Private School Guru

This is a post I have been meaning to write for a very long time. I am constantly amazed at some of the things parents tell me about how things work in their house with their children. I see too many parents who tiptoe around their children, not wanting to upset them or make life uncomfortable for them. I am convinced this is why we have a proliferation of the snowflake culture among many young adults these days.

For those unfamiliar with the term, I define a snowflake as: “unique and special” but often melts under heat. Too many children are told how special and unique they are and they are never pushed to work hard and stretch themselves, and they are not allowed to fail. I see so many children who are terrified to fail. Failure is okay, we learn from our mistakes, what does not kill us makes us stronger.

As parents we do our children no favors by shielding them from the realities of life. There will be disappointments, there will be failure, we do not always win, we do not always get what we want, everything does not always go our way. It is how we react to these setbacks that define who we are, and that ultimately build our character.

I am always shocked when I hear parents say that they will leave the choice of private school up to their child. This is often a $40,000 plus a year choice. How is a 12 year old equipped to make that decision? Taking into account a child’s input and feelings about the schools is perfectly reasonable, but ultimately it should be the parent’s decision.

Parents will tell me that their children do not want to come to tutoring, and I understand that for some students the thought of tutoring is not a fun experience, but often it is for their own good. As in many relationships we have to pick our battles. Education is always a battle worth fighting.

In my house if I want my children to do something I spell out clearly why I want them to do it and why it will benefit them. If they do not see things my way, or at least agree to go along to get along then we talk about consequences. I control the purse strings and I am the chauffeur. If my children do not want to do what I think is best for them then I explain how life will become unpleasant for them, and I follow through. It is amazing how often this approach results in them seeing things my way.

Parents are not their child’s friend! I often say that if your child is angry with you then you are probably doing something right!

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

Today, April 10th is decision day for private schools. It is the day that families must pay their deposit to hold a seat for the fall. Some students are deciding between several schools (a nice problem to have). Other students have been wait listed and they are hoping that the school they want to attend will have a spot open for them this week.

What to do if you do not hear from the school this week?

If you do not hear from the school this week it is not likely that a spot will open up. Most schools will have gone to the wait list already prior to today, as they will have heard from some accepted students that they will be attending other schools. The schools will work quickly to offer openings to students on the wait list this week, and they will likely not have any changes in enrollment between now and back to school in the fall.

You will still remain on the wait list in the unlikely event that a spot opens between now and September, but given that every accepted student has paid their deposit, it is not likely that things will change between now and September.

So what do you do next?

You can try re-applying to the school for admission next year, or for the next year that is an entry point for the school. You do need to make sure that the second time around things are different, so that you do not get the same results again. Below are a list of areas to work on improving for a second application:

• Make sure your child is prepared for the entrance exam and they score as high as they can on the test. The higher a student’s score the better the chance of admission. Schools require these tests for a reason, and do not let anyone tell you that the test does not really matter – it does – at some schools it matters A LOT!!!!
• Your child should spend time getting to know the ins and outs of the school. Sign up for the school’s social media accounts, regularly check for school news on the school’s web site and attend school events open to the public (concerts, play and sporting events) to learn as much as possible about the school.
• Start preparing for the interview and make sure your child (and you) are prepared to wow them in the interview this time. Be very clear about why you want to attend the school and why the school is a good fit for your child.
• Look over the application and the essays that were submitted to see where there are areas for improvement. You cannot submit the same application and essays again. The answers to the application questions and the essays must show the student’s growth and a deeper appreciation for the school and their place at the school.

It is important to learn from the mistakes that were made the first time around so that you can get a better outcome 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 at: www.privateschoolguru.com/blog

Our results are in from our 2015/2016 test prep students. We have heard lots of good news from our ISEE, SSAT and HSPT test prep students this month! Over 90% of our students will be attending one of their top 2 schools this fall. Many of our students were awarded generous merit scholarships based on their solid test results.

Below is a list of the schools our students were admitted to:

Boston College High School
Boston Latin School
Boston Latin Academy
Brimmer and May School
Catholic Memorial School
John D. O’Bryant School
Mount Alvernia Academy
Newton Country Day School
Noble and Greenough School
Roxbury Latin School
Saint Sebastian’s School
Ursuline Academy
Winsor School
Xaverian Brothers School

Results are still coming in, so we expect this list to grow.

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/

Recently I met with a new client. The family contacted me after their child had been wait listed or received a rejection letter from every school they applied to for middle school admission. They requested a meeting with me to help them figure out where they went wrong and what they could do a second time around to improve their chances of admission.

It was clear to me after reviewing the child’s ISEE scores, the parent and student applications and essays, and the student’s transcripts where they had gone wrong. The student did very little to prepare for the test, and this was reflected in the scores. The applications and essays were lackluster, nothing stood out, and there were some clear no/nos in some of what was said.

