<p>Hello there everyone. I guess I am screwed. I am a 10th grader applying to Exeter. Did I mention that I am also requesting FA and my grades are not perfect? I mean, this is something I really want and I have been spending months working on my essay and I am spending the entire break studying/getting ahead as well as editing these essays. I will probably be rejected and I need some help to accept it. I honestly don't know if amazing teacher recommendations would help. I don't know if an excellent rec. from a guidance counselor who thinks I am some brilliant kid will help. I don't think I have very much to offer Exeter, but I guess the admissions committee will be the judge of that. </p>
<p>I am very excited for March 10th yet I am dreading the day. The funny part about this entire process is that a guy in my school is also applying although he cannot write an essay and his grades are dreadful, and he doesn't take a single honors/AP class. Do you think that this will make the committee laugh at my school? Oh God. I have tried to sit myself down to cry so that I can let it all out before M10, but I just can't cry. In fact, I smile. Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</p>
<p>I also think my PSAT is too low for Exeter.....</p>
<p>I’ll humor you with a short story of mine:
In two weeks, I scrambled to get my application to Groton in. I only applied there, because I was going into eighth grade, which isn’t offered at most schools. I wanted to go desperately, and thought that with a 93 SSAT, I had a chance. (Not saying that is the only or most important part of the application.) Turned out I was waitlisted, and yes, I bawled my eyes out for a pretty long time, wondering why I wasn’t good enough.
I’m applying again this year and hoping for better results. Good luck.</p>
<p>I applied for Groton second form last year with 97 ssat. Same thing happened to me with plenty of tears and then 2 quarts of ice cream. I also got waitlisted at st pauls, deerfield, and got into a school called Madeira. (all applying as a 12 yr old 8th grader) This year I’m applying for ninth grade at groton, st pauls, exeter, Madeira again as a safety, and Miss Porters (girls school in ct) Good luck to all!</p>
<p>I skipped a grade and was applying to repeat eighth so as to repeat and be the same age again. ended up just going ahead to ninth grade in my town. I want to repeat ninth grade to have four years at the same school, and be the same age as my classmates. I would like to go to Madeira as it is a very good school but I did not this year due to changing family situations.</p>
<p>I’ll tell my story to perhaps give you a bit of inspiration. I’m currently a junior at Lawrenceville and very happy with where I am. :)</p>
<p>Admission cycle of 2011 -
I applied to Andover, Exeter, Milton, Deerfield, Concord, and Hotchkiss to be a new freshman. I was a decent applicant, 98 percentile SSAT, active orchestra member, community service, but nothing spectacular. Rejected at Andover and waitlisted at every single other school. I was very disappointed, resentful, all those bad emotions. </p>
<p>But I picked myself up and decided to have another go at it. Much more experience this time and the whole process went a lot smoother.</p>
<p>Admission cycle of 2012 -
I applied to Milton, Deerfield, Groton, St. Paul’s, Choate, Hotchkiss and of course, Lawrenceville, to be a new sophomore. My application had greatly improved due to increased opportunities after entering high school. I was an active member in Model United Nations, still active in orchestra and a member of the Tri-M Music Honor Society, actually sent in recordings of me playing piano/violin/singing, and personally toured/interviewed the schools instead of doing alumni interviews as I had the year before. I was accepted to Lawrenceville, waitlisted at Milton and Hotchkiss, and rejected to Deerfield, Groton, St. Paul’s, and Choate. In late April, Milton accepted me off their waitlist but I chose to stick with Lawrenceville - ‘love the school that loves you’. I am a very happy camper now, Lawrenceville is wonderful, and honestly I cannot imagine ending up anywhere else. :)</p>
<p>Well, this isn’t a rejection story but a waitlist-into-rejection story. I applied to 3 schools last year and was waitlisted at all 3. I was so sad I almost lost my man card. I knew that a WL was essentially a delayed rejection. But I continued. Life goes on. Things happen and you have to deal with it. Although it’s hard to accept- even I haven’t fully accepted this fact- sometimes it’s a matter of, as I have said before, we-need-an-underwater-tuba-player-and-you’re-a-parachuting-violinist-which-we-don’t-need-right-now-so-we-have-to-go-with-the-former kind of thing</p>
<p>Thank you very for contributing to this thread, everyone!! Honestly, I am calming down more and realizing whether I am admitted to Exeter or not should not matter way too much. Life is life, I guess. Now to wait until M10 or doomsday.</p>
<p>LaDi - regardless of whether you get into Exeter or not, the big take-away for me reading your post is that you have a downbeat attitude about yourself, which needs to change! Life is full of acceptances and rejections - they will NEVER stop. But the one thing you DO control is how you feel about yourself and the attitude you bring to all of life’s twists and turns. On balance, if you believe in yourself and put more energy into a room than you take out, you increase the chance you’ll get the outcomes you want. A great starting point for you, and for tons of other kids on this site, is to KNOW - really know and feel - that your life is going to be great. Make a positive attitude about yourself and others your trademark. It will carry you far. There is NO WAY admission or rejection from any of these schools should tell you who you are.</p>