Accommodated Testing as Part of the Private School Admission Process

Advice for Athletes Applying to Independent Boarding Schools

For student-athletes, the dream of competing at a high level while pursuing academic excellence can be a reality at independent boarding schools. However, the admissions process for these schools can be competitive, and athletes need to showcase their skills, achievements, and dedication to both academics and sports.

You are considering attending an independent private boarding school as a student-athlete. Perhaps you’ve even been encouraged to apply to one or more schools because of your athletic ability. While your family and the admission staff at the schools will help you through the process of applying, remember that you still have your work cut out for you.

You must complete the steps required of all applicants in a timely manner. You should express genuine interest in the school’s athletic program. And most importantly, it is your job to learn as much as you can about each school to be sure that it would be a good fit for you, not only in terms of athletics but overall.

Here are some tips for you and your family as you apply to independent schools and consider your options.

The Admissions Timeline

Ideally, you’ll begin researching and visiting schools in the fall, or about a year before you plan to enroll. While applications are most commonly due in January, it takes time before then to complete any standardized tests and submit the required transcripts and recommendations.

Make sure you and your family have in hand

From time to time, publications ask us why parents would consider sending their children to boarding school as opposed to leaving them in public school. What follows are my answers to some questions that were recently posed to me. I hope that you find my answers helpful as you weigh the pros and cons of sending your child to boarding school.

1. Why should you consider sending your child to a boarding school, instead of to one of the many private day schools and charter schools in the area?

In a perfect world, most of us parents would decide to send our children to schools that meet all or most of our requirements and needs. When you are fortunate enough to live in an area that has good public schools, then it makes sense to comparison shop carefully. Tune out any prejudices you may have about any kind of school, and try as much as possible to compare apples to apples.

For example, if your child has special needs, you need to look carefully at the quality of instruction that she will receive in order to continue enjoying learning. Boarding schools that offer programs for students with special needs tend to do a good job simply because they offer plenty of individual instruction from experienced, credentialled teachers. The other advantage they have is that most, if not all of their students have some special need of one kind or another. Boarding schools that specialize in learning disabilities such

Spotlight on Sports

I have assembled this spotlight on sports in boarding schools so that parents and prospective students can explore the incredible variety of athletics that boarding schools offer.

• As I have pointed out many times, participating in sports is not optional in boarding school.
• Athletics are one part of a comprehensive program most boarding schools adopt to educate the whole child in mind, body and spirit.

What do you do if your child is not athletically inclined?

• Don't worry. Boarding schools are accustomed to students with just about every background you can think of.
• Your child will surprise you after a few weeks at school by exclaiming, "Mommy! I love sprinting!"

If you live within driving distance of her school, even better.

• You can attend games. We used to enjoy driving up to the old girls' campus of Kent School on Skiff Mountain to watch our daughter play field hockey.
• The toughest issue with boarding school athletics that your child will encounter is which ones to select.

Crew

Sixty-nine schools offer crew. Most schools assume that their students have never rowed before. As a result, they offer a solid grounding in the sport combined with all the ergonomic requirements.

Groton School, Groton, MA
"Since Groton’s founding in 1884, rowing has been a prominent sport. Girls began to row as soon as the school became coed in 1976. Groton rows in 4 person shells with a coxswain to steer the boat

All About Schools with Riding Programs

Does your son or daughter ride? Are you considering finding a private school that will suit your academic requirements and your child's penchant for riding?

After all, your daughter began riding in seventh grade. One of your neighbors had a small stable with a couple of horses. She had ridden professionally years ago. Now that she was retired, she had taken on a few riding students and was showing them how to ride and take care of the horses. Your daughter has participated in several shows and loves riding. So, it makes sense to find a school that will allow her to enjoy her riding and give her the college preparatory academic curriculum that she needs.

A quick search of Boarding School Review for schools offering equestrian programs yielded a list of 67 schools. After you filter that list for location, religion, and size, as well as any other criteria that matter to you, you can come up with a short list of schools to visit and evaluate. In the meantime, let's look at ten of the schools in my search results so that you can get an idea of what is available. We will inspect schools that have their own equestrian facilities as opposed to schools that offer riding programs based at a local stable not located on campus.

Chatham Hall School, Chatham, Virginia

I personally always thought that the Litchfield Hills in Connecticut are as beautiful