US Boarding School Visits: June 2018

Curriculum, Updates
A vital part of being an accredited educational consultant is visiting boarding schools to assess their programs first-hand, and to liaise with admissions staff and faculty who have been a vital link in helping student clients and their parents achieve a place.  I live in the heart of excellent Canadian boarding schools on Vancouver Island. However, in early June I visited four American boarding schools. In western Massachusetts, I was able to thank in person the admission directors at Berkshire School who had helped enrol one of my students this season. Berkshire is a traditional New England prep school consistently ranked in the top 25 US boarding schools: https://www.berkshireschool.org Twenty minutes away in Lakeville Connecticut, I visited the Hotchkiss School, one of the top 10 boarding schools in America: https://www.hotchkiss.org.…
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Consultant as Advocate

Updates
We are approaching decision time for applicants to independent schools. The consultant and family school research, student visits, coaching, testing and interviews are all done. Now the wait is on. Most schools will be announcing their first round of decisions by mid March. Admissions staff are reading and assessing applicant folders right now. With the increasing popularity of independent schools, the pressure to achieve the right mix and fit of successful applicants intensifies. I found reading the applicant files to be a joy in discovering each student’s uniqueness. The pressure came from rendering the decision when the competition was overwhelming. When I was admissions director, I was always looking for talent. As an admissions associate at Choate Rosemary Hall School said to me in November on my visit there, “ We…
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