<p>Alot, alot, alot, of people come from California.</p>
<p>if you're from the california, does that mea your decision letters will arrive later than march 10?</p>
<p>All of the top boarding school will mail their decision by the priority mail by March 10th date. You may expect in NY maybe in 2-3 days. Some school allows you to check your decisions by Internet also.</p>
<p>Parentny, I get my mails sent to Taiwan and it normally takes about 5 days. Will some schools mail it a bit early so I can recieve them on the 10th? Also, which schools allow you to check by E-mail?</p>
<p>Wow, somebody just gave 25 million to Exeter for faculty development. When you read the news release, i think it says why so many of us want to go to these schools. the donor says it was the most standout part of his education!</p>
<p>What do you guys think are the most weighed factors for admission in order?</p>
<p>I think they're:</p>
<ol>
<li>interview (they want a certain type in their community/they know who will fit in and who won't work out there)</li>
<li>grades (answers if you can do the work or if you've shown you want to work)</li>
<li>teacher comments (shows the real you at school)</li>
<li>ssat (look for potential problems from extremely low scores)</li>
<li>essays (they know you can get help on these and re-work them and get other's help)</li>
</ol>
<p>I have no idea where legacy comes in to play. Where would you guys rank legacy in order? Do sibs not get in? I'd love your ranking thoughts.</p>
<p>My thinking: 1) grades/SSAT (first cut, is this an achiever who will be able to compete here? SSAT is important to determine if the school has grade inflation) 2) recs (is this someone we want in our community?) 3)interview/essays (among those qualified, does this student stand out?).</p>
<p>Anyone here planning to do NMH School? I know it's not the same as PEA or PA but I like it :P</p>
<p>Esa- thanks for the confidence boost. Note the sarcasm. </p>
<p>Just out of curiosity, I was wondering if anyone also got a Christmas card from Exeter. I'm a bit confused by it.</p>
<p>No, I didn't get a card. But when it comes to the things they weigh most I would say
1. Grades
2. Interview
3. Teacher Comments
4. Essays
5. SSAT</p>
<p>Well then, even though I seem to be from California where a lot, a lot, a lot of people come from, I seem to have a shot then, don't I?</p>
<p>My thoughts are:
1. Grades
2. Interview
3. Essays
4. Teacher Comments
5. SSAT scores</p>
<p>Teacher comments are more important than you think. Anything bad or even hinting at a problem will sink you. These schools don't want to take on a "problem". My S got destroyed his first go-around because of a problem with his English teacher.</p>
<p>It looks like, so far, the few of us ranking the various elements - rank the ssat toward the bottom. I wonder if everyone agrees. Everyone chime in!!
Thanks for responding people - especially those of you who already got in your schools. I guess I'm curious because I looked at the archived thread from last year and now this year's thread and I don't see a high correlation with acceptance with ssat scores and can't quite figure out a pattern.</p>
<p>Wow - a Christmas Card from Exeter? Seriously? Jeez! Are you a legacy or a first-in-the-family?</p>
<p>Schools tend to differ on how they weight these things. Some prep school operate like a college, and try to make sure they get enough takers for their offrsing so ECs can make a difference as well. Particularly some sports if the school is big on them. So the weightings can differ even person to person. Someone who is highly desirable to the school in putting together a diverse community may be given a bye on one of the items with more emphasis put on another. A very lovely girl I know who was tops in everything except test scores got in despite mediocre scores, but I know kids who did not get in because of the test scores. They were very similar to too many applicants that had the test scores in addition to other attributes, whereas the girl I mentioned was special in several different ways so they made the decision to accept despite a poor showing on them.</p>
<p>jamimom- I know, seriously, it's so sad how this is like colleges... we're only 13 and 14...</p>
<p>Regis- suprisingly, I actually am a first time in the family. Unless I have a long lost relative who was dean or something. Which I seriously doubt. And on top of that, I haven't donated any money, except for them to read my application which is actually a fee. In fact, I'm seriously requesting financial aid... I didn't know that they really liked me...or maybe it's a mind trick... no clue...</p>
<p>I think you're underestimating SSAT scores. The top schools want and need to maintain a high average (88-93 for the top 5). They can only let in so many who will bring the average down, and like at top colleges, these will generally be athletes, URMs, legacies and development candidates. There may be a little room for lower scoring kids with a specific talent. SSAT scores are an excellent predictor of SAT scores. Top preps are concerned about their average SAT scores as they go to college placement. Preps are judged by college placement.</p>
<p>What about you, Regis?</p>
<p>Hello
I am applying to the
1. Andover
2. St.Paul
3. Groton
4. Exeter
5. Choate.
I have SSAT score of 98%. Verbal 349, Math 80% and Reading 98%.
I go to Sandusky middle school in Lynchburg, Va and have all A average since 6th grade. My extracurricular activites are church, band, bible club, yearbook committee, mathcounts, AWANA, tennis, library volunteer, soccer, clarinet and acoustic guitar.
My number 1 school is Andover and do any of people think I can get in?
And I was also wondering about race problem, I came to United States from Korea 3 years ago, and I was worried that they might have country/race quotas.
Thanks for your time.
Hope everyone in here get into school of their choices.</p>
<p>I have no idea if they have quotas. I think you have a 50/50 chance.</p>