All about boarding school exams
Introduction To everyone who is interested in boarding school
You may be wondering or worried, "I'm interested, but I don't know what to do", "Can I take the US school from Japan in the first place?", "Are I eligible to take the exam?"
BSAJ has created a boarding school examination process based on its own experience and information from each admissions office! !! We will tell you the 6 steps to pass in an easy-to-understand manner, along with the experiences of active and graduated boarding school students .
Exam process timeline
In Japan, the new semester will start in April and will be completed in March of the following year. However, in the United States, for example, the new semester begins in September and ends around June of the following year. We recommend that you start preparing for the exam from September, which is about one and a half years before you enter the school (transfer), to April. However, being late does not mean that you cannot take the exam. "There is no one way to take the exam" is one of the good points and the difficult part of taking the boarding school exam.
6 steps to take the exam
Step 1: Learn about boarding
What you can look up for yourself
First, let's find out about boarding schools on the Internet.
What kind of school is a boarding school?
How is it different from studying abroad other than boarding school?
Characteristics of each school, etc. (Example: location, number of students, number of teachers vs. students, is there an AP / IB program ... etc.)
Listen to the voices of active students and graduates
The voice of the graduate is important because there are many things that cannot be understood by just looking it up. For example, ask the following questions.
Characteristics of enrolled students
Good and bad points of school
Inconvenient place
Reasons for aspiring to a school of origin
School listing
After looking at many schools through preliminary research, let's list the schools under the following conditions.
Make 3 to 5 conditions that you can't give up (eg, close to the city center, have a soccer club, have many AP classes, absolutely hate uniforms, etc.)
Remove from the list except for schools that meet the above conditions
Narrow down to about 5 to 10 schools (it will be easier to decide which school you want to study later)
Look at the test scores and the passing line of the grades, divide into "desired school level, desired school level, safety level" and decide the target school
Summary of materials for preliminary research (updated from time to time)
Books
"American Super Elite Education" (Author Kanji Ishizumi)
"Reiko @ Choto School-16-year-old prestigious prep school in the eastern part of the United States" (Book Reiko Okazaki)
website
Website of each school
** Those who do not know any active or graduated boarding school students around **
If you contact BSAJ, you can ask questions from each school online as well as actual experiences.
** Those who have difficulty studying abroad for the purpose of long-term (1 year or more) study abroad or graduation **
If you want to experience life abroad as a trial, you may want to join a summer school as a short-term study abroad program. See Step 3: Think about how to spend your summer vacation .
Step 2 : Let's start test preparation
Main test types
Even if you take a boarding school exam, which is similar to the AO entrance exam in Japan, many schools include an academic ability test in their exam requirements.
There are two main types of tests.
SSAT to measure reading comprehension, vocabulary and math skills
TOEFL iBT to measure overall English proficiency
Even if you are not prepared enough, let's take it first
First of all, please take the test once one and a half to two years before the actual test is scheduled to be taken.
Tensioned atmosphere
Surrounding noise
Work using a personal computer (for TOEFL)
Familiarize yourself with the timing of your trip to the venue and how to eat during breaks.
By taking the test, you will be able to notice important things other than the test content. Above all, being stimulated by the enthusiasm of the examinees around you leads to motivation!
How to prepare for the exam
The main study method is
Solve SSAT, TOEFL reference books, exercises and mock tests for many laps
Memorize words
Practice preparing for the actual performance by measuring the time yourself
There are also cram schools specializing in high school and university entrance exams in the United States, so you can search the Internet to find a teacher that suits you.
On the day of the test
You can take the SSAT and TOEFL as many times as you like, so make a study plan by counting back from the number of days until the last test date. The last test date should be around November to December of the year when the application is released. The timing of the results announcement is about two weeks after taking the test for both SSAT and TOEFL.
** Those who do not know any active or graduated boarding school students around **
If you contact BSAJ, you can ask questions from each school online as well as actual experiences.
