Because I don’t think that Exeter has an overall high number of MIT or Harvard admissions just because of recruited athletes or donor kids. or maybe I’m naive lol
With the possible exception of a math prodigy, yes.
or most boarding schools/private prep schools.
Forget about MIT for this argument, since they do not consider legacy and give little to no bump for recruited athletes.
That said, Exeter’s matriculation to MIT is similar to Andover, a school of roughly the same size. Those kids likely would have been admitted if they want to most any HS with similar opportunities.
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Yes. In fact we are saying that for most kids at most pretty good highschools they have a similar chance of being accepted to a good college. My kids both go/went to a “top ten BS” and would have/had just as good a chance at a good college if they had gone to LPS. In fact their highschool experience would have been a lot easier so maybe they would have had an even better chance at a good college.
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I am being stupid, but what does LPS stand for?
local public school
Thanks. I thought it was something public school
As for your chance, I really am in no position to voice an opinion, as I have not been successful so far myself.
However, if I were to advise you with my one-time experience with application process, it would be the following:
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Numbers are not as meaningful as colors. Numbers are generic. Colors sing far louder. Show your colors. Play to your Russian background - what colors you would bring and add to the community. (As you can see, I failed to gain a single admission with numbers. As long as you apply with the right emphasis, you will be far more successful than I, trust me.)
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Apply early. I applied in early December, and I did not have the chance to contact coaches and music teachers at all. If you apply early, it shows your enthusiasm for the school.
I really think you will bring something truly interesting to any schools you apply. Try to enjoy the process! I really did! One day I was most surprised to receive a letter from the interviewer of one school that put me on the waitlist, which happened to be the most moving letter I had ever received! Life really is a journey.
Hey, thanks for replying! I’m sorry you didn’t get accepted; the schools missed out.
Numbers are not as meaningful as colors. Numbers are generic. Colors sing far louder. Show your colors. Play to your Russian background - what colors you would bring and add to the community. (As you can see, I failed to gain a single admission with numbers. As long as you apply with the right emphasis, you will be far more successful than I, trust me.)
See, I’m afraid to come across as the type of person whose only strength is their ethnicity. I’m also not sure how to honestly answer to what I can bring to the school, because I feel like they already have everything. I consider myself curious, I do programming, I want to try debate before applying. Is that what you mean by colors?
I will tell you the way I finally understood the “admission game” - after 1 round of 7 waitlists and 5 rejections.
I will read your posting backward, for once you understand my answer to your last question, all other questions are auto-answered.
By colors, I mean subjective, real subjective. It is essential that you get the epistemology right: you are not fully subjective even when you think you are. We are afraid of our subjectivity - we are taught to follow social norms, think rationally, be considerate, mind how others see us, etc. We often stifle our individuality, what makes us so unique, by imposing a hint of objectivity to our subjectivity. Subjectivity needs not be justified. How can you justify your taste? It is what makes you you. But we try it all the time because we are afraid. And you end up producing something like a bad acting, a half measure, a mix between the two. The moment you care about reaction or perception by others, your subjectivity is already broken - a bit akin to Schrödinger’s cat. And we rarely realize what a great loss it is, because we have been conditioned to put objectivity over our real selves.
Admission game is a game of extreme contrast between objectivity and subjectivity. You need both. And never mix. I said “extreme contrast” because you must be rigorous in distinguishing the two, never mix the two.
Numbers, recommendations, stats - they reveal objective you like some Commandments carved on cold marble. On the diametric opposite, essays and interviews are precious little opening to your soul, the subjective and freewheeling you. Resist the urge to introduce logos here, lest you end up creating something mundane, goody-goodish. Let those sing unhindered, with brilliant colors.
This is precisely where I failed. I wish I could do it again, but too late. Don’t make the mistake I made. Don’t try to impress them. These schools will never be impressed by how smart you are. They will only be impressed how unique you are.
You are quite right; when I told you to play to your Russian background, I did not mean using ethnicity. “Ethnicity” is not subjective; it is not unique at all. Anything that can be categorized fails the test. I meant YOUR experience and feelings - perhaps sometime, somewhere in Russia. “The inner peace you felt when you woke up and heard your sister play Scriabin in the living room” - now that is what I mean by subjective. No need to force out a reason, lesson, rationale. No need to persuade. Just give.
I will keep my fingers crossed that you succeed, my friend.
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Damn. You really should’ve gotten in somewhere.
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Agreed.
agreed
You really got me thinking. You should apply again for 10th grade for sure.
I completely agree with you that social norms and the strive for approval of peers have caused people to hide their true selves. Your reply was extremely eye opening, my mind is already coming up with things I could write in essays. However, I’m not sure quite sure about what that could mean in interviews. Should a person be completely honest and transparent about everything with AOs? Should the school know I tend to procrastinate? Can you also tell me what your interview was like? In what ways are there opportunities to express oneself during an interview?
I’m sorry if some of the questions I ask seem stupid - this is all new to me.
For the interviews, you should be honest without being obnoxious. You can absolutely tell them that you procrastinate, as long as you provide the context that it’s something you’re working on and have been getting better at. Anecdotal stories are a nice way to be genuine in your interviews as well.
For example (real exchange from one of my interviews):
AO - “what is a weakness of yours?”
“I am not a morning person. For as long as I can remember I’ve always hated getting out of bed when an alarm goes off. However, last summer I was bumped up a level in my swim club, and we started having practices that began at 5:30 in the morning, every morning. To be honest, I absolutely hated it, but after I got used to it I realized how much longer each day felt, in a good way. I could go to practice and be finished by 9 am, around the time I’d usually be waking up, and the morning exercise really cleared my head for the rest of the day.”
