Size: What is the school's total enrollment, how many students in a given grade (i.e. 10th grade, 11th grade, etc.), what is the average class size? What effect does total enrollment have on student-to-student and faculty-to-student relationships? If the school is coed, what is the boy/girl ratio?
Geography: Is the school in a rural, suburban, or urban setting? Is it near an urban/cultural center? What are the weather conditions in the school's location? What is the driving time from New Jersey to the school? What is the availability of public transportation? If you are considering a day school, what are the transportation options?
Curriculum: How extensive are the offerings in the various disciplines? What are the elective choices? Is an extensive elective selection important to you? Does the school give credit for educational experiences off campus? You should obtain from the school a course of study that describes each course offered, and you should study it in terms of what you may be taking in the 10th, 11th, and 12th grade years. What can the school offer in computer technology or other areas of special interest to you?
Supervision: Are you seeking a school where the faculty will provide close supervision, with a student's time closely planned, study time supervised and rules clearly defined, or are you seeking a school where there is greater freedom and more opportunity for students to make their own decisions? How many students were asked to leave during the course of the last year?
Leadership: What opportunities are there for leadership in student government and other areas of student life? If you are looking at boarding schools, are there dormitory proctoring opportunities? Are there opportunities for peer counseling?
Facilities: How extensive are the school's performing and creative arts facilities, athletic facilities, science labs, computer labs, etc.? To what extent is the campus wired for technology? How large is the library, how extensive is the collection, including periodicals, new books purchased annually and basic reference materials? How conducive is the library to doing research or just doing relaxed reading? How well maintained is the school plant?
Sports: What sports are or are not offered, and at what competitive level? Will you play? Is this important to you?
School Life: What is the quality of life like on the campus? How cohesive is the student body? Can you sense school spirit when you are visiting the campus? If you are visiting a boarding school, what is dorm life like, how comfortable and spacious are the rooms? Are students' rooms generally messy or neat? Is this important to you? How accessible and visible are the dorm masters (a good question to ask a student guide)? Does the school provide social and cultural activities on campus such as dances, visiting lecturers, musical or drama troupes, etc.? What field trips are offered? What programs are offered in special areas (i.e. sexuality, substance abuse, etc.)?
College Guidance and Career Exploration: You should look into the college guidance department, determine how many staff members are involved in this important process and how many students each staff member counsels in a given year. What is the "track record" of the school's graduates in terms of college acceptance? The college guidance office should be able to provide you with a college acceptance profile. Because student tour guides are often upper class students, they may already have had contact with the college counselors and will be a good source of information on this subject. You can also ask how many college admissions representatives visit the school each year. How easy is it for a student to have a preliminary interview with these representatives? Does the school invite people to come to the campus to speak about their career in law, medicine, business, education, etc.? What is the school's commitment to career guidance?
Diversity: You may want to ask about the make-up of the student body, including socioeconomic backgrounds and the range of ability of the students. At a boarding school, you may want to ask about the geographic distribution of the students enrolled.
Financial Aid: Does the school offer grants to parents and what are the requirements for application? What forms must be submitted? You should not hesitate to ask these questions of the admission officers if you feel you may qualify for aid. Grants today are based on need. Know that if you are currently receiving financial aid from Peck School, you will likely be eligible for continued financial aid at the secondary level. Generally speaking, secondary schools have considerably more aid to give than elementary and middle schools. It is not advised to inquire or request aid if it is not needed.