As summer winds down we are hearing from students who have procrastinated about doing their summer homework. Math packets and summer reading are waiting to be completed, and with less than two weeks to go for most students panic is setting in. While students may procrastinate with their summer homework, parents also put off their summer homework.
For parents who have students applying to private school in the fall their summer homework is to finalize the list of schools they will be applying to in the fall. I just spoke to a parent who is planning to apply to private school this fall, and when I asked her what schools she is planning to apply to for her child she listed almost 10 schools. Applying to 10 schools is not advisable. We suggest that families apply to 5 schools at most.
The work alone involved in applying to 10 schools is enormous. This family will have to attend 10 open houses, fill out 10 applications, write 20-30 essays, schedule 10 interviews, etc. All this work will need to be done in a span of a few short months.
Parents should begin researching schools a full two years before the student will attend the school. The first year is when parents should make a list of potential schools, and plan to visit the open houses and attend events at the school to get a feel for the culture of the school. Parents should also research web sites to get a sense of the curriculum, activities and philosophy of the school. This is an ideal time to talk to parents who have children at these schools to find out what they like and what they do not like about the school.
The second year is when the list should be honed and parents should rank the schools based on their preference. This second year is the year that parents will be applying, so repeat visits to the open house is required, and the work begins in earnest on the applications and essays. It is important for parents and students to be able to articulate why the school is a good fit for the student. It is hard to articulate why a school is a good fit if you just started your research and you have 10 schools on your list!
Do your homework and you will be rewarded! Don’t procrastinate and leave things to the last minute. The better prepared families are as they go through this process, the better the outcome.
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 at: www.privateschoolguru.com/blog