<p>Hi, I'd really appreciate if someone could chance me...I know these threads are kind of annoying, but I'd just like to see where I need to improve on. Thanks!</p>
<p>GPA: this year: 4.0 so far,
Last year: one B in math</p>
<p>SSAT - haven't taken yet
Teacher Recs: English: phenomenal, Principal: phenomenal, Math: great
Essays: good/great (I hope)
ECs:
Dance: Went to ABT summer intensive for ballet, learning ballet with a former Stanford lecturer, teach dance to autistic kids, I dance at a local senior center, and I participated in a community dance production with a live orchestra for 3 years now
Art: United Nations Environment Programme art contest global 4th place, North America 1st place, California Energy Commission calendar contest winner for 3 years
Math: Math Kangaroo 2013 national 7th place, 3rd place in state. Math Olympiad perfect score. BmMT Team 3rd place.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! :-)</p>
<p>
Kinda leaving out a critical piece of information…</p>
<p>Sorry…taking it in January.</p>
<p>The arts are good, the math portion doesn’t hold much weight, math olympiad( moems) and kangaroo are some of the easiest math competitions out there. The hardest problems are rated 1/10 on the AOPS scale.</p>
<p>I am not an admission officer but my son went through the process last year, starting in late November and he is now attending his first year at Andover. People with good intentions will tell you that you look like a good candidate but quite frankly their encouragement could set you up for a big let down. So I will offer you my opinion as I watched my son go through the process. He is a hard working A student, did not get ssat scores in the 90’s. </p>
<p>SSAT scores do not predict whether a kid will survive at an ultra selective boarding school. I have a relative that scored near perfect on the ssat, but the kid was lazy and did not do very well. He did not get accepted into any top tier schools and his first 2 years at a third tier school were not stellar. AO know how to look for these qualities. A kid survives at these schools because they have the drive to apply themselves and the discipline to manage their time. It also takes a certain amount of maturity to live away from home at the age of 14/15. The admission process is very complex because there are many factors that have to be taken into consideration with the ultimate goal being a diverse student body that has the baseline skills to succeed. Applicants who are fixated on SSAT scores do not see the forest for the trees. Transcripts from middle school with teacher comments about the student, teacher recommendations from the english and math teachers, school administrator recommendation and the answers to the essay questions provide much more insight into the applicant than an ssat score. The essay questions are not random, they are chosen specifically to search for qualities in the applicants response. I also think that applicants underestimate the importance of the recommendation process. Recommendations are confidential and the teachers are usually very frank about a students strengths and weaknesses. When all of the information is compiled together, a narrative develops and that determines whether a student is offered admission. Admission officers are well aware that the ssat scores can be manipulated with prep courses. Athletes have to prove that they can do the work. None of these top school have remedial programs, everyone has to complete the core work. Some kids despite their academic credentials, are not ready for the boarding school experience. And that’s my two cents.</p>
<p>Well said firstgenbsp112. This is the exact insight that I have been looking for.</p>
<p>Wow firstgenbsp112, that was really helpful, insightful, and honest! Thank you so much!</p>