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The sky’s the limit with students and their possibilities for school opportunities after Applewild. Our students are prepared academically and ready to take on leadership roles at their secondary school and beyond at universities.
What’s Next?
Upon graduation, Applewild students have learned and accomplished a great deal—they know they are ready for future challenges, they are excellent problem solvers, and they are confident they can make contributions to their communities.
Our students continue their education at a wide variety of day and boarding independent schools, and some choose to return to public schools. Secondary school advisors work closely with each student and their parents to guide and shape the secondary school search. As a result of this individualized process, each year over 90% of our students are accepted at their first or second-choice schools.
Admission directors often compliment us and seek out Applewild students, knowing how well-prepared they are for the next step in their education.
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Our personal approach
We view supporting our students though choosing their secondary school as our last gift to our students. We honor each family’s choices about whether to pursue admission at a day or boarding school, or to choose a charter or local public schooling option.
Students who plan to graduate are divided into three groups. The Head of School, Assistant Head of School, and Dean of Students each take a group and work individually with each student, their family, and consultant (if applicable) to identify a list. We help our students identify a narrative to help them emphasize their strengths and interests to position each student compellingly.
All of our 8th and 9th grade students work on personal essays in their Writing Lab class. This allows students who are preparing to apply to independent secondary schools the opportunity to craft their required application essays. We conduct mock interviews to give our students the opportunity to practice.
To help our students identify next school options, we invite representatives from secondary schools to campus. Our graduating students are then invited to enjoy a lunch with the admissions officer and have the opportunity to build a relationship with that school.
The 9th Grade Difference
While our school ends in the ninth grade, we recognize that some of our students will choose to leave after the eighth grade. Our 9th graders are the team captains, dorm prefects, and the students that all other students look up to. The 9th grade program gives students many opportunities:
- The gift of time to develop one more year of foundational skill development
- Leadership opportunities that would not be possible in a secondary school environment
- Independent Secondary school placement is as strong for 9 to 10 or 9 to 9 as it is for 8 to 9
- Reduces stress on students by allowing them to stay “young” for another year without the presence of older teenagers
- Allows for physical growth for students who would benefit from another year of maturation or who want to play sports and need the larger size to be competitive
Many top-tier schools add seats for 10th graders because this is when junior boarding students want to attend. There are fewer applicants for 10th grade so statistically a well-qualified candidate will typically have twice the chance for acceptance to 10th grade than at 9th. Our students apply out from a position of strength, with solid grades and co-curricular experience. Applewild students are at a competitive advantage over their peers.
Recent matriculations include
Andy Carr enjoys working with students, families, and faculty in his role as Associate Director of Teaching & Learning and Dean of Students. His love of history and teaching also has him back in the classroom leading a 7th grade Geography class. Mr. Carr has been working in education since graduating from Colby College. After earning his M.A. in Private School Leadership from Columbia University in 2017, Mr. Carr has held various leadership roles in Connecticut and Virginia independent schools. Since joining the Applewild community in 2021, Mr. Carr has lived in the Flat Rock Dorm with his wife, Mrs. Carr, and their two young children who are Applewild students.
Dr. Packard has dedicated her professional career over the last 27 years to education. She leads a diverse and dynamic faculty and supervises all teaching and learning. Dr. Packard received her undergraduate degree from Barnard College, Columbia University, and her MAT at Sacred Heart University where she presented on students who were double identified as LBLD and Gifted. She then went on to earn her doctorate degree in educational leadership at Northeastern. She loves living on campus with her husband Mr. Ben and her very large chocolate labrador, Toby.
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