** Those who have difficulty studying abroad for the purpose of long-term (1 year or more) study abroad or graduation **
If you want to experience life abroad as a trial, it may be a good idea to attend a summer school as a short-term study abroad program. See Step 3: Think about how to spend your summer vacation .
Step 3 : Think about how to spend your summer vacation
Parents and seniors may say, "It's the students who have time," but that's exactly what they say! Long summer vacations in American and British schools are a precious "time". Of course, it is important to study for the exam during the summer, but it will definitely be a useful and good experience in the future to challenge what you want to learn and what you want to do.
The experience and experience gained from these activities is important for taking the exam. Unexpected experiences can be a source of essay stories, so please try a lot of things. Ultimately, the most important thing is to have fun. Please spend a long summer meaningfully and enjoy yourself!
Test preparation
Attend TOEFL, SAT, SSAT cram schools, etc.
Self-study using reference books
Write an application essay
Preparation for the next class
Participate in summer school
Go to a summer school such as your desired school and see the atmosphere of the school
Try going abroad for a trial study abroad
If you are enrolled in a boarding school, you can earn class credits at your own school or another school (maybe your graduation year will be earlier!)
Recommended extracurricular activities
volunteer
internship
project
Various contests
Domestic accommodation type summer camp
Further master your special skills
Try new things
** Those who do not know any active or graduated boarding school students around **
If you contact BSAJ, you can ask questions from each school online as well as actual experiences.
** Those who have difficulty studying abroad for the purpose of long-term (1 year or more) study abroad or graduation **
If you want to experience life abroad as a trial, it may be a good idea to attend a summer school as a short-term study abroad program. See Step 3: Think about how to spend your summer vacation .
Step 4 : Collect the materials you need to take the exam
This is an important step to put together the preparations that have been made so far. Be aware of your strengths that cannot be measured by your grades or test scores. As mentioned in step 3 here, if you engage in various extracurricular activities and spend your summer vacation meaningfully, you will have more writing and talking, which will make your application more complete.
essay
Each school has the required essays (some schools do not). Of course, you can see English ability in the essay, but you can also see humanity and compatibility with school. Examples of essay topics:
What is your academic and personal achievement?
Why our school?
What is your strength / weakness?
Examples of parental essay topics:
How did you decide to apply for this school?
What kind of growth do you want your child to achieve at our school based on the values of the family?
What are the most important events in your child's life?
What do you think your child's success in high school is?
Other things I would like the admission committee to consider
School grades
As important as SSAT and TOEFL is grades in junior high school (high school). The school judges the child's efforts and class attitude based on the grades. Even when you move from high school, you may need to have a junior high school grade, so be sure to maintain your grade.
Extracurricular activities
At the boarding school, it is called "Holistic View", and not only academics but also "humanity" is emphasized. Their humanity is
Participating extracurricular activities and club activities
Positions in those organizations (Student President, Chairman, Club Director)
How you are demonstrating leadership
Volunteer, internship participation experience ( see step 3 )
And so on.
Letter of recommendation
Type of recommendation:
One from a teacher in an English or liberal arts class
One from a math or science class teacher
One from a teacher (advisor, dormitory teacher, coach, etc.) who is not related to the class but knows himself well
One letter from the teacher in charge of international students at some schools
One letter from the principal depending on the school
** When asking, be sure to explain to your teacher and clearly state the deadline and school of your choice.
For Japanese schools:
The type of recommendation letter to be written does not change from Japanese high schools and international schools, but if the teacher only writes the recommendation letter in Japanese, it must be translated into English.
If the teacher is unfamiliar with English:
It may not be possible to handle the complex system of Gateway to Prepschools.
When going on to junior boarding:
Even though the school teacher will write and send you a letter of recommendation, be sure to check with your teacher to see if you have finished writing it. The teacher is also busy, so I sometimes forget about it.
** Those who do not know any active or graduated boarding school students around **
If you contact BSAJ, you can ask questions from each school online as well as actual experiences.
