<p>im an african american kid from nyc who just graduated from a very advanced middle school. I took accelerated math. These are my grades:
ela: 79
math:75
social studies:74
science:80
art:93
PE:98
music:90
I have a 85 average in total. I slacked off this year as im a very bright kid especially in math and science. I know alot and advanced in those two subjects but didnt try hard. In 9th grade i will try and will achieve all 95's and up in all classes. my ssat will probably be a 90 in math, 80 in the multiple chioce and 70 in verbal which is an 80%. My 9th grade teachers will give me excellent recs and I will probably have a good interview with these schools. I play chess, basketball and football at a good level. i will probably start playing the viola this summer. My essays will be either okay or good. I know i did bad in 8th grade but lets say i shined in the 9th grade 1st marking period and the schools saw that, will it make it a good candidate as it shows improvement which they like to see.</p>
<p>i will also have about 100-150 hours of community service. My parents are divorce and will need finacial aid as im poor</p>
<p>Bring up the math. Start studying for the SSAT and ISEE. Do you have any good hooks, such as, sports, music, a certain talent that makes you stand out? You<code>re on the right track but remember, you must get great grades this next semester to balance the average ones from the past.
Don</code>t get discouraged by all the CCers who brag about their 99% scores. Just do your best and continue to ask your teachers for advice about interviews and a game plan for applying to the schools right for you.
My last word of advice is to consider adding a lower tier school to your list. There are plenty of great ones to review on boarding school review.</p>
<p>thank you, i really appreciate your input. Not really any hooks. Im a good b-ball player(really tall, 14 years old 160 pounds) but i think i can get some type of hook. Can you give me some tips on what make a good interview.I already know nice firm handshake, eye contact, questions. But i know there are more</p>
<p>There have been a few threads with interview advice. Do a search for it and see if you can find any. Good luck!</p>
<p>Try also sites like A Better Chance and Prep for Prep.</p>
<p>@urbanflop, what about those sites</p>
<p>They help minorities get into prep schools.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.abetterchance.org%5B/url%5D”>www.abetterchance.org</a>
<a href=“http://www.prepforprep.org%5B/url%5D”>www.prepforprep.org</a></p>
<p>im too late 4 those programs, so that wont help me</p>
<p>Ok not to start another war on which school is “better”, but we can generalize the schools you’re applying to into the following three tiers:
1st: Lawrenceville and Hotchkiss
2nd: Peddie and NMH
Safety: Kent</p>
<p>Though your average grade of 85 isn’t bad at all, it’s inflated by the higher scores of PE art and music; you should try to bring up your other classes from the 70s to the 80s.</p>
<p>In terms of SSATs, again an average of 85 would not be bad at all, but you should try to improve on your verbal scores.</p>
<p>Very good thing that you realize the interview is an important component of the application process, and it is. Though there aren’t specific “things to do in an interview”, I will do my best to try to help since I went through probably 10 interviews when I applied to BS’s. Overall I believe the interviewer isn’t actually using the interview to know more facts about you, but instead to get to know you as a person. </p>
<p>Looking presentable is first and foremost; wear a suit or jacket and tie to the interview.
They will also ask you very simple questions like “what do you like to do in school?” or “what do you like about our school?”, but that doesn’t mean you should give simple answers. Though one sentence answers like “I play basketball, football, and lacrosse.” isn’t considered wrong, all these questions are actually chances for you to “showoff” your communication skills. Intelligent, logical, sensible, passionate answers are what they’re looking for. Just be nice and outgoing, don’t ever get stumped by a question, and just keep a good flow of conversation.
Hope that helped.</p>
<p>P.S. I go to Lawrenceville if that helps at all.</p>
<p>I’m here to fix the above comment.</p>
<p>First tier: Peddie, Lawrenceville and Hotchkiss
Second Tier: NMH
Safety: Kent</p>
<p>I’m a Peddie student ;)</p>
<p>I DONT CARE ABOUT WHAT TIER A CERTAIN SCHOOL IS IN. In order, what are the most important parts of the application process out of these, grades,ssat,interview,recomendations, EC’s and other stuff</p>
<p>It`s important to know which schools are 1st, 2nd and 3rd tier schools. I strongly suggest that you find a school for all 3 levels. Please read the thread under prep application, My story, and you will understand why.
Of course CCers will always want to debate which tier their school falls under but the important point is to know how the competition stacks for you.</p>
<p>i wouldn’t call kent a safety… :P</p>
<p>also, if you need financial aid and kent happens to want you, their financial aid will be really generous. someone who was on CC a few years ago (italianboarder) got into both Andover(or Exeter, i forget) and Kent, but went to Kent because they gave him more financial aid!</p>
<p>and yeah, knowing which tiers (so you can balance which schools you’re applying to) is indeed pretty important, but just a rough view. i mean, obviously andover > avon, but don’t get too mixed up with rankings…
best of luck! :)</p>
<p>The most important parts of your application vary depending on the school. Obviously, good SSAT scores and a steady line of A’s and B’s in school are really important, but none of that matters if you are the most boring and dreadful person during your interview. Be yourself, be polite, and work hard and things should be fine.</p>
<p>Love you, facbrat.</p>
<p>I don’t think you’re too old for ABC…</p>
<p>i cant do a better chance ok…</p>
<p>okay okay I’m sorry…</p>