We live in New England, and my 8th grader just retook SAT last Sat so results not back, but thinks it’ll go up. Oct SSAT score is 2190 / 88th. Strong grades, good character, passion and talent for chess, but sports or the arts are not areas of meaningful contribution as a high schooler. That snapshot provided, a great deal of FA is our most important factor. Thinking, based on another thread, that we’ll have to apply to many schools (in NE – not too far from home) and a cross-section of admittance difficulty. It’s also frustrating when schools describe merit scholarships, such as Pomfret, but don’t state the award amount. So, thinking PE, SPS, Hotchkiss, CRH (my 8th grader’s first choice right now), Groton, Middlesex, Kent, Loomis Chaffee, Suffield Academy, and possibly Pomfret.
Does anyone know anything about the financial aid awards at these schools? And it’s certainly possible my (caucasian) child won’t get into any of them, or receive sufficient aid, but we thought it’s worth the effort (and wants to 100% go to a boarding school next year & not go to the not-so-great-but-not-terrible local high school). Thanks in advance for insights!!
Hello there! To my knowledge, both Phillips Exeter Academy and Phillips Academy offer generous aid. I know that Andover is completely need blind, meaning that they’re not aware of your financial situation unless they decide to accept you. Exeter is more need-aware, meaning that they will be aware of your financial situation as they evaluate the child but that wouldn’t drag them down or cause them to be rejected.
Both schools value youths from every corner, even those who are not very fortunate.
Admissions to the schools you listed is VERY competitive – especially for kids who need financial aid. Decent SSAT scores (85th percentile and up) are just table stakes. They really are looking for kids who will contribute to (and excel within) the school’s athletic, arts, and other programs.
I would consider adding a few additional schools that might be less competitive, like Berkshire, St. Mark’s School, Gunnery, Governor’s, Tabor, St. George, and George School depending on what you are looking for in terms of culture and “fit.” THe pool for financial aid candidates is much more competitive at all schools.
@Darkrm, SPS states that “To the best of our ability, we make admission decisions regardless of a family’s ability to pay.”
Annual domestic household income of $125,000 or less as qualifying for full FA.
Annual domestic household income of $250,000 or less pays tuition no more than 10% of income.
Here are the FA stats for 2018-19:
Admitted students with demonstrated need met in full - 100%
Number of students receiving FA - 211
Percent of students receiving FA - 40%
Total FA budget - $11,800,000
Average SPS need-based grant - $56,550
Some of the schools you mentioned are pretty highly competitive given those scores. Most kids have the grades, scores and unique EC’s. You should apply to schools which are a match for your child (based on grades and scores) and then factor in which schools give which amounts. Also, not all schools accept the same number of kids. One of the schools on your list accepts a tiny number of day students. Another, a lot more but many legacies and from local private schools. Once you have visited the schools you will have more data. There’s lot of good information on this site. You shouldn’t apply to any schools which you are not interested in but you should also be aware that many NE BS have 5-10 times the applicants or more than spaces available. When you factor in that many are prepared to do the work what you have is many qualified candidates. My kiddo had highest possible grades, 99% SSAT and many extracurriculars ( a sport on a pretty high level, long term ECs one was national level). We didn’t need financial aid and acceptance was 2/4. The other two were waitlisted. One of these called and said there was a boarding spot.
There aren’t that many day spots once they bring in legacies and sports kids. A lot of kids came from private schools which had kids whose stats were frankly not as high. (Based on freshman classroom conversations) I think they brought my kid in the high achieving student group. Many families we know with kids who had As and B’s went in as boarding students ( more potential spots). So I’d think it through. Go for the schools which your child has a good chance of getting in. Also, many schools seems to use their FA pool to get more diversity URM and sports kids. Maybe they are always trying to double dip and get a single student with many criteria to keep the classes small and yet interesting.
Each school is going to be different.
