DD has been interviewing with West Coast schools and we now have hard numbers from AOs on Sophomore openings for next year. Thacher (2; female only), Cate (6-8, though I have reason to believe it might be even lower), Webb (10), and Stevenson (10-15). I am growing a little nervous as the numbers are so low and I’m finally paying attention to all the “cast a wide net” advice. DD is solid (99% SSAT, A+ grades (because of Honors classes), three sports, student Government), but no special circumstances nor curious skills/passions. Regardless, she interviews well, and her teachers universally respect her abilities and work ethic so the recs will be strong.
We have started getting A LOT of emails from selective East Coast schools encouraging her to apply. I’m sure everyone does and I’m not reading anything special into it, but it does make me think about last minute East Coast January interviews and applications.
Anyone else have hard intel on sophomore slots at specific East Coast schools they will share? And, I hope my info on West Coast coast schools is helpful to you.
Loomis Chaffee typically has 14-15 slots for sophomore boarding girls. They are opeinging a new girls dorm next fall, so perhaps it will increase by a few.
Yes, I read that. However, it was based on the website content and what we realized during these interviews is that it was fairly inaccurate in some cases. It’s nice that if you ask them a direct question at an interview, you get a fairly direct response! Hope your experience has been positive this year Stargirl. How lovely it was to have so many people rooting for you.
If it fits your criteria, you might look at NMH - the senior class graduating this year is huge (has been over enrolled all 4 years) and as freshman are typically in different dorms from the rest of the grades, they may have more sophomore spots open up this year. Because they are a larger school, they typically also accept more sophomores. I am a huge fan! Back in my day, Taft used to double the class size sophomore year. It is pretty common to move to BS as a sophomore.
I was a new sophomore at Lawrenceville a few years back. Lawrenceville takes a large portion of their class as sophomores- I’d say about 70-80 new sophomores total? So 35ish new girls.
Here’s a method that might help you figure out where to focus your efforts, although it will require some detective work. Go to the websites of various junior boarding schools (which end with 9th grade) and see what schools they are listing for places their students matriculate. Those would be schools that typically plan for 10th grade enrollment growth. Here’s a link for a list of junior boarding schools: http://www.boardingschools.com/find-a-school/quick-lists/Junior-Schools.
Looked into this: Believe it or not, info is accurate. The new norm (before this year) has been about 4-6 new 10th graders (as opposed to the 6-10 a decade ago). New norm due to the fact that when Thacher renovated its 9th dorms they added a few rooms so entering classes are slightly bigger so fewer 10th grade spots. And they have the lowest attrition of any boarding school (0-2%) so spots don’t open that way.
No 10th boarding boy spots for this year because their yield on 9th boys last cycle was an astounding 92% (versus overall yield of a category high 87%): The following fall they will get back to enrolling about 4-6 new 10th graders.
So the story is they take fewer new 10th (and 11th) than other schools since they have lowest attrition–and this year their hands are tied for boys because of an incredibly high yield.
In summary, on the one hand, always consider admit rates when comparing enrollment size. Just because a school is bigger doesn’t mean it’s easy to get in if it’s attracting proportionally more strong applicants. On the other, among schools with similar admit rates, a bigger school gives you a better chance. For a small school, a scenario such as the one described in the above post would easily leave you out of the game altogether.
@Kthor626 - for some reason, my last paragraph was not included in my post above. St. Andrews is a reasonably close East Coast equivalent to Thacher in temperament, community etc. @SevenDad can tell you absolutely everything about St. Andrews and if it’s possible to get it in your mix, you’d be doing your daughter a great favor.
Hi! I’m actually a student at Cate right now who came as a new sophomore. My year, there happened to be an exceptionally large amount (12 students!) because the yield was higher than expected. Usually, there are 6-8 new sophomores that come each year and it’s an even split between the genders. Best of luck on your search!