<p>how would you and admin’s know if you’re ready for the challenges of prep-school and if you can handle it.
what are some clues?</p>
<p>oh, i think i meant to put adcoms</p>
<p>I don’t think they do “know.” I think, with the benefit of many years’ experience (institutionally and personally), they “know” what has worked in the past and what hasn’t and that allows them to make “educated guesses” as to each year’s new pool of applicants.</p>
<p>As for what those factors are, they can vary from AdCom to AdCom. Some boarding school web sites spell those factors out, in somewhat general terms. We’ve discussed those factors here at great length and have tried to weigh them – but in the end we can only speculate. Clearly the things that they ask for and ask about as part of the application process are the things they need to understand so they can apply what they do know to make an educated guess as to whether, among other things, you’re ready for the challenge of boarding school. </p>
<p>And, remember, a “rejection” letter on March 10 is NOT a determination that an applicant is not ready for the challenge (either in general or at that particular school). An acceptance letter is a determination that an applicant has a good chance of being ready. But the converse isn’t true if you’re not accepted. It could be that there just wasn’t room and that other needs had to be taken care of first.</p>
<p>One admissions reps we met with said he can usually tell in about 45 seconds if a kid really wants to go to **boarding **school or not. Now obviously the boarding is only a part of prep school, but as D’yer said, I believe that they do what we as parents and students do - they go by how it “feels.” If they don’t get a good *feeling<a href=“just%20like%20if%20we%20don’t”>/I</a>, it probably means more than anything you can point to in a more exact way.</p>
<p>oh, so why does extra curriculums really count?
they see the quality of it, but just because you don’t have a lot doesn’t exactly mean you’re not a commited student that’s really hard working and social</p>
<p>ECs count at boarding school because boarding school is a 24/7 experience. At a day school, you can cut loose and do your thing. Some people do ECs at school. Some do them outside of school. Some don’t do them at all and just do homework…or watch cartoons and eat Ho Hos. And that’s all fine for whether you’ll be able to handle a day school.</p>
<p>Not so for boarding school. You need to be engaged and connected way beyond your academic experience. That takes you to 3 in the afternoon on 5-6 days per week and covers some study time in the evenings…on school nights. There are 168 hours in a week. The school day covers 7 hours for 5 days a week. Add 5 more hours to cover Saturday classes and that’s 40 hours. A couple hours more per night studying…let’s say 15 hours…leaves you with 113 hours. And about half of that is sleeping. </p>
<p>That leaves you with 55 hours or more time on your hands. Times the number of students in the school. If you got a school full of kids who prefer to pick their noses during that time, it will be a nightmare. A boarding school needs people who use their time wisely and productively and in non-academic ways…because they’ve already got a ton of time set aside for that. If you lack ECs, you’ve left a big question mark on your application. </p>
<p>Now pretend you’re a Dean of Admission. You, along with many of your colleagues, live on campus. With several well-qualified applicants vying for each open bed (or desk) at many boarding schools, do you select the potentially fine student with a big question mark or do you select the fine student whose record leaves little doubt as to how well he or she will survive and thrive during those 55+ hours a week when academics or sleep aren’t in play? Do you want to live on a campus with nose-pickers and lolligaggers or on a campus with people who are self-starters who have a proven track record of making the most of their time engaged in non-academic endeavors?</p>
<p>Boarding school isn’t for bright, academically successful students who have decent people skills. It’s for bright, academically successful students who have decent people skills who also like to be engaged in a community-wide journey that extends well beyond the classroom.</p>
<p>[quot]Boarding school isn’t for bright, academically successful students who have decent people skills. It’s for bright, academically successful students who have decent people skills who also like to be engaged in a community-wide journey that extends well beyond the classroom.[/quot]</p>
<p>Well said, D’yer. I’d like to add, however, that there are schools that are also interested in the not yet academically successful but wanting to be academically successful student. Some of us welcome, and actually enjoy the challenge of, works-in-progress.</p>
<p>Doh!</p>
<p>I know that you are right and shouldn’t have needed you to point that out. Perhaps a better term would be “academically promising.” </p>
<p>Some schools prefer to take diamonds and handle them with due care as they bring them to market. Others make it their practice to take diamonds-in-the-rough and polish them before bringing them to market. I think D’yer Junior could have been classified either way. By dumb luck (I wish I could say it was intentional and well thought out) we settled on a school that gave him the best opportunity to shine more than ever.</p>
<p>My guess is that if a school admits someone who’s going to be a project, they’d prefer to be doing the bulk of the polishing and craftsmanship in the academic realm, where the school is heavy on resources and staff who can direct that process. Which gets back to the reason ECs are important…because I think boarding schools have far more infrastructure in place to address academic support than they have infrastructure to handle lots and lots of students who require major non-academic remediation.</p>
<p>I think the question was asked by one admin sums it up (I’ve told this story before, so sorry to bore you all who have read it)
“I have 3 kids in my office and one opening, why should I pick you?”</p>
<p>The “right” answer is something like this:
“I would make a differnece and help others when I could, I would be a part of the school community and make the school proud that I was a student.” </p>
<p>They are looking for people who will get involved and make a difference. Your past involvement in EC’s is really the only “proof” they have that you will do that.</p>
<p>Maturity, aptitude and work ethic. Intellect, or aptitude, is measured by the SSAT or other standardized test. Work ethic is usually discerned from an applicant’s grades and extra curricular involvement. Maturity is often detected through the applicant’s essays, personal interview and teacher recommendations. An important part of the maturity component is evidence of showing respect for others. Additionally, it is important to gauge the applicant’s enthusiasm for boarding school ( if applying to boarding school). This can be done through the application essays and interviews.</p>
<p>so, where do they ask for E.C.s for Phillips Exeter? during the interviews? i haven’t taken it yet.
i’m a bit worried, cuz my E.C.s are not that great; one reason is I lived overseas for a long time and transportation is difficult. but i really like trying new stuff out and am pretty determined.
i don’t know why i would be asking, cuz you guys aren’t admins, but you have experience, but i’m asking people with experience for a general idea of my “chances”</p>
<p>They cover all that in the Preliminary Application or General Information Sheet…or whatever they call the first document you were supposed to send in with the application fee prior to setting up your interview. They don’t revisit that later…though you might touch upon those things during an interview, especially if any of them really stoke some fire within you (which I hope is the case).</p>
<p>ohoh, i see, thanks.</p>