </p>
<p>If you don’t live close enough to interview directly at the school do I what I did, schedule alumni interviews, skype interviews, or telephone interviews. They can be just as effective! The only thing you miss out on is getting to see the campus, which is a shame but always leaves room for more interview questions. </p>
<p>I would say to request as many info from schools NOW as you can, then choose the ones you like… I wish I would’ve done that. It doesn’t hurt to request info, as it is cost free. Many applicants request info and don’t apply.</p>
<p>Recommendations are usually sent from your eighth grade English and Math teachers, around November. So, get to know them at the beginning of next year, and work very hard in those classes. Additional recommendations from a coach or extracurriculuar adult are also often needed, so think about who to ask for that. A good intro book on the overall application process that you can order from Amazon is the Green’s guide to boarding schools, if you do not find enough here on CC. Try to spend time this summer on community service, extra classes or a project, which comes in handy for the essays and interviews and shows you are a serious independent learner.</p>
<p>I would say not to start later than the end of October. I didn’t even look at boarding schools seriously and didn’t event decide to apply until mid to late November. I would not recommend this. It was hard to schedule all of my interviews then, I didn’t have adequate time to selected the perfect schools (even though I think I did a good job at this anyway), applications got in the way of school work, I could of took more time to think of essay topics, and I could of built up my application if I thought about boarding school earlier. Everything still turned out fine for me, and I was accepted to one of my top choices! That being said, starting the process late (in my opinion) led to a lot of stress and late nights.</p>
<p>I would say start ASAP. You will want to plan out what you’re doing for each part. Maybe you want to focus on essays during Thanksgiving break, and pull everything together over Christmas. It is a painstaking process that can take forever to complete. If you are applying to multiple schools with different applications, then you should really start as fast as you can. You won’t want to be up at 11:30 on January 15th slaving away.</p>
<p>Don’t forget that there are also “Parent Statements” required by many schools, so give your parents the heads-up if they don’t already know. They will need to be prepared to opine on your strengths, weaknesses, formative experiences, and in some cases discuss their own parenting process. Reviewing schools’ 2010-11 applications is a good way to know what to expect even though the questions will change somewhat.</p>
<p>Thanks guys!
So far I’ve gotten info packets from Exeter, Hotchkiss, and Andover. Exeter looks the most interesting so far.
I want to do percussion in high school (preferably mallets)
Which school is strong in this area?
I also play piano and wish to continue this if I do get into a bs.
I play kendo, which is an Asian sword fighting sport, and no schools have a team or a club for it. Soo I have a small thought about starting my own kendo club etc. Is that a good idea?</p>
<p>Can someone give me a complete list of good boarding schools that I should consider applying to or requesting info from?:)</p>
<p>first, I would request info sometime during the summer because it think most boarding schools start sending out their new packets sometime during the end of August/beginning of september. Also, I applied to Hotchkiss and there music program seemed exceptional, worth a hard look! Starting a club at these schools is a great idea, and very easy. You could also put it on your college application!</p>
<p>Those are my favorites! And you can request whenever you want because they resend info when they have a new view book. I got 2 of a few schools because i requested info in June last year.</p>
<p>You can get a lot of information from the schools’ websites, so you don’t need to wait for the view books. Also read any student reviews on [Boarding</a> School Review - College-Prep & Jr. Boarding Schools](<a href=“http://www.boardingschoolreview.com%5DBoarding”>http://www.boardingschoolreview.com)</p>
<p>Since your in 7th grade, I would recommend looking at this board and looking at boardingschoolreview.com and develop a list. Spend this time thinking and reflecting about what you want in a school. I’m glad I began my search in 7th grade, I had plenty of time to think about what I wanted and why I wanted it. If you have any questions, send me a PM.</p>
<p>How was it? Tough. Study study study. There are a lot of people on here that got a great score (99 on everything). I think that’s not very realistic. Many schools like upper 80s. I personally got a 93 overall (95 verbal, 90 math, 76 reading comp.), and it was hard. I studied my butt off. It’s a very respectable result, but these scores don’t just come to you–you have to prepare to do the work. SSATs are a big factor in determining acceptance. Personal tutors do wonders for you…so if anyone has the time and money, I think that they are a great investment.</p>
<p>I found all the practice tests exceptionally easy. I know it’s different from doing the real thing, but there was nothing challenging in it at all. But i guess any test is different for everyone
To be honest, as long as you dont get a score below 80, the schools dont really care about the SSAT, it’s just a way of checking that you’re as good as your saying. Grades and essays are much more important</p>
<p>@Alix: I wouldn’t underestimate the importance of optimizing all elements of your applications. The SSAT is a test with a low ceiling. This means that top percentile results are possible only with a very small number of errors. Also, all sections of the SSAT are not viewed equally. Reading comp is probably the most important, followed by Math, with Verbal being least important.</p>