DD is a rising 8th grader and we live in mercer county,nj. Please let me know what is the process to get started with her High School admissions at prep schools. Tours, Interviews, Applications…Is there one place where i can look up on which order should we be moving along and deadlines for the same. We are targeting day school options at Lawrenceville, Peddie and other Princeton area schools.
Also is there any edge if we target boarding at Lawrence with respective to admission with any kind of financial aid?
Thanks all in advance!
The first thing to do is to go to the website for all the schools on your list and register/click for information.
They will let you know about upcoming events and they will usually tell you what their process is. Usually, you sign up for an interview and tour at the same time, and it’s helpful to get those on the calendar early as they fill up.
Many of the schools in the area will also do Open Houses. I really like these as a low stakes way to get the feel of a place. Pretty sure that Hun and George do these as well as most of the day schools.
I’d also recommend scheduling an early fall SSAT so that you can test again if necessary (for any reason.) My kid had the flu on his first test date-- we couldn’t have seen that coming!
Also, as you are in an area with lots of choice, I’d definitely recommend checking out schools that aren’t necessarily in your first tier of choices now. You might find you want to add them to your list or you might end up feeling really sure that your list aligns perfectly with your wants. You’ll start getting a feel for what everyone offers and what are true differentiators.
Needing FA makes it a little tougher. Traditionally, the day pool for Lville has been tougher than boarding, but I really don’t know how day FP compares to boarding with some need. You can ask this at your interview if you are deciding between the two. If boarding is all that works for you and you need some FA to make it work, then you have to ask.
Good luck, and have fun. It’s exciting to be able to choose your high school experience.
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