<p>I'm going to be applying to eight different prep schools next year (looking to go for 9th grade) and was curious as to what I'm going to need to get in (extra curriculars, academically, essay, tests, etc.).
Looking at some of these boards and the claims made (like having 12 extra curriculars + 97% on SSATs, and being rejected for ex.) really make me nervous that I'm just not going to cut it. </p>
<p>So I'm preparing early. And wanted your guys help. :)</p>
<p>Hi Sara! I really want to apply next year for grade 9, too, but I’m still at step 1: Convincing the parents. Sighh…</p>
<p>I think this thread will help you out:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/669413-how-good-do-you-have-so-boarding-school-will-accept-u.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/669413-how-good-do-you-have-so-boarding-school-will-accept-u.html</a></p>
<p>And haha, it’s really not necessary to have 12 extra curriculars. It’s more depth, not breadth, you know? Quality>Quantity. 
Besides, CC is NOT made up of your typical candidates, and this is the internet. Obviously a lot of people sugar-coat their stats to make themselves look more impressive…
97+ on SSATs is not necessary at all. I suggest you take a practice test or just take the real test in June to kind of get a feel on where you are, and improve on the weak areas? If you can’t afford this (like me) then just keep taking practice tests from books like PR and Kaplan’s. </p>
<p>These top schools are like, totally unpredictable so there’s no guarantee that ANYBODY will make it, lol! I’m already super nervous 
Go class of 2014!!</p>
<p>Lol, hopefully you can convince your parents!
God, I haven’t even talked yet to parents about applying to boarding schools! With my brother flying the coop next year and going to ISU, I have a feeling my parents won’t be happy about being empty-nesters. </p>
<p>Thanks for the thread link! :)</p>
<p>I know what you mean…
A lot of the stats posted (just from what I’ve skimmed through) either seem mega-genius or trollish. o-o</p>
<p>I’ve personally taken the ISEE’s before, and have scored in the 90+ percentile w/o practice tests or tutoring… Do you (or anybody for that matter) know how difficult the SSATs are in comparison?</p>
<p>Lol, thanks for the advice! Good luck :)</p>
<p>My mom is like, terrified of “losing” me or something… I keep telling her that public education around here is in shambles, but then she proceeds to tell me about some story about starving children in Africa and that I’m ingrateful, and blah blah blah… (Also, whenever I bring up boarding schools, she choses to like, cook, or clean, or watch Ellen…)</p>
<p>Hehe, but I believe ISEE’s are based on national percentiles, is it not? I’m not sure… Um, SSATs though, have a separate national percentile category, and it’s way different. For example, my 52nd (that’s right. i think i misbubbled V_V) percentile in reading comprehension turned out to be 94th percentile nationally, and my math (89th SSAT) turned out to be 98th nationally.</p>
<p>I totally feel the same way! Like… 11 year old child prodigies <_< So many national awards in stuff… I’m pretty lame in comparison, heh. CC = very self esteem lowering, indeed!</p>
<p>So which 8 schools have you been looking into? :0</p>
<p>Aww… that kinda sweet though. (: If my sister was home from college (she’s planning on living at home until she’s either 30 or married, so she can “be financially secure”), or my brother wasn’t leaving to go like six states away, my parents would ship me off in a heartbeat. XD
…nonetheless I’m also the trouble maker. c:
Do you have any sibling?</p>
<p>Hmm…I’m really not sure about any of that confusing stuff. Percentiles, and scores and ranks just all turn to bleh. You seem to have done well though, even with your suspected misbubbling!</p>
<p>I’m not gonna lie, I go to a normal school with normal kids, who do normal things. So all this “I got the Nobel Peace Prize when I was seven!” shiz is really harping at my self esteem too. Have the teachers been lying all those years they told me I was special? XD</p>
<p>I’m looking into Knox (such a beautiful campus!), Masters (non boarding), Barnstable, Hotchkiss, Peddie, Lawrenceville, Stony Brook, Princeton Day School, Hackley (family tradition…beautiful campus, and amazing atmosphere), Spence, and the Harlem Academy. More than 8 I guess, but my counting abilities falter at 5 afterall.
What about you?</p>
<p>There is no shoo-in for these prep schools. Whatever you do, make sure you have a back-up plan.</p>
<p>Just studying for the SSATs is not going to help you. You need teacher recommendations, and your essays are VERY, VERY important. Try being risque, even. And if your family is goin to need finaid, don’t apply for finaid at all. These schools are NOT need-blind, no matter what people may say. (I got waitlisted at those I didn’t send my info, got rejected at those I sent my info to.)</p>
<p>For interviews, make sure you know something UNIQUE about that school. I’m dead serious.</p>
<p>Hope that helps!!</p>
<p>Wait… @ missy: if you need FA, don’t apply for FA at all? wha?</p>
<p>… but I need it. there’s no way I could afford it without the FA, so of course I’ll apply for it… :S
yeah, it’s a heck of a lot harder this year to get in as an FA applicant (acceptance rate for FA applicants at andover: 7%. full pay: 41%)
The financial crisis better be done by next year… D’:</p>
<p>@ sara: No, I’m an only child. That must help a TON, right? <em>sarcasm</em></p>
<p>Haha, I’m looking into Hotchkiss, too! A lot of schools on your list… I didn’t recognize. XD Isn’t Spence a really prestigious private day in NYC? Or are you thinking of something different?</p>
<p>I’m a tad bit confused by what you said too Missy. :/</p>
<p>Dive: Lol, are you youngest or oldest? I find being the youngest gives you an advantage…the older ones wear 'em down for you.</p>
<p>Yeah, Spence is a day school in the city.
