<p>Okay, so what I mean is that my grades are not perfect. My school is block scheduling, and last quarter I had one A, one B, one C, and a D. Now I know these are not acceptable, so I brought my grades up to 2 A's and one B. I have recently been diagnosed (within the last month) with ADD. It affects my studying (hence the reason why I want to be in the structured environment of a boarding school) as I cannot get into the studying mood very easily, and when I do, I somehow get distracted and fall out of that mood. Just because I don't have ADD, doesn't mean I am not intelligent or that I am a horrible student (I scored in the mid to upper 90's on the SSAT, and I am an active participator in class). I'm just afraid that my first quarter grades will be the death of me D:</p>
<p>Where are you applying? Some boarding schools have support resources for ADD. Your record might be a problem for the most selective schools, but there are many good schools out there where you might succeed. My son had worse grades than that, with similar, if not slightly lower, SSATs, and some behavioral difficulties in middle school. He is a senior at boarding school now - it wasn’t his top choice, but it’s worked out as well as we could have realistically hoped (certainly, infinitely better than our public high school would have). His school is respected, if not viewed with the reverence of the top-tier (it’s quite selective for day students, who constitute about half the student body). His younger brother was a Presidential Scholar with High Honors in middle school, and wound up at the same boarding school - he was also turned down by his top choices, despite an excellent middle-school record. I recommend casting a wide net, and you should find a fit somewhere. Check out the “Hidden Gems” thread here, and then research admissions statistics at boarding schools. By the way, ADHD is so widely diagnosed now, that there are probably classified students at every school in the country.</p>
<p>Stagemum said it very well, and I want to reinforce her responses.
The schools with the most highly competitive admissions tend to be the schools that expect their students to be very self-directed and motivated to study on their own. From the tiny amount you’ve told us about yourself and your study habits, I’m not sure you’d be happy or thrive in that kind of environment. I’d look for schools where evening study hours are mandatory for the whole school. Since your ADD diagnosis is new, I’d also recommend finding a school with a learning center with experts who can give you suggestions and tools for how to manage (and trust me, they will not think of you or treat you as unintelligent). You can find the structure and support you are going to need at some competitive and truly excellent schools…so look specifically for places that will actually help you to succeed given your specific strengths and weaknesses in approaching your school work. Best of Luck.</p>