Private School Admissions Advice

Chances are, if you're reading this, you have a student (or are a student) gearing up (and possibly freaking out) about how hard it is to get into private school. Yes, getting accepted is as difficult as they say it is. Money can't even get you in these days...consider, for instance, that there are more than 80,000 millionaires in the Houston area, compared to just over 30,000 private school seats among our roughly 100 private schools. If we only consider the popular private schools, the ones everyone is applying to, like Awty, Kinkaid, and Episcopal, that number drops to 15,000, and unfortunately, those schools are already full, with students rarely leaving once they get accepted. See the problem?

But there are also lots of really good reasons to try for private school placement, and I doubt I've put you off with my numbers. So here are some kernels of advice I've gleaned over my 15 years in the business, which I wish all applicants knew:

1. Choose schools that are likely to choose your student. As I mentioned before, parents usually apply to the same big-name schools, taking what seems like no account of whether the student is a good match for the school. Awty is a French school, for instance, so if your student doesn't speak French, why would you apply them there? But parents do it all the time...and get rejected. Additionally, you can look at the school's racial demographics for a clue as to your chances of getting in and whether your student will feel comfortable. Bottom line: students fare better in admissions when they match the school's other students rather than when they stand out.

2. Bolster a student's strengths as well as their weaknesses. Say your student takes a practice ISEE test and misses half the verbal questions, but only misses 4 math questions. What do you focus on in your test prep, verbal or math? Both! Definitely try for a perfect score in math. Bolster that strength.

   
   

   "My kid is good at math, so we'll just focus on the vocab and reading comp" is something I hear a lot. Or, "My student got 8s on the math practice test, so she's good." Nope. Don't rest on a pretty-good score. Take it as seriously as you take improving the weaker subjects. We're trying to get as close to perfect as possible here, and those scores won't perfect themselves.

   
   

3. Be realistic about how much you as a parent can contribute to your student's test score improvement. "I'm good at math, so I can teach it to my student" is another thing I hear a lot. But every single time, busy schedules and other needs intervene, and the teaching doesn't get done. Also, if I may, I gently point out that the ISEE tests a specific set of math skills that even advanced mathematicians couldn't anticipate unless they have taken a few practice tests themselves. Same thing for the reading comprehension section, where the test pulls the same kinds of tricks and asks the same kinds of questions over and over, but you won't know until you experience it for yourself. So, if you do decide to teach your student yourself, please, start early, and take a few practice tests beforehand to get the lay of the land. Buy 2 copies of the practice book so that you can work it alongside your child. And have the student complete the whole book..let the book do its job.

   
   

   Or, go ahead and get tutoring for it just like you do for bolstering the weaker scores. Tutors are not just teaching skills, they're teaching test strategy, something that would take you precious time to figure out yourself before you can teach it to your child. It's well worth outsourcing this job to an expert.

   
   

4. The school is not just choosing a student, they're choosing a family. Test scores and academic record aside, the ideal situation for acceptance to a private school is to have a student with a special talent; a large household income with generous, still-married parents who are engaged in school life and socially well-connected; and 1 or more younger siblings that make a dynasty situation possible in the future as the school welcomes the rest of the children over the years.

   
   

   Feel free to tell the school that you are willing and able to participate by giving, if that's true for you. Work it tactfully into the application somewhere. This is most effective if you can also speak on your track record of generosity and participation at your student's past/current schools. However, don't think you need to bribe a school to get accepted...I know of a student whose parents out-and-out said in the interview that they had no plans to contribute financially to the school, and the student still got accepted. Be honest, and let the chips fall where they may.

   
   

5. A special skill, talent or ability is the best chance of acceptance. Athletic ability is still tops when it comes to talent, but other talents I've seen include a 10-year-old prodigy mechanical engineer and an 8-year-old who speaks 4 languages. What kinds of talents that schools are looking for varies depending on the schools and their needs in any given year, but I can say that when a student has something a school wants, the schools can be accommodating about other, weaker admissions factors like family involvement or test scores. (But don't expect a special talent to provide a price break, let alone a free ride, and you're still advised to get those scores up as high as you can.)

   
   

6. The worst thing an applicant can come across as is anti-social or unfriendly. Special talents, test scores and academic performance aside, the next important thing for a student to have is a personality that will fit well socially with the other students. Students who are at ease with both their peers and adults and who are confident around strangers routinely get accepted at much higher rates than shy or awkward students; students who give an impression of being loners or preferring the company of adults to their peers routinely get rejected. My advice is to be upfront with your student about this, help them prepare for interviews and ISEE essay questions about their friendships/social lives, and peruse their application essay responses for content that might give a negative impression of their social skills.

Would you like experienced guidance with your private school admissions? Contact me!

Lisa.Walter.Tutor@gmail.com

281-352-2863