Schools traditionally have more 10th grade students than 9th grade students, by design. And that’s in part because junior boarding schools cover grades 7-9.
11th grade spaces are often to replace students leaving for whatever reason.
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There are many private schools that end at 9th grade. Tenth grade has been a common entry point for boarding schools for many years, so schools have traditionally planned on having spots for incoming 10th graders. From what I understand, spots for 11th graders tend to be due to openings (ie a student has left).
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yes
Congrats!!! Are you going?
Probably no
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Historically high school was 10-12 (with junior HS being 7-9). But schools transitioned to k-5, MS 6-8, HS 9-12.
10th grade used to be a far bigger entry point in the past, even in the ‘90s.
Most schools do take new 11th graders (beyond attrition) but depending on the size of the school, it can be as few as 5-6 spots for each sex and it is a popular entry point for recruited athletes.
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Anyone hear of Milton having movement off their waitlists for any grade?
Wait until after revisit days. Those usually provide admissions with the data they need to start considering WL applicants. At that point, many students have picked their school or narrowed it down enough to decline all but a few.
For there to be movement now, there would have had to be a significant # of accepted students to have declined in the first week. Unlikely.
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Yes, she likes volleyball. She hasn’t decided yet if the college sports journey is as important as the academics.
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Very new to this, as we didn’t consider private high school until this year… does DS mean day school? If so, I’m curious about your commute options given the many schools to which you applied. My daughter was waitlisted at one school and accepted to another, each within 22 minutes, and the further one is close to my workplace…… and we are still hesitant. The one she was accepted to, I’m not even sure it’s much better than our public high school and it costs $60k per year.
DS= dear son. In your case I would visit the schools and compare and contrast with Local school and then make a decision. We are boarding for all. Our local schools are in bad shape.
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Great, thanks. My wife visited one, and I visited the other…. The waitlist school is well known, but the other was visited by my wife, and I don’t have a good feel for it…. my kid is nonplussed about both given the lack of details received and the cost. Not sure I care about her going there either, and they are not clear about the value proposition….
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For most of us who chose to pay private school tuition vs attend our LPS (local public school), it was because the former offered something very different - and important to us – for our kids.
My LPS is a blue ribbon school. My kid’s freshman class would have had 1000 kids in it. They had a schedule we didn’t like (every class taught in half a year.) My very bright kid had been invisible in a class of 45, so I wasn’t hopeful about this environment. Plenty of kids go there and it’s a great alternative for them. We felt like it would not be for us and opted for a boarding school. (Ds was a day student.)
DS is now out of college, and we still feel that the money spent on private school was some of the best money we ever spent. It was transformational for our son in every respect – he blossomed as a scholar, an athlete, and musician. He has very tight friendships with a very diverse group of people. He went to college fully prepared to engage there and create community.
On commuting, yes, it’s a drag. Think about it carefully, not just on school days but to get together with friends. Most people in this situation will be very excited when the kids have licenses and can drive themselves. Again, for us, worth the trouble, and switching to boarding was an option.
I echo everyone here is suggesting you attend the accepted student days with an open mind. Some places may not feel “right”, others may excite you. There must have been a reason you went to the trouble of applying – you owe it to yourself to see it through to the end.
At the end of the day, every family has to make this decision based on what is best for them.
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Thank you… sounds like your public school options were tough! We have 11:1 student teacher ratio, and the average SAT score is 1210… which, I think you are confirming, is relatively good. Kind regards.
Actually, it was a very high performing school. Avg SAT 1270. Just huge! And not the right environment for my kid.
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Huh.
The best, most prestigious school - public or private - may not be right for all kids, even though it can be amazing for many.
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It’s not simply about classes offered - It’s abput how content is delivered. At our public school, for example, each teacher taught so many sections that they could not assign longer writing assignments because they wouldn’t be able to grade them. DS wrote SO much at his private school. Writing, imho, improves thinking. At the LPS, most assessments were multiple choice or short answer. Really, the big difference was one of simply being able to regurgitate material or being required to think about it critically. Teachers at the LPS tell us that they give tests kids and parents can’t argue with, and that’s a limitation.
Also, with 4000 students, it was hard to make teams, etc. My kid ended up getting good enough at 2 sports to have recruiting interest. Plus, he still got to play his instrument and work on a literary magazine. I think this gave him a lot of confidence.
High school isn’t simply about delivering academic content. Hopefully, it’s able where you can become your best self.
Fwiw, DH was really opposed to paying for private school when we were considering it, yet he is now the one writing checks each year as a donor!
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It’s funny how that works isn’t it 
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we didn’t mention that it’s six nights a week of study hall 