The Parent's Guide to Boarding Schools - AMA w/ Author Kristin White

Prep School Admissions
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For the question about reclassing—it’s entirely up to the family to make this choice. Sometimes parents will ask the admissions team what they think, and they may get an opinion, but typically they leave this up to the parents. Reclassing is so common now, that a few boarding schools report 1/3 of the incoming boys are reclassing! It’s really a lot!

There are some clear benefits—time for personal growth, maturity, to improve grades, to show the colleges 5 years of HS work, which will include more advanced work than if they only showed 4 years;plus for athletic recruits, it may be essential. The cons to reclassing is that for some kids it can be hard to still be in high school at 19 years old, or they may not benefit from the time for extra maturity and organization if they already are strong in those areas. Kids who were hoping to get recruited for a sport but don’t, may have trouble feeling good about that last year of HS knowing that sports didn’t work out. These are things I’ve noticed over the years.

Any specific questions about reclassing?

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Often, folks here are considering reclassing because they feel like it will be easier to be admitted to 9th rather than 10th grade. Yet we see many schools that increase the class in 10th. What criteria/expectations are different- if any - in assessing 9th grade applicants vs. 10th?

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I wouldn’t say that the criteria is any difference for evaluating an incoming 9th grader vs. 10th grader. And as you say, most schools increase the class size for 10th grade, so although there are fewer open spots, there are also fewer applicants. I would make the decision on reclassing based on whether it is a fit for the student rather than as an edge in admissions.

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10th grade is a popular entry point for Jr. boarding schools. Many of these schools run through 9th grade

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