- Six years ago, half of the eight-grade class at the Independent Day School in Middlefield - 12 of 25 kids - were admitted to Choate Rosemary Hall.
This year, the private elementary school was happy to get a handful admitted.
A strong economy and growing number of middle-school-age children have yielded a bumper crop of applications at private secondary schools throughout the state, from Choate in Wallingford to the Hotchkiss School in the Lakeville section of Salisbury.
And for eight-graders like Zoe Holder at the Independent Day School, the increased competition meant more worry - about her own applications and those of her friends.
"It's an overwhelming feeling to think, "If I don't get in somewhere, where will I go?'" Zoe said.
She is now in the enviable position of having been admitted to several schools, including Choate and Miss Porter's in Farmington - admissions letters were mailed March 10. Those who were accepted to more than one school are generally expected to make their choice by Monday.
Not all of Zoe's friends were quite so successful.
Liz Warner, a teacher and student adviser at the Independent Day School, was surprised when certain "outstanding people" were turned down by the most competitive school. "We're talking about kids with 3.8 to 4.0 averages and higher test scores. Just shocking - completely."
The reason for such unhappy surprises is what Peter Philip calls the "unprecedented" popularity of schools such as Hotchkiss, where he is dean of admissions. Applications at Hotchkiss are up a third since 1995, to 1,300 this year. The admission rate is 27 percent.
"And at the same time, the applicant pool is better," said Philip. "It's not just that we're dealing with more numbers. We're dealing with more and more talent."
At Choate, Charlotte Murphy, director of communications, said that 10 years ago, half of all applicants were accepted. Now, she said, the number of applications has risen greatly, and just 31 percent are accepted.
The difficulty of getting into Choate in recent years has been exacerbated by the school's decision six years ago to reduce its population, shrinking it gradually from 1,025 then to 830 this year.
As a result, Murphy said, "It's really hard. I think sometimes the school is shocked at who they are not taking."
Caitlin deWilde, an eight-grader at the Independent Day School, is one of the students turned down by Choate this year but night well have been accepted in past years, according to Warner, her adviser.
A straight-A student with excellent test scores who was co-captain of the basketball and soccer teams, Caitlin was accepted at Kingswood-Oxford School in West Hartford.
Caitlin said she wasn't too disappointed because she preferred Kingswood to Choate.
"I liked Kingswood's size," she said. "It's smaller." However, her advice to next year's eight-graders is: "Definitely apply to a lot of places."
An informal survey of six private schools showed increased competition at all. At Miss Porter's, the number of applications is 19 percent greater than it was seven years ago. This year, 300 applicants competed for 65 spots. At Loomis Chaffe School in Windsor, applications have increased steadily by 5 percent to 6 percent in the last few years and 8 percent this year. Applications also have increased substantially at the Independent Day School and at the Renbrook School in West Hartford, which is pre-kindergarten through ninth grade.
Despite the greater competition, Bob Coombs, head master at the Independent Day School, said students suffered only "minimal disappointment." He said the school is very pleased with the success of its students, who were admitted to many secondary schools, including Loomis, Miss Porter's, Kingswood-Oxford and Ethel Walker in Simsbury.
Marcia Rubinstien, a West Hartford educational consultant who advises students applying to secondary schools, said: "What I'm telling kids is the market has changed. You have to be very aware of who you are and present your strengths. The school knows who they want and who they need. You have to trust it and not force yourself upon the school.
"Some kids are able to deal with it. Others lose it. The parents have a dream, and very often they are quire upset. They think that calling trustees or making pledges will change it. Usually it doesn't."
Rubinstien said that 10 years ago, a kid might be able to have a C, or even two, and still be considered a candidate for a school like Choate.
"If 10 applicants have all A's, all of a sudden this kid with the one B sort of falls into second class, and it's so wrong. The competition is horrific, and it turns these young kids into little nervous wrecks."
Zoe, the eight-grader at the Independent Day School, said her parents were somewhat relaxed about the application process, perhaps because she is the youngest of three children. She, however, was not.
She said she found herself concerned about whether she would get in, whether her friends would and about feelings of competitiveness.
"I knew there were a lot of really smart kinds here," she said. She said she couldn't help but worry, "What if she gets in, and I don't ?"
Zoe said she think the application process is "particularly difficult" for 13-year-old, who are already consumed with questions about their social acceptance or rejection.
"It can be an incredibly painful process," she said.
What if you didn't get into the school of your choice?
Rubinstien said that at times she uses "the fine art of begging."
"We'll say, this is a kid we want you to look at a second time. Sometimes they are willing to take a second look," said Rubinstien.
Or, advised Carol Loewith, a Fairfield-based consultant, a student may want to try again next year, perhaps after calling the school himself or herself and asking, "What can I do on my own behalf, perhaps to accomplish different results the following year."
[This article was written by Kathleen Megan, Courant Staff Writer, and is reprinted in its full version, from The Hartford Courant of 4/5/00, with the permission of the editor, Claude Albert.]
Read about Marcia Rubinstien, Director of EDUFAX. You can find the home pages of the schools mentioned here and many other private schools, through the EDUFAX Independent School List.
EDUFAX provides Services for the Independent School Applicant.
EDUFAX provides services for the International Applicant.
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