Not looking for HADES, not targeting HYPSM

soxmom
Wed, 11 Dec 2013 08:21:46 +0000

I don’t have any outcome to report yet, but I think we’ll be in this camp next year with my daughter. She hasn’t done any practice SSAT tests yet, but based on her performance on other standardized testing, my guess is that her SSATs will be in the 60s or 70s, unlike her older brother, whose SSAT was in the 90s and is now happily ensconced at a HADES school. She’ll apply there too, just in case the sibling connection is enough to overcome the lower test scores, but she’ll be looking at Hidden Gems as being more realistic for her. We’re fortunate in that she certainly can stay at the private day school she goes to now, but it’s a very small school and she’s been there since she was 4 years old. We (and she) would really like her to have the chance to branch out, face new challenges, and have more varied academic and extracurricular opportunities. Whether going to a boarding school ends up helping her get into a better college than she would otherwise if she stayed where she is now is kind of pointless to speculate about, in my opinion. Maybe it will, maybe it won’t – who could ever know? But what I do know for sure is that she’s the kind of kid who will absolutely thrive at and love boarding school. It will be a great experience for her, and one which I know will teach her some important life lessons, regardless of the ultimate college admissions outcome.