<p>Looking for a school for my Son.
he is currently a soph, and most likeley will repeat.
he is a good student MOSTLY A in all honors classes.
He is not so good of a tester… most likely he will score between 40-60 %.
he is a three sport excellent athlete (schools that have coaches input)
also involved in student council
was looking at CUSHING ACADEMY, RIVERS, WORCESTER,
If anyone had any info on these schools as far admittance rate and any other school in Massachusetts that may be a good fit.</p>
<p>Make sure he contacts the coaches for his sports at the schools he is interested in. Sports are huge at Cushing, so it may help with admission.</p>
<p>Take a look at Lawrence Academy in Groton, MA --may be a good fit for him</p>
<p>Why is your son looking to switch schools? The schools you mentioned are not exactly near each other. Is he looking as a day student only, or as a day student at some schools and boarding student at others? Although it is at boarding schools, 10th grade is not a significant entry year at most MA day schools. I’m pretty sure Rivers does take 10th graders, though. It is by no means easy to get in there and I have heard that RIvers likes higher test scores, but if your son is both an excellent major sport athlete and an excellent student , that is probably a case where they would look at someone with mid-range scores. </p>
<p>Do the 3 sports your son excels at include football or hockey?</p>
<p>I think all of the schs take 10th gradesrs and most probab take repeat 10th graders. I’m not sure admit rates are helpful since, nore well-known schs have more apps overall (lots of “reach” or “lottery” apps), but fewer truly qualif apps and therefore admit a much lower % of the app pool than 2nd or 3rd tier schs.</p>
<p>Sports are big at Berkshire and NMH - - though my sense is that Berkshire is trying to move up in the rankings so low scores could be a problem, but that’s true at any shc.</p>
<p>But the schs you listed are very diff: Cushing is 85% boarders, Worcester is 5 day boarding and only about 25% boarders. So what, precisely, is the “fit” you’re looking for?</p>
<p>yes, if Cushing he would Board… have a child there doing a PG not sure… if siblings are given preference…
he plays football, baseball and hockey</p>
<p>why are you interested in having him repeat? For sports? He seems like he has a very solid academic record.</p>
<p>all admission counselors or directors suggest it.
and he will have a better chance of being admitted ;more openings for the 10th grade.
public school he attends is not the best</p>
<p>I’m curious as to what the objective of the school switch is (better sports, maturity, academic credentials, etc.) and why the repeat with the high grades. I know my D had a similar profile in substandard public schools made a successfull jump to honors in prep without repeating. I’m not sure if you are getting the best advice.</p>
<p>If he is looking at D1 sports, you have to be careful about getting 15 of the 16 core courses completed in the first 4 years of HS (fairly new NCAA rule). Repeating a non-12th grade year can wreak havoc with that. I don’t have time right now to look up the link, but if you look in the NCAA website you should be able to find those rules.</p>
<p>Hi Any Help Would Be Appreciated
He Is In Public High School Right Now…
Sat Scores At This Particluar School Are Hideous.
They Are Not Preparing Students For College In Any Way.
My Oldest Graduated From This Particular High School, And Went Onto Bc. His Comments Were He Was Ill Prepared For College Out Of This High School…
He Was A Very Different Student.
