Preparing Your Rising Eighth Grader for Private High School: A Four Step Comprehensive Summer Strategy
If you have a rising eighth grader applying to private day or boarding school for high school this fall, now is the ideal time to get organized. Follow these steps to ensure that you and your child can enjoy the summer and be fully prepared to hit the ground running in September!
Test Prep for Private High Schools
Private schools typically require standardized test scores, such as the SSAT or the ISEE. We recommend your child start studying this summer to give them ample time to familiarize themselves with the test, understand their strengths and weaknesses, and tackle any academic and test-performance challenges.
Find Review Books: Select review books tailored to the specific test your child will take.
Set a Study Schedule: Establish a consistent study routine to keep your child on track.
Hire Test Prep Companies or Tutors: Consider enlisting professional help to provide structured guidance and support.
Starting test prep in the summer will allow your child to approach the exam with confidence and less pressure, making the fall testing season less stressful.
Connect with Teachers
Understanding your child's interests, needs, and strengths is crucial for finding the right school. While you know your child well, teachers and school staff see them in a different context. Gaining insights from teachers now can shape your search and save time.
Contact Teachers, Coaches, and Counselors: Before the school year ends, reach out to those who know your child well.
Ask for Feedback: Inquire about your child’s strengths, weaknesses, and areas of curiosity.
These insights will help you focus your search on schools that align with your child's needs and interests.
Consider Working with an Educational Consultant
While teachers and school professionals are experts in their field, they may not have extensive knowledge of or relationships with various private schools. This is where an educational consultant can be invaluable.
They See Insights from Teachers Differently: Using the feedback from your child’s teachers as a starting point, an Educational Consultant can help put together a profile of your student so they can identify their specific needs. These needs may include support, accelerated learning, athletics, arts, and campus community.
Search like an Expert: An educational consultant can help you match your child’s specific needs with schools where they are most likely to thrive in and out of the classroom. Plus, their existing relationships allow them to gain feedback following tours and interviews, helping a family to have some gauge on how the process is going.
Identify Milestones: An expert can help you map out the individual tasks that need to get done over the course of the application process so you can stay on track. They can also help manage all of the moving pieces so you can spend more time with your growing teen!
By beginning this process early, you can ensure a smoother application season, allowing you and your child to enjoy the transition from middle to high school.
Plan a Stress-Free Application Process
Starting now, before summer starts, will give you time to set yourself and your child up for a successful and stress-free (or at least stress-less) application season. To review, here are our top tips:
Create a Clear Strategy: Understand the milestones of the application process and outline the steps and timeline so you can stay organized and on track throughout the summer and the rest of the year.
Understand Your Child’s Needs: Seek insight from the people who know your child best in academic and co-curricular settings so you can clarify the most important factors of your school search.
Seek Expert Support: Get answers to your questions and guidance from professionals. Work with an Educational Consultant to understand the process, create your milestone map, and guide you through every step of the way with expertise and calm focus.
With a thoughtful, well-organized approach, you can enjoy the summer and be ready for a successful school year ahead, while laying the groundwork for the exciting educational journey to come!