Unique case: Should I even bother applying to prep schools?

Prep School Admissions
1

Hi! I have a pretty crazy academic/developmental past, and I’m trying to figure out what to do next.

Currently, I am 15 years old, and I should be a sophomore in high school (so, applying to be a junior in HS). However, at 13 (8th grade), I went to an early college program at a university. (SAT from age 12 was 2020/2400.) Unfortunately, depression and a difficult transition blew up in my face there, and I scraped by with a bunch of As and a C,D, and F. 3.3 GPA and 36 credits there. Then, I returned home to the public high school, where the transition back was even worse. I skipped school almost daily and fall grades: all Fs and a B. Then, in spring 2018, I began “homeschooling,” which basically meant taking a community college class and staying home the rest of the time.

I’ve taken 11 credits worth of community college classes (sociology, astronomy, French 201), and currently have 7 more on the way this semester (freshman English, calculus). 4.0 at community college. In spring 2019, I will take 9 credits: honors anthropology, regular western civ/modern world, and acting for non-theatre majors. I’m only a few classes away from an Associate’s.

I tutor developmental math 5 hours/week at the cc, TA for an ESOL class 2 hours/week, and am in the leadership program and student senate.

I enjoy philosophy, psychology, literature, and their intersection. I also write lots about life and how I think we should live it - someday, when I’m older, I’ll look back and cringe at my little teenage self who thought she was “deep.”

I’m feeling a little stuck at community college: I’m very isolated from peers (both age-wise and interests/goals-wise), and it’s not very intellectually rigorous. I also wish I had more structure, in terms of classes and things to do.

So a few days ago, @JHS here on CC recommended that I try applying to boarding schools:

“Here’s another, somewhat off-the-wall idea: See if you can talk your way into Exeter, or some other very high-quality boarding school. They have extensive financial aid available, and one of them may be persuaded to use some of it on an interesting kid such as yourself. That would give you (a) a structured environment with a pretty well-developed safety net, (b) very high-quality, college-level academics, © as close as you are going to come to a community likely to have some peers roughly your age,and failing that at least a bunch of really smart kids who have been taught to respect others (d) excellent, sophisticated college counseling (and vetting colleges will respect), and (e) a path to getting a high school diploma without dying of boredom.”

I know I have a ~very~ rough track record of fails and mental health issues (which I have made much progress on), but (hopefully) I have the “potential” and “passion” to compensate. I’d say I’m very high risk / high return – I could either end up miserable in my life, or do something really great. I’d like to put myself in a position where I’d be on track to do something great, and I think an elite boarding school might do the trick!

Do you think I have a chance of getting in anywhere with very good financial aid (single parent family income ~30k)?

Thank you so much!!

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The other thing that @JHS said applies to top-tier boarding schools as well:

or at least show that you are making progress and have a management process in place.

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Read @SculptorDad 's many posts. For different reasons, his daughter was looking at BS (and attended) with a similar academic background.

BS could be a great opportunity for you if you are on a steady path with your mental health. It will also require a high level of independence.

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@blubeari Actually it’s quite common for PG people to have issues with completion and staying on task. For kids who are gifted, there’s not always the right fit school wise or socially. Kids who are gifted often explain things in different ways and can find it hard to adjust to a slower pace which can make school very boring for them. As a highly gifted/profoundly kid, you were sent ( or you picked) a specific path ( early college). It seems like it didn’t work out and you made other choices.
Since you are PG ( profoundly gifted based on your scores) you should contact Davidson. (Davidsongifted.org). I would recommend Simons Rock for you ( Bard College at Simon’s Rock) . It’s an early college program and has many early learners. You could call them and see what they think based on your record. I bet they have many kids with experiences similar to your own. Also while it runs like a boarding school in the sense that you live there, they are well versed in the challenges highly gifted people face. I did not attend nor did my kids but we know others who have and they have been very happy there. I also think you might be able to get financial aid. The second thing is, you can then transfer to Bard which is a great school or elsewhere. I personally would not recommend some of the schools you mentioned for a couple of reasons. While these schools have highly gifted kids, they also have a pretty stressful environment. It’s different to have kids who compete based on memorization/studying and a kid who read the book and is asking questions 3 years above the grade level. ( That’s just my opinion but I think gifted and highly academic are different).

You have to address the mental health issues that you have. I hope that you have the resources to do so.

I’m happy to help you with specific PG issues. I am PG and so are my kids. We decided not to do early college but we have done other things so the kids get challenged. There are lots of resources out there once you know about them. Also, what you really need is a mentor who understands the gifted. I know there are many specialists in the mental health field who do this but I also think someone outside the medical field should be used to point you in the right direction.

Once you find others who are like you, you will be amazed to know that you are actually normal within the set of gifted people. This might reduce anxiety etc. Feel free to reach out to me via PM for info on specific PG programs. You can also google profoundly gifted and read about people and programs. These kids with the right direction are often the people who do amazing things in life. All the best to you.

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@skieurope You raise an important point. I’ve been going to therapy for a few years now, and life is still rough but I am coping much better. I can identify patterns in my feelings/behavior now and stop them before they spiral. I’ve also taken up meditation :slight_smile:

@gardenstategal Based on his posts, it seems his daughter has some in common with me, and has thrived at BS. I have also always been very independent, so BS is looking like a good option. Thanks for your input!

@Happytimes2001 I was actually at PEG at Mary Baldwin on a full scholarship, but it wasn’t right for me developmentally. I’ve done some thinking and realized that what I really want is time to learn and grow before college - I don’t want to rush into a major and through a degree. BS (maybe one that’s less competitive?) seems like it would be for this.

I’m currently not able to PM because I’m new to CC and haven’t made 15 posts yet. I really like your mentor idea because it’ll help with feeling less alone. But - how and where do I find one?

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I agree with all the advice that you’ve been given. I think applying to a boarding school is a good idea. It will help you grow, and you will be challenged academically. But the deadlines are coming up quick.

One other thing to keep in mind: you may consider holding off on getting an associates degree. If you have an AA, then it may prevent you from applying to some colleges as a freshman. Instead you might get forced into applying as a transfer. The financial aid for transfer students is often far less than the general freshman pool. Again each college has its own policy on how it handles community college credit, so please check.

7

What about United World Colleges?

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Please do read mine. Attending boarding school was one of the best educational decision that my daughter had. It was life changing.

She is a very smart girl. She started community college at 11 and had 60 semester units with only one B when she applied to boarding school at 13. She still suffered from academic difficulty and had depression because heavy BS work load surfaced her ADD. But we got diagnose and it was fine from 10th grade. PM me if you want to discuss medication. She is a junior now and averaging A+.

Oh I think I should write another obligatory update about her college on parent board’s 2020 thread.