Hi I’m a 9th Grader who is applying for 10th grade at Groton, Andover, Deerfield, Choate, Hotchkiss, Exeter, Milton, St. Pauls. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and I am full pay. I went to a private high school and middle school and I went to the Athenian school for middle school which when I brought up all my interviewers knew as a rigorous school. Both my parents are middle eastern and I expressed this in my application. My SSAT percentile was 95th percentile overall
Verbal- 764. 91%
Math- 749. 73%
Reading- 764. 98%
Overall: 95%
I am worried whether the 73% in math will really hurt my chances. My Cumulative GPA these past two years is a 3.8 and my middle school did not weight gpa, but my high school does, and unfortunately they would not allow me too take honors courses as they wanted me to repeat the course their middle schoolers took. I expressed this during my interview and explained that and I am hoping since they know my middle school well they will understand. I am also in Spanish 3 and Algebra 2
EC: My middle school did not have clubs but I am on a year round swim team, Model UN, Speech & Debate, DECA, and I also do community service working coaching the younger kids at my swim team and volunteering at a Nursing Home. I have also written an opinion piece that was featured in the New Yorker.
I believe my interviews went very well and I also believe my recommendation letters and essay were very strong. If you could please let me know what my chances are that would mean a lot.
I’d say your chances are pretty good. You got geodiversity and FP. If you had legacy your chances would be better. You have some interesting things that help you stand out. Let us know how you make out post M10.
You offer diversity & a solid SSAT score. Being full pay should help. My best guess–and it is only a guess-is that you will be admitted to at least 3 of the 8 schools to which you applied. Probably 4 and waitlisted at one or two.
Not really. I suspect they just want to brag about the sheer number of states represented. Once they’ve got someone from one state, they’d rather admit someone from another. In other words, once they can claim having someone from CA, they’re not motivated to admit another Californian in the name of geographic diversity.
What are some of your swim times? Would you consider yourself a recruited athlete? Have you been in contact with swim coaches? If your times are fast enough to make you a recruited athlete then your chances will increase. Best of luck!
Wrong: there are tons of kids from California. Geodiversity is from states like Mississipi (the deep south), the midwest etc where few kids come to prep school. New England is certain the highest % but CA is close behind. If you are hispanic from a rural or urban poor area in CA that is different. Another affluent kid from SF makes no ones list for geodiversity.
I understood your post. Each school also determines how many students that it would like to have from any given geographical region. Simply accepting one or two or a few from Northern California, for example, does not mean that they will matriculate at that school. Also, just because a school has two or three from Northern California does not mean that that school isn’t seeking to add more students from that region in the new class.
I guess that I agree with the other poster who suggested that an applicant from Northern California might receive a slight boost for geodiversity.
Checked Andover, Exeter, Groton & St. Paul’s School. Apparently, judging by enrolled students, California residency would be unlikely to offer any meaningful admissions boost.
I selected these four schools from the original poster’s list of schools because they are the two largest & two smallest schools in terms of enrollment.
It’s funny you selected those four–those are exactly the four we applied to (and no others). We live right in the epicenter of where those four schools are located, so no geo boost for us!
The math score ( for these schools ) is not good… but you already know that so don’t sweat it . The flip side of that is that there are plenty of kids ( with higher scores ) who will get waitlisted or rejected because the AO (s) don’t agree that it’s a good fit or there’s a question about personality or maturity that’s required for boarding ( which is a really big deal and often overlooked ) … that’s why you can’t bank solely on your stats ! Or, your address… Or, being FP.
Yes- you’re definitely in range for all the schools listed above and you felt like your interviews went really well ( awesome ) … and you have a couple of nice ECs ( FYI- Model UN has lost some of it’s luster at some schools on your list but no biggie- it’s still good ) and you were published in a mag which is extraordinary! … It’s all good!
The other thing is Full Pay … which is great but so is the economy and schools were swamped with FP apps this year. Kids who don’t have access to PDS and attend public school are now in the game ( in a big way ) , too- and these new FP- public school kids are wicked smart, very accomplished, and have a lot to offer too! FWIW- Your main competition are kids applying from JBS and private day schools ( from all over the country and world ) … so there’s that… that’s your pool.
Here’s the bottom line: If the team reading your app can see you there… and they think you’ll fit in and thrive in their community - you’re in. The academic piece is very important… but it is only a piece.
All the best and good luck! Let us know how you make out!!
Let us know how you make out!!