Boarding School Chances!

Prep School Admissions Prep School Chances
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Hello! I am going into 8th grade and am applying to boarding schools. I’m using Gateway to Prep Schools to apply, and I’m applying to all the schools in the TSO as well as others to have a wider net.

I am an only child, caucasian (lived in America my whole life, as well as my dad, my mom was born in Belgium but her parents lived in America), I live in AZ and am raised by my mom- my parents are separated and my mom has full custody. We are a low-income family, and my mom couldn’t work at all for six months because she was taking care of my grandma with dementia, and I also helped her (she’s now in a nursing home). I am applying for full financial aid.

My school doesn’t have many opportunities, they don’t even have a library, but it is the biggest charter school in my suburb.

Here are my stats:

Student Council
4 years experience
2 hrs per week, 32 weeks per year
Major accomplishments: Secretary in 5th and 7th grade

Morning Announcements/Media Team
3 years experience
Half an hour per week, 32 weeks per year
Was anchor all 3 years, and also helped edit

National Honor Society
3 years experience
1 hour per week, 32 weeks a year
President in 5th grade (for NEHS)

Volleyball
2 years experience
5 hours per week (not including tournaments), 52 weeks per year (school season, club season, post-club championships, practice during off-season)
JV school level, State-wide tournaments, traveled for national tournaments

Cross Country
1 year experience (Had to stop because volleyball got moved to the same time)
4.5 hours per week, 8 weeks
I only did school season

4.0 gpa, all A’s since 3rd grade

I am currently learning Polish as well! still in the beginner stage though.

Please be honest, as looking at some of the other people’s stats made me feel quite insecure lol. Thank you so much!

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You are accomplished and should be proud of your achievements. I think the first step is to start thinking about what you want out of a boarding school - size, area, rigor, extracurriculars etc. You will hear this many times and it is the best advice that we received - cast a wide net and look for the hidden gems. There are many, many amazing boarding schools. Once you decide on a list of boarding schools, it is slightly easier to “chance” yourself.

Regarding your stats, one of the factors are the “institutional” needs of the school, so decide how you will pitch yourself. You clearly have good grades and leadership experience and many of your peers will as well. That means you are in the game but you need to come out and distinguish yourself. Volleyball might be a way to get the attention of the admissions officers, and in that regard, you should contact every volleyball coach. Coaches will often submit a “list” of students that they are interested in. If you have videos, be prepared to upload them. Videos will help, especially if you have some talent.

Finally, try to avoid looking at others’ stats. I only found this board after my daughter had applied, and I know I would have had a very hard time taking my own advice. Try, try to focus on your own application and your own story. Interviews are important. You can have someone with great stats who can’t interview well. Practice with someone before you interview.

There is much more advice and I hope others will chime in with it.

I really hope for the best for you.

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Tailor your approach - you have to focus on what you really want. Otherwise, your applications are going to be general rather than targeted, and your chances actually go down.

You need a lot of FA, so you really need every application to have a real purpose, and reflect why that school specifically would be a great match for you.

At the same time, you have to widen your net to include schools that have a higher admit rate. Even schools with a 40% admit rate can be academically rigorous compared to where you are.

Don’t be deterred by schools with smaller endowments - even schools with endowments under $100M offer significant FA to students that sufficiently impress them. VOE.

If you are willing to consider single sex schools, some of them are also generous. And some of them offer really amazing opportunities.

So, do a little more self introspection and research.

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