High School Insider - Guiding Middle School Students through their High School Application Process

High School Insider (HSI) is a student-founded and run nonprofit program where middle students connect with current high school students from Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, and hopefully more boarding high schools in the future! Students learn about life on campus life, academic insights, and how current students managed the prestigious boarding school application process. 

This nonprofit program utilizes Zoom to connect students and parents with session hosts. Through these interactive meetings, the program experts use their personal experiences to guide parents through the application process. While this does not guarantee acceptance or tie directly into the high school’s admission process, it covers important topics middle school parents need to know before applying to this prestigious high school. 

If you are interested in this program, please reach out to Crimson Student, Max Guan (mguan22@andover.edu), the organization’s founder and current senior at Phillips Academy. For information and details on covered topics, team, and engagement processes, please refer to https://hsinsider.org/topics/.

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What is the origin of HSI?

I first began to formulate the HSI concept the moment I received my high school acceptance letter from Phillips Academy:

"Congratulations, Max! Your self-motivation and ability to adapt to new situations will have you well at Andover! You belong here! Go Big Blue!"

It got me thinking about belonging and how I can make a lasting impact that embodies the school's selfless spirit.

A couple of weeks into summer quarantine, I got in the habit of deep-thinking at midnight. One rainy night, the splatters of raindrops kept me awake and gradually led to insomnia. It was then that the words in my acceptance letter resurfaced. Then I remembered a Dr. Seuss quote, "Because when you stop and look around, this life is pretty amazing." I thought about my pre-pandemic, on-campus school life and how my versatile traits and diverse passions acted as differentiators, contributing to my acceptance over a large pool of other qualified applicants.

The following day, I began assembling ideas, questions, and topics, building a "curriculum" that summed up my application process and life at Andover. I thought of all the international students hoping to attend an American school that didn’t have student-organized activities with student-oriented insights. They were anxious, just like I was when I applied to a US middle school. 

I wanted to help them. I envisioned a nonprofit organization that would address those concerns, connecting current scholars to interested applicants through remote presentations, live interactions, and student-based Q&A seminars.  

The project seemed simple, but condensing 16 years of my life in an insightful presentation was stressful. As I developed my project, I reflected on my own journey and how I gained the courage to start despite lingering doubts. I wasn't sure how the project would go but I did know that I wanted to help at least one student take their first small leap of faith. 

I analyzed potential contacts and sources and narrowed my target audience to Beijing international schools. This seemed most manageable given my middle school connections and preliminary understanding of the institution's competence and demographic. Several days later, I received my first response. Unfortunately, the principal wanted to retain families within the institution and wasn't interested in a collaboration.

I contemplated methods of rebranding, restructuring, and reevaluating the purpose and image of the nonprofit. I found the Parents Association page on the school's website. I used my parents' social media contacts to inform members of my service. After some digging and research, I sent a text message to the leader. Through this connection, 39 participants joined the group chat and agreed to participate in a 6-week cycle of student-informed material.

High School Insider (hsinsider.org), which sought to broaden its service to include US middle schools, has contacted over 90 schools over the past year, six of which gave positive feedback and expressed interest in potential collaborations. With a team of 10 core members composed of executives, board members, and junior recruits, we distributed workload in the outreaching and social media departments and accommodated varying levels of time commitment to the organization. With the class of 2026 application deadlines looming, we hope to provide an engaging platform and continue expanding our sphere of influence by publishing video content on our website and posting excerpts of student experience interviews.

Board members like Brayden Massaro, a current junior at Phillips Academy, recounted why he joined the organization. 

"The main reason I was interested in joining High School Insider was that I wanted to use my experience to help younger students through a daunting process. Applying to private high schools can be tough without guidance. Some students may have siblings or parents who can help, but I know from experience that not all students have the same access to guidance. It is also a new mindset for many middle-schoolers who may not be used to the competition. It is essential to understand that finding a school that fits their needs and makes them happy is considerably more important than just getting into a high-ranking school. This was one lesson I learned after going through the process of applying to Phillips Academy Andover. I met some amazing people here, but I have come to realize that the admissions department is not just looking for high-performing students, but people who they think would thrive in this campus environment," Brayden explained. 

Another board member, Vance Fabrizio from Phillips Academy's class of 2023, shared the following:

"I joined High School Insider because I wanted to help assist 8th graders, similar to what I received while applying to boarding schools. I found it much easier when someone walked me through the process than doing it on my own. Since I had an advisor plan the steps I needed to adhere to, my high school application process was easier compared to my peers."