As always, the autumn has been busy with receptions, fairs, and interviews for Groton admission counselors.  We travel frequently to find great applicants for Groton. We held an admission reception in Washington recently and I also attended the annual meeting for TABS, The Association of Boarding Schools.  It was a busy week!  We are now hunkered down to interview as many people as we possibly can in the months ahead.

 

I have a couple of things on my mind as I write today...  

 

First... perfectionism.  I want to assure you that we do not have any perfect people at Groton.  As far as I am concerned there are no perfect people on the planet.  And yet, many feel pressure to do everything perfectly.  I see this tendency when people are applying to school.  There is no perfect interview. There is no perfect application or recommendation.  Frankly, I have never seen a perfect SSAT result either (a few people each year get all the multiple choice questions right, but they rarely include a "perfect" essay).  It goes without saying that you don't have to be perfect to be accepted by a top boarding school.  Tennis legend Billie Jean King said, "Pressure is a privilege."  I see the truth in that statement, but sometimes we can put an excessive amount of pressure on ourselves to do everything right.  Do your best.  If you feel pressure to do everything perfectly, stop.

 

Next topic:  While there are still openings on our December visits calendar, we opened up the month of January for those of you who have not visited yet.  You can access the online scheduling calendar for campus visits within your application portal after you complete the Candidate Profile and indicate that this biographical form should be sent to Groton.  You can send it to over 60 other schools, too!  

 

Lastly, at times it may seem difficult at times to understand what life is like at a particular school.  At Groton, our website offers a number of places that can help you "get inside" the Groton Circle.  Here are some pages of our site that may help you learn more about the character of our community...

Zebra Tales.  Our mascot is the zebra.   These days, Groton students are often referred to as "Zeebs."  Our "tales" are blogs written by Groton students.

Living at Groton.  This page gives you details about daily life at Groton.

Media.  Here you will find access to student newspapers and publications about the school.  Plus, you'll find tons of photos, too!

 

To learn about the academic experience, you can find a great deal of information at our curriculum page.

 

Where has the school been?  Check out History.  Where is it going?  Perhaps this is an even more important question!  Check out Strategic Framework 2030.  

 

Happy Thanksgiving!