<p>8th grade S was rejected for BS today. We were approached in late fall by coach from school to apply. S has athletic hook. Knew nothing about BS or application process. S and we fell in love with school after first visit and subsequent visits. S has good grades, plays multiple sports (incl being nationally ranked in one of them), ECs, good intvw, recommendations, etc. Coach was in regular contact with us during process, told us he wanted him there in the fall, and told us he’d be advocating for our S with Admissions. The downside - our son bombed the SSATs (15% overall). Not entirely his fault - we signed him up online and took him to take test without any prep. Like I said we were new to the whole process and came in late to it. If we decide to do it again we will probably look to get him a tutor to prep. Still even with his low scores we thought there was a chance given the coach’s advocating. We were very disappointed to get news today. He’s been accepted at private catholic school so we’ll probably go that direction as this BS school was the only one we applied to.</p>
<p>A few questions:</p>
<ol>
<li>I’d really like to confirm the reasons he wasn’t accepted. If I called the admisssions officer are they usually honest with feedback?</li>
<li>Anyone have any good advice on how best to break news like this to their child?</li>
<li>Is it possible at this point to try to get into any BS schools in New England area? Is rolling admissions an option at any? Even with his low SSATs?</li>
</ol>
<p>We learned a lot through this process and if we decide to try for BS next year will explore more schools to apply to and do a better job of preparing our son for it. This is rough.</p>
<p>I think the deciding factor was his ssat score. If that score of 15% is accurate, and not the result of a mis-bubbling error, then the odds are strong that he would have struggled academically at bs. Schools use the ssat scores as a barometer of how a child will perform at their school. One school told us last year that past experience tells them that any kid with a score under 2000 will not be academically successful at their school. In my opinion, it is patently unfair to place a child in a school where he or she most likely will not be successful. Coaches do this all the time. Perhaps after a year at his new school he will be better prepared for the academic challenges he will face at most boarding schools. No doubt he will continue to excel in his sport and the coaches will continue to seek him out.
But now I am going to back track and tell you that there are a bunch of schools that will accept kids with lower scores because they have great support there at the school. These kids are required to go for extra help, and their parents pay more in tuition for these semi private tutoring sessions. Proctor Academy is one such school. My son goes there, but he is not in the academic support program. Lots of schools will not publicly offer rolling admission, but that is what my son did. As a standout athlete, my son quickly learned that there is always room for a very talented (fill in the blank) athlete. My suggestion would be to find schools that would be a good fit for your son and then call the coaches first and talk to them. They can pave the way for a conversation with admissions. Without a coach’s help, a cold call to admissions will often result in a stock “we’re full at that level”.</p>
<p>I would not call to find the reason. Accept that it was due to his scores and work to change that. He does not need to have someone say it out loud.</p>
<p>Oh, and I would let him understand that it was an especially hard year to get into boarding schools and that the coach really tried. Even if he didn’t get in, he should be proud of the fact that someone thought enough of him to reruit him. But, if he wants to try again, I would be realistic and tell him his scores need to improve.
Good luck.
zp</p>
<p>Think of it this way, you have a second chance to look at some amazing schools you missed the first time around. You and your son entered this process late and only looked at one school. There are so many wonderful schools out there. It is not to late if you want to continue your search for next year. A number of schools will consider a late application and the SSAT’s are offered again in April. Good Luck!</p>
<p>If you are open to less-selective schools, I might recommend asking the admissions folks at the school that rejected your son for a suggestion as to another school that might be a better academic fit (there are many “A” students who don’t do well in standardized tests BTW). Many of these schools have space available even after the first round of acceptances.</p>
<p>These schools are well networked and admissions folks will often know each other and recommend students.</p>
<p>As I remember, your son was a recruited athlete. Even after first offers, some schools do have money available for hooked applicants.</p>
<p>I think it was probably the SSAT score as well. I’d really have your son re-take the test if his grades in general are good. It sounds like an anomaly and may very well have been a “bubble error.” </p>
<p>I will tell you that my son has a classmate who was rejected from his dad’s and grandfather’s BS alma mater solely because of the boy’s low SSAT score. I’m not sure what the score was exactly, but it was well below 50th percentile. The school told his parents that they were very sorry but they just felt it was unlikely their son could handle the academics at the school. </p>
<p>So get your son re-tested. You really need to know that you have a reliable score you’re working with. Not prepping ahead of time may account for a few percentage points, but not 25-30.</p>
<p>A low SSAT score indicates that your son does not score well on the SSAT test. It does not indicate:</p>
<p>How he performs in the classroom.
