Getting into Private School

When applying to private schools, you will find two kinds of admissions at American schools: admissions with a fixed deadline and rolling admissions. Let's look at rolling admissions and how they compare with admissions with fixed deadlines.

What is rolling admissions?

Rolling admissions refers to a school's practice of accepting applications within an admissions application window and acting on them within a couple of weeks or months, as opposed to waiting until a fixed deadline.

How does rolling admissions work?

Let's assume the rolling admissions window opens on September 1. You could submit your completed application on September 2 and expect to have a decision back from the school within a time frame from two weeks to two months. At a school with a fixed deadline for admissions, you could submit your application on September 2 but not hear whether your child had been accepted until sometime in March, assuming the fairly common January 31 deadline.

Professor Allen Grove explains the various kinds of admissions in great detail. This is a longish but in-depth video that is well worth bookmarking for later viewing.

Many schools with rolling admissions have a priority deadline. It would be wise for you to submit your application before that deadline. Once all the places are filled, applications from candidates who would otherwise have been accepted will go on a waitlist.

Which schools use rolling admissions?

Many private schools use rolling

The documentation required by international or non-United States students has always been extensive. As I have pointed out many times, if you are not an American citizen and are living outside the United States of America, and you wish to attend a boarding school in the U.S., you need to start the process at least 18 months in advance of the date of your first class. See the College Application Timeline on International Student for a detailed timeline. While the article discusses how to apply to American universities, the process is the same for students applying to American private K-12 schools

Additional documentation

What is being adhered to more strictly is a policy which dates back to the Obama administration. This policy requires that applicants for U.S. visas furnish their social media usernames. U.S. Requiring Social Media Information From Visa Applicants in the New York Times gives an overview of the changes. An update to the Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records was published on September 18, 2017. Specifically, it adds the following clause: "Social media handles and aliases, associated identifiable information, and search results"

This video discusses how the US Border Patrol now requires all immigrants to provide social media logins and passwords, phone records going back 5 years, and other details.

How does this impact your child's student visa application?

The SSAT is probably unlike any test your student has ever taken. That’s because it’s designed to find the best students in a large pool of excellent students. The SSAT’s questions are significantly different—in their difficulty and their content—from questions on other standardized tests, to the point that your student isn’t even expected to know everything that’s on the test! This means that, in order for your student to have the best chance at getting a score that’ll help them get admitted to their school of choice, they’ll need to prepare for the test.

There are a lot of test prep options out there, from tutoring, to books, to online services. We’ve compiled a list of 5 of the best test prep options we’ve found. But first, here are some things to consider before choosing a prep solution:

• How does your student learn best? Some students learn best in a self-paced program where they are in control, while others may benefit from the more rigid prep plan that a tutor or a class can provide.
• Where are you now, and where do you want to go? It’s important to have an idea of your student’s score goals, and to know where they stand at the beginning of the preparation process. That means taking a full-length test that provides scores and quality feedback, and comparing that performance to where they need to be. If you don’t know what score your student needs to aim for, check out the

There are many reasons why a private, independent, or boarding school could be the best option for your student. They typically offer thrilling academic challenges, extensive STEM or arts programs, or other remarkable resources. Their student-teacher ratios are excellent, and faculty may have advanced academic degrees and strong professional reputations. While only about 10 percent of students attend private schools nationwide, private school admissions are selective and competitive.

To help distinguish applicants, private schools use standardized testing. The admissions process, especially for those migrating from public to private, can be an eye-opening experience. The Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE) and Secondary School Admissions Exam (SSAT) are the most commonly used admissions tests for private, independent, and boarding schools. The High School Placement Test (HSPT) is often used by Catholic schools for entrance into grade 9.

The ISEE and SSAT are long multiple-choice tests lasting 2-3 hours and potentially covering above-grade-level content. For the 4^th grader applying to private middle school, this might be the first time they have undergone two hours of solid testing with only one or two short breaks. The best starting point is always to have your student take a full-length diagnostic test. It’s important to know where your child is starting from so that you can help them get to where they need to be.

This video offers an overview of the ISEE private school standardized admissions test.

Admission to a private school is a process with many components to it. Both the process and its many components can be confusing to parents dealing with private school admissions for the first time. So, I devised this article as a hub that includes all my articles describing the private school admissions process.

The Overview

Admissions to Private School: A-Z puts all the information you need to navigate the private school admissions process in one convenient place. Whether you are just beginning or have been through this before, you will find help and advice to guide you. Admissions 101 offers an overview of the private school admissions process and the steps needed to find the right private school for your child. Admissions Checklist will keep you on track as you work through the private school admissions process. Essentially it takes the points covered in the previous two articles and formats them into an easy-to-follow checklist.

5 Challenges To Getting Your Child Into Private School

If you are good at organizing projects, the challenges involved in getting your child into private school will not seem especially daunting. Bear in mind that this project will stretch over eighteen months or more.

Play the Hand You Have Been Dealt

In this article, I am suggesting that you need to be objective as you decide which schools will be on your shortlist. Card games such as Bridge and Solitaire with multiple decks of cards fascinate me. I have