How to Get Into a Boarding School
Get Good Grades., Make Sure You Are Prepared to Take the SSAT., Do Extracurricular activities: A majority of the applicants will have nearly perfect grades and SSAT scores, so you need to find something to set you apart., Track your Achievements...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Get Good Grades.
It's important to get good grades all through middle school, many of the top boarding schools (tenschools.org) require straight-A's (or very close to it). -
Step 2: Make Sure You Are Prepared to Take the SSAT.
If your SSAT scores aren't great, it will really hurt you.
Most schools expect you to have pretty good scores and if yours aren't, they might not even read the rest of your application.
To make sure you are prepared, purchase a SSAT book at the bookstore or online and take practice tests.
If you aren't satisfied with your scores on the practice tests, figure out which problems were tough and make sure you understand why you missed them and have somebody, like parents or older siblings, help explain them to you. , Your extracurricular activities could include sports, clubs, teams, etc. , Some schools ask for these on the application and if you have been keeping a list for the last couple of years, it makes it easier when you need to show them.
Remember to include why you won it and the specifics. , For your community service, you don't have to do something clichéd like working at the local soup kitchen.
Instead, it will help you more to have done community service like teaching soccer to the local kids for free (if soccer is one of your strong points) or if you are really into science, then maybe set up a science fair for the local elementary school. , Think carefully about the topics that are being asked, and come up with answers that highlight your skills or some of your other traits that you want to make sure that the admissions officers see.
In your essays it can be a great chance for your to talk about some things that they didn't ask for on other parts of the application.
For example, you might want to talk about a hike that you spent a year training for but you couldn't include it in extracurricular activities.
Another tricky part of the application can be if they ask you about your biggest flaw or something of the sort.
Rather than actually talk about your problematic areas, find something that will seem like flaw but really emphasizes some of your better qualities.
For example, Sometimes I try to do to many activities.
This can be viewed as a problem, but it also shows that you like trying new things and being involved. , Some common questions are books you read recently, favorite subject, why you want to go to boarding school, what do you see yourself doing in 20 years, etc.
It is also important to dress nicely, look your interviewer in the eye, introduce yourself, and make sure to thank them afterward. -
Step 3: Do Extracurricular activities: A majority of the applicants will have nearly perfect grades and SSAT scores
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Step 4: so you need to find something to set you apart.
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Step 5: Track your Achievements: Keep a detailed list of awards that you have won in the past couple of years.
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Step 6: Provide Community Service: It's important to show that you help other people in the community also.
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Step 7: Write good Essays on the Applications: Spend lots of time on the essays!
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Step 8: Interview: If you interview as part of your application
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Step 9: make sure you practice answering questions that might be asked.
Detailed Guide
It's important to get good grades all through middle school, many of the top boarding schools (tenschools.org) require straight-A's (or very close to it).
If your SSAT scores aren't great, it will really hurt you.
Most schools expect you to have pretty good scores and if yours aren't, they might not even read the rest of your application.
To make sure you are prepared, purchase a SSAT book at the bookstore or online and take practice tests.
If you aren't satisfied with your scores on the practice tests, figure out which problems were tough and make sure you understand why you missed them and have somebody, like parents or older siblings, help explain them to you. , Your extracurricular activities could include sports, clubs, teams, etc. , Some schools ask for these on the application and if you have been keeping a list for the last couple of years, it makes it easier when you need to show them.
Remember to include why you won it and the specifics. , For your community service, you don't have to do something clichéd like working at the local soup kitchen.
Instead, it will help you more to have done community service like teaching soccer to the local kids for free (if soccer is one of your strong points) or if you are really into science, then maybe set up a science fair for the local elementary school. , Think carefully about the topics that are being asked, and come up with answers that highlight your skills or some of your other traits that you want to make sure that the admissions officers see.
In your essays it can be a great chance for your to talk about some things that they didn't ask for on other parts of the application.
For example, you might want to talk about a hike that you spent a year training for but you couldn't include it in extracurricular activities.
Another tricky part of the application can be if they ask you about your biggest flaw or something of the sort.
Rather than actually talk about your problematic areas, find something that will seem like flaw but really emphasizes some of your better qualities.
For example, Sometimes I try to do to many activities.
This can be viewed as a problem, but it also shows that you like trying new things and being involved. , Some common questions are books you read recently, favorite subject, why you want to go to boarding school, what do you see yourself doing in 20 years, etc.
It is also important to dress nicely, look your interviewer in the eye, introduce yourself, and make sure to thank them afterward.
About the Author
Grace Phillips
Committed to making creative arts accessible and understandable for everyone.
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