How to discuss unconventional high school experience during recruitment

Hi all,

I will be going through recruitment as a transfer this fall. While I am sure that my experience and leadership achievements at my previous college will be given greater consideration versus those in high school, and will therefore be larger conversation topics, I am unsure of how to approach my somewhat unconventional high school career and also how to describe it on my registration form.

I attended public high school in a well-regarded neighborhood for two years, and then attended boarding school out-of-state for two years. My reason for switching schools is pretty personal and I'm not sure I am comfortable with discussing it in detail during recruitment, nor do I think that would reflect well. When talking about high school with people I meet in general, I usually just mention the one I attended for the first two years and don't mention the boarding school. However, the registration form requires that I put down the name of my high school, so I am not sure which to list. I feel like it would be dishonest not to list the boarding school, which I graduated from, since it also asks for my high school GPA.

I am hoping this just won't turn out to be an issue since I am a transfer, so the focus should be on my college career. However, any thoughts on how I can approach the issue in an honest way that still won't raise any questions?

[jolene]

I can only speak for my own university, but I was a transfer college student and went through informal. When I participated in formal on the sister side, we weren't really concerned with the backstory of high school. Yes, we cared about extracurriculars and GPAs, but we never even knew if a girl had transferred high schools. I don't know about schools who have MEGA competitive recruitments, but we went by the impression the PNM left during actual recruitment. If you acted like a meanie, snoot, dud, etc, that's what we went by to know if we wanted you around. Be friendly and open and I'm sure you'll do fine.

[Titchou]

It's not that unconventional! I went to a local HS for one year and boarding school for 3 years for high school. Most people who even know just kind of say "really?" and we leave it at that. If they ask why I went to boarding school, I say because that's what my parents wanted. No one thinks you had any hand in the decision. Not sure why you think they would. I know lots of people who went to boarding school and no one ever questions it. And I'm 69 years old so I've been around long enough to get a lot of questions. Just put down where you went and leave it at that. No one's going to ask.

[FSUZeta]

I can't imagine anyone asking why you attended a boarding school after 2 years in a public school. But if on the off chance they do, you could say something to the effect of " I wanted a more challenging curriculum" or something similar.

[AZTheta]

As long as the boarding school wasn't something along the lines of a juvenile correctional facility, I don't see the problem.

[Sciencewoman]

^^^ That's what I wondered. Otherwise, I can't see where anyone would pay any attention.

[33girl]

Seeing as she has a year of college and a college GPA under her belt, is anyone even going to care where she went to highschool at this point? Unless you're going through recruitment at a college where a huge amount of people from your high school attend, I don't know why it would matter if you want to 5 high schools.

[Nanners52674]

Originally Posted by AllieG

Hi all,

I will be going through recruitment as a transfer this fall. While I am sure that my experience and leadership achievements at my previous college will be given greater consideration versus those in high school, and will therefore be larger conversation topics, I am unsure of how to approach my somewhat unconventional high school career and also how to describe it on my registration form.

I attended public high school in a well-regarded neighborhood for two years, and then attended boarding school out-of-state for two years. My reason for switching schools is pretty personal and I'm not sure I am comfortable with discussing it in detail during recruitment, nor do I think that would reflect well. When talking about high school with people I meet in general, I usually just mention the one I attended for the first two years and don't mention the boarding school. However, the registration form requires that I put down the name of my high school, so I am not sure which to list. I feel like it would be dishonest not to list the boarding school, which I graduated from, since it also asks for my high school GPA.

I am hoping this just won't turn out to be an issue since I am a transfer, so the focus should be on my college career. However, any thoughts on how I can approach the issue in an honest way that still won't raise any questions?

Originally Posted by AZTheta

As long as the boarding school wasn't something along the lines of a juvenile correctional facility, I don't see the problem.

My thought wasn't correctional, though that would be a possibility.

I'm wondering if it's a boarding school for mental health or something along those lines.

OP, I really wouldn't stress and honestly if wasn't a school for delinquents, I wouldn't worry about anyone who judges you based on that.

[KSUViolet06]

Depending on the school you're going through recruitment at, you probably aren't the only PNM who has attended boarding school.

However, high school stuff doesn't typically come up in recruitment if the members know and see from your app that you're a transfer.

[tcsparky]

This. I have 3 friends who went to boarding school. For two of them, it was simply where their parents wanted them to go because it was affiliated with their church, and for the third friend, it was "a long story" that only a few of us know about. And even then, it can be summed up to, "it's what my parents wanted." I'd just stick with that.

Originally Posted by Titchou

It's not that unconventional! I went to a local HS for one year and boarding school for 3 years for high school. Most people who even know just kind of say "really?" and we leave it at that. If they ask why I went to boarding school, I say because that's what my parents wanted. No one thinks you had any hand in the decision. Not sure why you think they would. I know lots of people who went to boarding school and no one ever questions it. And I'm 69 years old so I've been around long enough to get a lot of questions. Just put down where you went and leave it at that. No one's going to ask.

[AnchorAlumna]

You would need to list the school you graduated from, whether it was the public school or boarding school.
No reasons be given.