<p>payn4ward, the process in our house was similar. None of my kid’s friends go to prep school, so it never occurred to her to do so. I knew she was less than happy and under-challenged at her current school, so a year ago, we took her to an open house at a relatively local prep school just so she could see what it’s like. I told her she could stay in public school, but I wanted her to at least gather information and make an informed decision.</p>
<p>I’ll admit - I dragged her to the open house kicking and screaming: “no one goes to prep school but snobs!!!” She grumbled in the car all the way, but once there, she was mesmerized, and by the end of the day, she not only wanted to go to prep school, but had her heart set on THAT school. I think the turning point was this wonderfully “normal” and engaging tour guide who said “here, everyone is a nerd. It’s cool here to be a nerd”. She sat with the idea for months, until this past fall, when we began the application process. And still, even though by then she wanted to apply, she was not willing/ready to do the nitty gritty of making interview appointments, gather the applications, etc. That’s what I think is a developmental thing.</p>
<p>And, now that the excitement of the tours and interviews and open houses is an increasingly distant memory, she still may choose the local public school, as she is dealing with tremendous social pressure to stick around: “only snobs go to private schools” and (I can’t believe this has trickled down to 8th graders, but it has): “you won’t get into a good college because everyone is smart there and you’ll just be average”. So, now that apps are complete, we have that to deal with as we await the news of M10.</p>