MiguelLerdo

We are debating whether my homeschooled son should enter 9th grade at age 14 or 15. He has a January birthday and is prepared in terms of maturity and academics. He is considering several boarding schools including Exeter, Andover, Groton, SPS, and Deerfield. It doesn’t look like he would “top out” of the coursework at the larger schools that offer post-calculus coursework (he will start Algebra 3 at age 14). It appears he could take coursework similar to what he would take his first year in college.

Normally, I wouldn’t consider holding him back, but this forum has me questioning this assumption. I’ve seen other posts debate whether this type of “redshirting” is worth the financial cost. My financial situation is the opposite. My employer will pay for boarding school, but private university would be a financial reach for me. We don’t see this as something that would hold him back from a start on life – he could easily finish public university in 3 years if that’s what he chooses to do, and if not, he’ll be that much more prepared for grad school. So the question really boils down to what would be a better experience at age 19 - a final year of boarding school or a freshman year at a public university (with the non-trivial financial consideration favoring boarding school).

GMTplus7

Repeating a year would be an important, meaty topic to discuss w the school Admissions people during the interview/visit.

Since your employer will pay for boarding school, check to make sure that the employer will cover the cost of the repeat, since your son will be finishing secondary school "late", i.e. past the conventional graduating age. If you are covered, then his repeating a year offers you an additional year to save money for his college costs.

MiguelLerdo

As far as my employer is concerned, he wouldn’t be skipping a year since he doesn’t have a grade level as a homeschool student. You raise an important question in whether he would be “finishing late” by the standards of the school. I have the impression from previous forum topics that age 15 – 19 is fairly typical age to go through boarding school; that is what got me thinking about this. If he really would be 6 months or a year older than his average classmate, that would be reason enough to start at age 14. Is there anywhere I can find the average age at graduation?

GMTplus7

I raised the issue of "finishing late" in the context of your employer's reimbursement. I would still check w your employers policy just to make sure.

My understanding is that "finishing late" at a high caliber prep school is not viewed negatively by colleges. Kids in the U.S. typically finish HS in the 17-19 age range. Some prep school repeats finish at age 20.

classicalmama

My child is on the older side of his class, and we've seen only positives. However, he has a late summer birthday, so had just turned 15 when he entered ninth grade. That said, he reports that he's somewhere in the middle of the ages of others in his class. So a child with a January birthday might be on the older side, but certainly not unusually so. That said, if I had a kid with a Jan. birthday who was otherwise prepared, I'd probably choose to send him at 14.

Overall, though, I agree with GMT that this is something best decided on after the interview. I know that other parents have gotten very good advice from their AO's on which grade to apply to. If it were me, I'd also want to know what the mean age was in a typical class. And how students are mixed matters too. At Exeter, for example, dorms are a mix of grades from day 1. At Groton, I think they are grade segregated, at least for the first few years. That might make a difference too.

Momof7thgrader

I've found that my kid is on the young side of most of her freshman peers at age 14. It sounds like your son could handle the coursework at 14 but what about his life and social skills?

GMTplus7

Momof7thgrader raises an important issue regarding social fit. At the selective schools on your list, there will be a fair number of repeat kid, especially boys.

As much as we as parents don't want to think about our kids dating (cringe), the reality is that younger boys will be at a comparative social disadvantage with respect to dating older girls.

Periwinkle

Many schools can and do create further courses in subjects for students who need them. Do not assume that schools which don't list courses beyond calculus could not offer further math instruction, or indeed, instruction in other subjects.

There is also a school of thought which holds that it is possible to progress too quickly through math topics in high school. This is a matter for further discussion with the schools which interest you.

Do you wish for your son to play on varsity teams? Has he reached his growth spurt yet? One downside to being young for a grade is sports. A boy who has not reached his adult size should not be playing contact sports with grown men, due to the difference in body size. Again, discuss this with the schools you're interested in. Each school has a different approach to athletic teams.

PhotographerMom

I recommend looking at Junior Boarding Schools that go up to the 9th grade. Most provide nurturing environments, rigorous academics, competitive sports (they play secondary school teams), along with expert secondary school guidance and placement.

Axelrod

What type of employer pays for boarding school ?

P.S. The answer to your question depends upon your child's development. In my experience, home schooled kids are behind in social development. (Bet I'll get some hate posts for that bit of honesty.)
Odd that you homeschool which is substantial control over your child, then let others "raise" him. I applaud you for allowing your child to grow in the real world.

P.P.S. Please don't bombard me with statistics about how well homeschooled kids perform on standardized tests.

classicalmama

Well, Axelrod, I think you're inviting defensiveness with that post, which comes off as pretty snarky about homeschooling. You're painting an incredibly diverse group with a very broad brush.

One very good reason why people homeschool and then send their kids to boarding school at their employer's expense is because they are working overseas. Their employers recognize that the educational opportunities in the base countries aren't great and make free tuition part of the overall package. Some parents, however, prefer to have their kids with them in the younger years and so, with limited educational options, choose to homeschool--while exposing their children to a real view of the world inaccessible to most of us sending our kids off to public school in the states.

2kidsnoanswers

I do want to second PhotoMom's suggestion of looking at the junior boarding schools. There are a number that are outstanding and regularly send kids to any boarding school you would care to mention. Not only is it a superb environment for young people, they get to be the 'big wigs' of their school in grade 9, have a proven record of being successful in the boarding school world, but they are known to hit the ground running once they go on to regular boarding school. Some even choose to repeat their 9th grade year at the new school, which would address your age concern.

GMTplus7

2kids makes a good point about 9th graders at junior BSs having the opportunity to be the big fish. Would be something to weigh as you transition your S from a homeschooling environment to a classroom environment.

As our S has found, the selective schools you mention in your OP can be a VERY humbling place socially & academically for 9th graders who have been used to being the star in their previous environment.

classicalmama

Based on the experience of my son and his friends who have homeschooled right up to boarding school, I don't see the big fish/small pond/star thing as much of an issue. I know it seems counter-intuitive to parents who have not homeschooled, but parents who are rigorous homeschoolers (i.e. the kind who look at rigorous boarding schools) tend to be far less lavish with praise than teachers--even those at top boarding schools--and their kids tend to function very independently of them. And if adjusting to socialization with one's peer group is an issue (not saying it automatically will be), I'd vote for having a younger kid surrounded by older, more mature students than by younger junior high aged students. Just my opinion though, based on an admittedly small sample.

At any rate, the OP was not expressing concerns about his child's ability to transition from homeschooling to boarding school, but about optimal grade level for a kid with an in-between birthday.

girlgeekmom

As the parent of a homeschool-to-boarding-schooler, I have to agree with classicalmama. My 13-year old is thriving as a boarding school freshman -- she won't be 14 till nearly the end of the school year. Teacher conferences at parents weekend and midterm grades bear out our thinking that it was the right time for her. We never considered junior boarding school - if only because it simply wasn't on our radar.

All other things being equal, and reading the OP's original query, it seems like the questions have as much to do with the logistics of budgets (i.e., saving for college) as they do with the preparedness of the student to enter high school at 14.