Chance me for Exeter/Andover/SPS/Deerfield/Milton?

Prep School Admissions Prep School Chances
1

<p>Hi Guys! I am in the ninth grade now and will be applying for the 10th grade 2013-2014 at the following schools:
-Exeter, Andover, SPS, Deerfield and Milton.</p>

<p>Here are my stats: </p>

<p>(Attended Best Public Middle School in the try-state area, very rigorous academics)
8th Grade: (everything honors)
Algebra 2: A
English: A+
History (US His)- A+
Physical Science- A
Spanish 1- A
Research Skills (mandatory)- A+
Gym- A-
Health- A</p>

<p>9th Grade (so far)-
(class rank - 1st out of 267)
Precalculus Honors- A+
English 1- A+
Biology 1 Honors- A+
Spanish 2- A+
World History Honors- A+
Gym/Health- A+
Study Hall/Organization- (freshman mandatory class) A+</p>

<p>Extracurricular:</p>

<p>-Model UN- 2 Years, Captain
-Speech & Debate Congress- First Year
-JV Field Hockey- 2 Years
-Writing Group/ Literary Magazine- 6 Years (Editor)
-Reading Olympics- 2 Years (Captain 2nd Year)
-Class Secretary- 8th Grade
-Environmental Engineers Club- 1 Year (Treasurer/Secretary) One of Founding Members
-100 Hours of Community Service each year past two years
-Volunteered at LIFE (living independently for elders at the University of Pennsylvania) last summer doing stroke group and art therapy with seniors.
-Raised hundreds of dollars for MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) and volunteered often.
-"Art Award" at graduation eighth grade, full scholarship for summer class at Moore College of Art and Design.
-Have written many novels (sections published in our Literary Magazine), was invited to read at the "Mount Airy Children's Literary Festival" in April.</p>

<p>Taking SSAT's next month but expect to do well (studying) and am very good at standardized tests. </p>

<p>I am applying to BS because the public school I am going to now is not challenging me (Just moved and there is only one high school for the whole city) and I would love the experience. Also, I think I would be able to strive in the environment of a boarding school where everyone is academically motivated. I have visited a few schools and fell in love with the people, place and overall sensation. But, I need some financial aid. I do live in a part of the south that is very unrepresented in New England boarding schools though.</p>

2

<p>I forgot to say,
-Great math recommendation (I am pretty sure- I topped the class first sem.)
-Good-Great English Rec. (Got 96-100 every sem. last year)
-Great extracurricular rec’s (From my model UN coach and writing teacher/lit mag teacher)
-Essays all pretty good, a few great, a few above average. You know.</p>

3

<p>This was my first time posting… It is becoming kind of sad to see that 700 people have viewed this and none of them want to help me out. Please Respond! I want some feedback!</p>

4

<p>Be careful what you wish for (and realize that many on the forum are East Coasters who are dealing with Hurricane Sandy)…</p>

<p>For starters, know that I find the “Chance Me” threads to be a fruitless (and frankly, quite silly) exercise. Because really, who is going to be able to tell you your chances of getting into any school in a given year besides an AO at that particular school?</p>

<p>From the stats and ECs you provide, you are obviously a well-qualified candidate. But keep in mind that, especially for the schools on your shortlist, most of the candidates will be similarly well-qualified. On top of that, you need FA…which means you are competing in an even more selective pool (at most schools, the admit rate for the FA pool is LOWER than the admit rate for the full pay pool).</p>

<p>So, you have to ask yourself…“What do I have to bring to each school that makes me truly special and desirable to each school?” Note that the answer to this may be different for each school.</p>

<p>You also have to ask yourself…“Will I be in the top 20% of the applicant pool?” And be very honest about that. If the answer is “I don’t know”, “Maybe”, or “I think so”…then the answer is actually “No.” And if the answer is “No.”, then perhaps you need to think about the list of school to which you are applying.</p>

<p>And even if the answer is “Yes.”, I’d still encourage you to look beyond 5 of the most selective schools in the country. As parent who shepherded one child through the the application process two cycles ago, I know that even well qualified kids can get flat out rejected at the most selective schools. My daughter was admitted to St. Paul’s and St. Andrew’s…and rejected at Choate. Same kid, same stats, fairly strong interviews at both Choate and St. Paul’s…practiced with the archery team at Choate as part of application process. And she got a rejection message on the GoChoate site that March 10th.</p>