The family asked me for references of clients I had worked with in the past who were in their current situation. I was able to come up with at least a half a dozen families who I had worked with in the past several years who had made similar mistakes (student was not prepared for the test, applications were so/so and there were some areas of the student’s application that need to be strengthened). In every case the students I worked with had much better results the second time around, and all of them are currently attending a top private school (some of them are even attending the school that had rejected them the first time they applied).

If a student is reapplying to the same school a second time, there needs to be a big change in their application in order for the school to change their mind and decide to accept the student. This is where test preparation and admission consulting make a big difference in changing the outcome for these students.

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”. – Albert Einstein

If you are ready to stop the insanity, give us a call!

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

Recently I just finished reading Small Admissions by Amy Poeppel. Below is a link to the book on Amazon.com:

https://www.amazon.com/Small-Admissions-Novel-Amy-Poeppel/dp/1501122525

Amy worked in admissions at a private NYC school. The book is a fictional account of private school admissions at a New York school. While the book is a work of fiction, many of the details are based on how the private school admissions process works. Many readers will find the conversations among the members of the admissions committee about the strength and weakness of applicants to be very enlightening.

From my 15 years of experience working with families on private school admissions and interviewing dozens of private school admissions directors about mistakes parents make in the process, I can say that this book is spot on in terms of what does and does not work.

I highly recommend this book to anyone embarking on the private school admissions process.

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

This is the time of year where I get LOTS of calls and e-mails from parents who are very disappointed (not with us or our services) but with the fact that they did not use us, and they did not get the results they wanted. Their child received a letter that said they were not admitted to the school they applied to, or they were wait listed.

We work with LOTS of families that did not get in the first time around, and then come to us and work on test prep and admissions consulting and they get much better results the second time around. We are big on education – both for our students and parents. Below are the top 10 mistakes we see parents making as part of this process. Hopefully, you can avoid being one of the families that is disappointed this time next year!

1. Getting a late start.  Ideally parents should start researching and visiting schools at least a year before they plan to apply (two years before the student would enter a new private school).  The process is daunting, and it takes time to research schools, determine which schools are a good fit for your child, and prepare your child for the test.  Often parents see their child’s peers applying to private school and they jump on the bandwagon at the last minute, not wanting to be left behind.  These families usually do not have a good outcome.
2. Picking a school for the wrong reasons.  The school may have a great reputation, it may be one of the “top” schools in the area, a large percentage of the school’s graduates many go on to attend Ivy League schools, neighbors and friends may send their children to the school, etc.  This does not mean that the school is a good fit for your child.  Be realistic about your child’s strengths and weaknesses, and what they need.  Trying to fit a square peg in a round hole is not going to work.
3. Applying to too many schools.  Many parents do not do enough research, and they have not narrowed down the list of schools they plan to apply to, and the process becomes unmanageable.  Applying to eight schools is a quick way to drive you and your child crazy.  It is a lot of work.  Chances are these schools are very different from one another, and several are not a good fit for your child.  If you get an early start and do your research you should have a manageable list of schools to apply to (3-4 at most).
4. Setting the child up to fail.  Parents can sometimes be unrealistic about their child’s chances of gaining admission to some very competitive schools.  These schools are not a good fit for their child, but they insist on applying anyway.  They have no “safety” school or “likely” school on their list, only “stretch” schools.  Their child receives a handful of rejection letters and no acceptance letters.  This demoralizes the child, and they feel that they have failed, and that no school wants them.  This is not a good situation to be in, and I suggest avoiding this at all costs.
5. Picking a school based on sports or other activities.  Your child is going to school to get an education, not to specialize in a sport or an activity.  Students who play a sport in middle school may no longer stick with this sport through high school.  Many parents believe that if their child is successful playing a sport they will receive a scholarship in college.  The chances a child will be offered a scholarship in college for athletics is very low.  According to the National Alliance for Youth Sports, the chances of your child being offered an athletic scholarship is less than 1%.
6. Thinking that a private school is a good fit for a child with special needs.  There are some private schools that are geared towards educating students with special needs, but most private schools are not set up to adequately assist students with special needs.  Many parents believe that since private schools have smaller class sizes and offer more personal attention that they will be able to meet their child’s special needs.  Often this is not the case.  Be honest with the schools about your child’s needs.  The schools will tell you what they can and cannot accommodate.  It is best to be upfront about this during the applications process so that you are not trying to find a new school for your child because the school was not able to meet their needs.
7. Not preparing the child for the test.  The private school admissions tests are quite challenging.  The material is often beyond grade level.  It is very rare that a child can take the test with no preparation and score at the top level (which is what many elite private schools like to see).  Often the math topics are 1-2 years ahead of where most public and private school students are working at their current school.  Students who are strong readers tend to do better on the verbal sections of the test.  Most students can benefit from preparation for the essay, given that they are required to write the essay in a tight timeframe.  Many parents mistakenly think that because their child is doing well in school that the test will be easy for them.  This is often not the case.  The more familiar the test is to the student, and the more practice they have with the material, the better they will do on the test.  Don’t make the mistake of sending your child off to take the test with little or no preparation.
8. Trying to pull strings to get the child into a private school.  Many parents are looking for “a leg up” in the admissions process.  A question parents often ask is if they should have their friends, neighbors and/or colleagues who have a relationship with a private school write a recommendation letter for their child.  When this question was posed to admissions staff they almost unanimously agreed that parents should only submit recommendations from people who know the student very well.  If the only exposure the person writing the letter has to your child is seeing your child’s picture on your desk at work, then do not have them write a letter on behalf of your child.
9. Not asking for financial aid if it is really needed.  Many families are afraid to ask for financial aid when they apply, as they think this will reduce their chances of being accepted to a private school.  Most private schools are not “needs blind”.  They cannot afford to meet 100% of the financial aid needs of the students they would like to admit.  Parents need to be honest about their need for financial aid.  Some parents believe that if they do not ask for aid the first year, they can apply for aid once their student is enrolled for subsequent years.  This is a false assumption.  Schools budget financial aid by class.  Many schools will send you a letter if you do not request financial aid the first year, explaining that only a major change in circumstances (generally a job loss or a death in the family) will make families eligible for aid.  Don’t put yourself in a position where you have to take your child out of a school they love because of financial issues.
10. Inundating the admissions office with information about the child.  Some parents believe that if they provide the admissions staff with as much information as possible it will increase the chances that their child will be admitted.  This strategy can backfire.  There is a saying in admissions: “The thicker the folder the thicker the kid.”  Don’t send material that is not requested.  Videos of student performances, student papers, copies of awards, numerous letters of recommendation, and other material parents may want to submit to try to impress the admissions staff are generally not necessary.  The interview is a good time to highlight these accomplishments.

