Chances for American Boarding schools?

Prep School Admissions Prep School Chances
1

I’m fourteen, and will be applying for grade 10 in the 2018-19 academic year. I am an international student, and I’m bilingual and have been learning French for four years. This is my third year playing lacrosse, I’ve played piano for nine years and recently started another instrument. I’ve been student council, as well as some other leadership roles in the past.

I am in many clubs, I help organize school events, advocate charities as well as student wellbeing, and I’ve represented my school in several maths competitions in my city.

I did a practise SSAT test, and I’m not sure of my percentile, but I scored a 2280, with full marks on the maths section.

However, my down side is that I’m not the perfect student. I got A’s and A*'s for all my design/creativity related subjects (Art, DT, Music, Drama) as well as in French, Maths, Science, Geography and PE. My English is mainly between an A and a B. However, there is a significant difference between those subjects and the rest, my weakness is in the rest of my humanities (e.g. History) in which I just cannot, no matter what, get good enough grades. My grades are mostly B’s, though in my computer science one of my grades went as low as a C! (Albeit, I missed 7 lessons due to personal reasons).

I know I’m nowhere near a perfect student, I don’t have the best transcript either, with my grade 6 and 7 records littered with lates and formal warnings, but would I still have a chance for getting into any of my applied schools?

Applying for:
Andover, Exeter, Choate, Milton, Middlesex, St. Pauls School, Hotchkiss, Deerfield.

Thanks for your help!

2

Where do you live? In the US or overseas?

3

the percentile matters more than the raw score, but the ssat doesn’t matter too much. are you a legacy?

4

The SSAT does matter for the schools on OP’s list.

5

In my experience US citizens living internationally fare well in the boarding school and elite college admissions process. You don’t have to be perfect. If you are FP you stand a better chance. Are you going to be able to interview?

6

Your being from outside the US could certainly help you. Any sports you play also? Are you especially well-spoken (interview)? Do you play any instruments? All of these factors could help get you in. Additionally, if you are often out of school, do you spend this time travelling? All of this there schools look for in you. Lastly, I would reccomend interviewing at a lower-preference school first. The first interview feels very unique, and is never your best. Better use it on schools you are not as enthusiastic about. I made the mistake of doing mine at one of my top choices…

7

Rather than making a list of achievement, convince your schools that you can offer something unique. You will need to do that through your interview or your personal essays. Showing that you are an individual with passion and ambition is more important than numbers on paper. I am speaking from experience and got waitlisted at Andover and I am now a student at Exeter. One mistake I made is I depended on grades and SSAT scores to get me in more than I should have. Do some soul searching and find out what you can offer to the community.

8

I have a few days visiting the US, and I’m interviewing in Andover, Exeter and Choate.

9

@KnightsDude I play lacrosse, piano, flute, and I’d say I’m a decent speaker (debate, talking in assembly etc.) Also, yeah I get where you’re at with going with a lower choice school first, however I’m only able to interview in 3 schools, Andover, Exeter and Choate, all three which I value quite a bit so…

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hey @altablue, I go to choate so if you have any questions dm me

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@altablue why only 3 schools? Are you local to these schools? If not I would recommend setting up Skype interviews or off campus interviews with a few other schools. Applying to 3 “insert acronym” schools isn’t a good idea. You are applying to some of the toughest schools in the world to get in to. If you really want boarding schoo, you may want to find a way to apply to a few more b

12

I echo @momof3swimmers. Or, you may end up with nothing on decision day which would probably be a good learning experience for you.

13

If you can share what you’re looking for in a school, I’m sure the kind people here can suggest additional boarding schools for you to consider.
What size school are you looking for? Are there specific programs, either academic or athletic, that interest you? Are you open to single-sex schools? Are you open to other areas of the country?

14

Hey, sorry for the super late replies! I should clarify that when I meant said I was only interviewing at three schools, I meant on campus. I will still be doing skype interviews with a couple of other schools. What I’m looking for in a school, really, is good academics; I’m not applying to boarding school because I just want to attend boarding school, but more of because I want to have a good education. My school I’m attending right now is already pretty good, so really, I’m looking either for schools that are stronger (academics wise), or none at all.

15

How do you define “strong academics”? Are there specific advanced classes that are only offered at the schools you’ve chosen? Or at the average test scores of their students? Because there are lots of boarding schools with great teachers who can challenge you.

16

@CaliMex I look at course variety, as well as student to teacher ratio, matriculation and average scores. Wow, I sound pretty judgemental don’t I? I don’t mean it; it’s just that really, I don’t know any other way to judge the schools other than that.

17

I’m not sure that’s the best way to judge academics.

College matriculation could mean they attract the legacies, athletes, and superstars who would have gotten into top schools no matter where they went to school. Doesn’t mean you’ll have the same result. (Even the bottom half of kids ar these schools is impressive.)

Top test scores? That means the admissions officers set a higher bar for scores to market themselves to people who don’t dig beneath the numbers. It does NOT mean the class discussion will be richer or that you will benefit in any way. You certainly can’t credit the teaching. You could credit wealthier parents who invest in lots of tutoring?

Student teacher ratio? Most class sizes are around the same. I’m not sure there is a big difference between a class of 11 and a class of 15. In fact, if the class is too small (or too homogenous), the discussion might not be as dynamic as there might not be enough differing viewpoints or perspectives.

All of these schools have some incredible teachers … and a few duds… And a few wonderful teachers that you in particular might not click with!

Here’s what I would look at instead:

  1. Size. Do you want a small school where everyone wears multiple hats and where it is easy to jump into new sports and activities? Or a large school where you can specialize in the things you are already great at and pursue them with others who share your level of experience and expertise? Do you need very advanced classes in subject areas where you have already accelerated?
  2. Culture. Do you want a school where kids have jobs and chores? Regular seated meals with assigned seats? Mandatory study halls and lights out? Formal or casual dress? Lots of structure or lots of freedom? Mandatory sports? What about the intensity/stress level? “Preppy”? Countercultural? Relaxed? Creative?
  3. Location. Do you like the idea of being on a working farm? Do you prefer suburban towns or rural isolation? Do you prefer being closer to an airport?
  4. Demographics. Does it matter to you whether the student body is homogenous or diverse?

So much to consider!

18

well if i was looking at these,

  1. I’d prefer a medium-large school, where there are lots of facilities and opportunities, as well as courses and activities
  2. well, no jobs and chores, preferably! regarding meal seating, I really don’t have much of a preference, as with study hall, lights out and dress. I like something between, in which your days are structured, but with a little bit of freedom, a bit of a buffer, really. I want something that will challenge me, nothing too easy, but nothing that’ll keep me up till 2AM every night!
  3. I’d prefer something closer to a city, or at least in a half-suburban place, though the idea of living in rural isolation is pretty cool as well.
  4. I’d prefer it to be a bit more diverse, and more international.
19

You’ve picked the largest boarding schools possible, along with a couple of pretty small ones… Might be time to research more “medium-sized” ones. Are you thinking 500-700 kids?

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@CaliMex approximately? I do have some small ones for sure; I’m not 100% sure what size I like, so really, I’m just going to see when I visit