Application Components

Editor's Note: I am most grateful to Kate Fisher, who is an expert in admissions essays with Noodle Pros, for explaining how to handle the inevitable essay portion of your child's private school admissions application. ~Rob

If your child is applying to a private middle school or high school, he or she will likely have to write an admissions essay. It is important to remember that this is not a college admissions essay, which means that the standards used to assess your child’s writing ability are lower. However, this also means that it’s much easier for admissions officers to quickly identify essays that a parent, teacher, or tutor has had too heavy a hand in.

It is extremely difficult to disguise adult involvement in an essay that is supposed to be written by a child applying to middle school or high school. You may feel uncomfortable allowing your child to submit his or her essay without reading it over. If you choose to help him or her by proofreading or editing it, remember to make sure the language, syntax, and sentence structure remain age-appropriate. No private school admissions officer expects a rising sixth grader to write as well as an award-winning novelist, let alone a college-educated adult.

The best way to ensure the success of your child’s admissions essay is to show how to choose the right essay. Most private schools ask applicants to choose one prompt from a list of several. Helping your child

Getting into your dream private high school requires careful planning, determination, and preparation. Suppose you're a teenager who values good academics, robust sports programs, and exciting extracurricular activities. In that case, this article will guide you through the essential steps to increase your chances of admission to your dream school. Let's dive in!

1. Research and Identify Your Dream School

Begin by researching different private high schools in your area that align with your academic, sports, and extracurricular preferences. Consider location, reputation, curriculum, facilities, and student life to narrow your choices.

2. Understand Admission Requirements

Thoroughly examine the admission requirements of your dream school. Check if it has any specific academic prerequisites, standardized test score expectations, recommendation letters, or portfolio submissions. Understanding those requirements will help you plan your high school journey accordingly.

3. Build a Strong Academic Foundation

Focus on maintaining excellent grades throughout middle school. Private high schools typically consider academic performance as a crucial criterion for admission. Therefore, aim for consistently high grades and challenge yourself with advanced courses whenever possible.

This video offers an overview of Westchester Country Day School in High Point, North Carolina.

4. Prepare for Standardized Tests

Many private high schools require standardized test scores as part of the admission process. Familiarize yourself with the required exams, such as the SSAT or ISEE, and create a study plan. Consider taking test prep courses,

In Why Should I Admit Your Child? I looked at the admissions process from the school's perspective. We discovered that schools were looking for specific criteria in their applicant pool. They wanted to make sure that any student they admitted was capable of doing the academic work. They also wanted to make sure that applicants would be a good fit for the school.

Now let's turn the tables and look at the question from a parent's point of view. There are many specific reasons why you would want to send your child to a particular school. You also want to make sure that the school is a good fit for your child. Let's examine the principal items on your school selection bucket list.

The school offers the amount of financial aid I require.

For most of us, financial aid is at the top of the list. It is a top concern when it comes to selecting a private school. Whether you need everything paid for or just a bit of help to make attending private school viable for you and your family, you need to calculate the amount of aid you need. Then be very clear with the schools which you have on your shortlist precisely what your financial requirements are.

Laura Volovski explains what is involved in asking for financial aid.

Completing the Parents' Financial Statement as soon as you can

Recommendations from your child's current head of school or principal, or guidance counselor are an important component in your child's private school admissions portfolio. Why? Because they give the admissions staff an assessment of both your child's abilities and her accomplishments by someone who has actually taught her. Strong recommendations from professionals who know your child can make a difference. So can weak recommendations. Professional recommendations made by a private school employee are confidential. You will probably never see what the head of school wrote about your child. Neither will the admissions staff reveal that information.

On the other hand, professional recommendations made by a public school employee are a different matter which I shall explain below.

While this video approaches recommendations from a college applications perspective, much of it applies to the private school admissions process.

Are there special forms to be used?

Recommendation forms are typically completed and submitted by your child's current principal or head or guidance counselor directly to the admissions departments of the schools to which your child is applying. As noted at the beginning of this article, they are an important part of the application process.

These recommendations should be handled according to each school's very specific instructions. They are the evidence the school needs to substantiate all oral or written statements about your child. These documents are not hearsay or anecdotal. They are professional opinions and records the

Why should they admit your child? Admissions to a private school is not a beauty contest. Neither is it a foregone conclusion that just because she offers most if not all of the things the school is looking for that your child will get in. With that in mind let's examine some of the things a private school admissions director will be reviewing and considering when he reviews your child's admissions folder.

1. Your child's file is complete.

While you would think this is simply common sense, there are many parents who leave things to the very last minute. If we have a deadline posted for the submission of applications, we have it posted for a reason. Yes, we are aware that some of the schools to which you are applying do not have admissions deadlines. They have rolling admissions. Each private school sets its own admissions requirements and deadlines. It is your responsibility to keep track of those requirements and deadlines.

Failure to meet the application deadlines without a really good, compelling reason will generally mean that we will put your child's file in the incomplete category. In other words, we cannot make any decision until we have everything in the file. Test scores. Teacher recommendations. Academic transcripts. The complete application. The works. All applicants are treated in the same way.

2. We met you and your child.

Whenever it is practical, we expect you and your child to visit the school. We want to meet you.