I am advising an 8th grader applying to selective boarding schools. To my knowledge, many of the application deadlines are Jan. 15 or 'Feb. 1 and the admissions notifications are released around March 10 (with some slight variations). I have developed a 'time line for my student of all the steps we’re doing for his process. While I plan on working on the applications and essays during November and December, depending on how many apps/essays he has, it is conceivable we might be finishing up in early January or so. When I explained this to him, he said that some boarding schools notify at the end of December, such as Andover and so he cannot wait until then. I viewed Andover’s site and the notification date appears to be March 10. When I questioned the source, he replied that he knew someone who got their admissions decision from Andover in December last year. Is this possible? Are any of the highly selective boarding schools rolling admissions? I work as a college admissions consultant, but was asked to help this student with boarding school admissions. Thanks in advance.
Following up on my post, I found a list of boarding schools that are rolling admissions, and Andover is not one of them, nor are many of the highly selective boarding schools to which this student is likely to apply.
If anyone can comment on the veracity of an Andover applicant receiving an admissions decision in December, I’d love to learn about it.
I will confirm that Andover notifies all applicants on the same date, typically March 10. All schools in the Ten Schools Admission Organization (and many others) release on the same day. Many less-selective schools do offer rolling admissions.
Here is last year’s thread on release dates and times by school
Thanks @skieurpoe…I did read threads here on release dates.
So, now, I will have to discount their account of an Andover decision that was received last December. Hope they believe me. 
There are a few “lesser known” schools that offer merit scholarships. These are similar to colleges in that when you apply, you are considered for their named scholarship. If you are a candidate, they will notify you in the winter (December/January) to allow you to send in supplemental information for the purposes of the scholarship award. This is pretty much an acceptance notification to the school.
But pretty much all of the New England boarding schools discussed here (as you mentioned “selective “) are very strict with their March 10 notification date (unless it falls on a Sunday, as it did a few years ago, and then it was just a day or so off of that).
In fact, DS was told by several schools that he should not rush to turn in his application, because they don’t even start looking at applications until the day after the deadline date. Andover was one of the schools.
@soozievt , I think that some of the schools that are k-12 may inform current students who are applying for 9th a bit earlier. This is much more common in the day school market and tends, by definition, to apply to current day students at a school that has 9-12 boarders. There are only a handful of BS discussed here that have lower schools. (Milton and Westtown were the ones that leapt to mind, and I don’t know what their practices are.) But not Andover. But it could be, through confusion, the source of that misinformation that some kids hear early.
(And the ones who are being counseled not to stick around for high school will hear with enough time to work through alternatives. Iow, before December!)
Milton informs all applicants on M10. Current Milton 8th graders do not have to apply to the Upper School.
The speculations about “I heard…” “someone told me…” etc brings to mind a quote from SpongeBob, “Why, once I met this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy’s cousin…”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEVaXyu0lWc
Or, from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off;: “My best friend’s sister’s boyfriend’s brother’s girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who’s going with the girl who saw Ferris pass out at 31 Flavors last night. I guess it’s pretty serious.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLWGDxGh2G4
Or, from REO Speedwagon’s “Take It On The Run:” “Heard it from a friend who / Heard it from a friend who / Heard it from another you been messin’ around”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3G8jAPPjpGs
Just because you heard something does not make it true.
Well, @skieurope , since you quoted me, I will point out that I explicitly said I didn’t know what Milton’s practice is around informing students in its lower school of admissions decisions. (With that said, if they didn’t think you’d do well there in high school, I am pretty sure they would tell you to look for better alternatives. Probably as early as end of 7th grade.)
And I do know, personally, of two selective day schools that provide current students with admissions decisions earlier than the general public.
Thanks all. Confirms my assumption. And Andover doesn’t have lower school students. Will try countering student. Typically, I would have contact with the parents, but apparently the parents don’t speak English, and all my contact is with a 13 year old.
^^ there is no reaction button for that!!