Chance me for Andover, Exeter, Lawrenceville, Hotchkiss, Deerfield, Cushing and Choate

Hi I’m a 8th grader attending a public school in California. I have attended an international school in the past and I’m bilingual. What are my chances of getting into Choate, Deerfield, Andover, Exeter, Lawrenceville, Hotchkiss, and Cushing?

I haven’t taken my SSAT yet, but it is scheduled this weekend. It would be great if someone who got accepted to one of the schools above to share their stats with me!

My grades are all As and I’m taking AVID and teacher aide as my electives. I have signed up for interviews and have completed two of them ( Choate and Deerfield ) pretty well.

Extracurriculars:
Competitive swim
Cheerleading
Crosscountry
Academic pentathlon ( 3rd place in fine arts )
Science olympiad ( won several awards )
Math counts
NJHS ( National Junior Honor Society )
Piano and Violin

I have 4 personal recs ( 3 from teachers and 1 from a friend )
What percentile do I need to score on the SSAT get in? How many times can I retake it?
What are some tips for studying SSAT verbal section?
What are some tips on interviews and essays?
In 6th grade, I scored exceptionally high on the state test, getting an invitation from a local gifted school called the Lincoln school.
Thank you!

I thinks it’s really hard to say. boarding school admission only seems to more competitive every year. I went through the application cycle twice with my kids and have been fortunate enough to have my kids attend 2 of the schools you listed. I think many factors come into play. Except for Exeter and Andover, financial aid makes a big difference as well. I have heard from admissions at some of the schools listed anything above a 90 is good. Some schools say 80 as well. But if you are very competitive in something, ssat is not very important. They are looking at character in essays and interviews. So many kids with similar grades, ssat etc, it’s important to show what makes you special.

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You’re off to a great start. There is no magic formula to getting in to the top boarding schools. But here are a few factors that help:

No need for financial aid
Top grades
Top test scores (SSAT > 85th percentile will be competitive)
URM
Athlete
Development case

Thank you so much for the info! What’s a URM and a development case?

Underrepresented minority. Black, Latina/o, Native American, Pacific Islander

Child of a major donor

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got it, thank you so much!