If your child is applying to many private high schools in Boston you might be feeling stressed. After all, it’s a lot of pressure to make sure your child is using the right strategies to get into the best school for them.
Fortunately, in this article, we’ll review the strategies you and your child can use when applying for the best private high schools in Boston.
Questions to Ask When You Tour a Private High Schools in Boston
When you’re looking for the right private school for your child, you have to ask the right questions. Get started by asking the tour guide about the school’s vision or philosophy. This is important because you want to choose a school that matches your educational values and beliefs. You should also ask how the school applies these values in the school community and classroom.
What type of student are you looking for?
Some schools will target specific types of students. For example, they might look for students who have strengths in particular academic or extracurricular areas.
By asking this question, you’ll know whether your child will be a good fit for the school.
Is there a specific curriculum you use?
Another way you can narrow down your private school education options is to ask if there’s a specific curriculum they use. This will make it possible for you to know whether your child will be a good academic match.
What are your student-to-teacher ratios and class sizes?
If a school has low student-to-teacher ratios and smaller class sizes, this can be helpful for your child as they’ll get more individualized attention. Often, this is one of the benefits of private school.
However, if you’re looking for differentiated education, you should ask about this, too.
How to prepare for a private high school interview
There are several strategies your child can use to prepare for a private high school interview. The first strategy to use is to practice as much as possible. When kids do this, they should practice with an adult, who isn’t their parent, at least one time. This could be a tutor, teacher, executive function coach, or another adult. When answering practice questions, your child should be providing answers that are informative and rich.
Presentation preparation
Another important part of preparing for a private high school interview is how your child presents themselves at the interview. After all, this is an opportunity for the admissions team at the potential new school to see who they are.
For this reason, it’s important that your child dress the part. As a general rule of thumb, it’s better to aim to be overdressed in business apparel.
Provide your child with an agenda
Before they go into the interview, come up with one to three topics for your child to discuss in their interview. These points should highlight the strengths and interests of your child. It’s also a good idea to include something interesting that may not have been included in the application.
Review what your child shouldn’t say
You should also prepare your child for the interview by reviewing what they shouldn’t say. Some examples include mentioning that the school is one of their “back-up” schools, talking negatively about a teacher or their visit, or saying that they’re only attending the interview because their parent wants them to.
Prepare questions
Another way to prepare for a private school high school interview is to create a list of questions for your child to ask. When the interviewer prompts them, they will be prepared.
If your child has questions prepared, the interviewer will more likely see them as interesting and interested. This can also be an opportunity to touch on something that didn’t end up coming up in the interview.
For example, say your child loves to write. They could ask about writing clubs or literary magazines the school publishes. Then, they could mention they’re asking because they have a passion for writing.
Do your own preparation
When preparing for the high school interview, you might spend so much time focusing on how your child will do that you forget about the impression you make on the school as a parent. But it’s important to prepare for your own interview with the school.
They’ll ask you questions about your child’s strengths and weaknesses, socializing skills, and how they behave. When preparing your answers for these questions, approach them with authenticity, optimism, and honesty.
Want More Information?
Now that you’ve learned the best approach for applying to the best private high schools in Boston, you might want to learn about setting your child up for success with a one-on-one SSAT prep tutor, subject tutor, or executive function coach. To learn more about our services, contact us for your free consultation.