Living in a city like Houston, with a plethora of excellent independent high schools, can be a blessing and a burden. While the variety available provides a strong possibility of finding the right one, the process of determining which school is best for an individual can be somewhat daunting. This question of how to choose the best fit, as well as how to optimize your chances of gaining admittance to such a school, once identified, are the questions addressed in this article.

If you are attending an independent school that ends in the eighth grade, you can expect that there is someone on staff whose responsibilities include assisting with the high school admissions process. At Regis, the Middle School Division Head leads this effort with support from the Registrar. Regis offers its students the opportunity to take Saturday ISEE Prep classes leading up to the exam, individualized interview preparation, and, when requested, assistance with essay writing. This is, of course, in addition to hosting lunch-and-learns with the high schools that students are most likely to matriculate into, as well as some they may not yet have considered, including boarding schools. For the schools most attended by our graduates, class visits are scheduled so students can tour the campuses and hear from faculty and staff from the various high schools. In a city like Houston, there really is a school for everyone, and you should feel at ease leaning on your current school’s expertise and guidance.

It is easy to get lost in all of these choices. Students will tend, without guidance and exposure, to drift towards the status quo or where their friends say they are hoping to attend. However, just because a school is great, doesn't mean that it is great for everyone. I tell our families at Regis that shadow visits are a must. These are days that parents schedule with the high schools they are considering, during which the eighth-grade student spends the day with a current freshman at the high school.

So much of picking the right high school is qualitative; where does the student feel in their gut is right for them? The answer to this often crystallizes when they spend this type of day on the actual campus.

Once parents and students have an idea of the school(s) they would like to attend, it is time to consider how to maximize their chances of admission. There are three pieces of evidence that a high school admissions committee will weigh when making its decisions. The first, and the piece most stressed over, is the high school placement exam (ISEE). To maximize your student’s chances of scoring well, consider enrolling in a targeted ISEE Prep Course. Regis offers one to our students, though there is no shortage of quality programs out there. In addition, aim to take the exam in early to mid-November. ISEE does not allow students to take the exam more than once per “season,” and taking it in mid-November gives students, especially those unhappy with their scores, time to retake it in January. Lastly, if your student receives testing accommodations, be sure to check with your testing site to confirm that they offer the accommodations you expect. The second piece weighed by the committee will be the students’ grades. Unlike ISEE scores, grade history provides indicators of work ethic as well as aptitude. High schools understand that sometimes students are simply poor test takers, but a history of good grades can outweigh this and paint a picture of a hardworking, academically successful student. The final piece of evidence, and this one can truly make the difference when coming from a school like Regis, is the teacher and principal recommendation forms. The best ISEE scores in the world often cannot overcome a poor recommendation, while the opposite is also true. Recommendation forms can highlight strengths that would otherwise go unnoticed and carry the weight of a long, positive history between Regis and the high schools our alumni have attended. All three pieces of evidence are weighed somewhat equally, with extremes in either direction potentially counterbalancing any negatives (or positives) from the others.

Before closing, I would add that high schools like to admit students who they know want to attend their school. How do you let the high schools know that you are truly and deeply committed to attending? Go to open houses, attend athletics events or any other events they hold that are open to the community, and make a point to speak to faculty and staff at these events. It's essential to have your eighth grader introduce themselves and express interest. And never forget that you can always ask your current school for guidance and help specific to your student. We all want our graduates to attend and be successful at the high school of their dream.

Adam Farnie serves as the Middle School Division Head and is a member of Regis' Administrative Team. He holds an M.Ed.A. in Educational Leadership and Administration and a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of St. Thomas. Adam has eight years of classroom teaching experience, and prior to joining the staff at Regis, he taught in the classroom at Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart and served as Assistant Principal at Our Lady of Guadalupe School.