Thoughts on school rankings

TheBig5
Fri, 18 Feb 2011 15:47:20 +0000

I asked all the AOs I talked to specifically about the 9th grade year (since I myself went in 10th). Biggest advantage is it is MUCH lower pressure across the board, so kids have a year to acclimatize, get to know faculty, students, the campus, etc…, etc… Also, it’s interesting, some schools immediately integrate 9th graders, others have separate facilities and so forth and treat the 9th grade year as virtually a separate program.

At the start of 10th grade there is NO gentle incline. It is pedal to the metal from the very start.

So it really depends on your kid. Some will benefit from that extra year at home with fam, some will benefit having that same year to ease into BS life. But either way 10th & 11 grades are where it ALL counts. If you are applying EA/ED in your senior year (in November!), your record is based virtually exclusively on the 2 prior years.