Covid and Fall Enrollment at BS

Prep School Admissions Prep School Parents
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OK folks - just got the revised drop-off/arrival instructions and quarantine mandates for MA. Will give golf lessons in exchange for housing : :wink: in MA!

New updates with details @ students isolated with meals in their rooms for first 48-72 hours? Three tests to be provided - prior to arrival, upon arrival, and sometime after. Anyone else get this? Students arriving per pod/group. Staggered arrival (date changes) with 15 minute drop off time. More information also @ group size, class size and mask wearing.

Any international students out there who are coming to MA? Please add your insights and plans for travel. We are here to support you all.

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Coming to terms with my child is not going to get off the waitlist. We had really hoped that with Covid - someone would have dropped out. Unfortunately, that is not happening. It is hard to watch. Look like public school is in our forecast - the DL on top of that. What a horrible way to start HS. It is a hard life lesson - and I hope it won’t change their outlook on life. Life isn’t fair…but you also don’t get what you need/want without asking for it.

Hope the class of 2024 - goes smoothly!

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Sending support and prayers @Scruffylexi - you never know what could happen this month. This is a very strange year. If it turns out that your kiddo does not go to BS this year, it may actually be for the best. We can’t even imagine what this year has been like for your student & families. I think back to all the posts leading up to March 10th! How the world has changed.

There is so much uncertainty and schools can’t provide the full experience. We know several students who told us that they would be ambivalent about starting BS as a new student this year. Keep us posted on what happens! Sending virtual hugs.

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@mamaduke3 , call your school about getting a timely COVID test. I believe ours said they would send you a mail in test if needed.

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@Scruffylexi Honestly, it would have been the kid that had to drop out because of COVID that would have experienced the “hard life lesson” that “life isn’t fair.” And I’m glad that the pandemic has not resulted in many kids having to suffer that hardship.

I hope that your child has learned much about themselves from the BS application experience. If he/she still has BS as a goal, they certainly can apply again next year and capitalize on the maturity and resilience that they hopefully have carried away from this year’s experience.

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Agree with @Altras.

Another topic related to COVID and its impact on our kids. Resource & research link is provided below that many parents are talking about as it relates to reopening of schools and the emotional impact of not being in school the past several months.

Here is a recently published survey (highlighted in the WSJ) on the isolation and loneliness experienced by teen girls whilst out of school the past few months.

https://rulingourexperiences.com/covid19

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@Scruffylexi
I am so sorry that you and your child are disappointed. My guess is that even if schools have students drop out, they won’t refill those spots (unless there is a particular roll they need to fill). With covid, I think most schools would rather have a few empty spots to allow for more de-densification. The upside to that is there may be more spaces open next year if your child decides to apply again. And with all of the covid precautions in place, boarders really won’t be getting the full BS experience. It may be a great year to skip out anyway!

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Anyone else having second thoughts or anxiety about this year? Anyone considering keeping their student home this year? We know 2 people (one student at a mid-Atlantic school and one from CT) who have decided to stay home.

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We are very anxious.

My daughter wants to attend her New England boarding school - in person.

She got an emergency appointment in the US embassy for the visa interview. We also got news that the travel ban doesn’t apply to Europeans, if they have a F-1 visa. There’s a 14 day quarantine for international - and most of out of state American - students, but that is doable because the school has arranged a hotel and a lot of things to do.

But now we got news that the governor may decide, that schools will not open after all. We’ll know his decision next week.

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@FinnMom which state?

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New York.

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Loomis is starting with a phased approach. I like this idea.

https://www.loomischaffee.org/about-us/news-calendar/planning-for-2020-21

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Kenya has an interesting solution:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/world/africa/Kenya-cancels-school-year-coronavirus.html

At least it keeps everyone on the same page, and one year in a kid’s life is a blip. Of course, this plan assumes that next year will be back to normal. I no longer have a horse in this race, so I’m sure other’s will see the flaws, but I kinda like this solution.

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Interesting – a key difference is timing – their school year starts in January. I think their plan is to start up then. That sounds less drastic.

California schools are held captive by the governor’s order that schools are online until the metrics are met by the county in which they are located, for two weeks straight. Santa Barbara is nowhere close, but trending well. In some ways, that relieves the angst. I may not know when the kids will be taking classes on campus, but at least there is some kind of objective measure in place.

That said, the school said they can have the students back on campus possibly by the end of September, but even if they are there, they will have to have classes on line (?!). Online classes start Sept 1 at home. They have purchased testing equipment for campus, so that’s good. It is impossible to get testing here at home in a timely way.

Trying to stay positive…

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@CateCAParent I hope it goes well for your child at Cate. We are trying to develop a new plan and looking into online programs and will reevaluate next year. It is a life lesson that my child will never forget. You work hard, you do everything right, but sometimes life isn’t fair. It is the first time my child hasn’t gotten what they wanted or needed. Hard lesson for sure.

Hoping everyone heading off in a few weeks - or even at home have an amazing experience. I only wish my child would as well.

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@Scruffylexi time to stop thinking about “what might have been” and focus on what is. My son had a very deep disappointment also at this age, and the lesson you want them to learn is “hard work pays off” or, “perseverance pays off” not “you work hard, you do everything right and life is not fair”. The latter makes the kid a victim of circumstances, and the former lets the kid know they can affect what happens to them.

It is very tough when you are in the middle of this, and still feeling the rejection, which is why I’m writing. I have the benefit of 5 years of hindsight and can see that actually, that disappointment ended up being probably the single best thing that happened to my son. It sure didn’t feel that way at the time, and I sure didn’t see it, but now – it actually is crystal clear.

However, it all depends on how you the adult frame it. Also, I’ve learned not to focus on the outcome, but the process. If my son has done the best he could, put in his best effort – then, that’s all he can do. After that, whatever happens, happens, but he can be proud of the work he put in.

So for next year, consider emphasizing the process. For example; “I am so proud of the essays you wrote for Choate! You worked hard on them, and they are some of your best writing I’ve seen. Well done. If Choate accepts you, or doesn’t accept you, you can know you’ve done the best you can. Good job!”

Finally, I haven’t followed your journey and don’t know what schools you applied to this past year, but consider widening the net. One of my sons went to a second (or is it third?) tier boarding school and while it was a different experience to the tippy top boarding schools, it was a truly fantastic, formative experience for him, and he ended up at a great college too.

Good luck to you, it is hard when things don’t work out, but take the long view and I know they will in the end.

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No second thoughts or anxiety here.

COVID is certainly real, but bad outcomes are uncommon. I had it, it sucked and I was nearly hospitalized, but I fully recovered like the vast majority of people. I also take care of COVID patients every day.

But I also take care of biking injuries, skiing injuries, climbing injuries and many other uncommon outcomes of a life lived well and without fear. I do not teach my kids to hide from and avoid those risks, and I won’t do so for COVID either.

The world moved on through far riskier pandemics of small pox, polio, etc. I fully support social distancing, masks, etc. to slow the spread and not allow hospitals to become unable to care for patients. But that is precisely where we are, so I encourage my kids to live with COVID, not hide from it. Now it’s COVID, but what new fear in years to come would I be teaching them to be fearful of?

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It’s Friday and I want to make you all smile…so at an attempt at some CC humor, I will share this story. At breakfast today, I mentioned to kiddo that I had some questions and concerns about starting school next month which have not yet been addressed by the deans.

Kiddo said “What concerns? About laundry?” :smiley:

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@Golfgr8 LOL

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Cuomo just announced all districts in NY can open as numbers are very low across the board, so you should be okay. There may be union pushback and also some parent pushback in some districts but that should not affect your boarding school.