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Once you have agreed on a short list of schools to visit, you must call and make arrangements for The Interview. Typically, this will take place while you visit the school. What is involved?

Almost every school wants to meet candidates for admission. The admissions test scores, teacher, principal, extracurricular recommendations, and the applicant's essay and parent's statement all offer a snapshot of an applicant at a particular time and place. Conversely, the interview gives the admissions staff a chance to fill in the missing elements and assess the applicant's character.

Schedule well in advance.

Be sure to schedule your interview and school visit well in advance. Do not do this on a Friday afternoon, expecting to turn up the next day. There are only so many hours a day with limited interview appointments. If possible, get your interview out of the way by the end of November. Most applications, including the interview, need to be completed by the deadline.

What does the interview entail?

How long is the interview? It's usually about 20 minutes. What will the admissions staff ask? The person who interviews you wants to get to know you. He already knows who you are and what you have accomplished. He will be looking to see what kind of person you are, how serious you are about your school work, what your hobbies are, and so on.

This video describes the interview process and how to prepare for it.

Sooner or later you ought to consider a single sex school as opposed to a traditional coeducational school. Why? For several reasons. First of all, coeducational schools have only become 'traditional' or commonly accepted in the last several decades. ²ÝÁñÉçÇø education has its roots in single sex education, both in this country and in England.

Indeed, if you look at the history of most of the legendary prep schools in America, you are likely to find that they began as a single sex institutions. For example, Phillips Academy Exeter began as a boys' school. It only began admitting girls in its summer sessions in 1961 which was fifteen years after it dropped the two year Latin requirement - horrible dictu! It would be another nine years before Exeter admitted girls in its regular sessions.

So, what's really happening here? American private schools like Exeter have always pretty much mirrored the society which they seek to serve. Back in the late 1700's and early 1800's when many of these schools got their start, educating girls was not considered as important as educating boys. Those views changed over the centuries as the young republic grew and matured. So did views about education. In the 1960's and '70's single sex schools gradually fell out of fashion. In order to survive, some boys' and girls' schools merged to form coeducational schools. Others, like Exeter, saw the handwriting on the wall and moved with the times by admitting girls.

In the 21st century

Standardized testing is part of most private schools' admissions requirements. There are several reasons why schools use standardized admissions tests. The first reason is that they level the admissions playing field. Every candidate for admission must take the same admissions test. Fairness is the name of the game. The second reason is that schools want to be able to assess candidates' proficiency in core academic subjects. In other words, can the candidate who wants to come to my school do the work we do at our school?

The two most commonly used independent school tests are the or Secondary School Admission Test and the or Independent School Entrance Examination.

About the SSAT

From the : "The SSAT is the required admission test at many of the best independent schools in the world. This test is one important step on the path to an independent school education. Your SSAT score is one part of your complete application to an independent school, and while it is important, it is not the only criteria for admission. The SSAT is designed for students in grades 3 through PG and is administered on three levels (Elementary, Middle, and Upper)."

The SSAT is probably unlike any test your student has ever taken. That’s because it’s designed to find the best students in a large pool of excellent students. The SSAT’s questions are significantly different—in their difficulty and their content—from questions on other standardized

What does a teacher earn? "Not nearly enough" is the almost universal answer. Scan a site like and check out competing jobs. You will see that the problem with teaching is that we demand highly qualified, well-credentialed individuals with experience to take jobs for which we literally pay them less than a dog catcher.

The cynics will say that teachers are well-compensated for what they do. After all, they get all those holidays. And they only work for ten months anyway. The reality is that teachers invest inordinate amounts of time preparing lesson plans, learning new techniques, keeping certifications current and so on. And then there is the cost of that bachelor's degree, the masters and doctorate. Let's face it, the ROI is job satisfaction, not financial reward.

This video discuss the effect teacher compensation has on teacher quality.

²ÝÁñÉçÇø school teachers are more fortunate than most public school teachers. Why? Because they get to teach their subject to small classes. Real learning takes place in most private school classrooms as a result of low student to teacher ratios. Discipline is rarely a problem. What does this have to do with teacher compensation? Combine job satisfaction with a reasonable compensation package and you will have a happy teacher.

²ÝÁñÉçÇø school teachers enjoy many perks which are not generally found in the public sector. These include free or reduced tuition for faculty children,