** Those who have difficulty studying abroad for the purpose of long-term (1 year or more) study abroad or graduation **
If you want to experience life abroad as a trial, it may be a good idea to attend a summer school as a short-term study abroad program. See Step 3: Think about how to spend your summer vacation .
Step 5 : Let's visit the school and have an interview
We recommend visiting the school of your choice! There are the following good points by visiting.
You can feel the atmosphere of school with your skin
You may be able to have a face-to-face interview with the admission after the tour
You can actually meet with active students and people in the admission office
It is very valuable information to be able to observe classes and see exchanges between students.
Face-to-face interviews can be stressful, but you can make presentations using the materials you bring and give the other person a stronger impression than online interviews.
There are several patterns of school visits, such as actually going or not going. An example is introduced below.
Case 1: Visit before taking the exam
When: Apply to boarding school until January
Purpose:
By actually previewing the school before taking the exam, it becomes possible to select the school from the student's own perspective.
You can meet a school that suits you by actually seeing it with your own eyes, not just the external factors such as a school with a good online reputation, a school where an acquaintance was / was attending, or a beautiful school.
Case 2: Visit after passing
Timing: The period from March when the pass / fail is given to May when the admission selection deadline is given.
Purpose:
Easy to visit schools that have passed and judge compatibility with schools and students
As in Case 1, it is possible to feel and decide with your own skin rather than understanding the school with data
Case 3: Participating in a summer school
When: July-August period to participate in the summer program
Purpose:
You can actually use the equipment and systems while living at school
During this period, it is difficult for school students and teachers to observe the class and the actual situation of the students because of the summer vacation.
Case 4: If you do not visit
Online interviews using admissions, Skype with graduates, etc., or face-to-face interviews with graduates living in Japan are possible. If you have difficulty visiting due to time or money, you do not need to force a visit. Instead, contact the school and use the opportunity to talk to your teachers and students to convey your enthusiasm for your school.
Tips for school visits and interviews
The students who will guide you may tell you about the students who participated in the admission staff after the tour, so please be careful, listen to the guide, talk positively, and ask questions.
Be prepared to ask questions in advance and be sure to ask one to three questions in case you have the opportunity to ask a reverse question! It is recommended to write it in a notebook and bring it with you so you don't have to worry about forgetting it!
After your visit, send a thank-you email to the interviewers at each school and the students who toured. Therefore, don't forget to get a business card from the student and the interviewer.
** Those who do not know any active or graduated boarding school students around **
If you contact BSAJ, you can ask questions from each school online as well as actual experiences.
** Those who have difficulty studying abroad for the purpose of long-term (1 year or more) study abroad or graduation **
If you want to experience life abroad as a trial, you may want to join a summer school as a short-term study abroad program. See Step 3: Think about how to spend your summer vacation .
Step 6 : Decide which school you want to go to
It was sunny and you passed the boarding school too! congratulations!
But choosing a high school isn't over yet!
Action after pass / fail announcement
Check the deadline to convey your intention to enroll
School visit
Interview with graduates (current students)
Rethink your own values, what you want to challenge, and what you want from your school.
Properly convey your intention to enter (or not)
Fill in the required documents
Filling out the documents sent by the school
Obtaining VISA from embassies in each country
Health checkup and vaccinationCompletion documents
This is the beginning
Please be careful not to lose your grades, be suspended from school, or be expelled from school. It is possible to cancel your enrollment. Please do your best until graduation.
Get accustomed to watching movies in English and listening to podcasts
** Those who do not know any active or graduated boarding school students around **
If you contact BSAJ, you can ask questions from each school online as well as actual experiences.
** Those who have difficulty studying abroad for the purpose of long-term (1 year or more) study abroad or graduation **
If you want to experience life abroad as a trial, you may want to join a summer school as a short-term study abroad program. See Step 3: Think about how to spend your summer vacation .