Grade: 8th, applying for 9th grade boarding
Age/profile: 13, white female
Location: Small, rural town in Central FL
*I’m not listing things from middle school because i think it’s irrelevant
Academics:
-Straight As, highest classes offered
no languages since my school doesn’t have any
Awards:
XC awards
My school doesn’t really give out awards, but I receive all the academic ones available
Selected for NHD contest at county
ECs/Leadership:
VP of Student Council
FBLA
-STEM Club
NJHS
I organize a lot of school improvement/ community service projects in my town. I’m very active in my community.
Sports:
XC( we don’t have team captains, but i’m the fastest one n my team and in the eldest grade, so i assume it would be me)
-Track
my running is VERY strong and is a major part of my app
interested in Crew, LAX, Field Hockey, really everything.
Schools: (i know it’s a lot!)
L’ville
DA
Exeter
-Choate(hoping to be an (Ichan Scholar)
-Hkiss
-Taft
Mercersburg
-Peddie
-Loomis
Hill
-SPS
Hook:
I’m from a small, rural town in an UR state. I’m a stand-out student in a poor area. I’ve overcome a lot of adversity and I have an insane life story/ complicated family life.
FA: Need Full FA and possibly stipends.
Community service(i organized all these events and got people to participate with me/got permission from school t help also):
Cleaned the city lake 3 years in a row
helped at animal shelters
soup kitchens
washed cars for veterans/elderly
-organized spirit nights and other fund raisers
created school improvement projects/helped with administration to make the school better
try to do as many service projects as i can, but a lot of ideas get shut down due to people not participating/not having resources to do it)
-organized school events to improve school spirit and student enjoyment
SSAT:
i took it once without studying in October** 70th percentile overall, 38th math, 76th verbal, 88th reading
i’m retaking it, but i think schools will take into account that my education has been very poor, my school’s math program is very bad as well.
I wish you lots of luck. You seem like a great kid.
I don’t know some of those schools and I’m not sure how much the scores will be a problem. Are you able to self study online for the next sitting?
Any chance you can add a couple schools with scores that are more in line with yours? The thing is schools may worry about you being able to do the work with the math score.
Honestly, i just picked the schools i liked. It took me months to get this list, and i’m aiming for the best schools. it’s not very realistic, but i would rather re-apply next year than go to other schools.
yo you’ve got hella EC’s? And awards? And you’re vp, that’s good right?
You’re strong my dude, and I totally feel you on the lack of educational resources. (Especially in the math department, smh)
You might not get into all the schools you’re shooting for (but who does,), but I know that you’ll get out of Flo Rida and go to a BS. You’re doin great hun, keep me updated lol.
@ens2006 My application was very very similar to yours, and I had a great outcome so you will most likely as well! If you have any questions about Exeter or the process as a whole then just pm me
@Publisher i’m working at it. I think i’ll be fine, I just didn’t know the topics before. Now i’m familiar and i’m starting to master some topics. My brother is in pre-calc and he’s helping me when he can too.
First, the EC’s are excellent. And a tough life story which I believe was implied coupled with a person interested in the community=success.
Secondly, the reading scores is strong. That shows either you read a lot or are strong in analytical skills or both. The verbal is just memorizing words so I think it matters less. The math is a concern. Many public schools have awful math. This creates a long term issue for students/
The issue would be if you were accepted to these schools you would be really behind in the math department. I’m guessing in science too. ( Only because it’s rare for science to be strong and math to be weak). I’d say at Exeter, Deerfield and Choate, it might be too much to jump into 9th grade with other kids who are extremely prepared. Average for these schools is very high and most kids are well ahead of others their age in any school system. ( Many of these schools have kids who are a couple of years ahead in things). That doesn’t mean it can’t happen. It just may mean that you would sell your long term potential short.
I think the other schools on your list are a better bet. You will still have an academic hurdle as they are great schools but you will have a better chance to excel. You want to not only go to a BS but also excel there.
Math and science are intertwined. And about half of your main courses. If you were at 60-70% I’d say you might be able to study online this Summer and work hard Freshman year. But your score indicates a lot of gaps and to be fair to you, that’s work. And you will also have a lot of work to begin with.
Have you thought of expanding your pool of schools. Taking in some less well known schools would allow you to get a great education and still enable you to excel.
Have you looked at schools that have a program in the Summer for accepted students? You will also have from May-August to work online in math. That’s a lot of ground to cover, however.
Wishing you the best. But I would strongly suggest expanding the pool. An academic mismatch might make you lose confidence when it’s just a matter of exposure.
Since you need financial aid, I would focus on schools where you are above, hopefully way above, their averages. Those schools will REALLY want you (vs being lukewarm). I would urge you to look at schools like Millbrook and Berkshire. If your ssat stays the same schools like Hotchkiss will be a reach.
I roast people?! Not my intent. Your resume looks great (will not recap it here) EXCEPT the SSATS for the schools on your list. The Math in the 30s is just not up to scratch so you need to take them again ASAP.
Here is my #1 tip for you…answer EVERY QUESTION on the SSATs. Skip NONE. You are collecting points, not an average. 1/4 point penalty for incorrect so it is a wash to guess at worst (you can Google this). In reality you will do better than random chance. I have personally seen 25 percentile jumps just by changing to this strategy.
A few of Choate’s Ichan scholars had SSAT’s in the 50s-60s. I’ve heard of other schools admitting people with similar scores. I think bringing my grade up drastically IS manageable with all the work I’ve been putting in. I’ve had pretty good interviews too, and many of my interviewers said I could handle the work and adjust well.
@GoatMama Also, I was not aware that FL was represented so heavily at SPS. For other schools however, it isn’t the case. Choate only has 9 Floridians and other schools have similar numbers.
You’re doin great hun, keep me updated lol.