Turn your weakness into a strength. A question that begins by asking about a weakness can easily be flipped around into a positive. In that example I reference an achievement (getting moved up to the more competitive group), but there was no reason to try and make it sound impressive, as that wasn’t what the story was about. If you go out of your way to flaunt every accomplishment you’ll likely end up sounding arrogant. I could’ve said “I got moved into the super elite higher group and trained with kids who are potential future olympians”, which is true, albeit slightly exaggerated, and completely unnecessary to the point I was making.
Another example:
“Why do you want to leave your current school and come to XYZ?”
Instead of listing out all the great opportunities you’d take advantage of at their school, remember that the question is really asking about you. Schools know that they have awesome EC options and programs, and if you’re accepted they’ll expect you to take advantage of them. They can already tell from other parts of your application if you’ve taken advantage of things at your current school.
Don’t spin this type of question negative either, you risk coming across ungrateful (ie, “my current school just isn’t good enough for me and my impressive awesomeness” type of attitude - if that’s true, let them reach the conclusion for themselves).
You can say: “I really want to embrace a new opportunity. I love the challenge that XYZ offers and see it as a place for me to grow both academically and as a person. I’m really drawn to a BS community, especially at XYZ because … bla bla bla (this is where you can get more specific about school ECs etc)”.
Annnnd, one more example:
If your interviewer asks how your family feels about you leaving, don’t brush this type of question off. It’s a great chance for you to talk about your home and really strike a personal connection with the AO. If they bring up a topic (any topic!), feel free to elaborate on it, even if it’s not exactly what they asked.
Figure out the narrative you’re selling. I mean that in a good way. Really think about who you are, and what makes you original. Once you’ve figured that out (and hint: its not your grades, ssat, or awards), make sure that you’re presenting yourself in a way that the schools see it.
If you have certain characteristics and values that are important to you, I suggest thinking of stories that you can use to convey them.
You can find a list of common interview questions online. Do NOT pre script any answers. Instead just think about how you would answer those questions.
I recommend finding one of those lists, and when you’re alone, responding to some of the questions out loud. This is good practice, because it helps you form your thoughts into actual words. If you don’t know how to answer a question, think about how you can redirect it, or relate it back to some of the points you’re trying to convey. You already have all of the answers, you just have to work on communicating them.
There’s no magic formula, but there are some general rules. Be honest, but don’t brag. Answer every question thoughtfully and completely, but don’t ramble on forever. Think about your personal life, not just your ‘impressive’ achievements.
Who are you when you’re around just friends and family? That’s the side of you they want to get to know. Interviews, even more than essays, are your only chance to show it.
And don’t get too worried! It really is just a conversation. Be yourself, and don’t be afraid that they’ll judge you for being imperfect. Imperfection can be endearing.
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Lmao that advice was all over the place, sorry! My brain’s not functioning rn.
Summery: Don’t go into an interview with the primary objective of sounding impressive. It will almost certainly have the opposite effect. Be honest, be yourself, and you will have a much better chance of coming across as a person they’d actually want to be around. Stats give a school its reputation, people give a school its culture. Show them that you’re the type of person that other students will enjoy living with, that will be engaged and able to carry a conversation in class and with faculty, and that you posses the maturity level to live away from home.
Don’t underestimate maturity as a factor either. Interviews are also screening for the kids who look like they could ‘make it’ on paper, but upon interacting with them, it’s evident they would not be able to handle a rigorous environment away from the support of home. Schools don’t want to end up in that position, and they certainly don’t want to put a student in that position.
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I am glad you are reaching out for people’s advice and help. It’s a great start. As for my tips, keep in mind that they are post-mortem opinions of one who got no offer so far. On the balancing side, I usually take a couple of crashing failures to sort things out, and I am midway.
OK, first thing to understand about interviews: You are not giving your “entirety” to them. You might be thinking: “the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.” It’s generally a bad idea for 3 reasons: impossibility (too big a data), incompleteness (anyway), and you will bore them to death.
What is truth, anyway? I used the bath room and then entered my math class a minute ago. This is a factual truth of me. Shall I tell them this? What we are giving them is not a factual truth but a “distilled” truth (for the lack of a better term I could think of). Think Oriental paintings where they deliberately leave out the details for a vast area on the canvas to emphasize one crucial part.
Emphasis is not distortion. Is procrastination the most defining characteristic of you? Don’t we all do? I am writing this post to postpone doing my social homework, by the way.
You are giving them a distilled essence of you, what differentiates you, or your signiture characteristic. What best captures you? Interview is the process where you reveal this distilled essence of you through your emotion, demeanor, annecdotes, questions. You did well if the interviewer remembered you the next day. You aced it if he or she told the session to a friend. You must leave an impression with the person you are. Not easy, I know. having bombed a few too many.
You must go through King Lear: “Who is it that can tell me who I am?” Also ask people around you. You would be surprised to hear so many different opinions but there must be something that echos in you. Recall episodes on that characteristic and connect some dots. As I wrote on my stat post, you too may actually find who you are - by being forced to show who you are!
(One more thing… I shall note one conflicting case though - me. But this may be irrelevant to you.
When Exeter had a Webinar, the admission officer told us “not to do too much” and “be yourself.” These were contradictory instructions to me. I am the kind of person who goes the extra mile, someone who gives 3 if 1 is required; so I submitted lots of extra materials, which might be akin to submitting a War and Peace in the admission world. But I was simply being true to myself. As for my essay, I wrote about the excitement I felt from reading Turing’s Treatise on Enigma, which might have bored non-STEM readers to death. Again I was trying to show what excites me. I still do not know what the answers are in my case. I would appreciate advice.)
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Okay, I know I’ve already said this, but I’m baffled that you didn’t get any acceptances.
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