I was asked today at lunch, "What type of students do you attract?" I answered, "no one particular type". The person asking wasn't asking about personality type but it got me thinking again... I have been a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) practitioner since 1993 and love that it can be applied to almost every interaction I have with people. Some of the most interesting have been observing my colleagues speak about students I know or have interviewed myself. The interaction almost always goes better when the interviewer and student share similar 'type' and have had an easy time establishing rapport. So much so, that I was inspired to offer an MBTI session at the SSATB Annual Meeting a couple of years ago to help admission professionals explore their own type to ensure that there wasn't any personality type bias in their interviewing and admission processes overall. The danger simply is…
Tag: CAIS
So you have been accepted to an independent school wait list, now what?
Waiting to learn of an admission decision or hearing from a school that you have been found acceptable but that they don't have a space for you can be frustrating, stressful and nerve wracking. Once you have been waitlisted for a school, what does it mean and what should, can you do? First, let's look at what being put on a wait list means. If you are in a "wait pool", it is the same thing. Some offices use "wait pool" instead of "wait list" as they do not want families to think that a "wait list" is prioritized. In my experience, whichever term is used, parents still want to know where their child 'is' on the wait list or where they 'are' in the wait pool. At Lakefield College School, we use the term "Accepted Pending Space" to also mean the same thing. All of these terms mean you…
Read moreSo you have been accepted to an independent school wait list, now what?
In Praise of Small Senior Elementary Schools
As a consultant and a Director of Enrollment I have encountered the problem of parents second guessing the value of a small school for their children as they approach the senior elementary years. It is usually a question of balancing a tween's social needs with their educational needs. Socially, senior elementary students are looking for more activities like dances and more athletic opportunities, things smaller schools can struggle with or are unable to provide. Yet Grade 7 and 8 students are not quite ready to be mainstreamed with Grade 11 and 12 students. Academically, smaller schools generally produce students well prepared for secondary school because they have had all important teacher time in an environment appropriate to their age level. They also have more opportunities to begin experiencing leadership roles as the 'senior' students in a small school. Parent anxiety about their child gaining entry to selective secondary schools can be…