Greetings from the Valley!
Day after day of beautiful fall weather, and here we are, on the precipice of the first significant break of the school year. From what I have heard, seniors soaked up the sights and sounds of the visitation week. The excitement for both kids and you all was electric! With over 60 schools visiting during 4S to deliver advice on myriad topics as well as showcasing their schools, it was hard not to get excited. It was with a great deal of awe that I listened to what these schools are offering—what an inspiring time to be going to school!
The group seems committed to rededicating itself toward creating wonderful opportunities for the next stage of education. We will be looking at and brainstorming for the application questions in 4S during the next two weeks.
Be sure that your Seniors have some down time over the Thanksgiving Recess. It has been a demanding term, and they will need to refresh and recharge their batteries both for the last two weeks of the term and seeing the application process through to completion.
I remain on campus and available for meetings to go through questions or impressions. I look forward to continuing to grow our partnerships in support of your children!
Best,
Clayton
Director of Secondary School Counseling
Applications - Please Read!
The faculty members who write recommendations on behalf of your children are a seasoned and experienced group having written recommendations for many years. They will have a workshop in the upcoming days to hear what admissions offices are looking for in these important pieces of the admissions file. Please resist the temptation to submit or move forward significantly with any application processes. While you may be familiarizing yourself with the next steps of the process and starting on parts of the application, it is important to not submit anything at this point, OR send recommendation requests to teachers until after November 10. I want to be sure they are ready to receive recommendation requests. There is some behind-the-scenes organization we do to ensure a smooth transfer of application material to schools. On Wednesday, November 9, you will receive an email from Julie with an attached letter from Clayton that provides many details for each process of the application as well as Action Items that need attention.
Standard Application Online (SAO) or Gateway
These are the two most common avenues to use when preparing and submitting your applications. The SAO (available in your child's SSAT portal) is the most common and user friendly approach. Most schools accept the SAO. Gateway to Prep Schools is another platform that fewer schools utilize. If a school is open to either method, we ask that you use the SAO. There are a handful of schools who only accept Gateway- thus you will need to create that account as well. Specific information about the application steps is coming! Please look for it in the November 9 email mentioned above.
School Impressions and Thank You Notes
I am meeting with students often to debrief about their dynamic and ever-changing "list" of schools. I am also making sure that they have written their thank you notes. Hand written notes are a must! I look forward to learning of your impressions, as well. Email is a good way for you to process and send those thoughts to me at this point.
Contact from Secondary Schools
You and your child may receive correspondence from admissions officers, program leaders and coaches from secondary schools. If you have any questions about their tone or meaning, please contact me and send along the correspondence. You may receive invitations to other virtual events. Do not feel as if you need to accumulate face time with a prospective school in this process. You are not obliged to attend; however, it is a good way to get a feel for the school.
TOEFL
If your child has updated or new scores, please send the complete score report to Julie in pdf form ASAP at jfred@tamascandle.net
SSAT Testing here at Rumsey - December 10, 2022
If you prefer your child NOT take the SSAT on December 10, you need to let Julie know as soon as possible (jfred@tamascandle.net). Registration will be completed by November 11th. If your child does take this test, or any other SSAT test, be sure you complete the Testing Experience Statement in your Account so the scores are released to you.
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