Applying to Exeter

Prep School Admissions Prep School Chances
1

<p>I'll just list some stats first;</p>

<p>I am a freshman at a medium sized prep school currently; 600+ kids (I am applying for Junior year at Exeter because I am unsatisfied here and I have been talking to a friend at exeter. The level of intensity with academics/sports sounds ideal to me)</p>

<p>I am poor; my mom is dead (schools like adversity, right?)</p>

<p>White boy from Connecticut (setback)</p>

<p>98th Percentile SSAT although I last took it in early 8th grade, could probably pull of a 99th second time around</p>

<p>Geometry; 91/100</p>

<p>Physics; 94/100</p>

<p>Honors English: 90/100 (hardest freshman class, people say I'm a very good essay writer)</p>

<p>History: 94/100</p>

<p>Latin:93/100</p>

<p>Ceramics: 91/100</p>

<p>Cross country: Since fifth grade.Freshman year-- between third and fourth on varsity. </p>

<p>Wrestling: Since sixth grade. 7th-9th-- won three tournaments, varsity freshman year, great winning record</p>

<p>Crew: First year-- 6:52 2k time freshman year (closest freshman pulled a 7:12...)</p>

<p>I don't waste time playing any instruments</p>

<p>I went to a famous private middle school prior to this school</p>

<p>During the summer I go on hiking trips; this year I am going off to the rocky mountains (on financial aid, not parents money...) to do 2 weeks of volunteer trail work. </p>

<p>I do trail work quite a bit around my house and with the local land trust. </p>

<p>I go to sports camps over the summer as well. </p>

<p>I am just doing some preliminary research on the school before I start obsessing over applications and making myself a better student. Tell me what I should work on and what not. Please ask questions, I just sort of threw this list together I am sure I haven't talked about plenty of things.</p>

2

<p>your grades are fine, your sports are great, but you have zero background in art. i don’t know whether or not that’s detrimental, but it could be.</p>

<p>anyway, my best advice for you is to contact coaches about cross country/wrestling/crew (i’d recommend crew, since maybe prep schools recruit for that). perhaps you could get recruited.</p>

<p>also, the difference between an 98 and 99 on the SSATs = negligible.</p>

<p>anyway, you look like a qualified applicant, but top schools (ie exeter) are always a crapshoot…
best of luck!</p>

3

<p>I do pretty well in ceramics, if that’s worth anything… if I wanted to show a some of my ceramics work, how would I go about doing that? Like, send them photos of some of my pieces?</p>

4

<p>^^ yep! it’s called a portfolio, and if you’re decent, i’d definitely go ahead and do that. schools sometimes post portfolio suggestions (ie size) on their websites so look out for those. i think they usually recommend 6-10 pieces, and don’t send in originals because they won’t mail anything back.</p>

5

<p>You don’t need to be a cookie cutter applicant, no offense divealive.
Just excel at what u do. I was admitted as a junior for Exeter Andover and choate have any questions, pm me</p>

6

<p>@EnergyTurtle,
I’d send them in some pictures of your ceramics work. Also, push your sports a lot, especially Crew and Wrestling. Most prep schools don’t get that many applicants who play those sports. But, a freshman tri-varsity athlete in underrepresented sports from another prep school shouldn’t have too much trouble getting in top places.</p>

7

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<p>Wow. Please don’t mention how you consider playing music and creating beauty to be a waste of time at your interviews. It leaves a very bad taste in the mouth to consider something that people actually dedicate their lives to and can be an actual career to be a waste of time.</p>

8

<p>No, it is a waste of time for students. They might take up an instrument so they can throw “I play the violin” onto their application, but it certaintly doesn’t set you up for a better career later on in life. I think it’s better to be active in the community or doing physical activity rather than translating dots on a page to sounds.</p>

9

<p>Have you ever translated " dots into sounds?". It’s much harder than you think and it can help you in life. I have friends who aspire to be musicians and currently play with world famous junior orchestras. Is that a waste of time? I agree with neato. If you mention that, that will lower your already slim chance to get into Exeter</p>

