Year 9 MHS entry

[wannabe]

Hi,
I sat for selective school exam but could not get an offer either to MHS or Suzanne Cory. Does anyone know if all the offers have already been finalized or there still is a chance that I may still be offered a spot? My results are as follows.

Verbal Reasoning: Superior
Numerical Reasoning: Superior
Reading Comprehension: Above Average
Mathematics: Superior
Persuasive Expression: Average
Creative Expression: High Average

Thanks.

[rangercn]

Hello wannabe
What school do you go to?  Must be really competitive... 3 sups should have qualified for MHS let alone Suzanne. I know several guys who got in MHS with just one or two sups. Unfortunately, it is unlikely you'll receive an offer as the enrolment and subject forms have already been sent out and are due first week of next term. However, technically the enrolments are not yet finalised as he forms haven't been given back. Btw, did you get principal's discretionary? If not, even if offers are available, people who failed to pass the interview will get priority.

[wannabe]

Hi Rangercn,

thanks for your reply.

We are currently overseas and that is part of the problem. I did get Principal's discretion invitation for both but we had school holidays here and I did not have my last report with me so could not send the docs on time. By the time schools opened date had already passed to apply. Also I only was given 1 week to reply and it takes more than  one week for post to arrive to Australia from here . Secondly here we have no possibility of extra curricular activities so did not have much to add in my  application.

Now I am thinking what can be done for future. I do play keyboard and never thought of myself at any level in this area. After the date passed I started planning  for next year and had an informal assessment done by a piano teacher and the teacher assessed  me to  be at grade 4. I am thinking to try in year 10. Seems that's the only option I have now.. I really want to go to mhs..you think piano/keyboard at level 4 with reasonable exam will get me there in year 10?

what other options I may have? I have been outside Australia for about 8 year so do not have much info what other options I may have  can anyone guide me? I already have completed  my year 8 here, as session here end in June. I have already started  year 9 and we will move back to Melbourne coming January.
I will appreciate any guidance regarding what option I have now and what I should do.

Thanks,

[rangercn]

I see, 
Year 10 entry into any selective schools, eg MHS, has a huge emphasis upon extra-curricular activities apart from the test itself, as all applicants are required to pass an interview. Year 10 MHS entry is harder compared to the year 9 one. From memory, approximately 200 people do the test, 60 of them are interviewed, and 30 are offered a spot. It's great that you learn piano/keyboard, however grade 4 probably won't make the cut. Also, your lack of extra curricular activities places you at a significant disadvantage to the rest of the students. In the time you have before next year, I would suggest you participate in extra-curricular activities eg. Sports, music, debating, leadership etc. Also, if you are interested in science, you may also want to try out for John Monash Science School, a y10-12 specialist selective school. Further information can be found on each schools website.

[wannabe]

Thanks a lot. Do you think there are similar/better options in private schools? How would you compare attending a private school to MHS?

I do have a couple of offers from private schools in 27k'ish tuition range and my parents are ok with paying if what we get in return is worth it, One concern my parents have is that we are not elite/rich. Will it be an issue to be in these institutions while you do not "belong" there?

Which private schools in Victoria/Melbourne would you recommend if we want to go this way? Any idea how competitive admission to these schools is?

Thanks,

[wannabe]

Another question....One option I have is to attend Select entry program for one of the schools. Should I go for private school option or Select entry program for public school?

Thanks

[pi]

Thanks a lot. Do you think there are similar/better options in private schools? How would you compare attending a private school to MHS?

I do have a couple of offers from private schools in 27k'ish tuition range and my parents are ok with paying if what we get in return is worth it, One concern my parents have is that we are not elite/rich. Will it be an issue to be in these institutions while you do not "belong" there?

Which private schools in Victoria/Melbourne would you recommend if we want to go this way? Any idea how competitive admission to these schools is?

Thanks,

If you're looking for private schools that are better than MHS, you'd be looking at the elite ones. Think Melbourne Grammar, Scotch, etc. MHS is a pseudo-private school anyway given it has a lot more facilities than the average public school, so you'd really want the top private schools if you're looking for something similar or better.

You mention a lot about what your parents want, what do YOU want?

Another question....One option I have is to attend Select entry program for one of the schools. Should I go for private school option or Select entry program for public school?

Thanks

If it were me, I'd prefer top private schools over a local selective program. Depends which school you're talking about, Balwyn or UHS programs are good enough for me to consider them over many other schools for example.

