Hey! I’m an international student applying for a few schools similar to yours I’d say your SSAT score definitely isn’t low, and you playing an instrument should be a plus (though violin is very common),; winning a nation-wide contest twice in a row is amazing as well! My only concern is that your TOEFL score is a 101, and most american boarding schools without ESL programs require a minimum of 100, meaning that schools may think that you are unable to handle the English (but with an 85th percentile on the SSAT, I assume your reading/verbal would be pretty good, which could could counter that)
Either way, I wish you the best of luck, and I’d love to PM you some more
Yeah, I was aiming for a higher TOEFL, but I hadn’t prepped at ALL I’ve only sent my TOEFL scores to the schools that require them, though, because score reports aren’t cheap.
Exeter is not need-blind, correct. A school, like Exeter, might have a large endowment, but that does not mean its supply of FA money is unlimited - it’s not. There is an annual budget for FA, and all grants must fit within it.
@preppedparent If you still wanna know, I got these decisions:
Fountain Valley School: Acceptance with full FA
The Gunnery: Acceptance (waitlist for financial aid)
Exeter: Waitlist
Choate: Waitlist
Andover: Rejection
Tabor: Rejection
Kent: Rejection
Blair: Rejection
I’d say your SSAT score definitely isn’t low, and you playing an instrument should be a plus (though violin is very common),; winning a nation-wide contest twice in a row is amazing as well! My only concern is that your TOEFL score is a 101, and most american boarding schools without ESL programs require a minimum of 100, meaning that schools may think that you are unable to handle the English (but with an 85th percentile on the SSAT, I assume your reading/verbal would be pretty good, which could could counter that)
I’ve only sent my TOEFL scores to the schools that require them, though, because score reports aren’t cheap.