How academically successful he will be overall.
How intelligent he is.</p>
<p>We had an admissions officer tell us due to my B student son’s low SSAT scores that he was “very concerned about how well he would perform in the classroom. We wouldn’t want him to struggle.” so we withdrew the application from that school. My son was accepted with FA to the other three schools he applied to. He made the honor roll every period of his freshman year.</p>
<p>Thanks for the encouraging words from all. Anyone have any recommendations for schools that still might consider him this late in the game and with the low SSAT scores?</p>
<p>Is there any possibility of a bubbling error in his SSAT? Maybe have him take a practice test to see if the results are consistent. Then you will have a better idea what to do next year or this year for that matter.</p>
<p>My child took he SSAT 4 times:
1st time 54%, 64%, 79% this Feb 2010 82% SSAT Score.</p>
<p>Applied to 11 schools. Accepted = 4, Waitlisted = 4, Rejected = 3. DID receive Merit Scholership too. </p>
<p>2 months of private tutoring helped increase the SSAT score. Additional investment and efforts paid off. SSAT seems harder than SAT or ACT. </p>
<p>Not much point in putting your kid in Top 15 schools when his or her academic lever is lowers. They will have difficulty in keeping pace with other kids. Look for schools that help kids get better and finding what they exhale in.</p>
<p>School typically offer FA based on parent financial statement (PFS). However, most schools do also offer merit scholarships. FA is typically offered between 50-75% based on family PFS. Some schools throw in merit scholarship if you kid is brilliant and meets certain scholarship criteria. This bumps the full aid to 85-95%. Schools like Exeter state they offer close to 100% FA if your family income is less then I believe $75K.</p>
<p>We applied to 13 schools, Received acceptance to 6, Waitlisted to 5, Rejected by 2 schools, Received FA and merit scholarship from three schools. Waitlisted on FA for 1 school. Rejected FA from 1 school.</p>
<p>newebs: I’m not looking for any answers from you. I’ve already put one kid through BS and have another currently enrolled. Most long-time CC parents are familiar with FA and the application/acceptance scenarios and are willing to provide information to assist other parents. </p>
<p>I’m asking you for specifics because you are presenting yourself as someone with all the answers when in fact you keep stating misleading information. I’m challenging your statements because they appear anecdotal and based upon your own unfounded conclusions.</p>
<p>BTW: MOST schools do not offer merit scholarships. I’ve never heard of a single school that awarded a merit scholarship to anyone. Where do you get your stats on percentages of FA awards? Where do you get your stats on ANYTHING?</p>
<p>FYI, we have had interest from some other schools even given our S low SSAT scores. </p>
<p>I agree w/baseballmom - most schools do not provide Merit scholarships. The ones that I saw from New England area are Cushing, AOF, Tilton, Salisbury, and South Kent school. Most everyone else does not, and only offers financial aid.</p>
<p>I don’t know where newebs is getting info about % of EFC offered on FA, but from our experience those are not correct.<br>
Yes, it can depend on “how much they want you,” but generally FA offers - even at schools that are NOT Exeter - can easily be in the 90%+ range of EFC. Every school makes their own “adjustments” to the SSS formula - so you really have no way of knowing anyhow. They MAY be meeting 100% of it based on their adjustment. </p>
<p>Hookboy - some of the all-boys schools generally have openings still. Great for sports, and still great academics. You could check Salisbury, Avon Old Farms for starters.</p>