<p>So the current school I go to is okay, but all my friends are really unmotivated and are satisfied with just C's and D's. I haven't actually started the application process yet (just looked up a couple of schools online) but my parents have let me apply.</p>
<ul>
<li>I'm a freshmen applying for 11th Grade</li>
<li>I am international (is that a good thing? It isn't for me because there's a lot of traveling included for interviews and such)</li>
<li>Mostly A's and B's, but 2 C's I plan to pull upwith final exams coming up</li>
</ul>
<p>ECs:
Piano: 12+ years (still playing)
ABRSM Grade 7 piano
Grade 5 music theory
Guitar: self taught - 2 years (still playing)</p>
<p>I don't really have any other ECs outside of music. Our school is REALLY small (so small; we don't even have a girls' basketball team or a newspaper club, if you want to get the idea of how small it is), so anything you're really interested in you're going to have to pursue outside of school.</p>
<p>Sports:
Netball team 4+ years (doesn't really count, because it's not a prominent sport in the US)</p>
<p>Community service:
Did community service with grade out of country (Philippines)
Not sure, but I think I have a good number of hours</p>
<p>I haven't taken the SSATs yet, but I'm pretty confident I can get at least a 95% since my friend has taken it, and she got 95+ and she's around the same level as me academically. I'm confident I can do well for the essays too because I've got a thing for writing. </p>
<p>I'm hoping to apply for some of the top schools like Hotchkiss, St. Paul's, Choate Rosemary... etc, but I'm also looking into Westminster, Peddie and Middlesex.</p>
<p>What are my chances? Please be honest!
Thanks.</p>
<p>Just speaking of music, your stats is similar to mine (I applied for 11th grade, international also), but do you have any other passions outside of music? Have you taken a practice SSAT yet? My only concern is that you need to boost your EC big time, becasue it is pretty scarce as of now. Also, your grade isn’t the best, so you may wanna do REALLY well next year in order to get into top schools. Sorry, I’m being kind of harsh, but it is my honest opinion…;)</p>
<p>No, it’s okay! Thanks for your opinion.
Yeah, I plan to bring up my C’s to at least B’s with finals coming up. There really isn’t much I can do about my ECs though. I’ll be buying a practice SSAT book soon.
Is it okay if I PM you? I don’t really have anyone to talk to about the application process and stuff so I’m kind of lost…</p>
<p>How passionate are you about those EC’s? Any awards or anything? It’s quality over quantity definitely – you could get in with one EC that you’re really passionate about, and you could be rejected with 5 EC’s that are just there.
I think it’s harder for international students to get financial aid, if you’re applying for any.</p>
<p>I’ve entered a few piano competitions but I always emerge average… so no awards. I did get distinction for my piano exam one year though.
I don’t need financial aid. :)</p>
<p>No FA definitely helps, even though the boarding schools claim that they are need-blind. Especially in this economy… You need to develop a real “hook” - a reason why they would want you, how you could help them. Do you have a lot of leadership experiences? Are you very good at a certain subject? Are really passionate about something – say, writing? Think about that. But you seem to have a good background in music, which is a plus. Be sure to do REALLY well on your SSAT!</p>
<p>I am definitely passionate about writing, but I don’t have much experience apart from the writing we do in English class. We don’t have a newspaper club at our school. I am passionate about music though, and I have pretty good musical background like what you said.
I looked at a couple SSAT papers from the Princeton Review book. The math seems easy enough but I don’t know half the vocab words… I’ll definitely study though!
Thank you all for the advice so far!</p>
<p>You could definitely get in most of these schools if you can raise your current grades, and get great marks sophomore year. SSAT will be really important, but as long as you get good grades you could easily get into, say Peddie or Middlesex. St Pauls might be a reach, but you don’t need FA so you still have a chance.</p>
I am passionate about music though, and I have pretty good musical background like what you said. 