Hi - My daughter is trying to decide if she applies to redo 9th grade and enter BS as a 4th form or not redo 9th grade and enter as a 3rd form. Here’s the context:
Young rising 9th grader (end of July birthday), so could redo 9th grade
Very strong academically, so doesn’t need the additional year academically
However, many folks who start as 3rd formers say they wish they had the full 4 year experience and some say that it takes the first year to orient yourself and figure out your BS path. Any thoughts from folks?
Do the schools give any guidance? It may vary by school.
It also may depend on the quality of her current school. Being very strong academically may not be adequate preparation if the 8th grade isn’t a strong school
This is a great question to ask in an interview. I can think of a handful of schools that would probably encourage reclassing.
I can also think of some that would say it’s really up to you and that coming in at 10th wouldn’t be an issue. They have no reason to mislead you, and the answer may also be illuminating in terms of the school’s culture and community.
This is rarely about academics. It’s more about fitting in socially, and most schools know their student bodies pretty well.
Hi! I have a 10th grader and have the same question! We have the choice of redoing 10th grade. Also july birthday and academically very strong from the top SHS in NYC. I am encouraging her to consider repeating 10th for the same reasons you mentioned.
Hi purplehaze101 - I’m curious if you’ve gathered any additional information / thoughts on this. I wish I had a better understanding of the average age in a grade and whether that’s generally higher than a local public high school. My sense is that the kids skew older, but am not certain. I waffle each day on which way to go.
Here are some thoughts, having had 2 kids re-class.
Nationwide public school K entry cut offs range from May 15-Dec 31st, so what you see as young or old in the grade can be regionally dependent. Most independent day schools have slightly earlier K entry cut offs - anywhere from March - September.
There are 3 main reasons to re-class: academic, athletic & social/emotional. (To a lesser extent, also the desire to have more years at boarding school.) Reclassing for academics can be done for more than 1 reason - feeling like a student is coming from a less strong school and isn’t as well prepared is one, but it can also be a desire to have that extra year of more advanced coursework on a HS transcript when applying to college. Social/ emotional age can be young/old relative to actual age - and that’s a better guideline.
I think you will find that athletes at BS skew older and are more likely to have re-classed, boys in particular.
Overall, I think a boarding school class will have a range from young to old for the grade, but will on average skew slightly older than a standard day school (public/private) simply because they DO allow re-classing. So I wouldn’t worry about a 19yo senior feeling “old”, nor would a just turned 14yo 9th grader be the only one.
Given that it’s an extra year of tuition $, it’s good to think about exactly why you would re-class and what you hope to get out of it.
Thank you so much for the thoughtful reply! I greatly appreciate it. I’m really struggling with this one. In the end, for my daughter, I think she’d be fine either way. She’s already advanced in terms of curriculum, so I don’t think it helps tremendously for college. For SEL - she’s maybe slightly immature vs her peers, but it’s not significant. She’s just not as interested in more mature girl things (e.g., boys / what she looks like / rock concerts / makeup). At the end of the day, it’s a bit of a guess as to whether she’ll enjoy it / get enough out of it to warrant 4 years. That being said, hearing you talk about the average age of the students and many of the boys makes me inclined to have her reclass. Thank you again!
Putting cost aside, I don’t think there’s a downside to re-classing, assuming your daughter is on board. (Some students just can’t get past the feeling of being left behind peers.)
As for academics, don’t underestimate the benefit of having even more advanced language or math classes - an extra year of HS affords both of those things. And it also allows that extra year where requirements have been met and there’s more room for electives in the subjects your daughter really likes - a 2nd language or economics or creative writing or art or advanced comp sci, etc.
Your daughter sounds mature enough that you’re likely right - either way can work. She might have her own ideas about whether she’d prefer to be older vs younger in her class.
And occasionally a school will feel strongly that a student should or should not re-class.