<p>Haha yeah I feel like I should ask earlier because I am in high school and some of my teachers will be writing college recs.</p>
<p>At the risk of being the most repetitive poster I’m going to ask about my problem again on this thread. Okay my situation: usually I have done well in my algebra 2 class but recently I have been doing terribly in one particular lesson, failing a quiz, and getting a D on a test, but I still maintain an A-. I am so nervous to ask my math teacher for a rec because of this. I am not afraid that she will write a bad rec just what she might think of me applying to boarding school. Like because i havent done well on the test in a class here that i’m overestimating my ability to get in to a good boarding school. I don’t know. maybe I’m just paranoid. But what would you do?</p>
<p>She really intimidates me and is super busy and it’s really hard to find her to ask about it when there is no one around. Should I ask tomorrow (the last day before thanksgiving) or when we get back? I don’t think I am prepared to ask tomorrow and give her the recs.</p>
<p>I wanted to bump this thread by way of a quote from another recent thread…</p>
<p>A student poster writes:
“When I was applying my parents made me look into all the HADES, and also like Groton, Loomis, and Choate, but really put pressure for me to go to a ‘traditional’ one, like Hotchkiss, Deerfield, or Groton.”</p>
<p>The student is interested in transferring to another school for next year, as his/her current school does not seem like the right fit.</p>
<p>I bring this up because it shows that you can apply to the “right” schools, get in, attend, and then find that it wasn’t that “right” for you after all. I hope this is not taken as “anti-HADES” sentiment…I just want students and parents to know that not going the HADES route (whether by choice or not) is NOT equivalent to failure.</p>
<p>A few other lessons that this year’s class of applicants seems to have learned the hard way:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Get your recommendation requests in EARLY, and the forms to the appropriate teachers/adults soon thereafter.</p></li>
<li><p>Make sure you have your parents’ support on the issue of boarding school and the schools in which you are interested…this will make things so much easier for the family.</p></li>
<li><p>Wait until you see your SSAT scores to narrow down your “apply to list”…you might have HADES aspirations, but a non-HADES SSAT result. Do people get into these schools with lower than average scores? Of course, that’s why it’s called an average. But you have to think that these kids have some other qualities that make them appealing to a school that has its pick of hundreds or thousands.</p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>I will be very interested to hear the results of kids who are reporting that they had great interviews where AO’s all but promised acceptance. We’ll see if the vibe you got pans out.</p>
<p>To Helloel - Asking a math teacher for a recommendation might not be comfortable, but every prep school I’m familiar with requires recommendations from Math and English teachers (some ask for additional). The teacher will be expected to provide an honest appraisal of your performance and ability. I strongly recommend that you allow your teacher adequate time to complete the questionnaire; (s)he is unlikely to be more charitable if you wait until the last minute.</p>
<p>hey is it weird that my interview is being held in an alumni’s house? O_O</p>
<p>well my interviewer offered to come to my house…but I said no…XD</p>
<p>blehjoints - it’s not that weird. A bunch of my college alumni interviews were like that. I now interview for a college and I don’t do it that way to avoid awkwardness, but some other interviewers do.</p>
<p>With so many people nervous about strangers especially with female students going to the home of male interviewers the trend is starting to turn towards interviews being conducted in a public place. I don’t ever think I’ve heard of someone going to a student’s home. I cover a huge region and my interviews would be too spread out to make that practical.</p>
<p>@Helloel - no getting out of the math recommendation. You can supplement with one from last year too, but as an add-on, not a substitute. And ONLY if you think the current teacher’s recommendation won’t be positive. Adcoms don’t want to read a ton of extraneous information. But I bet the current one will be fine. Students stumble. The schools are looking for human kids, not robots. So being imperfect is not going to kill your application if all the other aspects are fine. Do your best. Let the teacher know it’s important to you. And hope for the best.</p>
<p>what about advice for private day schools in NYC? how come this forum is almost exclusively about boarding schools? I post here about Private HS and get few responses. I post in High School life and get told repeatedly to post in prep school forum.</p>
<p>@bellebee: While some day schools get discussed here from time to time, I think the bias toward BS content comes down to the fact that each day school’s applicant pool comes from a relatively small geographic area whereas a boarding school’s applicant pool generally includes kids from many different states and countries. </p>
<p>It may be worth doing a search using the advanced search tool if you are interested in opinions on/experiences with various day schools.</p>
<p>Thanks! I asked and it went well! I was by no means concerned that she would bash me in my rec, she is a great teacher! I just didn’t want her to know I was applying!</p>
<p>I had a pleasant surprise today. I found out that my high school principal thinks there is something wrong with me because I’m applying to boarding school. Ahh, I don’t know what to do. I can’t confront him, because he didn’t tell me this directly, I heard what he thought from other teachers. I am terrified, he is probably really offended. What should I do?</p>
<p>Helloel - it was pretty unprofessional for the teachers to repeat the principal’s remarks to you, if they were made in private conversations. If he actually said that “there is something wrong with you,” it was highly unprofessional, as well. Are you at a private school? If so, you should try to speak with an adviser or a faculty member you trust, to discuss your intentions, instead of seeking advice from nameless, faceless strangers on the internet. If you are at a large public school, it seems strange that the principal would make comments about one student’s desire to change schools. Unfortunately, you have no control over what people say, just hope that they are professional enough to write objective, honest evaluations.</p>
<p>Thank you. The reason I post questions on here is because most people I know have zero experience with any of this and have little response to anything I ask about. I figured that people on here must have had a similar experience. I go to a good private school, which makes a bit more understandable that my principal would say that. I don’t want to confront him because he didn’t relate this directly to me I just don’t want him to think I’m having a miserable time.</p>