Which application form?

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>I read some old threads where it was being debated whether to use the common app or the individual school's application. But what is the current state of things now that these threads are a few years old & technology changes so quickly? Are most people using the common app, or are there still those that apply to each school separately using the school's own app?</p>

<p>Also - it seems there are a number of 'common apps' - there is the one at the SSAT website, the one for TSAO (ten schools), and the one for TABs. Three different common apps?? </p>

<p>What should be used? It all seems needlessly confusing. Sorry if there is a recent thread that covers this - just point me in the right direction, please. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>@kidsnoanswers,
You will probably wind up using gatewaytoprepschools.com. Gateway is an online common application that schools say they prefer to see. You create an account, and then just fill out an application to all the schools you want to apply to. You do have to write a separate essay for each school. Don’t worry about which app to use next year.</p>

<p>And btw, the SSAT common app is hardly ever used. I’m not even sure if some schools take it. The only school I think takes it is Lawrenceville. But, don’t worry about that. Just use Gateway.</p>

3

<p>The SSAT service is accepted by most schools that will take a common app. It’s similar to the PFS in that you send your stuff to them and they distribute it to each school. Gateway is not really a common app. It’s just a common profile and useful portal to a few school’s individual apps. The SSAT rec forms can be used for all schools. Son used it last year for 4 schools and daughter used it this year. It is very user friendly. Once you know which schools your student will be applying to, it will be much clearer which apps you will end up using. The general rule is that the more selective the school, the less likely they will be to accept a common (essay portion) app.</p>

4

<p>It was not really confusing for students, each school has specific instructions listed on their application website. About 6 use Gateway, others use Common, and Exeter (and maybe Choate ??) have set up their own web-based portals. Gateway and Common have some portions to fill out on-line by the applicant, as well as supplementary essays unique to each school. A few still have paper. </p>

<p>While pretty easy for the applicant to figure out, it was unnecessarily time-consuming for the teachers doing the recs because some were online, and some mailed here and there with different questions. That’s where I think one common web-based portal for recommendations would be a great help for the teachers.</p>

5

<p>TABS (or SSAT) teacher recommendations can be used for all schools, regardless of whether or not they accept a common application. There’s no need to give any teacher multiple recommendations to fill out.</p>

<p>There are only two common applications: TABS & SSAT. They are virtually identical. The only difference is that the TABS application has one or two short essay questions that are not included on the SSAT application. So if it turns out that School A only accepts the TABS application and School B only accepts the SSAT app, it really won’t be that big a deal to do both. As noted above, the TABS app. goes directly to the school; the SSAT app. goes to SSAT, which, in turn, sends it out to the schools for you.</p>

<p>As for who accepts what . . . </p>

<p>As already stated, the most selective schools tend to require their own applications. Several of those schools share a common initial questionnaire (“Gateway To Prep,” mentioned above), but the essay portions of the app’s are school-specific.</p>

<p>Many other schools accept either their own app or one or both of the common app’s. In some cases, there will be a required supplement for applicants completing a common app - most often an extra essay or a parent statement. (And, yes, it’s true that many schools say they “prefer” their own app - but the schools really won’t hold it against an applicant. Kids are accepted every year who’ve applied using a common app!)</p>

<p>A very few schools do not have their own application and require one of the common applications. Lawrenceville comes to mind - it requires the SSAT app. plus a supplemental essay.</p>

<p>It’s really not that hard. If your student is applying to several schools, the common app can be a lifesaver!</p>

6

<p>I completely agree with that last paragraph from 2prepmom. We found that we could use a common ap template for Math, English and Principal recs, but not for additional character recs, required by some schools. After contacting some schools, we were told that many people just copied one school’s rec form and used it for multiple schools. Feels kind of cheesy doing that but do you want to ask your character reference to write multiple forms? As for apps, with two children applying, we encountered schools that used Gateway, SSAT, TABS, one with its own portal, and one was not online at all. </p>

