Uniforms and Dress Codes

Many people find the admissions process to private schools intimidating, confusing, complicated and, perhaps, a tad invasive. "Why do they have to know so much about me?" is the question which keeps popping up as you peruse all those admissions materials.

The truth is that admission is more than test scores and a faultless transcript. The school wants to get to know you as much as possible. Who are you? What subjects do you like? What sports do you enjoy? What is your favorite pastime? Behind all those recommendations and test scores is a real person with dreams, aspirations and hopes. A private school wants to encourage you and help you be all you can be.

The other thing which the admissions staff looks for is the fit. Are you a good fit for their school? Can you do the academic work? Will you be a congenial member of the school community? Yes, those are the same questions which you and your parents have been asking as you evaluate schools. Your admissions profile offers the school a fairly complete picture of you, your academic strengths and weaknesses, the sports you like, your hobbies, and so on.

While this video describes a college admissions profile, private school admissions profiles are very similar.

What Are They Looking for?

The admissions staff are not looking for geniuses or stars. If you have good math grades and think

Many students find that a PG or Post Graduate year is a wonderful solution to several situations. Perhaps they feel that they are a little young to go off to college. As Kim Chorosiewski points out, a PG year offers time to grow and develop without taking a year off. Maybe they want to perfect a sport or artistic activity. A PG year offers a well-focussed span of time in which to accomplish that perfecting. A PG year also offers a chance to remediate any small gaps you might have in your high school transcript. Or maybe you just want a year before you head off for five years of pre-med or bio-kinetic science. The PG year can suit a variety of purposes.

The PG Year is sometimes referred to as a Gap Year or a year off. Implicit in either description from my point of view is the fact that a PG Year is a structured program of study, not simply a year off where you sit around and do absolutely nothing. Over one hundred private day and boarding schools offer PG Years. It will be worthwhile to explore a couple of programs to see if they fit your requirements.

When you are in high school, there is obviously a big push to complete your academic studies with the best results possible in order to get into the college you want to attend after high school. A gap year gives you an extra year to

You have spent many hours selecting schools online. Some of the schools' websites were so good that you almost felt as though you had explored every corner of their campuses. You watched videos of classes, sports, and extracurricular activities. So, what more could you possibly need to know about the schools? After all, you have identified three or four to which you want to apply. That's the next step in the process, right? Not exactly. The next step is for you to visit those three or four schools on your shortlist. You really have to set foot on each campus. The schools will insist on meeting you and your child in person.

Here is an example of what I am talking about. This excellent video presents Shattuck-St. Mary's School in Faribault, Minnesota, and its fine campus and programs in the best light possible. But you still need to visit the school and truly experience all it has to offer.

Visit schools on your shortlist

Don't skip visiting the schools on your shortlist. Why? Because you need to inspect the campuses yourself. It's like buying a house or renting an apartment. A website and a video will not show you what you really need to see. Professionally done photo galleries and videos are no substitute for experiencing the school. All of those videos and photos are produced and positioned to present the school precisely

Once you have agreed on a short list of schools to visit, you need to call and make arrangements for The Interview. Typically this will take place while you visit the school. What is involved?

Almost every school wants to meet candidates for admission. The admissions test scores, teacher, principal and extracurricular recommendations as well as the applicant's essay and parent's statement all offer a snap shot of an applicant at a particular time and place. The interview on the other hand gives the admissions staff a chance to fill in the missing elements and to assess the applicant's character.

This video offers useful advice on the private school admissions process.

Schedule well in advance.

Be sure to schedule your interview and school visit well in advance. This is not something you do on a Friday afternoon expecting to turn up the next day. There are only so many hours in a day with a correspondingly limited number of interview appointments. It is important to get your interview out of the way by the end of November if at all possible. Most applications need to be completed by the deadline, and that includes the interview.

What does the interview entail?

How long is the interview? Usually about 20 minutes. What will the admissions staff ask? The person who interviews you wants to get to know you. He already has an idea of who you are and what