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/

After a busy admissions season I am back!

We have received lots of good news this weekend from clients letting us know that their child was accepted to their first choice school! Congratulations to all our students. We wish you the best at your new schools this fall. Hard work does pay off!

What do you do if your child has been wait listed at their top choice school? Keep in mind that most private schools have way more applicants than they do seats, and they have to prioritize who they feel will be a good fit for their school. Most times when a school wait lists a students it is because the student did not make the initial cut off.

The best thing to do to increase the chances that your child will move off the wait list and be offered a seat is to remind the school that you are still interested, and reiterate that the school is still your first choice. We suggest that both the parent and the student write a letter to the admission director. The letter should reiterate why the student is a good fit for the school, and point out how the student will contribute to the school.

Our clients have been very successful in the past when they have written letters to the school that had wait listed them.  Not everyone who is wait listed is offered a spot at the school. It is important to stand out and make sure the school knows that you are still interested.

The best way to make sure your child is not wait listed is to make sure that every part of the applicant is as strong as possible, and you and your child are very clear about why the school is a good fit, and how you will contribute to the school.

Sometimes it is possible to re-apply for admission to a school the following year if the student does not make it off the wait list, however, the application the second time around must be much stronger than the first time.

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

Applicant one:

• Starts preparing for the entrance exams a few months ahead of time and is overwhelmed by the advanced math, vocabulary and reading comprehension on the test.
• Does not spend much time researching the school(s) they are applying to for admission, and only knows that they are “good schools” because someone told them so.
• Is not sure what questions will be asked at the interview and is not prepared for some of the questions asked at the interview.
• Does not spend a lot of time working on the application questions and essays, and provides very generic answers.

Applicant two:

• Starts preparing for the entrance exam 9-12 months prior to the test and builds skills in math, vocabulary, reading comprehension and writing. This applicant also learns the tricks of the test and how to avoid these pitfalls. Applicant two learns many strategies for how to tackle different question types and practices these techniques until they are second nature. This student goes into the test confident and prepared.
• Researches the schools in depth and learns about the classes offered, sports programs, and clubs at the school. This applicant researches the history of the school, what makes the school special, the types of students who attend the school and the school philosophy. With this knowledge, the applicant can begin to see where they fit in this school and what interests them about the school.
• Practices for the interview and knows what types of questions will be asked. The applicant is ready with answers to the most common questions asked at the interview. They are ready to demonstrate what they know about the school, why they want to attend the school, and they can articulate why they are a good fit for the school. They have also researched the school and prepared some questions to ask at the interview that shows they have a good understanding of the school and how it operates.
• Spends a good amount of time answering the questions on the application and crafting thoughtful essays that illustrate why the student is a good fit for the school, and explaining how they will contribute to making the school community a better place.

Which applicant do you think is more likely to be offered admission to the schools of their choice?

Students who work with us to prepare for the test, and work with Ms. Anne on admission consulting stand out in the admissions process. Admission directors often comment on how impressed they were with our applicants. As we always say: “The better prepared, 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

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