hi I’m entering my last year of middle school in the fall and I really want to really maximize my potential (well atleast middle school wise) so I could apply to a boarding school for 10th grade. I understand I could always apply for 9th grade but I feel like having only one semester to set up a lot of extracurriculars, essays and other stuff is a bit too overwhelming for me. I’m mainly looking for tips and ideas for different extra curriculars (e.g. rotary, passion projects). I’m not exactly in the top 10 of my class although I am progressing to it, I’m more of an above average students than a great one if I have to be honest. My grades aren’t lacking but my extracurriculars severely are mainly because my school doesn’t really have any resources such a counseling, the ability to form your own clubs or volunteering programs. We only have some math competitions here and there and while I’m a sort of good student in math it’s not exactly my strong suit. I think I’m digressing a bit too much but I think you get the general gist of what I’m asking, a sort of a guide and ideas for eighth and ninth grade to get into boarding school.
Here’s some somewhat important details I forgot to mention (& stats because I see a lot of people writing their stats here and might as well follow suit!):
I’m taking French classes outside of school, I’m currently A2, by the time I’m in ninth grade I’ll be B1 - B2 (intermediate which is usually the efficiency level where you start taken more seriously by French people/work environments).
Currently looking for SSAT/ISEE prep
female, Asian, living in the UAE
for my second term of seventh grade (still didn’t get end of year report card yet) I got an average of 90%
schools I’m interested in:
-Léman prep (my top choice)
-Choate Rosemary
-Andover (this is definitely a reach)
also planning to apply for different Swiss boarding school scholarships too (unrealistic but I would love to try)so if you have tips for that also!!
(I know this is so bland compared to the other applications on this site but that’s mainly why I made this thread in the first place😭)
I can’t really give advice on strengthening your application, but I can give advice on gaining admission, which is Apply to a wider range of schools!
Check out Berkshire, Loomis Chaffee, Mercersburg, The George School, girls’ schools, etc. My advice would be to apply to schools where you exceed the average admitted student profile. You can get a great education at any of these (and more) schools. You want to be an incredibly attractive candidate to the school, such that they decide it’s worth it to them to use their limited financial aid budget on you. It will be worth it to them if you help bring their average ssat score up, or will likely do better with college admissions than their average student.
Not horrible advice for boarding school though. For boarding school it is excellent advice. A decent percentage of kids repeat 9th grade, and still more are held back before kindergarten.
Well, it is certainly a different culture than public high school, that’s for sure! And in terms of admission chances, the other poster is correct that there are orders of magnitude more places for 9th graders than those for 10th. So one’s odds of getting admitted are higher as an applicant for 9th grade.
As you explore schools, be very attentive to whether they can offer you as much FA as you need given that you are international. This is worthwhile to bring up in interviews.
Many have limitations on this. At the same time, look at scholarship programs that place students in US boarding schools.
Reclassing can be helpful at some schools, so it is worth asking the question in interviews too.
Totally agree with @cinnamon1212 that expanding the list is your best strategy.
An extra year of HS can be quite meaningful - better academic preparation including more advanced course work, increased maturity before going to college and for an athlete an additional year of development. Many boarding school
Students have re-classed, most common years are 8th-11th.