<p>For the one child who applied to a school with the SSAT app, we thought we’d use that for the remainder of schools. Then we found that some schools’ apps have thoughtful questions and essays that would bring out the best in our child. And where we had a first choice school, we really wanted to use their app just to send a message. So, in the end, each of my children did four different apps for four different schools. However, there was a lot of overlap and re-working for each app so it wasn’t like starting new each time. Just our personal preference. It will fall into place once you know what schools you are applying to.</p>

7

<p>This is all very helpful everyone, thank you.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Did you apply electronically, or did you prefer print out a hardcopy & mail that in?</p></li>
<li><p>On TABS, I couldn’t find a form to request school records/transcripts - anyone? There was a rather extensive form for this on the SSAT website - it asked for a lot more besides just a simple transcript.</p></li>
<li><p>What is PFS? Parent Financial Statement?</p></li>
<li><p>I looked at the SSAT list of schools & it <em>seemed</em> that all schools were on there that I could think of. I thought that meant that all the schools accepted the SSAT common app. But after the comments above, I wonder if this was just a list of schools requiring the SSAT exam or something. Where on the SSAT website is it listed which schools accept the SSAT app?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Thanks!</p>

8

<p>(1) For TABS, you need to print it out and mail it in. The SSAT app is completed online. </p>

<p>With the SSAT app, if the kid is applying to multiple schools, filling out the app for one school causes it to propagate automatically to the other schools for which you’ve started applications, so it’s pretty easy. But it doesn’t upload to the schools automatically - you have to go and indicate “send” for each school the kid is applying to. Good thing, too - you don’t want to send the form that says “School A is the best school ever!” to School B! So you can go through and customize your replies for each school before you upload them.</p>

<p>(2) The TABS forms (including school transcript/recommendation) are available [url=&lt;a href=“http://www.boardingschools.com/how-to-apply/application.aspx]here[/url”&gt;Application Deadline - BoardingSchools.com]here[/url</a>]. Just scroll down and you’ll see them.</p>

<p>(3) PFS = Parent Financial Statement. Go [url=&lt;a href=“https://www8.student-1.com/SSSNet/index.aspx]here[/url”&gt;https://www8.student-1.com/SSSNet/index.aspx]here[/url</a>] for more info.</p>

<p>(4) Not sure about this one . . . I remember having the same question. I’d suggest checking with the schools directly to see if they accept the SSAT application.</p>

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<p>I used the SSAT form for my daughter’s applications, and I found that it was quite useful. The only problem that i had was that the school’s that she applied to did not immediately download the applications from the website, and in each case had to be told that is where her application was located.</p>

10

<p>Teacher Recs: If you are applying from a private school that sends kids to prep bs on a regular basis, they will handle a huge chunk of this for you. Each school may be different, but at our school the administrator in charge of this (or his staff) put together a packet for each kid that includes: transcripts, math/english/other (if at the school) rec, cover letter from headmaster. More often than not, this is being handled electronically because most bs are really trying to limit the paper and be more environmentally friendly. </p>

<p>In addition, our son had a character reference he wanted to use from home and that person sent a single letter addressed to our asst headmaster - he opened by saying something along the lines of knowing that the student was applying to secondary schools and he wanted to provide a reference. The staff then added this to the packet mentioned above. So it was one letter. That is how our office suggested was easiest to handle that. </p>

<p>If you are NOT at a school that does this, I highly recommend starting the recommendation process very early. November is getting late. If your teachers have known you for a couple of years - even if not in class - they should be able to put something together by early October. The SSAT form seems easiest for this because they do it once and it goes into the SSAT website and is then electronically sent to the schools. We did not encounter any school that will NOT accept these common rec forms. Yes, some are picky about the essay and application piece -so double check with the school. Especially the HADES who do like their own little proprietary system. </p>

