<p>I'm in 7th grade and next year I'm applying to boarding school, and if anyone could narrow my search that would be great. Over the past month, I've heard a lot of great things about many schools, but I know I can only apply to about 4 or 5. Some schools I've heard about are SPS, Choate, Groton, Miss Porters, Deerfield, Andover, Exeter, Holderness, St. Marks, St. Andrews, Miss Halls, Linden Hall, Pomfret, Hotchkiss, Mercersburg, Hill, and Milton. Also, I love Georgia and heard that Darlington School was one of the best boarding schools in the south, so I wanted to go there, but my parents are worried southern schools will be more like finishing schools than prep school. So if anyone could write up their top four or five schools (either out of my list or their own personal preference) to break down my list a little, and state their reasons for picking the particular schools, that would be great! I know choosing a school is about fit - but I don't want to apply to a school and drive all the way for the interview unless someone with experience has told me its worth looking into. Please, don't be biased or suggest schools without academic rigor, or ones that aren't also strong in the arts and athletics. Basically, I'm looking for a well-rounded school. Thanks for your help :)</p>
<p>Any reason why you are limited to only 4-5 schools?</p>
<p>Go to prep School admissions and you’ll see “search this forum”. </p>
<p>The schools you mentioned have drastically different academic rigor, selectivity, locations, size, weather, etc. Maybe [Boarding</a> School Review - College-Prep & Jr. Boarding Schools](<a href=“http://www.boardingschoolreview.com%5DBoarding”>http://www.boardingschoolreview.com) would help. Just read the facts first.</p>
<p>@2010 hopeful: The reason I’m limited to only 4-5 schools is that my parents are insisting that I apply to 2-3 private day schools, in case I don’t get in to boarding school. They are only allowing me to apply to 6-8 total, because it is a lot of money to apply to our local schools ($75-$100) and boarding schools I think are about $25-$75. Also, its just a ton of work to go through the admissons process for that many schools.</p>
<p>@Prep2011: The whole point, as I mentioned in my original post, was that “I’ve heard a lot of great things about many schools, but I know I can only apply to about 4 or 5”. To simplify, all these schools are great places, but right now I need to be able to cross some schools off my list. I have been on Boarding School Review, but a lot of the information is out of date, but most importantly, I’m not comparing statistics, I’m comparing experiences. Please just write your ideal list - where you would pick to apply to, and why.</p>
<p>Thanks for answering guys :)</p>
<p>You can ask for fee waivers from the schools you are interested in if the cost of applying will create a financial hardship on your family. Also, there are a few common application forms that allow you to apply to more schools with less hassle.</p>
<p>Alright, thank you! Not to be annoying, but which schools would you apply to?</p>
<p>I think if you provide more information, it would help us help you better. For example, at a minimum, please let us know the following:</p>
<ol>
<li>Grade 7th grades and expected grade 8th scores</li>
<li>Do you have a compelling life story? </li>
<li>Full financial aid/partial</li>
<li>Expected SSAT score</li>
<li>Level of arts/cultural/musical involvement</li>
<li>Level of athletic involvement</li>
<li>Expected quality of recommendations</li>
</ol>
<p>@Dakshina</p>
<ol>
<li>I have all A’s and plan to get all A’s next year</li>
<li>Compelling life story? I don’t want to post it here, because it identifies me specifically, but I can PM you if you need to know.</li>
<li>I will need a lot of financial aid.</li>
<li>I expect to get in at least the 90th percentile.</li>
<li>I have sung in concerts since I was about 9, and once was asked to sing at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Some of my art has been published in a magazine, but I do not take classes.</li>
<li>In the fall, I play on 3 soccer teams, two all girls, and one in which I am the only girl. During the winter, I play squash and indoor soccer, and this year during the spring, I am playing softball. </li>
<li>I expect to get very good recommendations.</li>
</ol>
<p>In addition, I have been involved in many Gifted and Talented science programs out of school, and one Gifted and Talented writing course. Every year, I have ranked among the top 10 French students in my level nationwide. I am in honors math (algebra I). </p>
<p>Hope that helps.</p>
<p>i think you’re pretty much qualified to apply to any school.
