<p>So I am applying to boarding school, and I know that I don't have a chance applying late to the "big" schools, so I'm going to apply to smaller, rolling admission schools. Then next year apply to the more bigger schools. But I was wondering if it would be weird getting recommendation letters from my teachers to apply to another boarding school? Wouldn't that be awkward?</p>
<p>Can I even do that?</p>
<p>Are you currently at boarding school? If yes, then it would definitely be awkward. It would also be awkward if you are attending a private high school. Otherwise I don’t see how it would be.</p>
<p>if you are applying out of a public high school or middle school then definitely not.</p>
<p>Well no. I’m not at boarding school now, I am going to apply to smaller boarding schools, since all the big schools application deadlines have passed and I don’t have much of a chance if I apply late. So I was going to go to a smaller boarding school this upcoming Sept. and then next year apply for bigger schools. And I was wondering if I would be able to have my teachers at one boarding school fill out recommendation letters for another boarding school…</p>
<p>If that makes sense.</p>
<p>It makes sense – but I strongly recommend you rethink your strategy.</p>
<p>Why apply to a school that you don’t really want to attend? </p>
<p>Why are you only interested in a “big” school?</p>
<p>Are you going to need any financial aid, or are your parents able and willing to pay $40,000 each year that you attend?</p>
<p>I think you will find that teachers and the counselor at one boarding school are unlikely to write the type of excellent recommendation letters you need to get into the “big” schools, considering that you are basically telling them that you are too good for them.</p>
<p>You are currently in 9th grade, correct? So you spent 9th grade at one school, plan to spend 10th grade at another and then switch to yet another school in 11th? That is not a good thing for college applications – the constant school switching (particularly since it was voluntary) generally results in lower GPAs and lower class ranks, due to both the transition period that most students have and the recalculation that each school usually does.</p>
<p>I would suggest that you either apply to schools late that you might be admitted to (if you don’t need FA) or apply next year, and select schools where you are a good “fit”, not just the “big” schools.</p>
<p>ohhh, now i see what you mean. but it sounds to me like you think going to a smaller boarding school will increase your chances of going to a bigger one. i don’t think you should go to a school so that you can get out of it. not only would it be awkward to ask for recommendations but all your time at that school would be spent on applications. don’t use a school. go somewhere that you think you would fit right in and enjoy.</p>
<p>The smaller schools I’m applying to I am interested in going to, or I wouldn’t apply to them. But the bigger schools are my dream schools, like Mercersburg, NMH, Hotchkiss, Suffield, Deerfield, etc..</p>
<p>And I don’t want to wait another year to go to boarding school. I want to go this year.</p>
<p>And yes, I am going to need financial aid. My parents can’t afford that, they only make $52,000 a year together.</p>
<p>But I see the point your making…</p>
<p>it would definitly be akward, but you have a better chance of getting in if your transferring from another BS</p>
<p>artsmart – unless you have some statistics to back that up, I don’t think that you do have a better chance of getting in when transferring from another BS. In fact, I think your chances would be lower. You won’t have glowing teacher recs and the BS you are applying to would question your commitment – they would wonder about whether or not you would actually come.</p>
<p>dancelove – what we want and what we can have are not always the same thing. </p>
<p>Financial aid is pretty much nonexistant for late applicants unless you fall into certain special categories. <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/474948-applying-late-adult-s-concern.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/474948-applying-late-adult-s-concern.html</a></p>
<p>Please be very careful about taking advice from other kids who don’t know anymore than you do. I see far too many kids on this board who seem to think that just because we want something very badly, they can have it. reality is much harsher.</p>
<p>if you truly want the boarding school experience and want it beginning next year, look for schools with high acceptance rates and see if any are a match. remember that school is what you make of it – you don’t have to go to Andover to have a great high school experience.</p>
<p>By the time you apply, your smaller BS will have known you for a matter of months. You’ll be bailing out on them before giving them a chance. It will be clear that you went in regarding them as a way station. And, considering these are smaller schools, you’d be denying someone of one of the few open slots just to hold a place for one year. So, yeah, it would be awkward. Or at least it should be.</p>
<p>Then there’s the matter of honesty. Are you going to be forthcoming with your intentions when you apply? Will you be violating the Honor Code in your application or during your interviews? Maybe not. And even if you do, you probably won’t get caught or brought before the DC or Honor Court, etc. Still, getting away unscathed with a deception isn’t the same as playing it honest. And, in that sense, maybe awkward isn’t a strong enough word for how you should feel.</p>
<p>The upside to this is that if the people at the smaller waystation school realize what you pulled on them…they will probably be inclined to write you some terrific recommendations so that you won’t be around for another year.</p>
<p>i don’t mean right away. more like u go to one for the first two yrs, then switch. they’ll be like “wow! she must really luck us to leave this other great school!”</p>
<p>D’yer – “they will probably be inclined to write you some terrific recommendations so that you won’t be around for another year”</p>
