L.C. started late, then planned her application and her move with equal care.
She began later than most applicants, with activities that had never been recorded and honest worries about living far from home. We helped her rebuild an accurate record in six weeks, write about a real communication problem, and plan for her first months away.
The starting point
A student at a bilingual school in São Paulo applying to U.S. boarding schools for Grade 11
Academic interests
Environmental studies, visual communication, and mathematics
An anonymized student journey, shared with initials.
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph of L.C.
Waitlisted at The Peddie School; rejected by Groton School.
THE MATERIAL WAS ALREADY THERE
Her work was real, but it had never been written down.
L.C. had drawn illustrations for a student climate newsletter and helped a biology teacher organize local water-quality observations, but no one had recorded dates, hours, or roles. Her grades were solid, with one weak math term after a move between school systems. She wanted a U.S. education and was candid about homesickness.
HOW WE HELPED
We helped her rebuild her record from real sources, describe each activity at its true size, and treat the move itself as part of the plan.
She drew for a student climate newsletter.
Her illustrations were meant to make environmental information easier to understand.
She helped with water-quality observations.
The sessions happened irregularly, around weather and a teacher’s availability. They were described that way, not as a weekly research project.
One math term reflected a change of school systems.
A weak first term coincided with her move between systems, and her record showed it plainly.
THE NEWSLETTER ESSAY
A small audience revealed a real communication problem.
Her essay followed what happened when classmates ignored the newsletter’s first issue. It showed what she learned about presenting evidence, without claiming a bigger reach than it had.
THE FIRST ISSUE
Classmates ignored it.
The information was accurate, but the graphics were confusing, so people didn’t use them.
→
THE REDESIGN
She rethought how the evidence looked.
L.C. redesigned the graphics so the information was easier to read and use.
→
THE HONEST SCALE
The audience stayed small, and she said so.
The essay kept the newsletter’s small reach visible, which made the revision more believable.
LETRADO’S ROLE
We helped her focus on what she learned about communicating evidence. She verified every date and chose not to estimate hours she couldn’t support.
HOW WE WORKED TOGETHER
Six weeks of careful work covered the record, the schools, and the move.
Her late start created pressure to state whatever was easiest. We put the work in the right order so speed never came at the cost of accuracy.
A six-week plan rebuilt her record.
Transcripts, teacher context, activity dates, and examples of her work were gathered, with dates checked against messages and school calendars.
Accurate rather than neat
Turning irregular water-quality sessions into a weekly commitment would have been easier to summarize but less accurate, so her record kept the real pattern.
The school list fit a Grade 11 start.
She compared entry points for Grade 11, residential support, environmental courses, and access to visual arts.
Her own comparison sheet
L.C. built a comparison that included travel routes and how often she could realistically go home.
Homesickness became part of the plan.
Interview practice covered sharing a room, asking adults for help, and handling a difficult first month.
A plan for the first months
A short transition plan named routines and people she could turn to if the move felt isolating. She chose to discuss homesickness openly rather than hide it.
Loomis Chaffee was ambitious, and the move came with a real plan.
L.C. was also admitted to Milton. She chose Loomis Chaffee after comparing academic breadth, environmental opportunities, visual arts, and residential support.
Breadth for her mix of interests.Its academic range, environmental opportunities, and visual arts fit the combination she wanted to keep studying.
Support that matched her transition plan.Residential support and a realistic plan for staying in touch with her family made the move feel manageable.
