Chance me for Exeter/Andover???

Prep School Admissions Prep School Chances
1

I couldn’t resist. :smiley:

Basic information:
I’ll be 15 when I send in my application
About to start 9th grade, applying for 10th
Upstate New York, decent public high school
Asian male (ORM)
Require quite a bit of financial aid

Grades:
4.0 UW, no weighted at my middle school, took every honors class possible
Haven’t taken the SSAT yet but a practice test (from Barron’s Prep Book) put me squarely in the 99th percentile (I believe I got a scaled score of 2373), I’ll be taking the test in a month or so

ECs (uh oh):

  • Math: Placed first in my county for a math competition (8th grade), got highest scoring male student this year in my (admittedly uncompetitive) Mathcounts chapter and won a $1000 scholarship (8th grade), placed first in my school at both chapter and state competitions for Mathcounts (8th grade), placed second in my school on the AMC 8 (8th grade)

-Piano: I’ve been playing for 12 years now, I play for my school district’s choral concerts and my school’s special ensembles, as well as occasionally for orchestra/band, my local youth symphony and a big band. I’ve won first place in local competitions and won a competition to play at Carnegie Hall this summer but coronavirus got it canceled.

-Debate: I’ve debated for only a few months, but I co-founded our high school’s debate team (at 15 or so members right now but it will hopefully grow when the school year starts) and I won first individual place (undefeated) at a local tournament, first team place (undefeated) at another local tournament, and won first individual place in an online international tournament (9-1 win-loss).

-Writing: Scholastic Gold Key for Northeast Region-At-Large (…that’s pretty much it, but I’m working on it, and I’m planning to write some op-eds for local newspapers and enter some speech/writing competitions)

-History: Won first place local competition both individual and team last year, cancelled this year due to covid

-Volunteering: I’m phonebanking for Joe Biden and my local congressional race, I also played piano at nursing homes as part of a volunteer group

Thanks everyone

2

Hey! You seem to be a very good student. You have good grades and good extracurriculars. However, I want you to keep in mind that there will be several application in the same position as you are in. (This does not mean at all that you shouldn’t apply, your resume seems really good!!!)

Will you only be applying to Exeter and Andover??

Personally the first thing that popped into my head when I saw your post was : Does this person actually know anything about these schools or are they just thinking of applying to them because they are the top high schools in the country?

If you have not really looked into them I would strongly recommend doing so because just because the school is ranked #1 in the country does not mean it is right for you and you will enjoy it. However, beforehand you should first write down what things are important to you: size, location, are you looking for a place that is competitive or collaborative, what classes would you want to take, what activities would you want to pursue, etc. After that I would research the school and look into those things especially what is the typical schedule of a student and what is the vibe/culture like. I think questions like that can really tell you if it is a good fit. If you don’t find those answers on the schools website… reach out to admissions! I am confident they would be able to contact you with a student or teacher.

Also I almost forgot… look into the amount of financial aid they give. Boarding schools usually give pretty good aid but it is definitely something to look at especially if it plays a significant factor.