<p>SSAT website - where you can go and search schools - will tell about the school and specifically what they do or do not accept in terms of applications. Again, double check with the school website as well. For example, one school to which we applied says on SSAT that they accept the common ap. But the school website clearly states they prefer their own ap, but are glad to accept the common rec form. And under another school the SSAT site says it accepts the SSAT application. On that school website, they say they DO accept the SSAT application, but there is a piece of their own ap that they want filled out in the students own handwriting and mailed to the office. Also, some schools want the student to send in a recent (graded) English essay.</p>

<p>We found the SSAT website cumbersome. Once you do one application you have to go step by step for each school again. Yes, it does replicate your answers when you start a new school application and that is helpful - but it seemed like a painful process. Our expectation was that it would be more like the SSAT score reports - you do the application and then check what schools it would go to and pay one fee and bling- off it goes. Not so easy.</p>

<p>HOWEVER- from seeing what other parents have done via TABS, I think the SSAT is easier because it is at least online and you don’t have to mail them things (other than the recs.)</p>

<p>For his top choice schools - one did not accept the common ap and wanted their own which was done via a download, typed into the space and then printed and mailed. Second choice accepted the common ap, but like Eastwest noted - when son looked over the #2 school’s online ap, he found he liked the essay questions better. He did that one on the school’s website and the funny part was, for that school, the parent essay had to be downloaded and mailed to the school. The other schools he sent the SSAT common ap and just customized the essays for each school. (Even though that is SO scary that you might mix them up!!!)</p>

<p>In the end, as has been mentioned, the essays usually overlap in some way so that you can rework them for different schools. One of my son’s friends spent time over the summer doing all the SSAT essay questions - when the fall came around he had a foundation to work from. He ended up changing some and doing some indvidual aps, but I thought it was a great idea to get a head start. It helps too if the student starts thinking about what qualites of themselves they want to convey.</p>

11

<p>It should not be a surprise that on the essays or in the interviews they will ask about books you are reading outside of class. Take the summer to read something that interests you and that you can discuss in the fall.</p>

<p>Granted, many students get very busy with sports and other ECs and heavy class loads and cannot do reading for pleasure during the school year. So be prepared and plan ahead!</p>

12

<p>Just confirming that I agree with mamakiwi’s post…lots of similarities in our application process. SSAT ap has you submit parts section by section, but you can keep drafting and saving. Many schools have a “school supplement” at the very end of the SSAT ap, usually an essay. Sure wish I’d known that earlier as my ds didn’t catch it until very close to deadline. There is a lag, too, between when you submit, and when it’s available to the school, though your submission date is shown. School we were applying to was easy to work with in that regard. </p>

<p>I like the idea of downloading any app way ahead of time to get ideas about what types of essays are to be expected. It’s easier to have that mulling over in your brain for awhile instead of looking at it with 4 days until a deadline. Of course, that’s not how a teenager thinks!</p>

13

<p>I will caution AGAINST downloading specific essay questions TOO early in the process. For two schools, I printed out the questions for my D over the summer (I thought this would give her more time to work on her responses).</p>

<p>Both schools changed essay topics (some or all) when the official application season began (early Sept.) and I didn’t check back for one school until the week apps were due. Thankfully she could repurpose one essay from another school and only had to write one short one from scratch that week…</p>

14

<p>Hello,
For the SSAT teachers’ recommendations, there is a cover page included, do I fill in my own address or the teacher’s address? And must the recommendations be put into A4 sized envelopes? Can you use SSAT’s teachers’ recommendations and complete the rest of the app using the school’s own app? Thanks!</p>

15

<p>@Anxious, I don’t the schools care what size envelope they get the forms in; they just want the forms. </p>

<p>You’re not in the U.S., are you, as you mentioned A4. As you are abroad, you might save yourself some time and ask the schools if you can scan and email the forms to them.</p>

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<p>Yep I’m not from the US but I really want to study there. Oh thanks, I would try that!</p>