Candidate Profile (Common)

• Academic, Athletic and Personal Achievements (1,500 characters)
  • Please note your interests and activities in areas such as music, drama, art, community service, debate, writing, athletics, employment, or hobbies. We understand that some candidates have more opportunities for organized activities than others, but we are interested in how you spend your time outside of the classroom. Please only submit information from the past two years. Please use the “Add More” button below the first two listings if you would like to enter additional activities. If you still need more space, please use the “Additional Information” section. 
  • Academic, Athletic and Personal Achievements-List or briefly describe any academic or personal achievements of which you are especially proud. Use this area to note any academic honors you have received. (1,500 characters)
• Additional Information/Explanation (6,000 characters)
  • If you would like to provide any additional information that was not specifically requested or did not fit in the spaces provided, you may use the space below or upload a PDF (files must be under 1MB). Please only submit relevant information from the past two years. Do not upload grades, official test scores or transcripts in this section. If you have a document in a format other than PDF, you can download an official add-in for the latest versions of Microsoft Word that can convert Word documents to PDF. View the Gateway Knowledge Base article at https://www.gatewaytoprepschools.com/articles/6-creating-and-reducing-size-of-pdf-files for more information on creating PDFs. Please do not add pictures or scan printed documents. Doing so will potentially cause your file to be too large to upload.
• Multimedia Description 1&2 (1,500 characters)
  • Please check with the school to see if they have other ways of accepting multimedia.
  • Students who have a very strong interest in a particular area are invited to submit up to two links to multimedia content. Examples of multimedia content that students have provided in the past include YouTube videos, music files, and art portfolios. Be sure to provide a description of the content in the space provided. Many schools no longer accept CDs, DVDs, videotapes or portfolios. Links are the simplest and most commonly accepted way to send multimedia to schools. NOTE: If you have more than two links you may add them to the “Additional Information” section above along with a description. Please limit additional link submissions in the “Additional Information” section to no more than three multimedia links. If your multimedia will not be available until later, do not delay in submitting your Candidate Profile now. Each school participating in the Gateway system has alternative means of accepting multimedia later in the application process. Consult each school for directions.

Student Questionnaire: Personal (All Required)

The questions below are an important part of your Blair Academy application. They help us learn more about who you are—not just as a student, but also as a person, community member and learner. We encourage you to answer thoughtfully and honestly. There are no “right” answers. We are most interested in hearing your authentic voice and learning about the experiences, values, interests and perspectives that matter to you. Recommended length for short responses: 100–200 words each.

• As you consider Blair Academy, what aspects of the community, programs or student experience stand out to you most? (2,000 characters) (*)
• What is something you’ve become genuinely interested in recently? What drew you to it? (Hobbies, sports, books, etc.) (2,000 characters) (*)
• Tell us about a time when your perspective changed about a person, idea or experience. (2,000 characters) (*)
• Tell us about someone you admire and what you have learned from them. (2,000 characters) (*)
• What academic opportunity are you hoping to pursue at Blair? (2,000 characters) (*)

Student Essay

Please choose one of the following essay topics and write a 250-500 word response. (5,000 characters) (*)

• Prompt 1 : Describe a challenge, setback or difficult moment that shaped you. What did you learn about yourself through the experience?
• Prompt 2 : What is the best piece of advice you have received?

Parent Statement (Optional)

Please share information about your child that would be helpful to the Admission Committee. Typically, parents have chosen to write about their child’s strengths, weaknesses, background or aspirations that might otherwise not come to our attention. (6,000 characters)

Recommendation

• Current Principal/Counselor Recommendation (*)
• Current English Teacher Recommendation (*)
• Current Mathematics Teacher Recommendation (*)
• Personal Recommendation