The old adage: “If at first you don’t succeed, try again” is very applicable to the private school admissions process.
If you received bad news this weekend in your mailbox or inbox from private schools, in most cases you can try again next year, but next time you need to be better prepared. Here are some steps you can take to be better prepared the second time around:
- Make sure your child is well prepared for the test. Most of our students start test prep at least a year before their test date.
- Be realistic about the schools that are a good fit for your child, both academically and socially.
- You and your child should be prepped for the interview. Work on your mock interview prep.
- Teacher recommendations need to be stellar. If your child is not already practicing teacher pleasing behaviors, then they need to start doing so ASAP. Poor teacher recommendations can sink an otherwise stellar application, and you will never know this, because most private schools ask that the teacher recommendations be sent directly to them, and they ask you to sign a waiver saying you have no right to see them. This encourages teachers to be honest about the student they are evaluating.
- Make sure your child is well rounded and has an athletic (preferably a team sport) interest, a musical interest, and an artistic interest (visual arts, theater, etc.).
- Engage your child in community service and giving back to the less fortunate among us.
- Work on your applications and essays well in advance of the deadlines, and make sure they have lots of good stories about your child, they demonstrate why the school is a good fit for your child, and they include proper grammar, spelling and punctuation.
- Have a positive attitude throughout the process.
Most of the time when a student is not admitted to a private school, there is a problem in one of the above (or several of the above) areas.
People who fail to plan by default plan to fail.
Don’t plan to fail the next time around!
Anne Yount Boston ISEE Prep 617-553-8083 www.bostoniseeprep.com - Test Prep for the ISEE & Latin School Exam Boston Tutoring Center 617-553-8083 www.bostontutoringcenter.com - Tutoring Grades K-12 Boston Private School Search 617-553-0540 www.bostonprivateschoolsearch.com - Your Resource for Private School Admissions Follow my Blog - http://privateschoolguru.com/blog/