Reply to High school recommendations from our k-8 school and how should I feel about?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Curious what sort of support your K-8 provides.  Ours offers ISEE/ interview prep, one-on-one counseling sessions as needed and streamlines the transcript and recommendation process. I did most of the heavy lifting myself but the school was helpful in certain areas. Here’s some advice based on my experiences over the past couple of years:

1.Get an ISEE tutor now and schedule weekly sessions starting now and continue through the summer and into the fall. Make sure the tutor is giving your kid assignments between sessions. Take a practice ISEE under the conditions of the actual test and do this several times between now and the fall. Can your kid take the test at school?If not, schedule the test in the fall and then you will have the opportunity to take it again in December. Prep for the ISEE is usually adequate for the SHSAT and HSPT but there are differences. We were focused on privates and catholics so we did ISEE prep until October and then shifted to HSPT prep. The content of all three tests is similar but the format is different so just be aware of that.

2. Do your own research on schools now and go to any spring open houses available to 7th graders. Most of the schools do not have spring open houses but we went to events at Grace, Xavier and FP in the spring of 7th grade and that was useful because it meant we didn’t have to go to events for those schools in the fall. Some of the public schools have spring events too.  Keep in mind that the fall of 8th grade is very intense so any work that you and your child can frontload now and over the summer will be very helpful. You will be spending every weekend in October and early Nov and many weeknights going to open house events and you will both miss a lot of school/work going to tours and interviews so try and be realistic about your list going into the process. Unfortunately, most of the private schools don’t let you tour until you’ve submitted the initial application but it is helpful to think through what is realistic in terms of culture, fit, workload and commute before you start applying. Even if you have a brilliant kid, if you know they won’t be able to handle or enjoy a very heavy workload and long commute don’t bother applying to HM. Also think about the culture of money at some of these schools. You can afford to pay the tuition but do you want to be at a place where the kids are regularly spending $40 for lunch at Butterfield Market or spending weekends at their summer houses. Is your child the kind of kid who will feel less than if surrounded by people with a lot more money.

3. If you’re going to consider public school then join the “applying to high school in NYC” facebook page now.  You will get lots of good advice on schools and navigating the system. If you are going to apply to schools other than SHSAT then you need to figure out how your child’s transcript will be converted for the public school ranking system and your need to get in the system so you’re issued a RAN. For private schools, think carefully about fit, culture and your expectations around ROI. The experience will be very similar to the K-8. You will do most of the heavy lifting in regards to preparing for college admissions and if you know you’ll be very unhappy with an outcome that’s not T20 school then think before shelling out over 70k a year, not least because you will be putting a lot of pressure on your child if the only happy outcome is an extremely selective college. Also remember that the tuition bills don’t end at high school. If you are paying for private school in NYC then you are unlikely to get financial aid for college and will graduate from 70k a year to 90k a year. 
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op-this is so so so helpful - thank you. so much appreciated. [/quote]

Trevor had a Spring event. So did Loyola, if I recall. If you're open to Catholic schools, I think Loyola on the UES is a hidden gem. A small really nice community with rigorous academics, and the kids go on to top colleges. They have a new building, and really stood out for their service opportunities. It's also about 20K less than most peer schools, and unlike most independent schools, they give academic scholarships. My child won around 15K a year, which brought the tuition down to around 35/40K a year, if I recall. There are options, you just have to dig. I already mentioned Franklin previously...I get not wanting to pay 70K only to end up at what you perceive to be a mediocre college, but Franklin in 32K, so that might make it worth the risk. I also agree about joining the Applying to High School FB group if you are seriously considering public school. It is a treasure trove of information and assistance on the public process. They'll have some information on Catholic schools too...just don't ask about private schools, they'll ice you out and get nasty.[/quote]

op - loyola looks impresssive. We're not catholic but i think maybe we dont have to be? How hard is it to get in?[/quote]

I also think Loyola is great. You don’t have to be Catholic but it is very small. The Catholics are often overlooked. Dominican Academy is never talked about but their exmissions are about on par with SH but they are under 30k. I know some very smart girls that graduated from DA and are at great colleges and doing well. Regis is wonderful if you’re catholic and very high achieving but Xavier is also very good and you don’t have to be catholic. I know several Jewish families that send their sons there. It’s a great location and very robust in sports, arts and extracurriculars.  Very big on developing character and personal responsibility. Community service is required all years and seniors spend every Monday in the last half of the senior year working in direct service for a nonprofit.  Better for character development than prestige but good students go on to top schools. We were very impressed with what we saw when we were looking at high schools for our son.  To be honest I think all these schools are very good (including Dwight).  It’s the price tag that makes it all so fraught. [/quote]

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