<p>In answer to ExieMITAlum:
- They both applied as 8th graders
- They lived in a very rural area with average schools
- This was something totally outside their or my experience. None of us are joiners. They had never applied to anything. They each had about one extracurricular activity, nothing extraordinary.
- I am the most organized person I know and it was a struggle for me to oversee the process and keep on top of everything.
- A lot of kids just don’t understand how wonderful it will be to go to BS. They may be ambivalent about leaving friends and family.</p>
<p>I did not do their work for them. We did not fudge in any way. I did the work of a consultant, which many parents pay thousands of dollars for. I’m sure schools are delighted to find a student that did it all on their own, and I know they want to weed out those being “forced” by their parents, but I think most 8th grade applicants do not tackle the application process independently.</p>
<p>My kids are creative and very bright. It was a case of getting schools to see what they COULD be rather than a school cherry-picking. They both ended up with very good FA packages and great educations, along with loyalty and gratitude toward their schools.</p>
<p>My son had never owned a suit before we went interviewing. Although applying was his idea, left to his own devices I think he would have applied twice to SPS and been rejected twice, end of story. Instead he had a transformational experience. </p>
<p>When I dropped him off at school his parting words were “Thanks Mom.” He is helping in a significant way with his much-younger sister’s educational expenses and he was the driving force in motivating her to apply to BS.</p>