My Issue For Repeating The Year Is, He May Appear To Be A Good Student But May Be Overwhelmed Living Away, Jumpping Into A Jr Year… And Academically He May Not Be Ready…
Was Wondering What People Know Of Worcester Academy, And Tabor???</p>
<p>I don’t have specific knowledge of either Worchester or Tabor, but I think if you do a search on Tabor in this forum, you will find that everyone here has spoken well of it. Not much said here about Worchester, though. </p>
<p>I am starting to hear your concerns:</p>
<p>Concerned about transition to boarding school (are there specific things here that you can spell out? - social development or just not experienced in handling his own affairs?).</p>
<p>You suspect despite his A-level performance in honors classes at your local substandard public that he may not be able to make that jump to the honors level at a top boarding school, hence the thought of repeating 10th grade.</p>
<p>It doesn’t sound like sports are an issue as you didn’t seem to express a problem with the current situation or a desire for better.</p>
<p>Surprisingly, you will find quite a few members here who make the jump to boarding school at 11th grade very successfully at even the top schools. Now mind you these are fairly confident and accomplished students, so YMMV. </p>
<p>If you haven’t done so, I’d get your son signed up for the SSAT to see where he stacks up academically. I think once you have this information, the school selection process will be easier, as you can discuss his current situation with the admissions people at any school and see if THEY feel it would be appropriate for him to repeat. They make this type of evaluation all of the time and generally know what works out well.</p>
<p>As to school selection, I’d focus on schools that stress their working with students in developing good study habits, not that your son is lacking them, but this is probably the biggest adjustment he will have to face (laundry is simple) in the transition to boarding school. These schools usually have fixed study hours (as opposed to many of the top schools that allow the student to set their own study hours). At the better boarding schools, he will find that suddenly he has more homework than he is used to, along with new social situations (24x7) to adjust to. These more supportive schools will monitor their new students more carefully to make sure they use their days wisely and teach the skill necessary to deal with the transition.</p>
<p>These are the things you should be looking for as you look through school material and talk to adcoms, if the adjustment is more of a concern. Repeating subject material, while taking off academic pressure, doesn’t necessarily teach a kid to manage his affiars effectively. </p>
<p>I think it is more important at this time of year to focus on getting your academic records in order (taking SSAT) and then finding the schools that fit your son’s needs during December. There is plenty of time, but you need to get that test scheduled this week if you haven’t done so already.</p>
<p>I know a couple of kids that go to Worcester and love it. Not much more info than that, but I do know they have been very supportive academically when it comes to helping them organize and such. </p>
<p>Start visiting. We have found a wide range of how schools have study halls set up. From one where it is 100% quiet in the dorms to the point if you have work to do with a partner (lab for example) you need to sign out and go to the library where you can talk. To one where the “library is a place to go if your dorm gets too noisy during study hall.” Avon Old Farms (great sports school and our interviewer was a grad that came as an 11th grader) has an “enrichment” hour during the day where all teachers are in their classrooms and students have study hall like time to go get help / ask questions etc. This is in addition to the evening study hall each day. </p>
<p>HAve you done any visits?</p>
<p>thanks for the info, very informative…
i have visted Worcester academy, and cushing academy.
my concern is that he is a terribel tester… he freezes.
so how much weight is put on the SSAT?
he is registered to take on Nov. 10th and again in January.</p>
<p>I think the schools you are considering don’t put too much weight on the SSAT. At least that is what they told my son during thier visit to his school. From what I can tell, the “biggies” are the ones that care the most about the test scores. I think if his grades are good, and his teacher recs are good, they tell he can handle the work.</p>
<p>Linda, thanks for the info
but what is too much weight?
i suspect, he will score betweena 40%-60%</p>
<p>If he does score in the 40th to 60th percentile (of test takers - not nationally), has mostly A’s in Honors (although you may think them dubious) classes, and is an excellent 3 sport athlete, with good recommendations, your son’s chances at admissions at these schools (not particularly competitive) is excellent. I usually don’t go out on a limb on chances threads, but there is just too much other good stuff to let modest test scores get in the way.</p>
<p>i am confused with SSAT scoring where does it give the national percent</p>
<p>vs. percen of test takers</p>
<p>what about TABOR?
how competitve is it?</p>
<p>Tabor is probably more competitive than the other 3 you listed.</p>
<p>It has been 2 years since goaliegirl took the test (also not a good standardized test taker). I do remember looking at the report and being confused seeing 2 different sets of percentiles, but I don’t remember the format of the report any more. I’m sure someone else will ring in with the answer…</p>
<p>[SSAT</a> Student Guide Online 2007-2008](<a href=“http://www.ssat.org/publicsite.nsf/FromWelcome/How%20to%20Read%20Scores]SSAT”>http://www.ssat.org/publicsite.nsf/FromWelcome/How%20to%20Read%20Scores)</p>
<p>Includes these topics:</p>
<ul>
<li>How do you read your scores?</li>
<li>How do schools use your scores?</li>
</ul>