Chances at boarding school

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>If I applied after 9th grade, what would my chances be at Andover?</p>

<p>I took the SAT at the beginning of 9th grade and got a 1730 -- could anyone predict my SSAT score from this?</p>

<p>Female, midwest</p>

<p>GPA: 3.89
Unweighted rank: 30th/481
Courses:
Pre-IB English 9: A
Gym: A
Pre-IB Geography 9: A
IB-SL Math Studies: B (one of 5 freshman in a class of 481 to take this class)
Biology H: A
Spanish III: A
Yearbook: A
Online Health 1: A
Online Gym 2: A</p>

<p>EC's, separated by focus area:</p>

<p>Speech and debate:
- Attended 3 debate summer camps
- Debate club member, 6th-9th
- Speech team member, 9th</p>

<p>Volunteering:
- 65 hours of volunteering, 6th-8th
- 300 hours of volunteering, 9th
-- 5 hours/week in the media center
-- 3 hours/week at a hospital
- Member of a selective youth institute focusing on leadership and volunteering, 9th
- Member of religiously-affiliated youth group which also focuses on volunteering, 7th-9th</p>

<p>Other:
- Hebrew class through University of Minnesota (5 college credits)
- Will (most likely) attend Duke TIP this summer
- 4 summers at a month-long Jewish summer camp, 6th-9th
- Multiple entries in the Scholastic Writing Awards this year
- Honorable mention at Minnesota National History Day, 8th grade</p>

2

<p>Is IB-SL Math equivalent to the AP calc AB?</p>

3

<p>No, it's the equivalent to Honors Pre-Calc, with a little bit of calc at the end of the year.</p>

<p>** 1730 is in the 75th percentile of college-bound seniors. Could I predict a 95-99th percentile SSAT from this, or would that be too generous?</p>

4

<p>Well. Which schools are you applying to?</p>

5

<p>I just wanted to know my chances for Andover.</p>

6

<p>Oh, I see now :)
Well, you have quite the transcript. It seems as if you would fit in fine but you must show us your SSAT scores for us to get a good picture. Judging by the fact that you did better than 75% of high school seniors, you must test EXTREMELY well. Are you applying for 10th grade or are you a repeat 9th grader?
The thing with predicts chances for the top 10 schools is that it's a bit of a blind shot. Its based on what the admissions representatives see in you, not us. So, it gets a bit murky when coming to your "chances". If your asking if you have a shot, then yes, of course, your a very accomplished student and person.</p>

7

<p>Ok, thanks!</p>

<p>I'll be applying as an incoming 10th grader. Entrance into 10th grade is more competitive, I suppose?</p>

8

<p>It's equally competitive for all grades.</p>

<p>I'd say you have a pretty good chance. Are you really applying or just thinking about it?</p>

9

<p>No, its about equal to 9th grade. 1/2 the grade enters at 10th grade. A friend of mine who is at Pomfret says that in her school there were about 100 kids during her freshman year and then sophmore year they admitted 110 kids. Its 11th, 12th, and PG years that are more difficult.</p>

10

<p>Alright, thanks for the information.</p>

<p>I'm just thinking about it at this point.</p>

<p>Does anyone know the ~income cut-off for need-based aid?</p>

<p>Edit: Also, are middle-school transcripts required? I didn't earn good grades in 6th or 7th grade.</p>

11

<p>Jonathan1:
Does that make sense? If they expect their grade to be at their full capacity by 12th grade, they must admit less and less people because theres less and less space. Right? Correct me if I'm wrong.</p>

12

<p>crickett: It says somewhere on Andover's website (I'll try to find it later) that admission is equally competitive for all grades. I'm sure it varies slightly, but fewer people apply for fewer spots. For example, 400 kids apply for 100 spots in ninth grade, 50 apply for 25 in tenth grade, 20 apply for 10 spots in eleventh grade, and 10 apply for five spots in twelfth grade.</p>

<p>mf93: On Hotchkiss' website it says family income levels of students receiving aid ranges from $0 to $150,000.</p>

13

<p>Ok, a list of other schools I'd like to consider:</p>

<p>Reaches:
- Choate
- Andover
- Deerfield
- St. Paul's</p>

<p>Matches:
- Mercersberg
- Peddie</p>

<p>Safety: public school</p>

<p>Any schools known for their strong writing departments?</p>

14

<p>One school that has a strong writing department, but is not on your list, is Loomis Chaffee. They have a year-long Writing Workshop, mandatory for Sophomores and new Juniors. Check out their website for more info.</p>

15

<p>Would Loomis be a match or reach school?</p>

<p>Also, are there any schools that offer need-based aid for income in the upper 100,000's? Only one of my parents works, but they support three kids so I don't think paying full freight is really an option.</p>

16

<p>Loomis would be a match.</p>

<p>With your list in mind St. Paul's I would say is the best for writing, however all the schools are amazing.</p>

<p>(Generally speaking, St Paul's is thought of as having a great humanities department)</p>

17

<p>** Correction .. I'll have 300 hours of community service by the end of 9th grade, but only 150 by admissions time, so it's not quite as impressive.</p>

18

<p>hm.. What's the difference between volunteering in the school library and volunteering other places?</p>