<p>I’m trying to help a friend’s child. The student is African-American and very talented academically. She is a current 7th grader, so luckily she’s got plenty of time to get organized to apply to boarding school this fall for the following year.
I know about ABC, but are there other resources this family should look into?</p>
<p>prep for prep</p>
<p>ABC-A Better Chance ( at least in Chicago)</p>
<p>I was first generation too - many of the kids from my city went through ABC. I did not. I was recruited at my Jr. High by visiting Adcoms. So if ABC is not available, it will not limit the student from applying on their own. My daughter is starting BS in the fall and we did not go through ABC.</p>
<p>If your friend is just starting - be sure to do independent research. The internet has made it easier to do that. Then look at the percent diversity if this will be the child’s first exposure to a “majority” environment. It can be quite a culture shock. Some have a higher percentage of African Americans than others. My daughter doesn’t feel the need to “hang” exclusively with her peeps, but I felt more comfortable putting her in a school where she could be herself without explanations and where the student’s differences seemed “seamless” rather than tacked on to convince the rich parents the school was diverse (a situation with my oldest daughter’s local school).</p>
<p>Look at as many viewbooks and DVD’s as possible. It costs nothing to request them from schools. Personality of a school will help determine “fit.” This first site is a good place to start because you can compare school stats, look at photos, get links to the schools, </p>
<p>[Boarding</a> School Review - College-Prep & Jr. Boarding Schools](<a href=“http://www.boardingschoolreview.com/]Boarding”>http://www.boardingschoolreview.com/)</p>
<p>[The</a> Association of Boarding Schools - TABS](<a href=“http://www.boardingschools.com/]The”>http://www.boardingschools.com/)</p>
<p>You can then narrow down the choices. Ignore the student chatter on this discussion board - based on the tone, you’d think there were only a handful of schools worth applying to. However I will admit to reduced the stress on her teachers, my daughter limited herself to several schools in the Ten Schools cluster, plus one other outside of it.</p>
<p>[Ten</a> Schools Admission Organization](<a href=“http://www.tenschools.org/home/]Ten”>http://www.tenschools.org/home/)</p>
<p>Also, many adcoms travel to different regions, sometimes in groups. Sitting in on informational sessions will be helpful - they get to meet you, you get to ask questions.</p>
<p>Lastly, a parent on the board turned me on to Charity Navigator to look at financial health. I don’t know how up to date it is, but is was helpful for me to compare schools side by side:</p>
<p>[Charity</a> Navigator - America’s Largest Charity Evaluator | Home](<a href=“http://www.charitynavigator.org/]Charity”>http://www.charitynavigator.org/)</p>
<p>Make sure it is the daughter’s decision to apply not the parent’s. Boarding school is rough on kids who don’t want to be there, especially if it is a first exposure to that type of “culture.”</p>
<p>That is great advice-thank you! I will print it out and pass it on.</p>
<p>In Los Angeles there is a great organization called the Alliance.</p>