Chances at Lawrenceville and Peddie?

Prep School Admissions Prep School Chances
1

Hello College Confidential world! Over the span of the application process, I’ve been hesitant of doing one of these. However, now that decisions come out in 4 days, I just said YOLO, as I wanted to see where I stood from your guys’ opinion. Any feedback is appreciated! Thank you!!

Schools I’m Applying to:
-Peddie
-Lawrenceville
-four other private day schools around the area (I already got admitted to each, so that takes some worry off my chest)

Basic Profile:
Asian male, 14 years old
Currently attending local public middle school
Applying to 9th as a boarder
Needs FA

SSAT (I took it twice):
80th Percentile (Verbal 80 / Math 73 / Reading 82)
87th Percentile (Verbal 92 / Math 82 / Reading 75) that drop hurt

Grades from Semester 1:
English Honors- 100
Science Honors- 95
Pre-AP US History- 95
Algebra- 98
Spanish 1- 100

6th and 7th grades are all straight A’s too.

Interviews:
Lawrenceville- 4.5/10, I have no idea why I thought it would be a good idea for me to do one of my top choices first. I was really nervous and anxious, but I still think I gave good enough answers. It’s the end that really got me though. When he asked if I had any questions at the end, I said no, which I later found out is a horrible thing to do.

Peddie- 9/10, It was really good actually! I really connected with the AO, at least more than I did with L’ville, and asked really good questions back to her.

Recommendations:
English- blind, although, I’m active in the class and consider myself to be a good student, so I have that going for me
Math- she’s been helping me out with all the math regarding the SSAT and has been really supportive throughout this experience, so I expect it to be great!
Principal- I also expect this to be great, as he and I are pretty close, and he’s also aware of all the clubs and projects I partake in

Essays:
I considered them to be really good actually! For one of the prompts, I fully focused on my love for sustainability and how I am helping combat global warming. For another, I wrote almost a story on my journey to becoming a runner, which I also thought was really cool.

Extracurriculars and Programs:
= Environmental Club: 2 years; prominent projects include townwide cleanups, making murals out of bottle caps and rebuilding school’s greenhouse
= Newspaper Club: 2 years
= Cancer Awareness Club: 2 years, club does fundraisers to raise money for the financially struggling in town affected by cancer
= Student Council: 2 years, representative in 7th grade and elected President in 8th
= NJHS: 2 years, member in 7th grade and elected NJHS President by peers in 8th
= Spanish Club: 1 year
= Peer Leader: 1 year
= member of school district’s Strategic Planning Committee, chosen by my principal and other staff members to be part, discuss ideas with higher-ups (thats the only word I could think of lol) to better improve school and student life; I was able to finally implement blinds for our building, as students have been requesting that for ages
= Gifted and Talented Program: 8 years, I get pulled out of class every week with a few of my classmates where we solve complex problems using different methods to solve them, group recently went to state competition (I’m still waiting for the results!!)
= Cross Country: 2 years, definitely committed to longer distances
= Track: 2 years, run 800 and 1600 (not the best though)
= took part in summer program at private day school for 5 weeks

Awards:
=“Student of the Month” award (shows who teachers believe have best character), won twice in 7th grade
= received certificate from town’s environmental commission for town cleanups
= received certificate from board for perfect score on standardized testing
= received medal at county’s cross country championships
= won “Super Student” award (a character award) at summer program
= made High Honor Roll (straight A’s) throughout middle school
= writing competition winner, I wrote a poem about Lincoln

Thank you so much to whoever took the time out of the day to read this! I wish everyone goodluck on M10!

2

Oh shoot I also forgot to mention my person recommendation! It was my cross country coach. He really likes me, and has seen my progress as a runner and all the miles and hard work I’ve put in throughout the years, so I believe that’ll also be a good one.

3

Um- don’t take my post to seriously im just a fellow applicant and no one can really chance anyone

So, academically, you seem pretty qualified- your SSAT is a tad low but should be fine.

Seems like (from what you wrote) the softer parts of your app (essays, interviews) seem good, but again, IDK.

Only thing I see missing is a long term non academic EC (instrument, art, sport commitment that you’ve done for over 3 yrs), but again I’m sure that’s true for many other applicants.

Anyways, good luck on m10 (less than 3 days left!)

4

@doodlebean8 Yeah, I have to agree with the long term thing. My district has it so there’s a separate school for 5th and 6th grade, so most of the clubs available in the my current school we’re non existent there. Thanks for the feedback!

5

I think you have a decent shot at Peddie. I’m going to guess that Lville will be a no – but the fact that you want to board could help. But really, the folks who matter have already made their decisions and you’ll know very soon. Let us know how it turns out for you.

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@gardenstategal Oh… well it was great to hear your viewpoint! I’ll be sure to come back here, as well as the other threads, to share the results. Thanks for being honest too!

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@ezpeaohgee – your thread is only a fraction of the application, so I am just guessing. I know way more kids who have applied to Lville as day students and the ones who were admitted almost all had hooks. So dont read too much into my guess. And wishing you the best!

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@gardenstategal Oh yeah! I’m really grateful for the advice you’ve provided me. I agree though, I don’t have much of a solid hook. I wish you the best on everything too!

9

Hey, I was in your situation this time last year as I only applied to Lawrenceville and peddie as an Asian. Fortunately, I got into both (I’m a current 9th grader at lville). Though you seem like a strong applicant, your chances at Lawrenceville don’t seem too good particularly as your ssat scores are below the average of the Asian applicant group, most my friends were 95%<, including me. Also, applying as a hoarder doesn’t help your case because most asian boarders at lville are mostly just international kids who have stupid money and a stupid amount of connections/legacies. So essentially, you are competing with them. But as for peddie, if your interview went well, I think you have a decent chance. Best of luck and don’t stress too much about the outcomes!

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@Bigegg It was really great hearing from someone who attends the school! Yeah I also have to agree that my SSAT percentiles were definitely trash compared to other Asian (or just the general pool of) applicants. I just tried to work on my EC’s and essays as much as possible before the date, which payed off in some ways. Thank you!!

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Update in case anyone was wondering:
I got denied from Lawrenceville but accepted into Peddie!!!

If any future boarding school applicant is looking at this, know that there’s always hope. You gotta keep pushing through, through those SSATS and essays and applications. I never thought I would be where I was today, and yet, here I am. Also, work on your SSAT studying, essays and extracurricular activities as hard as possible. That would’ve saved me a great deal of trouble.