On the side, you sound super formal for a 13/14 year old hahaha

[wannabe]

I do not know what I want. I moved out of Australia while I finished year 1 and do not know what it is like there. All the info I have is what is fed from parents or forums. So I don't event know what to expect. While in Australia I went to public primary school in Mitcham/Doncaster area and that is all I know about schooling there, even that I remember vaguely. My parents were immigrants to Australia, so my parents also do not have inside knowledge of things. They never went to schools/uni there..

Now that I am starting year 9 my parents think it is time to settle and prepare for uni properly. My school fees here is similar to what Melbourne Grammar/Scotch charge in Australia but schools here offer zero extra curricular and my parents think if we pay we should get more value for it and that's why we have decided to move back. But the problem we have is where to find that value for money. To be honest I do not have much issues with academics but anything else forget it.. no games/music/competitions, as school does not offer any and no other facilities either.

Being formal.. thats how it is taught to me....

[pi]

If you can continue to pay the big bucks, and if you can get admission into, I'd suggest pursuing a top private school. You'll get a top education and the opportunity to pursue many other avenues.

[wannabe]

Thanks,

Where will you place Geelong College/Geelong Grammar/Wesbourne/PEGS? Do they compare to Melbourne Grammar/Scotch or are they nowhere near?

I initially will prefer to find a school on west side as we will be moving to that side of Melbourne as that is more affordable. But if the schools worth considering are only on east side then we will plan accordingly. As I mentioned the driving force behind moving back is education, so everything we will plan will revolve around schools.

Thanks,

[pi]

In all honesty, those schools don't come close. Geelong Grammar has some pretty amazing facilities but its academia isn't in the ballpark of Melbourne Grammar or Scotch. PEGS is probably the best academically of those listed, but you'll have to check recent rankings because I'm a little out of the loop.

I traveled from Werribee (you can't get much more west-side than that!) to the city every day since Year 7 for school, it's very do-able and many others make the journey on the 7am train. Melbourne Grammar and Scotch aren't far from where my schooling was, there were a few lads on my train who went to those schools. If living in the west is more affordable (and understandably so!) then stay there and just take a train down to to school.

[wannabe]

Thanks once again for all the help and I am sorry to bombard the forum with so many questions but I am really clueless and am looking for help.

We already are in discussions with some of elite schools for admission and admission process is underway for some but some schools have already finalized admissions for next year and we might have to work on year 10 entry for 2017 for those. If things do not work out for this year for top school then I have to take year 9 either in an "average" private school or public school. If you were in my situation would you consider attending not-the-best private school or a public school while targeting to get into an elite private school for year 10? Is starting in such schools at year 10 too late to gain anything or that is fine, given that I will start almost from 0 for any non-academic activities?

Thanks once again for all the help.

[Sil]

Thanks once again for all the help and I am sorry to bombard the forum with so many questions but I am really clueless and am looking for help.

We already are in discussions with some of elite schools for admission and admission process is underway for some but some schools have already finalized admissions for next year and we might have to work on year 10 entry for 2017 for those. If things do not work out for this year for top school then I have to take year 9 either in an "average" private school or public school. If you were in my situation would you consider attending not-the-best private school or a public school while targeting to get into an elite private school for year 10? Is starting in such schools at year 10 too late to gain anything or that is fine, given that I will start almost from 0 for any non-academic activities?

Thanks once again for all the help.

Sorry if I'm jumping in or anything... ahah

If you can get admitted into one of the elite schools that you're looking at for Year 9, then that's great

Personally, I don't think it will matter too much in choosing to attend an 'average' school in Year 9, if you don't get into one of the schools you want. Just make sure that the school has what you want for the time that you're there (i.e. Do you want to go to a school camp/trip in Year 9? Do you want to do an extended program at that school? What co-curricular programs does that school run that would appeal to you? Does that school have a music program? Does that school participate in interschool sports?) It all really depends on who you are and what you really want, even though it might only be for a year. Choosing to attend a school that has a wide variety of programs and activities to choose from throughout the year may be more ideal. It will make you look better if you do choose to try out for schools like MHS where they look for students who are more 'all-rounded' with experience in sport, music, etc. (for Year 9 -> Year 10 entry). You may even decide to stay at that school for longer, but clearly you want to be at the best of the best of schools, so maybe not

Your plan sounds good; choose to attend an 'average' Year 9 school before going to an 'elite' Year 10 school, public or private.

It definitely won't be too late to not gain anything in Year 10 from a co-curricular perspective. I know that this year for me, I attended heaps of events, programs, sports, leadership programs, etc. at my school, and I definitely learnt something out of each thing. So no, it won't be too late at all. As long as you are willing to chase those opportunities and put in the effort, you should be ok