<p>I will be a freshman at what is considered the best day school in Texas coming this fall. I was wondering what my chances are for being admitted to Andover, Exeter, Choate, or Deerfield are for the 2009-2010 school year. Is being excepted for sophomore year difficult?</p>
<p>Being accepted as a sophomore is not usually much more difficult than being accepted as 9th grader. Less spots, but less applications.
I'm sure everyone will be happy to "chance" you, but you'll need to provide your stats (grades, ECs, legacy information, SSAT scores, etc. If you need clarification, look at some other chance threads.)</p>
<p>Just an opinion, the fact you come from texas probably gives better geographic points than if you came from new jersey (correct me if im wrong, btw) or china
i would include some safeties, because no matter where you come from, even if you're like the president's daughter who traveled in five boarding schools already, you may not be accepted (crazy, but probable)</p>
<p>and woot for texas. i have friends in texas and they're awesome :D</p>
<p>I got accepted into all my target schools (9 schools) as a sophomore and those schools included Andover and Exeter. But I came as an international and my impression is that you get a boost if you're an international so I probably had an unfair edge over the other applicants? But that will of course be rescinded with college applications where being an international is severely detrimental. </p>
<p>But on with you. Basically I took the high school application process way too relax. I did the essays and responses the night before I needed to mail them and I didn't sleep at all. For the interviews I was so jetlagged that I didn't know what school I was at when until I reached the gates and for my first interview I thought Choate was in Massachusetts. </p>
<p>But I felt apart from being an international, the other things I had going for me that you might benefit from was:
99% SSAT scores - But take note, it's not that important as long as you get above 90%</p>
<p>3.7 GPA - That's not strong or remarkable I think (I have no idea) but I got all my As in academic subjects and I showed in my interview the reasons for why I got a B and a C and even more importantly how I learnt from them</p>
<p>ECs - They came naturally to me. I had never thought ECs were important at all when I first applied to Andover let alone when I started them years ago. I did debating, mock trial and young liberals (republicans) for 4 years and I did other insignificant stuff that looked like a laundry list even though I took them casually just for fun (Like went in a play because of friends etc). But the debating and young liberals helped a lot as you'll see later down</p>
<p>Interview - Best bit by far. Each school's interview was over 1 hour and I really enjoyed them. I mentioned I enjoyed economics and politics and at first they were justifiably sceptical but then we talked about those two topics for the entire interview. The debating and young liberals showed a genuine passion in these two areas as well and I tried telling them the books I read (like Clinton's autobiography or Freakenomics) as a youth that stimulated these passions. Interviews were the most important bits for me.</p>
<p>Essays - Solid to strong. For my 'safety' schools which were Milton and Taft (very naive as I didn't realize how tough they were) my essays were average. Andover's was my favorite. </p>
<p>Teachers Recommendations - Very poor. They portrayed me as careless, lazy and very carefree. I agree with the carefree (it's totally changed with the realization I'm going to a very intimidating school like Andover) but I guess it wasn't crucial for me.</p>
<p>shore, are you sure they portrayed you as lazy, or careless? because recs are usually a really big factor along with interviews and essays (i personally think grades, as long as they're in the good range, they won't matter a lot. though they do matter)
i think they probably reced you well :D because even if you WERE those things which im sure you're not, they would have the "teacher guilt" which most people have when they recommend someone badly. so i think they said you were carefree but hardworking? lol</p>
<p>Sometimes teacher recommendations can be overruled by a strong application, especially when the applicant comes from a school the school is not familiar with, and has no particular reason to trust the teachers' judgment.
But, shore, did you actually read your recs, or are you just guessing/inferring from what they said?</p>
<p>Ok so what are my chances for being accepted to sophomore year at Andover, Exeter, Choate, or Deerfield with these stats?</p>
<p>I am typically a straight A student, with the occasional B in math.
I have not yet started high school, but I plan on being on the yearbook staff, as I was the editor-in-chief at my middle school. I also plan on being on the debate team and in model united nations. I also plan on being in the investment club in and an active participator in community service. I am going to be playing basketball and golf. I am not a legacy at any of these schools. My SSAT scores are in the 95th to the 99th percentile, which is part of the reason that I was accepted into my current school, as they place a lot of value on test scores. In middle school I won many academic competitions and awards. I do not need financial aid. I will do almost anything to get accepted.</p>
<p>Hey Rmcniel, I think I have some advice for you. ONe of my good friends is in the same position as you are- displeased with his highschool decision and thinking about boarding school next year. He's done a lot of research on this subject, and ha found that typically, getting in sophomore year is not much arder than getting in freshman year. Your grades/ec's/sports sound like they will help your case a lot, and hopefully will make up for the legacy issue. I hope to see you at choate next year!</p>
<p>isn't it for most schools, EASIER to get admitted in sophmore year? not just because theres a lot more extra-curricular diversity in hs as well as planning on what you yourself are good at, but also because less people apply? i know that of around 100 kids applying for boarding school, the breakdown comes out as this (correct me if im wrong, but this is how i've seen it as): 80 kids for third form, 15 kids for fourth form and 5 kids for fifth form (PG is a different ordeal to me, though it's still an admissions process, and not too many schools accept seniors)</p>
<p>so yeah =/</p>
<p>westcoast, we can banter and argue until the end of time, but the real basic consensus is, it's about the same.</p>
<p>lol sorry didn't know i was banter/arguing XD</p>
<p>No guys, I read mine. </p>
<p>Know I'm not meant to but they didn't understand how they had to sign the thing and close it. </p>
<p>So just before I had to mail it to them I had to go back to the teachers and get them to sign the seal. </p>
<p>They were very glowing academically but they said I was carefree, casual and they definitely implied I could be more productive and hard working. Most of them were fair but my math one was disappointing because I did study/work for it. </p>
<p>But they said my other character traits were very good but it was a glaring and recurrent theme that I was carefree and a couple implied a lack of a work ethic.</p>
<p>Wow, shore, that sucks.
My recommendation that I got from my band teacher (for last year, which I ended up not applying for) basically described the perfect Exeter student. I was really surprised, because I don't view myself in the ways he described me (hardworking, intelligent, etc.) and he gave me very good ratings, you know, from the graph? the one that you put an X in the box that applies to you... Hardingworking? Excellent, Good, Average, or Needs Improvement?
He gave me Excellents to Good in everything...
I was like YEESH.</p>
<p>Congrats then, you probably deserved it.</p>
<p>Was there a humor one cos one mentioned I was really funny (She was a teacher so take that with a grain of salt)? </p>
<p>Nothing passed a excellent on mine (But there's a big gap between top 10% a and one of the best I've ever seen) but eh, got in everywhere I wanted to and they were fair at least. I'm not extra ordinary and it should be have shown somewhere otherwises it'd be unfair.</p>
<p>Shore, it sounds like your teachers may have understood that your school was too easy. Most teachers cannot understand how a student can get A's without working for them. If I would have been the adcom reading your recs, I probably would have noticed the same thing and thought, "This kid isn't working because he doesn't need to."</p>
<p>Thanks neatoburrito, but I know I'll have to work at Andover! </p>
<p>To all of you, take it easy, have fun and good luck, you seem all very qualified applicants!</p>
<p>I know you will, Shore....I know you will. And furthermore, you'll probably love doing it!</p>
<p>I agree... My mid. school was too easy for me and all the teachers got so confused- even though I talked/slept through all their classes I was making A's haha</p>
<p>Yeah neatoburrito, the classes seem amazingly interesting which is great! </p>
<p>Are you an Andover kid or parent of one?</p>