For many, March Madness conjures up brackets, “the big dance,” and basketball. For our ninth graders and admission offices (including our own), March Madness brings nervousness and excitement for the March 10 decision date.
At Bement, we think about the journey after Bement long before the ninth grade year. Yet it is during the summer and fall and even early winter of ninth grade that our students and parents spend hours researching schools, touring and visiting campuses, and speaking with current students and families at schools they are drawn to. Students complete applications, revise essays, and talk about their choices with teachers as they request letters of recommendations. Parents think about what to share about their child. How much is too much? Should we develop a video showcasing athletic prowess, concert performances, or math competitions? How can we best compose an Art portfolio? Interview prep, conversations, and thank you letters…It is a lot of work. In the end students have shared themselves with the schools they would be excited to attend. Then they wait. Will I be asked to the big dance?
In our office, we have spent the last several months (sometimes years) getting to know students and their families. Tours, interviews, reviewing applications, and watching performances fill our days. Whether it is questions from a parent of a kindergarten applicant understanding what Bement may offer their first child to parents from overseas contemplating boarding school for their twelve year old, each conversation is helpful as we get to know one another. Committees meet and discuss. We send admissions decisions. Then we wait. We have chosen you and now we hope you will choose us.
While March 10 has passed, the process is not over. Decisions have arrived, some met with tears of joy, others feelings of disappointment. Some students will have great clarity about the next step in their educational journey. Others will have months of not knowing while schools manage their waitlists. Uncertainty in this process comes in many forms, and learning to navigate that challenge is tied to Bement’s emphasis on resilience. Our secondary school partners dwell in the unknown at this time of year, too. So while families are saying “we are so excited, my child was accepted to school X,” they also know that the school is saying “we are so excited to accept this student and we hope they choose us.” There are a lot of great partners out there, and the admission process, from start to finish, is designed to make the right match between what the students and families need and want and what the school can provide. Strong schools are vibrant communities enriched by the young people who join taking advantage of the opportunities to learn, grow, and flourish. Each school, including Bement, strives to build a diverse, balanced, and vibrant incoming class each school year.
