“Preparing Your Child for 2025 High School Admissions” is a one-day immersive seminar that will help your child navigate the high school admissions landscape. Choosing the right high school can make or break your child’s future. We can provide the tools and guidance needed for that process.

What Will We Cover?

The seminar will cover the intensive 12 to 14 month high school admissions process. We’ll go over immediate steps for students and parents to take, while emphasizing the importance of early preparation. MEK will provide a detailed explanation of the various school types, including public magnet schools, private day schools, and boarding schools. You and your child will learn the requirements to get into each of these schools and how to prepare.

We’ll provide specific action steps for students so that they know exactly what to expect and how to prepare. This gives your child the best chances at getting into the school of their choice. We’ll also go over the different admissions exams at each type of school and how best to study for them. In doing so, we will provide the curriculum for Common Core State Standards, explaining how those standards form the basis for various admission exams.

Why Does My Child Need This Seminar?

Navigating the high school admissions process isn’t easy, and it can be extremely competitive. Bergen County Academies (BCA) and Bergen Tech (BT) are highly sought-after public magnet schools. Many consider these schools to be equivalent to a private school education, but they are tuition free. For that reason, it can be very difficult to get in. However, we want to give your child the best chance at doing so. MEK’s seminar will go over the differences between BCA and BT so that your child can figure out which type of school is the right fit.

BCA offers nine specialized academies: Science and Technology; Culinary Arts and Hospitality Administration; Medical Science Technology; Visual and Performing Arts (Visual, Theater, and Music Academies); Business and Finance; Engineering Design Technology; Technology and Computer Science. BCA’s curriculum is deeply embedded in the chosen academy, with students taking multiple related courses per year. For instance, if your child chooses Science and Technology, instead of taking one science class per year, like at a non-specialized high school, your child might be taking three science courses per year at BCA. BT has a similar system, but they call it “programs” instead of “academies.” Programs include law and justice, strategic asset management (business), and others.

If your child decides to apply to BCA/BT, they must choose between the different academies or programs. That choice is a binding one for their 4-year high school career. No doubt, this is a big decision for any eighth grader to make. It will determine their futures in more ways than one and should not be taken lightly. However, MEK wants to make that decision process as easy as possible. Our workshop will help your child navigate that decision and determine whether BCA or BT is right for them. We’ll provide personalized instruction to help them understand the admissions process and figure out how to prepare.

What if BCA/BT is Not Right for My Child?

BCA and BT are not the only options! Many of our students go on to either a Catholic high school, a private day school, or even boarding school. These options are great for students who don’t feel that BCA/BT is the right fit for them, or even as a backup if they don’t get into BCA or BT. Either way, BCA/BT should not be the only programs your child applies to. We want you to be aware of all the options.

There are a number of Catholic schools in the area (Academy of the Holy Angels, Immaculate Heart Academy, Bergen Catholic High School, etc.), in addition to prestigious private day schools (Dwight-Englewood School, Horace Mann School) and boarding schools (Philips Academy Andover, Philips Exeter Academy, Choate Rosemary Hall). Because those schools charge tuition, MEK’s goal is to help your child secure the best scholarship possible. This seminar will go over everything you need to do to get one of those highly sought-after scholarships.

Without this workshop, the admissions process would be much more difficult and overwhelming, hindering your child’s chances of getting into the school of their choice, or getting the best possible scholarship. This is one of the most important years in your child’s education. Choosing the right school will help determine their futures. Therefore, MEK wants you to have all of the tools and information you need to navigate this process and lead your child to success!

MEK’s Preparing for High School Admissions Seminar Success

This seminar has a 92% interview rate for BCA/BT applicants, meaning that 92% of the students who take our workshop and apply to BCA/BT schools get an admissions interview. This is significantly higher than the general 10% interview invitation rate.

For students who reach the interview stage, we have a 60-70% acceptance rate and an overall ~55% acceptance rate for all program participants.

How can I learn more?

The Preparing Your Child for 2025 High School Admissions Seminar will be offered on the following dates and times:

• January 3, 2025 (Friday) – 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM – Closter location (hybrid)
• January 4, 2025 (Saturday) – 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM – Closter location (hybrid)
• January 16, 2025 (Thursday) – 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM – Palisades Park location

At the seminar, we’ll provide concrete next steps as to how your child can start right away with their high school admissions prep. If you want to learn more, click on the link or contact us at (855)-346-1410. Sign up today! Seats are limited.