Yes - child is interviewed first, then they interview the parent separately. The child’s interview is far more important than anything you can say - you can only screw it up, not save the day.
The decision to go to Groton and to board should be the child’s decision, and the child should be able to articulate clearly and compellingly why.
If you feel that is a possibility, your kid should be reaching out to that department to set up a meeting while on campus, and stay actively engaged with that teacher right up through March 10>>
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Thanks for this. At the moment all I’ve done is fill out the initial inquiry form and arranged an interview. My son is only 7th grade so wondering if I should get him to reach out or I should. Not sure I’d expect a 7th grader to reach out directly to a school without parental directive.
You can certainly write the initial email, but I would get out of the way and let the kid take over ASAP. They want to see the independence and that the desire to attend is coming from the kid, not mom and dad.
have your son read the viewbook ahead of time and give some thought as to what specifically he loves at Groton! Good Luck. It’s such a great community!
@preppedparent - While it is true that both Groton and Deerfield are relatively preppier, I think too much focus is wasted on this issue. The grander and more important questions are where are kids happiest and which school provides the best match for the particular applicant. Moreover, at all these Uber schools one can find ALL types of characters and clothing styles.
^^^I think the preppiness was brought up by someone else as a factor. You’re preaching to the choir in terms of what factors are most important. My eldest picked the school where she felt she could do her best work in the classroom and on the field.
I agree with @preppedparent - read the view book - its also a good idea to look at the course catalog on line, look at the upper level/AP classes so you and/or your child can reference whatever opportunity may exist that catches his or her eye.
As someone who was in a similar position to yours at this time last year, resist the urge to feel like your circumstance is unique. To the contrary, there are hundreds just like you, coming from an under performing public school where everything is too easy, looking for the child to be pushed, rub elbows with equally motivated peers, etc., etc., etc.
That is BORING! Don’t be boring, be interesting. While your circumstances are not, unique, your child is - figure out how to show that to your admissions officer
Are you full pay? from an underrepresented geographic area? a minority? The one thing your child’s profile is light on is community service/extra-curriculars. Schools expect to see that.
Good luck in your pursuit of Groton - it really is an amazing community. I know my son would have been very happy there had he chosen to accept their offer.
My daughter’s interview with the head of admissions focused on why Groton? and a lot on sports.
its also a good idea to look at the course catalog on line, look at the upper level/AP classes >>
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That’s a good read for what’s covered in form 2 (grade 8). Interesting regarding languages where Latin is on the curriculum which my son has expressed interest in. Choice of a world language: one of French, Spanish or Chinese which wouldn’t be on my son’s list of language choices.
Also the section on visual arts is interesting.
Groton struck us as much more diverse than some of its peer schools… that probably dilutes the preppiness? No?
It’s awesome that your son wants to go to boarding school! One thing that is very improbably to consider is the amount of schools you’re applying to. Not many schools accept kids for the 8th grade. How badly does you son want to go? Groton is a highly selective school and nobody can guarantee admission.
I don’t know you or your son/what his needs are, but if he really has his heart set on going to boarding school, I junk he should wait another year and cast a wide net of schools to apply to so that he can try and make sure he is able to go to boarding school. Good luck!!
Yes I’ve seen that there are plenty of good schools which offer boarding starting at 9th but very few at 8th.
He is very keen and knows Groton is not easy to get into. His mother and I are very supportive and we’ll see how the admissions process works out.
My 2 students only applied starting in 9th. Both got into schools for ninth. Looking back, I would have suggested they apply to Groton for 8th. Easier to get into. Fewer seats, but much less competition. I would not wait for 9th which is highly competitive.
@CaliMex @Center @preppedparent - Groton is actually the most diverse prep school I know. According to www.boardingschoolreview.com they are 43% students of color which is the highest reported number I have seen.
Actually I believe that they are right in the mix with dozens of schools with what they “report”.
Being an eighth grade applicant myself, and not getting in, I am not sure how much I can help but I can say that you need to be diverse in many different fields. Not only do you need to be a high academic achiever, but also an athlete/public speaker/musician, they definitely want diverse talents.
@badminton4life Agreed! and for what it is worth, I am not sure how much easier it is honestly. We visited Groton and know a number of current students and recent graduates. I think they are wary of people applying for 8th simply to get early (kind of like Milton’s lower school). They don’t want to ask people to leave later.