Chance Me Loomis, Hotchkiss, and Deerfield!

Prep School Admissions Prep School Chances
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<p>I applied to a couple of boarding schools for the 2014-2015 school year and got accepted into all but I had to reject them because I could not receive full pay from them. </p>

<p>I'm going to apply as a repeat freshman (or should I go for 10th) for the 2015-2016 school year at Loomis, Deerfield, Blair, and Hotchkiss(and a couple of safety schools)</p>

<p>For my eight grade year (graduation tomorrow) I moved from one of the most dangerous and badly reviewed towns and school to a school that has been voted #158 best schools in the nation. I never had learned what they were advancing on so it was difficult to catch up.</p>

<p>Need Full Pay</p>

<p>7th grade: (Old School)
Science: A+
Math: A+
History: A+
English: A+
I never EVER studied and had terrible study habits as a result.Everything came easy to me and I was one of the best students.</p>

<p>8th Grade: (Current School) All block periods, three classes a semester (G.P.A is 3.6 with my rotation classes)
First Semester-
Algebra: B-
English:A-
Science: B-</p>

<p>Second:
Algebra: Had an F ended with a C
Science: B+
English: B</p>

<p>Third:
Algebra:B+
English: B
History: A+</p>

<p>Fourth:
Algebra: C
English: B+
History: A+</p>

<p>I understand these grades from 8th grade aren't certainly up there for these schools (Will explain the reason for the drop)</p>

<p>Extracurricular:
Hundreds of community service hours and I enjoy it very much
Girl Scouts- getting my gold award when I'm old enough(next year)
Have played saxophone and violin(don't know if they would count because it been about a year and a half) learning the guitar and drums
Will be starting a debate team and mock trial clubs at my the high school I will be attending (I'm moving again)
Will be starting the sports I've always wanted to do because now my parents have money to get me equipment
Dance for 5 years (took off another 5 years because of constant injuries)</p>

<p>At my next school I will certainly be doing better because I have gained better study skills and it is slightly less difficult than my current school.</p>

<p>Another thing that hold me back is that I've been diagnosed with severe depression and a severe anxiety disorder so that tends to hold me back from a lot.</p>

<p>Should I even attempt to apply? Should I apply for 10th or repeat 9th? Sorry for the long post!</p>

<p>Thanks for any feedback</p>

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<p>I recommend applying to schools with big financial aid budgets instead of the smaller safety schools.</p>

3

<p>SORRY IN ADVANCE FOR ANY TYPOS
I don’t know what I would say for you,
honestly. I think it’s a toss-up. I think that you are very well-rounded with a lot of interests (which is good for boarding school), though maybe next year you should focus on something (perhaps a club or an instrument/sport) and get good at it so that it can make you stand out. I also suggest raising your grades, and also taking the SSAT to see where your score would allow you to go. I suggest keeping your score within a 7-percentile range of where the school is (say you got at the 85th percentile, go with schools between 78-92nd percentile, or seething to that affect).
There’s also the fact that you have depression and anxiety. If they are holding back a lot just at home, it will only get worse at a competitive boarding school. Though of course I don’t know how it truly affects you as a learner. Just make sure you don’t try to stress yourself out too much, because no boarding school is worth your mental health AT ALL.
In general, I say you seem like a good student with a lot of curiosity for the world around you. What I would do in your position is apply to schools with the biggest financial aid budgets (look on boarding school review for “highest endowments”) and also at schools that will be easy for you at get into (schools with an SSAT average well below where yours is. For example, 68% compared to your 85%).</p>

<p>Okay so wow this was long but I really hope this all works out for you! Any questions you have, my inbox is open for!
(Also if anyone sees this and thinks my advice sucks, set it straight haha. I’m just a kid as well lol) </p>

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<p>@boardingjunkie gives some great advice! Definitely look at a range of schools, but never take for granted that you’ll get in somehwere, even if your SSAT is more than 20 points above their average. Try just as hard on each school’s app. Good luck!</p>

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<p>@boardingjunkie Your feedback is very appreciated! This summer I’m going to begin starting barbizon which will help me personally, physically and academically. I’m also going to start debate and model un which I will have to start clubs for because I’ve been waiting years for highsch</p>

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<p>@boardingjunkie‌ *greatly…oops</p>

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<p>I’d say to go ahead and apply! Apply like normal; however, you’ll want to strictly outline your eighth grade report cards and your depression/anxiety. For your transcript situation, I would write a handwritten letter to be sent in along with your transcript and possibly ask your principal, favorite teacher, or guidance counselor to confirm the issues and advocate for you. Applying for ninth grade again might be best in this circumstance, as you’d have more time to catch up on the gaps in your schoolwork from the district changes, but that is entirely up to you. Your depression/anxiety should be very carefully considered- like posters above me said, if you’re struggling now, you might struggle even more at boarding school; that’s something for you to think about and for the schools to consider. And it’s always wise to ensure the boarding school is on the same page as you with anything that could have caused problems or unexpected circumstances in your application. </p>

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<p>@pdl100‌ thank you! I’m still deciding whether or not to apply ass a repeat or not. My depression/anxiety didn’t really play a lot in the struggle with school work it really affects my feelings and I didn’t want to ask for help. I went from a school were I was 1-2/500 kids then to a new school where I was expecting the same difficulty and easiness with the material,but I was wrong.</p>

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<p>I also was wondering if I could in any way play part in making the schools more diverse, because I’m 50% Costa Rican and 50% American (from New Jersey). Does it count? I know NJ is over represented and I don’t live in CR, so does it not count?</p>

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<p>@ashe2121‌ I think you being half Costa Rican might help you as an under-represented minority (URM) in the applicant… (Might lol). And it does count wherever you live, it just makes you a domestic applicant. I don’t have to live in Africa to be considered African, do I? Haha :wink: </p>

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<p>Uh, no. I live in the U.S. and I was considered international. </p>

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<p>@mrnephew but OP is a US citizen.</p>

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<p>Did he say that? I read the thread casually and not too thoroughly, but I didn’t catch that. </p>

<p>And I was just pointing out the flaw in that statement, because it doesn’t really matter where you live. You could be living in Romania and still have US citizenship. </p>

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<p>She said she was half Costa Rican, half American, implying that one parent is American.</p>

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<p>Hmm I didn’t catch that, my mistake. My second point still stands. </p>