<p>Hi - I’m a regular on the CC College Parent forums and know absolutely nothing about boarding school so please bear with me :)</p>
<p>My niece, a rising HS sophomore, wants to go to boarding school. She is a bright kid in a mediocre pubic high school, and there are some ongoing family tensions, particularly between her and her father. She will need a great deal of financial aid, if not a free ride (is there such a thing for boarding school?) </p>
<p>If this were college admissions I could guide her. She will be an Hispanic first-generation college student with substantial financial need. Do any of those characteristics carry weight in BS admissions and if so, are there particular schools she should look at? </p>
<p>What is the process/timeline? She will be applying to start in the fall of 2010 (having missed any chance of starting this fall, correct?). I gather there is some sort of standardized test like the SAT - do all BSs require that? Is there anything else she should be doing at this point to prepare to apply?</p>
<p>PRJ - I think you will find that the admissions process is very close to college admissions. Many of the parents on this board have commented that it is a preview of what is to come. Visits to the school are very important if you can swing it. Needing full financial aid during these economics times has made admissions more difficult but not impossible. There were several students on this board who received full financial aid for 2009/2010. If your neice has taken the SAT or PSAT, you will have a good idea of what schools she will be competitive at - if not the SSAT results will give you an indication as well. However, test results, just like in college, are not the only factor.</p>
<p>From the schools we are familiar with, for the most FA, apply to the top tier schools if she has the SSAT scores (hopefully above 90) in their range. Most will meet close to or 100% of DEMONSTRATED financial need. Please be aware of what demonstrated financial need is rather than what parents might say they can afford. Their system for financial need is similar to the FAFSA which I would think you would be familiar with. Check with each of their websites to familiarize yourself with their financial aid programs. It’s kind of like the colleges, if you apply to the ivies and other colleges that promise to fill the gap for demonstrated need with grant money, you will have the best chance for the most FA.</p>
<p>Thanks all for your helpful advice. parentalview - you answered the question I hadn’t thought to ask - about the similarity to FAFSA and “demonstrated need”.</p>
<p>I would apply to any school that she would be interested in based on the information that is available on the internet. The website [Boarding</a> School Review - College-Prep & Jr. Boarding Schools](<a href=“http://www.boardingschoolreview.com%5DBoarding”>http://www.boardingschoolreview.com) is good for a quick sorting out of the characteristics that she is looking for in a school. Because she is Hispanic, she may have a chance for full scholarship based on her ethnicity and, of course, being a solid good student. Any extracurricular activities would help too. Just don’t limit your applications to schools with large endowments. EVERYBODY applies to those schools and your niece may be more “unique” elsewhere. All the boarding schools try to have a fair representation of all minorities. Good luck. BTW, if you are just considering boarding school for your niece because she is having “problems,” you may want to seek out a boarding school that addresses those issues.</p>
<p>I’ve been through the FA system plenty (this will be goaliegirl’s 4th year in BS). The SSS FA process is very similar to CSS Profile (they ask about house assets) and having run our numbers through the various online calculators over the years, the EFCs calculated are similiar to those of college FA.</p>
<p>And just like colleges, there are full-need met schools (well-endowed top-tier schools similiar to HYP in the college model) and many that gap. </p>
<p>Unlike college FA though, BS’s are more likely to be flexible for specific candidates they want. I attribute this to the fact that they are very small (when compared to colleges) and have to work harder to get a “balanced” class. Often need-based FA is more how much the school needs you rather than how much you need.</p>
<p>Being a first-generation Hispanic is nice, but beyond that what does she bring to the school in question? Schools will want FA students who fufill roles besides ethnic diversity as a school uses its FA budget to round out the class with needed talents (athletes, artists, musicians, etc.) they didn’t find in full-pay applicants. The more bells she can ring, the better her chances for a good package.</p>