are you a URM? </p>
<p>do you have any school preferences? ie, urban/rural, large student body/small, co-ed/all-girls, etc</p>
<p>I am indian-american, so I don’t know really if I am. I would prefer to go to a rural school, or in a small-town setting, with an average-sized student body, and I don’t really mind going to an all-girls school, but I think I would prefer to go to a coed school. I do plan to apply to one all-girls school, though. Thanks for your reply :)</p>
<p>Is there a reason why you’re specifically drawn to Southern schools? There are few Southern boarding schools, if any, that compare to the academic level of schools in the Northeast. If diversity is something that is important to you in your high school environment, then I’d suggest avoiding the South altogether. While of course there is some level of diversity at a few Southern schools, it doesn’t come close to that of schools elsewhere. Visit a school in the south along with some in NE and you’ll notice the difference in dynamic. Good luck!</p>
<p>@futureboarder</p>
<p>Your stats are excellent and you will make a good applicant at any school.</p>
<p>Based on my experience with the prep school admissions process, I can offer you some insights. Our family is indian american and and a number of our Indian-American friends applied to boarding and prep schools.</p>
<ol>
<li>Your grades are excellent and keep them that way.</li>
<li>I do not need to know it, but use your compelling life story to your maximum advantage. This is probably more important than anything else. It should be reflected in your essays and if possible, further strengthened by recommendations. The key is to highlight your strengths without being cocky - show your humility.</li>
<li>For financial aid, cast a wide net. Indian Americans are usually not good candidates for FA, but I will PM you some relevant stats.</li>
<li>SSATs do not matter much as long as they are above 90%. Try to get above 95% to stand out.</li>
<li>Highlight any awards or singing performances. Do not mention insignificant other art activities just to fluff your application. They become a distraction.</li>
<li>Same goes for athletics. Highlight achievements and then state what you will commit to in high school. </li>
<li>Recommendations are important. Use your non-academic recommendation to highlight your main strengths.</li>
</ol>
<p>If your school has a track record of sending kids to a particular BS, definitely apply there. As for G&T programs, almost every applicant has similar things. Weave them into your application. For example, for 7th grade SAT score (~2,000, an excellent score), we put them in honors and awards. No mention of the scores anywhere else or in the interview.</p>
<p>Another aspect that I forgot to list is community service, which will be helpful.</p>
<p>Again, this is my perspective. Everyone’s process will be different, but I will be happy to help. Please PM me if you have questions that are not suitable for a public forum.</p>
<p>Hey, sjc937, you might want to check your anti-Southern prejudice at the door. Few, if any Southern schools, compare to the academic level of NE schools??? Really? Where is your proof?</p>
<p>Generally speaking, there are some very fine BS’s in the South: Episcopal, Woodberry Forest, Baylor, McCallie, St. Andrews (Sewanee), etc., … but you are telling us that few, if any, are better academically than the average level of the over 100 NE BS’s? </p>
<p>On a specific level, two of my brothers and I graduated from Southern boarding schools, then went to Harvard and somehow graduated from Harvard with honors, despite our dirty bare feet and bib overalls. Also, my son attended a Southern private school for four years but didn’t make honor roll every term while there. He has attended a HADES school for the past three semesters and, oh no!, has made the honor roll every semester while there. How could such events happen where few things, if any, academically are better in the benighted South than NE?</p>
<p>Haha toombs, relax! While sjc937’s opinion somewhat differs from mine and yours, I do understand that because (I think) there are less boarding schools in the south, it naturally follows that new england, where the majority of the most prestigious schools cluster, would have the reputation of having the best schools. This is not to say that all southern schools are inferior to all new england schools, which I certainly believe is untrue. toombs, as you obviously have had great experience with southern schools, perhaps you could tell me about a couple of your favorites?</p>
<p>sjc937, I get your point, but the way you said it could (obviously) be taken badly. Anyway, to answer the question about why I am drawn to southern schools, it is really because of my experiences in Georgia. It’s hard to explain, but there’s just something about the calm lull of southern life that I just love. As a younger kid, I had a British accent, but now, for some reason, I almost have a southern one even though I don’t live in the south. I know that you don’t particuarly favor southern schools, so which new england schools would you apply to (4-5)?</p>
<p>Dakshina, thanks for the great answer - seems like you really know a lot about the admissons process!</p>
<p>My list of solid Southern schools are in my email above (Episcopal, Woodberry Forest, Baylor, McCallie, St. Andrews) plus Darlington and the Ashville School. </p>
<p>Good luck to you, f’boarder.</p>
<p>Here’s what my suggestion would be:</p>
<p>One or two out of group 1
Hotchkiss
Andover
Exeter</p>
<p>one or two out of group 2
Groton
Choate
Deerfield
SPS</p>
<p>One or two out of group 3
Taft
Peddie
Middlesex
Milton</p>
<p>toombs - Great thanks! I do plan on applying to at least one southern school - my favorite so far is Darlington :)</p>
<p>Dakshina - Sounds good - I like how you’ve grouped the schools, its a little different from what I’ve seen. Ideally, I think my list would be something like Exeter, SPS, Choate, Middlesex or Groton maybe, Miss Porter’s, and Darlington. Hopefully, my parents will let me add a few more schools, but even if not, thanks for helping me narrow my list so much!</p>
<p>toombs61, of course there are good schools in the south. and as futureboarder pointed out, there are much fewer boarding schools in that region. however, there is no boarding school in the south that comes close to the academic rigor and level of college matriculation of andover, exeter, or st pauls. obviously these are only two factors when considering schools to apply to. sorry if i offended you.</p>
<p>Yes, I agree, sjc937: NE has more top tier BS’s than the South. If I didn’t think so, I would not be sending my son to one of these great NE schools now. The South, however, has some schools that are better than the average NE school and even some schools that compete with the best in NE. In this vein, I doubt that “few, if any,” all-girls boarding schools in NE can exceed the academic rigor and standards of The Hockaday School in Dalls, Texas.</p>
<p>Toombs, that sounds interesting - I heard that the Hockaday School is mostly day, though - is this true?</p>