Q:
Would you please explain what Keystone’s
highly selective admission process means for
parents and students?
A:
To be sure, our admission process is demanding. I think
that this is appropriate because the admission process
should reflect the nature of the school itself. Keystone will be
demanding and expect a lot from its students. Because we are a
college preparatory school, it is important that our students go
through a process that is similar to one they would go through in
applying for a university. Also, we want students to have pride in
being a Keystone student from the first moment they receive their
acceptance letter. They should have this sense that they met the
challenge, succeeded and are coming to this extraordinary school
to do something with that experience. If our admission process is
too easy, then not only are we setting our students up to struggle,
but they would be receiving an inaccurate message from us about
what it means to be a student at Keystone.
Our process will choose students with care and an eye towards
being the best possible school – we want all of our students to feel
“Keystone will not be a cookie
cutter school.”
stretched and challenged by the students around them because
that is what is going to make them the best students they can
be. So parents and students should know that all elements of
our application process are designed to help us gain enough
information to make a good decision, and ensure that we have a
high-quality student body.
Finally, the application process is also very focused on helping us
to develop relationships with the students and the families. The
importance of these relationships should not be undervalued.
These relationships will take time to develop, and they carry
strong implications on how we will make our final selections
and how we will grow as a community. At the