The Admissions Process

The independent school admissions process varies greatly from one school to another. There is, however, one critical requirement that is truly universal--the interview. Students who apply to an independent school for admission to grades 6-12 are required to meet with an admissions officer in a one-on-one or small group setting. You worry as a parent that your child simply can’t have the maturity or know-how to converse in the manner required with a strange adult who is lobbing questions at your child. Yes, this can be anxiety-producing for even the most savvy-minded parent. But, I’d like to help reframe your thinking on the admissions interview.

In this video a director of admissions explains how the interview process works.

A Window into Your Child's Personality

The interview offers an admissions committee a window into your child’s personality--his or her academic and extra-curricular interests, unique passions, and other skills that matter to your son or daughter. Keep in mind that the interview can be as short as 10 minutes for a younger child and up to 45 for the high school candidate. The interviewer is focused on evaluating your child’s academic potential and overall personality by engaging them in a guided conversation that centers on your child’s current school experience, particular strengths--academic, as well as, athletic, artistic, service, leadership, and other special interests.

It may help to think of the interview as a detailed conversation for your child

Selecting schools that fit your needs and requirements takes much time and effort. However, once that part of the process of choosing a school is finished, you need to focus on the admissions processes for the three to five schools that you have selected. Use this admissions checklist to keep you and your child on track. There is much detail, plenty of forms to fill out, and a standardized admissions test to prepare for.

Testing

I have put admissions testing at the top of my checklist simply because it needs as much advance preparation as your child can give it. While standardized admissions tests are just one of several tools that the admissions professionals at each school will use to assess your child, they are an important part of the assessment process. Most schools use the SSAT and ISEE. But there are other tests out there as well. Review the admissions requirements carefully once you have narrowed your choice of schools to the magic three to five number. With luck, you will discover that all the schools on your list use the same test. That will simplify matters enormously for both you and your child.

This video offers some tips for taking the SSAT.

If, on the other hand, you end up with two or possibly three different tests, you will have those additional test registrations to schedule, register, and pay for. Scheduling works

Have you ever wondered...

Why a private school doesn't have to tell you why it refused your child admission?

Private schools do not have to accept applicants who do not meet their specific admissions criteria. Each private school has its own unique admissions criteria. Each school reviews its own applicant pool. Each school makes its own decisions completely independent of what any other school may decide. There is no appeal process once that decision is made. Neither does the school have to tell you why it made the decision it did. One way of 'reading the tea leaves' as it were is to hire an educational consultant. Her long experience with and knowledge of schools and their admissions process will generally be most helpful.

What happens if your kid gets caught breaking the rules?

This question is important. Unlike public schools where there is due process and something called student rights, private schools are governed by contract law. You and the school signed a contract covering the various terms and conditions of your child's stay at the school. While it may seem like a lot of fine print and legal language, it is there for a purpose: to protect the school. Read your contract carefully and understand that the school may discipline your child for breaking school rules. Depending on how serious the infraction is, the punishment could include expulsion.

This video offers a testimonial about Solomon Schecter School.

No, this is not an article about card games. But the reality is that getting your child into private school requires a similar mindset. You must play the hand which you have been dealt. The admissions staff will review the facts in your child's dossier. Not the "might have been" or the "wish they were". As you prepare your child's applications for private school, pay attention to the areas listed below. If you are just starting to think about private school as an option, then focus on these four areas of your child's profile with the goal of presenting her in the best possible light when it comes time apply to private school.

Academics

Since the school needs to know whether your child can do the academic work, it is very important that her academic transcripts and teacher recommendations address her mastery of core subjects such as English and mathematics. Transcripts, teacher recommendations, and test scores ideally should indicate the same thing: that your child can handle the academic work at the schools to which you are applying. An occasional lower grade is OK as long as the transcripts and teacher comments indicate that the issue which caused the low grade in the first place has been dealt with and remediated.

This video offers an overview of life at Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts.

Deficiencies? Less than stellar test scores? A score of C in

If you are good at organizing projects, the challenges involved in getting your child into private school will not seem especially daunting. The timeline for the process has some rather elastic sections. They can take a lot of time or can be foreshortened depending on your requirements. For example, if you already have a pretty good idea of what kind of school you want, you will save time. Ditto if you actually have identified a couple of specific schools. That being said, I want you to be aware of at least five challenges I have identified when choosing a private school for your child.

Let's look at five of the challenges facing you.

1. Choosing the right school

Choosing the right school is probably the most time-consuming challenge. It can be as easy as surfing the Web and identifying three to five schools right out of the gate. You can take advantage of this shortcut when you have decided that your child will attend one of the local day schools in your community.

But if you are thinking about boarding school, the choices multiply almost exponentially. There are hundreds of schools to choose from. There are dozens of schools to consider seriously. So, how do you narrow the field in this instance? You do it by making a list of your requirements and systematically checking the boxes until you have a list of schools that matches or come close to matching your specific requirements.

If you can