I included a few day schools in my list (Hackley, Masters, Spence, Harlem Academy) with boarding programs that I like. </p>
<p>And I hope the financial crisis is over by then! Lol, private school financial aid was also cinched by 9/11. At least for us New Yorkers. </p>
<p>At my brothers school (he attends a private day school) after 9/11, a lot of students had parents who worked in the Towers, who were subsequently out of jobs afterward (I do believe that the school reported they were lucky enough to not have had any parents lost). Being that the parents donated when they were on the up, the school had to accept their requests for financial aid & deny more students coming in who needed FA.</p>
<p>I really have to work on my wording. I can’t believe I call myself an English major. :P</p>
<p>What I was trying to say is, don’t apply to fin aid, period. You can actually work on getting your fin aid AFTER you get in.</p>
<p>I didn’t apply for fin aid for Andover, and then they CALLED me and asked me why not. I said (stupidly) that I think I can handle the first year and apply for fin aid the next year. Then they all got serious and said that getting fin aid the second year would be too difficult. I understood this as an acceptance (why else would they CALL me?) and sent in the fin aid info, but it was full of zeroes…sigh. I got rejected to only the schools I sent the fin aid info to.</p>
<p>I highly suggest that you do not apply for FA later in this climate.</p>
<p>Hey, speaking of which:</p>
<p>If you get in and your family really cannot afford to send you the second year, you can actually take a year off. I know it sounds awful but it’s a story on its own in that you got into a good boarding school but couldn’t afford to attend all four years in a row. Better than getting rejected and blaming the money.</p>
<p>Again, just my suggestion. :D</p>
<p>Ooh, I get what you mean now.
So, its possible to apply for FA after being accepted, for your first year?
Thanks for the help. (:</p>
<p>Yep, it is. Stuff happens. Businesses can go bankrupt within months, etc.
Besides, the school can’t kick you out and pretend you never went there if you can’t return the 2nd year…they have to be waiting with open arms whenever you can get the money.</p>
<p>wow, good luck you guys!
i know what you guys mean about cc sort of lowering your self-esteem.
seriously, i didn’t think i’d get accepted to any of the schools once i saw what all of the people here did!!!
haha, but i think that my essays and interviews really helped ^^</p>
<p>hi im a 7 grader and I am hoping of going to a private school for 9 grade its an expencive school about 23,000 dollars a year. but my parents cant afford that so i’m applying for a scholarship have two Bs then the rest As. I still have 8 grade but I was wondering do I have a chance of gettin in?</p>
<p>Saraa -
Not trying to be disagreeable here, but please disregard what has been said here about applying for financial aid. I am a parent with a child at a BS. For the most part, it is nearly impossible to get financial aid AFTER your first year if you do not receive it for your first year. Most schools’ financial aid offices will tell you that up front. And schools do NOT have to re-admit you if you pay for the first year on your own, then find that it’s too expensive for subsequent years. In fact, if your parents don’t believe that they can fund your BS education for the full four years, they definitely need to apply for you for your first year. Schools can and do change financial aid over the course of your four years depending on your family’s financial circumstances, but it is very, very rare for a student who was full pay for the first year to receive financial aid in subsequent years.</p>
<p>You need to have your family deal with this issue and have them do the research on the financial aid process for each school. But, they shouldn’t go into this application process believing that they only have to fund one year - and then the school will take care of the rest. That is NOT the case usually. Good luck to you and your family.</p>
<p>mili3140-
it’s not all about grades, even though that can play an important part
everyone has a chance of getting in, but make sure you have good ECs, essays and recs.
and in reality, really good ECs are more important than really good grades</p>
<p>i think so too abbydoo because they have no idea of what your school is like…so grades could probably be the least important factor of the admission process…ecs and veryyyyyy important
im also applying to boarding schools this year
good luck!!</p>
<p>okay you guys…
while grades are important, they’re not going to decide if you get into a bs or not.
personally, i’d say ecs, essays, and interviews are probably the most important part.
also, when i’m talking about ec’s, there has to be a couple of ec’s that you’re REALLY passionate about…
it can’t just be like, “yea, i played the piccolo for 5 yrs because i knew it would look good on my apps and because i’m forced to by my parents.”</p>
<p>I think your essays are the most important because it shows who you are and can make you stand out of a crowd. But you should have good grades and do ecs. if you look at the courses maybe you’ll get an idea of what they think is diverse or whatever.</p>