<p>Finally, you have to ask yourself “How important is going to BS to me?” You make it sound like it’s quite important/you are not happy with your local options. If this is indeed the case, you are not in a “Go big or stay home” situation and definitely should expand your “consider/apply to” set.</p>

<p>In the time that I’ve been on CC, there have been plenty of stories of well-qualified kids getting NO admits. So ask yourself if that’s where you want to be in March. And again, consider a wider range of schools. Best of luck.</p>

<p>Some threads worth reading:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1130908-hidden-gems-lesser-known-prep-schools.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1130908-hidden-gems-lesser-known-prep-schools.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-parents/1174214-one-family-s-bs-search-application-process-start-finish.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-parents/1174214-one-family-s-bs-search-application-process-start-finish.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1300729-2012-clean-official-boarding-decisions-applicant-stats-ecs.html?highlight=clean[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1300729-2012-clean-official-boarding-decisions-applicant-stats-ecs.html?highlight=clean&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/665444-clean-official-boarding-decisions-applicant-stats-ecs.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/665444-clean-official-boarding-decisions-applicant-stats-ecs.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

5

<p>I saw the story of your daughter’s search for schools. It was very insightful and interesting to read, thank you for such a well-detailed explanation in your response! How does your daughter like her experience so far? </p>

<p>I understand how the “chance me” threads really do not yield any real results. But, in the midst of this difficult process I was still interested to hear the advice others had using their own similar experiences. </p>

<p>The links at the bottom of your response were also very helpful.</p>

6

<p>Sorry for the delay in responding…was without power or internet for a few days due to Sandy. Still no power at our home in NJ.</p>

<p>My daughter (who is not on the forum) very much enjoys and loves her school, St. Andrew’s. She is now a soph, and I think the workload/level of difficulty has ratcheted up a bit compared to last year…but her time management skills seem to have improved as well. She is happy with her choice of school, feel challenged by the classes (she takes a slightly heavier courseload than most students), and seems to enjoy her school mates.</p>

<p>I personally like the fact that she’s only a 2.5 hours away vs. 6+ for the New England schools…makes the trips for pick up/drop off doable in a day. Two goals of me posting that long story of my daughter’s search/application/selection process was to show that A) Kids with great stats can get rejected by the most selective schools, and B) Kids with great stats sometimes pick non “HADES” schools over “HADES” schools given the choice…and do not regret their decisions.</p>

<p>I will say, bluntly, that I’ve seen plenty of well-qualified kids come on the forum over the past few years who focus exclusively on the most selective schools (and who say they have undesireable options at home) and end up with no admits. I’ve also seen kids ask for their “chances” at “HADES” type schools despite having a C in a transcript or sub 90 SSATs. IMO, to really have a good shot at the most selective schools, you should be able to crush the SSAT and have a blemish-free transcript. Can you get in if you don’t have either? Sure, but I wouldn’t put my money on your chances.</p>

<p>Best of luck.</p>

7

<p>You just moved to a southern state? Are you doing the same activities at your new school as at your old? Your 7th and 8th grade program had model UN?</p>

8

<p>Brother:</p>

<p>Yes, I have started some different things at my new school and continued some of my old interests. My old school in Philadelphia had 7th and 8th grade Model UN. At my new school this year I started congressional debate, continued Field Hockey, joined SERVE interact (service club), volunteered at a child art camp for low income families and am involved in art/writing. </p>

<p>By the way I am also applying to Lville, it is a new addition to my list. </p>

<p>INTERVIEW UPDATES
*Andover and Exeter interviews went very well.
*SPS went well, it was Skype so I can not compare well to others.
*Deerfield’s was different with an (interesting) alumni
*Lville’s was okay, not sure the woman mostly wanted to talk about the school which was fine.
*Milton’s is scheduled.</p>

9

<p>Okay. Good luck. You sound highly motivated.</p>

10

<p>Are you applying to bs/ there now?</p>

11

<p>Just was told two of my poems were published in a regional literary/art magazine in my area! How much will this help me at all since I told my interviewers/ mailed them copies so they could see? They told me it was added to my application files for my schools.</p>