10

<p>Ever heard of the Mozart effect? Music organizes and structures cognitive development. Just sayin’</p>

11

<p>Jesus christ I’m not going to waltz into my interview saying “LOL kids who play instruments are wasting their time” just because I believe that. It’s like videogames, if you ask me. You can get really talented and impress people, but in the end the skill is useless. Sports, on the other hand, improve health, make you look better, promote social interaction and teamwork, etc. I could go on about better things to do then sit in a room spending thousands of dollars on learning to pluck strings in a precise order, but I think you guys are smart enough to figure it out for yourself.</p>

12

<p>I just noticed the “music is a waste of time thing.”

No, the reason I play music, and the reason most people I know play music is because they genuinely enjoy it. Not everyone thinks in terms of “how can I make my application look better” when deciding what to do.</p>

<p>

I run, but I know I’m not going to be a professional runner. I also play music, and it would be unlikely that I wind up a professional musician. The point isn’t to set you up for a career. </p>

<p>Also some advice, don’t come across as being too much of an “application booster” to admission office. Don’t do stuff just because it will make your application look better. From the sound of your previous post, it sounded like you might have done this. I’m not sure if you meant it, but if you did don’t mention it to the admission office.</p>

13

<p>You could of at least observed the conversation lightly and seen that someone suggested that playing musical instruments can lead to a career later in life.</p>

14

<p>The main way playing an instrument helps in admissions, is if the orchestra needs your type of player. If the school has a need and you can fit the need, it works. I know others will argue that ADCOMS might also see it as a passion, but in my experience the passion alone on anything (music, sports) etc. doesn’t necessarily cut it, even though everything else is there, recs, grades and SSAT scores. If you’ve demonstrated skill/ability thru a CD and have the credentials to back it up, prep school orchestras are also looking for phenominal musicians, additionally to any specific type of instrument played.</p>

15

<p>If you wouldn’t mind, can i ask you which school are you currently going to? Also, I don’t waste time playing music. :slight_smile:
ctkhan97</p>

16

<p>EnergyTurtle, with your awful attitude and degrading words towards musicians is not what Exeter would be looking for. You can’t just been a good athlete or a good test taker. At these schools, students are required to participate in physical activity, but not play an instrument. Participating in physical activity is not a talent, but playing an instrument is. There is a purpose for the great music programs at all prep schools. Playing an instrument gets you more involved in the school and looks fabulous on a college application. Everyone at Exeter or any good prep school has something to contribute to the community, and if you can’t appreciate what musicians bring to the table, don’t bother applying because you’re not the type of student they are looking for.</p>

17

<p>Agree with Energyturtle. Music is such a waste of time. Most of the music teachers I had were nutjobs.</p>

18

<p>I “waste” time playing music :slight_smile:
Energyturtle, you might have very good stats, but I agree with brandonnbsc.</p>

19

<p>Ok, somehow this thread got totally sidetracked into magnifying my belief that kids who play instruments are NOT doing so out of passion or love for music, but just to make themselves appear diversified. First off, very few kids who play an instrument care about the music they play. Evidence? Look on their ipods, is it fulled with violin music and piano concerts? Of course not. They are wasting all that time and money in an attempt to impress others and satisfy their parents.
People are not “required” to participate in physical activity at prep schools, either. There are kids who do exclusively theater, volunteering, tech, independent study, etc. People also care way more about sports than jazz band. Thus, being a tri varsity freshman athlete is WAY more valuable than some kid who plays piano.
Sports get you involved in the school, and builds way more team work than sitting in a room with some teacher snapping at you to play in sync with everyone else. Add onto sports that physical activity improves health, keeps students slim, gets kids outdoors, and without a doubt I would rather be an athlete than good – or, forget good, – a prodigy at some instrument.</p>

20

<p>Dude I totally agree with you, I do not think that music is as beneficial as sports. In my opinion music lacks competition and communication which are both very important aspects of being a leader (from what I hear most prep schools want leaders). On the other hand it is beneficial if it does provide someone relief, fun, or even helps with studying.</p>