Boarding School Student Applying

stella

5-Year Member
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Dec 2, 2012
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Just curious as to whether any of you had kids who were in boarding school while applying to an SA? If so, were interviews, physicals, etc. handled back home or in the city/town of their boarding school?
S
 
I am a candidate for the Class of 2017 and attend a boarding school. My interview was done at my dormitory and DoDMERB exams were done in the city my school is in. Originally the doctor's offices were assigned to be near my home address, which was going to make getting to the exams extremely difficult. I called Concorde and they reassigned the offices to be close to my school.
 
boarding school

Just curious as to whether any of you had kids who were in boarding school while applying to an SA? If so, were interviews, physicals, etc. handled back home or in the city/town of their boarding school?
S
My DS was an applicant for the class of 2016 and was a boarding school student. His school had 12 cadets attending USMA and around 6 at USNA so they were familiar with the drill. He had the application basically ready to go when he left for summer break. He was able to do the physical and the field blue and gold and FFR interviews over the summer at home. I know of other candidates from his school who did the physicals at a location near school. The boarding school made sure they got where they needed to go. The congressional interviews obviously had to happen at home. That involved 2 extra trips home in the fall. The 3rd coincided with his fall break. One office offered a Skype interview, but my DS felt that he would be at a disadvantage. He also applied for AROTC and NROTC MO scholarships. He did have his MO interview at school. If you have specific questions let me know.
 
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My DS was an applicant for the class of 2016 and was a boarding school student. His school had 12 cadets attending USMA and around 6 at USNA so they were familiar with the drill. He had the application basically ready to go when he left for summer break. He was able to do the physical and the field blue and gold and FFR interviews over the summer at home. I know of other candidates from his school who did the physicals at a location near school. The boarding school made sure they got where they needed to go. The congressional interviews obviously had to happen at home. That involved 2 extra trips home in the fall. The 3rd coincided with his fall break. One office offered a Skype interview, but my DS felt that he would be at a disadvantage. He also applied for AROTC and NROTC MO scholarships. He did have his MO interview at school. If you have specific questions let me know.

My daughter didn't do SA, but did AROTC scholarship application and her experience was pretty similar - all of the interview, paperwork, etc. done during the summer preceding SR year. DoDMERB done during break from school at home, although I too was researching how to move the exam if necessary. PFT was done at school by coach.
 
Juggling with BS

Thanks for the replies. Do you think that it helped at all that your child attended a boarding school? On the one hand, I think that a 16 or 17 year old already living away from home, managing his/her money, laundry, etc. and dealing with a highly competitive environment would be an indicaiton of maturity and independence that SAs 'might' appreciate.
On the other hand, from the outside looking in this process seems incredibly complicated and I cannot imagine adding it to the rigours of school (and sports, etc.) and the standard college applications and SATs that early senior year brings...without a parent their to guide (though in fairness my dd seems totally confident in managing all of this!).
Seems like the key is to get as much done as possible before they return to school senior year and use the resources on their campus that have BTDT and can walk them through the process, correct?
S
 
I'm not sure the SA's or ROTC scholarship boards have a good idea of how boarding schools compare academically with which publics.

However, when it comes to interview time, your child has the opportunity to talk about how s/he manages affairs academic, personal management, etc and using that as a selling point beyond the typical HS student.
 
I have found that boarding school applicants attending Service Academy's have a leg up on Plebe Summer (They also acclimate better at traditional schools). DD said on I Day that her hockey coach yelled more. Just like NAPS they have been in a roommate environment and have learned to manage their academic, social and athletic time. For some the maturity factor goes way up. They haven't seen those helicopter parents for a while.
 
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Maturity and Growth

I have found that boarding school applicants attending Service Academy's have a leg up on Plebe Summer (They also acclimate better at traditional schools). DD said on I Day that her hockey coach yelled more. Just like NAPS they have been in a roommate environment and have learned to manage their academic, social and athletic time. For some the maturity factor goes way up. They haven't seen those helicopter parents for a while.

Good points. They are use to being away, use to handling stressors on their own, use to juggling a lot already...and making some of their own choices about study habits, friendships, church attendance, eating habits, etc. Mom and Dad are not their to make them do things. In addition, most who are enjoying the experience really feel a great sense of confidence. All these help with the transition to college.
As for the transition to SAs? At least they don't have the new stressor of bing away from home once they get there. But I suppose as another poster said, they have to sell that point in the interviews...the growth and leadership that comes from the boarding environment.
S
 
Doing and scheduling their own laundry will be a big deal.:thumb: Bags full of Quarters at Boarding School. Navy looses a lot when it is sent down.
 
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