<p>Yeah, I know Choate is an awesome school, and it'd be great if I could get in, but there are so many other kids applying, and I'm requesting financial aid big time, so I'll probably be put on the waiting list or rejected. I'm applying in hopes I'll get accepted, but I'm not sure. I could get accepted, but it will all depend on the school that gives me the most financial aid.</p>
<p>What colleges are you applying for?</p>
<p>Well how about everybody post your stats, like grades, test scores, EC's, etc. I really hope I get into one of the five schools I'm applying to and then go to Princeton (my dream school!)!!!!</p>
<p>Paleo, thanks for your comments. I understand the difference between Exeter and St. Paul's, but could you commment on your thoughts on the differences between st. Pauls, Deerfield, and Middlesex? I am likely to be admitted to Exeter and Deerfield due to "other" circumstances. A family friend that knows both deerfield and Middlesex thinks more highly of Middlesex. I personally likeSt. Paul's the best. How much can you know through a couple of visits? I also believe the individual class will make up so much of the experience and that maybe unknowable in advance. I am not overly competitive academically and will be going for the whole experience. I value your comments. thanks.
p.s. esa, if you want to go to Princeton, think twice about going to those boarding schools!!</p>
<p>Esa: will the real Esa please stand up. You cannot both, in different posts, have an SSAT of 96, an SSAT of 92 (above) an SAT of 1600 and have Princeton and Columbia as your 'dream' school. If the same schizophrenia is reflected on your applications my guess is that Admissions will see you as a joker and your chances might become asymptotic to zero.</p>
<p>Cubfan. I don't know anything about Deerfield or Middlesex. If you want to go to St. Paul's for the right reasons and if your SSAT's are good enough to put you into Exeter, you would probably be succesful at St. Paul's as well. Why not explore Peddie whose headmaster, John Green was previously at St. Paul's and who carried to Peddie many of the things that make St. Paul's such an outstanding school.</p>
<p>Thanks paleo. i looked at the Peddie website. It looks interesting but the 63% boarding gives me concern. One of the reasons i like St. Pauls is the total boarding community.</p>
<p>Again for the billionth time more than one person used to use this screen name. But just the prepster now.</p>
<p>I agree with cubfan.</p>
<p>How did everybody's interviews go?</p>
<p>Esa, cubfan: If St. Paul's is your 'dream' and Exeter your alternative, why are you not looking at Groton as well. Surely Groton would fit Esa's notion of a "top" school other than which he would sooner stay home, it is almost as beautiful as St. Paul's ( some would say, as beautiful), and it has as distinguished a notion of education.</p>
<p>I really think Esa is foolish if he does not visit at least his "A" list to see how the ground feels to him. It might be the best spent $300 his parents will ever spend.</p>
<p>Paleo, I've visitted all my schools and I agree you have to see them to even begin to understand them. From what I understand, Groton is the ultimate prep and impossible to get in. I have a tiny advantage at three schools i am applying to but not at St. Pauls. Also, if you don't live in the area, you have to draw the line somewhere. paleo, thanks for taking the time to give guidance!</p>
<p>Well, cubfan, some of us aren't gonna drive/fly 3000 miles to visit a school that I haven't been accepted to.</p>
<p>esa, so you live in Los Angeles?</p>
<p>yeah, i just moved from NC.</p>
<p>esa, take a look at cate and thatcher. the web sites look amazing! let me know what you think.</p>
<p>Cubfan: I entirely disagree both with your approach to Groton and with your estimation that you have no edge at St. Paul's. Admissions at Groton like at St. Paul's are building a class, not assembling a menagerie of academic stars or social register types. Yes in order to get in you have to be intelligent ( but that is also true of Exeter and Milton) but at the end of the day if the average SSAT at St. Paul's is 87 (which seems low)and thirty percent get financial aid, the middle 50% range almost per definition even at Groton would have to be between say 84 and 92 and not preternaturally wealthy. Below that SSAT range a candidate would pretty well have to have some non-academic redeeming feature such as minority status, legacy, athlete in order to be seriously considered and a candidatehad better be above that range if (s)he is an international student in need of financial aid. Assuming that you are in the middle of the pack and American, the big thing Admissions at either Groton or St. Paul's would be looking for is 'fit', which in practical terms means why YOU think you fit at St. Paul's or Groton as opposed to another school. Since you know that, you actually have an edge if you can convincingly and HONESTLY express this. Unless Esa has some pretty convincing reason why he cannot visit St. Paul's, (and the only one I can think of is extreme financial hardship), he is reducing his chances by a factor of two or three.</p>
<p>Hi all! I am a new lower(sophmore) at Exeter this year. I went through this process last year on CC. I urge all of you that have not to go back and read ALL of the thread "SSAT scores and schools" in the March-April 2004 archive. This thread should answer many of your questions. My only advice in applying, after last year, is you will most likely get in to more schools than you think, and don't sell yourself short. If you want to work hard, but have alot of fun, you will love prep school. GO BIG RED!!</p>
<p>Trust me guys, I know alot more people that didn't visit the schools and got in versus those who visited and got in. I've talked to all the schools admissions officer(s) and visiting the school or not neither helps or debilitates your chances for admission (I haven't been badgering them, as most people think when I say this). It is only to help you get a good feel for the school and see if you like it.</p>
<p>uscfan, care to tell us how Exeter met up to your expectations? More or less work than expected? How do yu like the other students? Let us know!!</p>
<p>you all sound great and enthusiastic, which is good. I am a current lower-mid (10th grader) at hotchkiss. If anyone has any questions I'd be happy to answer them and I know a ton about all the other schools mentioned. Im not going to boast that Hotchkiss is the best and everything else sucks, or that Hotchkiss is a hole of crap and stay away. Its good to remember that all schools have there good and bad and at the end of the day it really is where you can see yourself at. I only applied to three schools (Hotchkiss, Taft, and Loomis Chaffee) but I looked at Westminster and Choate also. I really disliked Choate because I thought it was too big for me and westminster because it was too small (and I was already coming out of a really small school, all girls and only like 35 students in our grade). I looked at the brochures for andover, deerfield, and exeter, went to an open house in NYC for St. Pauls, but in the end I had decided that I did not want to go to a school more than 2 hours away from home. As one can see there are many factors that play into choosing the right school. Of course all of this will apply more when/if your acceptance letters come. Always think to yourself "why am I leaving my original school?" If you are leaving one school and its fairly good to go to another good school, you might want to start looking beyond academics. Most of us here on the board sound fairly intelligent so I think it is fair to say that you all of you have the drive and brains to do well and succeed in life no matter what. So start thinking of other things you can get from boarding school. My mum always told me to squeeze everything I can get from Hotchkiss. So I thought... well I love to talk and argue and I joined the debate team (which i have to boast, Hotchkiss has I think either the top or second best debate team in the nation. Our biggest rival is Deerfield, so if you like to debate... Hotchkiss or Deerfield, two great teams) The next thing I got involved in was drama and stage managing and lighting. I like to write so I started a writing club with my friend. At boarding school (not to sound like a catalogue) there are endless oppurtunities. Each school has its niche and its pro's and cons. So if you guys take everything into consideration you should be able to find a school you will honestly enjoy. </p>
<p>and because I'm lazy... i apologize for typo's and grammar and punctuation. Hotchkiss actually has a pretty good english department... I just fail to implement it into my everyday life.</p>
<p>I was thinking of also applying to Hotchkiss, what were your stats? How hard was it to get in? What did you make on the SSAT? Where do you want to go to college? How good is Hotchkiss?</p>