Did anyone else ever have trouble deciding what schools to apply to? I know it’s really early for the 22-23 admissions cycle but I can’t keep the same list for more than a week it seems. There are a few that have been on there since the beginning but other than that I just have a list of like 15 schools that I want to apply to. Just wondering if anyone else has or is experiencing this because I only am going to apply to 8 schools tops and need help with my list.
What is your current list, and what are your reasons for each school on it?
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Do you have a geographic preference? Do you want to keep your drive from home less than 2 hours or so? This can be a big preference for some families, and will help whittle down the list.
Don’t underestimate how nice it can be to have family relatively close. Not for everyone, but definitely a big Pro for some.
Are all-girls schools of interest?
Any preferences regarding location,activities, or co-ed versus single sex ?
What you budget, do you know your EFC, and what colleges have you run the npc on?
I believe OP is asking about BS, not college. Nonetheless, FA should be taken into consideration if it is a factor.
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Aargh, my bad. “School” often means college too.
Apologies.
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Back when I applied (pre-COVID), the main deciding factor for me was the campus visit and open house—essentially getting a sense of the “vibe” of the school. Many of the schools I applied to (including Peddie, Lawrenceville, and George School) allowed for you to tour and interview without paying the application fee, and a negative open house + tour experience actually caused me to not apply to a certain school. I know for a fact that many schools have reopened tours over the summer, and while it may not be the same as being there on an actual school day (although I do recall seeing some in-person tours during this past Spring Term), you’ll still meet a few students and actually see the place, so I’d say visiting campuses should be your top priority.
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I don’t really have a geographic preference I live in an area with no schools in a 3-hour radius so I’m really going off of the school alone. I am pretty interested in all-girls schools (originally that was my entire list but after more thinking I knew I decided I wouldn’t mind co-ed)
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Yeah that makes sense. I actually have my first admissions event tomorrow at Concord academy so I’m excited for that. I know it won’r be as much help since it’s on zoom but I’m still hoping it will give me some insight into that school
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@reknihtrevo My current list is:
Emma Willard- A lot of really interesting traditions and they have a mental health activist club that interests me a lot
Madeira- They have a co-curricular program that seems super great and love the proximity to D.C (15 min. drive)
George- IB diploma (want to go to UK for uni), great things about inclusion w/ LGBTQ
Miss porters- All-girls, global studies program
Concord academy- like philosophy about students on campus, college matriculation
Mercersburg- merit scholarships, interesting classes
Foxcroft- rock climbing, small school
Choate- the amount of AP, athletics, endowment per student
St. Timothy’s- IB program
Westover- all-girls, STEM focus
Anne wright- IB, Mom is in Seattle a ton for work
I know some reasons overlap with other schools but these are just the main things that come to my mind when I think of a specific school
@Publisher
I do have a slight preference towards single-sex but it’s not that big of preference. I have a few sports that I look for in all schools (field hockey, rock climbing, crew) and am fine if they have at least one of those. I guess my issue now is that I know what I want (relatively) but I just need to decide what ones I want the best. I’m pretty sure it will end up with who was the best FA and stuff like.
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Your list now looks pretty well thought through. You could do the virtual visits and interviews with the plan to apply to all of them (there may be some you don’t like as much after that process) and then decide based on where you get in. At that point, you would have a shorter list (probably – FA tends to do that!) and you could decide then.
It takes time to look at a number of schools but you’ll probably find that it greatly helps you figure out what you want. The truth is that there are tons of excellent schools out there so it’s not a matter of finding good schools, it’s one of finding schools that are good for you! You’ve got an early start, so that helps.
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Will you be touring all of these schools?? I think you’ll find, as @confusedaboutFA said, a school or two will naturally drop off your list after visiting. I recall not even wanting to show up for the tour/interview for one of the schools on my list back in the day (the surrounding town/area felt too dreary).
Having said that, it is difficult to narrow down the preliminary list. We are facing that same challenge when making a list for kiddo2. There are so many incredible options, and I keep worrying we are missing out on some really great schools, but we just don’t have time to tour as many as we’d like.
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I don’t think I’ll be able to tour all of them, but I do plan on doing virtual events and then visiting them based on that. The hard thing is that none of them are really close to each other and that I live on the west coast which makes it a pain to have to do multiple trips.
I’ve been on a remote salmon fishing island for the past 8 days so no internet. Didn’t mean to ignore! I’m flying back from Alaska today so will answer questions this week!
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@Lily1
My daughter applied to the following girls schools: Miss porter’s, Emma Willard, Madeira, Westover, Chatham Hall. Also from your list, she applied to George and Mercersburg. Happy to answer any questions you have about them. We visited all of them in the spring (modified, masked, outdoors only…so not a perfect visit situation.).
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