I was born in China but moved to America the summer before 6th grade. Should I apply as an international student?
And what are my chances if I get a supreme SSAT score?
Grade: Straight-A, with two A- on seventh grade finals, GPA 4.0 (7th grade)
Taking two years of Algebra in one next year, and also high school French I
Volunteering: I did three years of volunteering at China Science and Technology Museum, which was highly selective
AMC 8 score 18 in 7th grade, I know its not very high, but I still won the school 7th grade gold (Should I put this score on the application?)
ACT score:27, Math:29 Science:28 Reading:27 English:25
The math league(Stanford) 7th grade, score:31, 16th in the state
MathCounts 13th in Chapter
Played 8 years of Piano, 1 at Solo & Ensemble, entering more competitions next year
I know this may not be really impressive. And that is the problem. There wasn’t much extracurricular opportunities in China, and when I first moved here, it took me a year to get used to it here. Almost everything from above is from my 7th grade year.
Sooo…Any advice that will improve the chances of my admission will be great.
And also, anything to recommend for SSAT Verbal?
Why Deerfield? Why Andover? Why do you want to go to BS? What do you do for fun?
I just like to work with smart people… no offense to my current school or anything, but still…
I write for fun. I’m almost finished with the first draft of my novel
seriously… do i even have a chance? cuz if i don’t i shouldn’t bother go taking the SSAT, wasting my money and time
thanks
also if i stay at my current school i’ll run out of math courses by my senior year… i know i can take them online, but… im just trying to find out if it’s worth my time applying
So… when the AOs at Deerfield and Andover ask you the same questions ( and they will ) … your answer will be " I just like to work with smart people " and " I’m almost finished with the first draft of my novel" and " I’ll run out of math courses by my senior year… "
Good luck with that.
Look- I’m not trying to be mean but those aren’t the answers PA and Deerfield are looking for. You’re going to have to dig a little deeper “cuz” if you don’t you will be wasting your time and money.
A BS applicant can have the most amazing stats on the planet but they still have to answer WHY. If you can’t make a compelling case for admission in a more meaningful way… You don’t have a Chance.
Think about it… 
I think you should apply as an international student if you are not US citizen.
If you are a female Chinese citizen, the competition among the same applicant pool is probably the toughest. Your STATS are impressive but there should be so many Chinese female applicants with the similar STATS. So, the way to differentiate yourself is to show you have a strong passion beyond academics. Hobbies and ECs including community service could be one. Remember that those top schools do not only look at stronger academics and scores but you as a whole person. So many top students from Asian countries have strong academics and test scores and still many of them are being rejected and I believe it is mainly because they lack ‘characters’ and the competition among themselves is so intense.
thanks
and @PhotographerMom , I haven’t thought about the interview yet, but i still have plenty of time think up better answers, don’t i???
@patronyork why is female chinese pool the toughest?
Which tells me that you’ve picked two schools for the wrong reasons and it will show during your interview and on your app. People don’t choose two schools and then “think up” reasons why they want to go. You have it backwards.
All the best and good luck.
The Chinese pool is the toughest because of the vast amount of applicants that apply each year. As @patronyork has said, there are many students from that pool who are strong enough in terms of academics and test scores. The reasons why only a minority of students get accepted to these schools is because they lack other characteristics like hobbies, sports and arts. There are so many students that are qualified to enter these schools, and therefore they get to pick from other aspects.
You don’t get to choose if you want to apply as an international student or not. If you have non-US citizenship, which I assume is the case for you, you are automatically in the international pool, no matter how long you have been living in the US.
@pianogrl, Statistics shows so. I do not know where the stat is but I saw and heard the similar stories in the past. I guess their average test scores are the highest among various applicant pools.
To elaborate on what other people mentioned, many applicants chose the schools first based on their brand name. But remember, you should really show good reasons on your application and during the interview why you chose the schools. In order to be able to do so, you should do a research on each school and narrow down the choices and choose the schools. Say you have 10 top schools and they are all different. Each school has a specific feature that may attract you and you should choose the school based on that.
Many applicants with perfect grades and scores get denied, not because of the numbers but because of lack of characters. That is why (1) you should choose the schools not for their brand names but the fit, and (2) build your character by not spending 100% of your time on test prep or grades but on extracurricular activities including community service and hobbies which you have a strong passion in because they will explain you better as a person. My point is that grades and scores only show your academics, not your character which would differentiate you from so many others and hopefully indicate you have a strong fit with a school that you apply. Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying numbers are not important. They are in fact one single most important factor. But they won’t get you in. There is a certain range of numbers that won’t get you out and the rest depends on the character. That is my point.
Your GPA and SSAT will help show your academic ability to the AOs, but by no means does it guarantee an acceptance. I’ve seen many users here on CC (including me) who have had 4.0s and 99ths, but were rejected. “Perfect scores” will get you through the front door, but the AOs look at the whole package. Your recommendations, ECs, accomoplishments, essays, and interview are also extremely important. The AOs want to get to know you as a person, your character, and see if you are a right fit for their school.
I applied to BS last year (got my admissions results in March of this year) and was rejected. Although I did spend a lot of time on my application and it was a bit pricey visiting campuses, I have never regretted it. Instead, I have found the whole experience to be 100% worth the money my family spent. During my time applying, I was able to meet some great people here on CC and on-campus, make a few new friends, visit two outstanding schools, and gain a bit of valuable insight into how tough the application process really is. Spending hours on my application essays and file really made me think carefully about who I am as a person and what my passions are–that knowledge, to me, is irreplaceable.
Why are you specifically interested in attending Deerfield and Andover, and why BS? Please don’t fall into the same trap I did last year (at the beginning of my applications cycle, this changed for me when I joined CC and learned more about the schools) and select two of the top schools solely based on their great academics. What I’m trying to say is, discover exactly what you love about both schools and don’t be blinded by the prestige of HADES. Branch out, look into some hidden gems, and “cast a wider net” like SevenDad advises. There are a ton of great schools out there, you just need to find the one that’s the right fit for you.
If all you’re looking for is to “work with smart people” and have more challenging math courses, as well as hesitant to spend the time, effort, and money into BS applications…why not just look into attending a different, better school in your area (or state)? Why are you deciding to apply to boarding school? BS is a huge investment and a big decision, so you should decide if you’re 100% dedicated to the process before applying.