2020年2-2021年5月

Begin with a self assessment: 自我测评 综合竞争力评估

Think about what academic, athletic, and extracurricular opportunities you're looking for 和家长共同商讨择校标准（包括怎样的学术，体育，课外活动是你们所需要的）

Consider what experiences you'd like to have in the next few years (e.g., being more independent, being exposed to students from different cultures, etc.) 考虑一下在接下来的几年，你们是想小孩有怎样的经历（例如变的更独立，或者是与更多不同文化背景的人接触，学习）

Start researching a wide-range of boarding schools and consider how well boarding school meets those needs relative to local schooling options（根据择校要求，把符合要求的学校全部过一次）

2020年6月

If boarding school seems like a good option to consider, create a list of 10-20 boarding schools that seem like good choices to explore further.（初选出10-20 个学校准备着下一轮的精选）

Within this list, you'll want to have 3 groups of schools:（定位好冲高，中间和保底的三档学校）

Schools where you are very likely of getting accepted (safeties)

Schools where you have a moderate chance of acceptance

Schools that will be competitive for you to get into (reaches)

Request information from these schools:（与学校沟通套辞，确定今年是否招生及预计招生名额）

Ask schools for their brochures, videos, course books, and application materials （收集学校的详细介绍资料，录取数据及申请材料清单）

2020年7-2021年8月

After learning more about each school, narrow down your list of schools according to the key criteria that are most important to you（根据录取要求及个人偏好进一步缩小择校范围）

For example, a student might seriously look at 7 schools - 2 of those may be 'safety' schools, 2 of those may be 'reach' schools, and 3 of those may be schools where the student's likelihood of acceptance is moderate（比如申请7所学校，一般的配置就是2个冲高，2个保底，3个中间的学校）

These numbers are large enough to give you options, but are still small enough to be manageable from a time-management perspective（申请的学校数目一般建议控制在7-10 个，不建议过多，以免增加学生在申请高峰期的面试负担，但也别太少，没得选择）

Schedule visits and interviews for your short-list of schools（ 如有条件，开始预约校园面试，如果无法直接去到美国面试，那就需要在这个时候预约电话或者skype 面试）

Key point: a campus visit is the best (and sometimes only) way for you to see what's behind the glossy brochures, and see if a school is right for you（建议都是直接能渠道校园面试，也是对学校的一个实地考察）

2020年9-2020年10月

Begin visiting campuses and go on interviews（开始校园参观及面试）

Check with schools to see what standardized testing is required （核对学校的考试要求，刷出来最终成绩）

Register for SSAT, ISEE, or other necessary testing (e.g., TOEFL for international students)（报名注册最后一次考试，比如托福，ssat，目前有部分学校会要求ISEE考试）

Arrange for test preparation (e.g., test prep courses and books) as necessary (最后的冲刺考试培训）

Begin gathering teacher references （开始联系老师，收集老师推荐信）

2020年11月

Take standardized tests（最后考试时间）

Wrap-up school visits and interviews （二面或者终面）

Begin drafting essays and application （开始写文书和填写申请表格）

2020年12月

Complete essays and applications（定稿文书及最后确认提交申请）

2020年1-2021年2月

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Submit school applications and financial aid forms（提交学校申请）

Depending on the school, deadlines typically range from mid-January to early February （学校的申请截止日期一般在1月15，个别在2月1）

2021年3月

Early March - wait for school decision letters（3月上旬收到学校录取通知书）

Revisit schools where you were accepted (if possible or as necessary); begin finalizing your school choice（确认入读学校）

Early April - notify schools of your decision （4月上旬，接受学校录取，支付学费押金）

2021年5－2021年6月

Visa Application (签证材料准备，预约签证面试）

Prepared for the Immunization Record and Health Report(体检和接种疫苗）