Greetings from the Valley!
Albeit briefly, it is wonderful to have the energy and spirit back on campus after a much needed breather. With End of Term Assessments on the December horizon, I would be untruthful if I told you all was as calm as this Alan Zhou ‘24 photo of Spooner Pond might suggest, but I can tell you I am confident in this Senior Class’s resolve and determination to finish the Fall Term doing some of their best work. I hope you are feeling a sense of ease as the application process nears its completion.
As we head into the Winter Recess, it is time to complete a few tasks toward the secondary school admission process. See below for more detailed information, but know that Julie and I stand by to assist and troubleshoot any challenges you may face.
Amidst all this, try to maintain perspective and use good common sense. Your children will thank you
for it!
Let's stay in touch!
Best,
Clayton
Director of Secondary School Counseling
….
ACTION ITEMS - Please take some time to read through these:
SUBMIT YOUR CHILD’S LIST OF SCHOOLS TO WHICH THEY ARE APPLYING
If you have not done so already, PLEASE email to Julie Fredlund (jfred@dayoushengwu.net) the list of schools to which your child is in fact applying or will apply to, AND the method with which you are applying (i.e., SAO, GATEWAY, School’s Own Portal, Paper). WE NEED THIS ACCURATE INFORMATION as soon as possible.
If your child will be applying to a school which uses an application method other than SAO or Gateway or has a different application calendar, please let Julie (jfred@dayoushengwu.net) know which schools and which dates are the deadlines. The sooner you do this, the more efficient our process can be in support of your child's applications to secondary schools.
Remember that over 500 schools accept the SAO, 61 accept Gateway and 9 exclusively use Gateway.
Exclusive users of Gateway are Choate Rosemary Hall, Deerfield Academy, Groton School, Hotchkiss School, Lyndon Institute, Phillips Academy, Phillips Exeter Academy, St. Paul’s and The Webb Schools. Majority rules!
SSATs - ADDING SCORE ADVISOR & SENDING SSAT SCORES
Please be sure you have Added Rumsey Hall as Score Advisor for SSAT tests not taken at Rumsey. Please DO NOT send any scores to schools until you are asked to do so in January.
As for whether or not to submit scores- you own them and it is your decision.
SSATs - UPDATE ON SCHOOLS NOW REQUIRING SSAT SCORES
As you can see, more schools are requiring scores this year. They include:
Baylor School, Bolles School, Cranbrook Schools, Culver Academies, Deerfield Academy, Groton School, The Hill School, Lake Forest Academy, Lawrenceville School, Middlesex School, Peddie School, Perkiomen School, Phillips Exeter Academy, The Taft School, Thacher School, and Westtown School.
If you are applying to any of these schools, you will have to send scores. For those schools where it remains optional, I am confident that they are treating them as truly optional pieces of an applicant’s file. Like an optional recommendation, submitting a portfolio of art work, or highlight film, they can help, but not hurt if they are not there. If they are good scores, please submit them.
APPLICATIONS / GRADED ESSAYS / RECOMMENDATIONS
November’s Newsletter contained detailed information with several instructions about the application process. We need to queue up our process in concert with the providers, Standard Application Online (SAO) and Gateway, as the principals.
As part of your child's application, a graded essay may be required. This is a piece of writing that your child and his/her current English or history teacher will meet about and choose. Your child will then upload it into the appropriate application portal. There is often some sort of form that accompanies the essay. The essay need NOT be the best grade of the year thus far, but it should be the essay from English or history class that best captures your child's representative academic writing. Be aware that I have checked with both VII Form English teachers and they are both assigning a formal essay as an End of Term Assessment. They will have this piece of writing to choose. Some students have already completed this step with our help here on campus. Please be sure to check with your child.
Rumsey Hall is processing English, Mathematics, Transcripts/Official School Reports and Principal/ Guidance Recommendations. I have discussed with many of you, your child may choose to ask an additional recommender for a 'Personal' or 'Special Interest' Recommendation. A Personal Recommendation can add some color to your child's file from someone inside or outside of school who can speak to your child's personal qualities on a first hand basis. A Special Interest Recommendation can add context to your child's particular talent, skill or interest in a specific area. Indeed this could be academic, artistic, athletic, service, camp, Scouts, or religious related. It certainly can be someone inside or outside of Rumsey but your child will need to approach that person and ask before the request is sent to them. This is not something a parent should do. In this case, you will need to add that person's email address and name to the request in SAO or Gateway. Your students have taken care of this step- for the most part. There are a few who still need to fully complete it, and I am confident that it will be done by the time they arrive home for Winter Recess.
FINANCIAL AID APPLICATIONS
Typically, the requirements vary from school to school. Please pay particular attention to this and check each school's website for specifics. Also, know that the deadlines are usually similar to the application deadlines. Thus you will need to have the required tax years and forms available to upload.
CHARACTER SKILLS SNAPSHOT
The Character Skills Snapshot (CSS) is used by admission officers to gain additional information across seven character traits. It is optional for nearly all schools but may be required by a few. If you choose to take the Snapshot and want to submit the results, you will do this over the Winter Recess. The assessment takes approximately 30 minutes. Access to the CSS will be available in your child's ssat.org portal. Please use the resource below for more information and check out the short video: http://www.ssat.org/snapshot#take-the-snapshot
CONTACT FROM SECONDARY SCHOOLS
You and your child may continue to receive correspondence and invitations 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. As for invitations to 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, if you are uncertain about what a school is all about, by all means attend.
TOEFL for International Students
If your child has updated or new scores, please send the complete score report to Julie in pdf form ASAP at jfred@dayoushengwu.net
SUBMIT YOUR CHILD’S DIPLOMA FORM (due December 15, 2023)
A friendly reminder that the Diploma Form or an email to Julie with your child’s name exactly as it should appear on his/her Diploma and Diploma Cover is due December 15. Remember to include upper case, lower case, any punctuation, and desired spacing.
OTHER INFORMATION
Your first stop for most things is Julie. jfred@dayoushengwu.net