<p>more likely they will write so-so recs and not grant you enough FA to attend their school the following year. this is exactly what is now happening to two students I know that tried to switch from private to BS during 9th grade.</p>
<p>artsmart – you are just guessing. think it from an adult’s perspective and a business perspective. Why admit a kid and grant FA, only to have that kid turn around and apply elsewhere (even after two years – which in this case would mean that the OP would apply for 12th grade). School’s are looking for student’s that honor their commitments, persist through difficulties and make the best of opportunities given.</p>
<p>Artsmart: Do you really think that if someone attends boarding school A for two years, her/his teachers there will write her/him positive recommendations to go to boarding school B? I doubt it! Unless, maybe, school A is on the east coast and school B is on the west coast, and the family is moving for some job reason.</p>
<p>Her middle school recommendations will be useless by that point, so there is no honest way that this can work. See D Maker’s post above.</p>
<p>On the other hand, I know of two girls who are currently freshmen at 2 smaller boarding schools; both decided the schools were not for them and this year applied to two larger schools (NMH and Exeter). Both girls were accepted to their respective schools. Additionally, when I interviewed at schools last year with one of my daughters, I met a boy also scheduled for an interview. He was currently a sophomore at Berkshire, but wanted to transfer to a different school. So, tranfers do happen. </p>
<p>Regarding the recommendations: any 9th grader applying for 10th is in the same spot–the teachers at the high school will have known you for only a couple of months. I think most teachers will give a honest recommendation based on their knowledge of the student’s performance. Where I think it would become awkward is, if you have received financial aid from the school, they may feel betrayed.</p>
<p>But, if the school really isn’t the right fit for the student, isn’t it better to acknowledge that and find the school that is a good match? What may have appealed to you as a 14 yr old in 8th grade may not have the same appeal two years later.</p>
<p>I think the issue for the OP is two-fold – she knows upfront that the first boarding school is just a stop on the road and she needs significant FA. </p>
<p>If she were honestly interested in the first school and willing to do her best – and then it just didn’t work out, that might be different. The teacher recs might even reflect that: “Susan is an exemplary student and could benefit from additional opportunities”, etc.</p>
<p>Thanks Jennycraig. Someone with some experience in the matter. Perhaps my post was a bit too strong.</p>
<p>Dancelovex3: NMH has apparently in the past taken late applications, so you may be in good shape. However, they reported a 20% increase in applications, so who knows. Have you taken the SSAT? Looked at schools’ applications on the web and started thinking about essays? Thought about teachers to give you recommendations? Trust me, there is a LOT of work involved in the process. I wish our family had started earlier, so I can only imagine how hard it will be applying as a late applicant.</p>
<p>I don’t know your personal situation about why you really want to go to boarding school in the fall, and I am sure that you have good reasons. But, besides doing late applications now, you may also want to consider remaining at your current school, and then doing regular applications for next year. Just be sure to explore all your options.</p>
<p>(I’m currently having problems at my school, and I have wanted to go to boarding school for awhile. I was going to apply last year, on time, but my friend talked me out of it. I wish I would have never listened.)</p>
<p>I have thought about staying at my current school, but then I would be applying next year as an 11th grader, which also slims my chances. I could reply as a repeat 10th grader, but there would be a big age difference from me and the other 10th graders. I will be turning 16 this Sept. so by next school year I would be 17. I think it would be weird if I was 17 and a 10th grader.</p>
<p>I wasn’t really commenting on the OP’s situation, just letting people know that some kids do successfully transfer from one boarding school to another.</p>
<p>It happens…and when it does, it’s awkward. </p>
<p>When it’s premeditated, awkward couldn’t begin to explain it. But then the person who plans to engage in a boarding community for two years and bail out probably wouldn’t feel awkward, either.</p>
<p>My guess is that someone who tries this will either become too involved in the community to want to skip out half way through OR they will be so distant, with one foot out the door, that they’ll crash and burn. It’s not like leaving a school. It’s like leaving a community. And if you haven’t sunk roots in your two years at a boarding school having had the opportunity to do so, that doesn’t bode well for doing it at a second school where you’re coming in at the midpoint, not the beginning point.</p>
<p>I think people should keep their options open and transferring is an option that should be available. Perfectly fine as a safety net. Going in with the intention of doing so, however, just seems odd (at best). The question itself evinces a lack of understanding of what the boarding school experience will be about…so I’m not optimistic that it’s bound to be successful as a plan.</p>
<p>I applied to a boarding school after having been at a private school for 4 years, but I guess that it wasn’t that awkward for me. Actually, it wasn’t awkward at all. But anyway, if you’re going to be at the school for only one year, using them as a sort of railway station to get into a “big” boarding school is NOTTT a good idea. You might get in, but personally, I’d feel all guilty toward my teachers all the time for having used them like that.</p>
<p>Just try applying late to the big schools this year, just in case. I’m not guaranteeing anything, but there is a chance (however slim) that you might get in. I think that this would definitely be better than just going to a new school just to leave it. Not a good idea.</p>