<p>I am in ninth grade, and have never gotten lower than 94% for any class on a report card. This year my grades are all A+s except an A in biology. My main thing is academics. I recently took the SSAT (haven't gotten scores yet) but I feel I didn't do well, so I signed up for the December test and started to study more, now I feel like I know the material 1000 times better. My extracurriculars are:
•Honors Society (2 years)
•Lacrosse (league champs in my state)
•Drama Club
•World Citizens Club
•Community service
•2 student of the month awards
•3 academic achievement awards
•Did an internship last year, got experience with customers and answering phones</p>
<p>I am mostly worried about how I don't do any art extracurricular except the photography elective im taking this year. I also only do one sport and only have a few academic awards under my belt. Could this be enough to maybe get into Choate and Deerfield?</p>
One sport (you do well) is fine. If you play lacrosse (Spring) be sure to look at sports offered in Fall and Winter and express interest. Maybe you’d like to try Field Hockey in the Fall or Basketball in the Winter…Sometimes interest and a willingness to try other sports trumps experience and talent. ( Not everyone is a triple V athlete in 8th grade ) If you haven’t interviewed yet be sure to express interest (in one or two other sports ) when you do. It will be noted and considered along with your application.
An 8th grader not having a long list of academic achievement/ awards is totally fine, too! Don’t worry about that at all. The kids with the long list should only put down what they’re most proud of anyway- not everything plus the kitchen sink- otherwise it looks like total overkill. Same thing goes for athletic awards and medals.
My kids only put down what they were most proud of ( and deliberately left out a lot of stuff ). Great BS applications are all about balance and exuding the right kind of confidence. It’s not a brag sheet. Besides- you seem to do very well in school and have five academic awards . What are you worried about?
Hey- the photography elective sounds pretty cool to me, too
Oops- somehow missed that you’re in 9th grade but that doesn’t change what I said in my post. Just curious- are you repeating 9th or applying for 10th?
Oh haha @PhotographerMom with your username I can see how photography would be a common interest I am applying for 10th and luckily did mention my interest in other sports during my interviews. I don’t know why I’m so worried, really. Now I’m not so freaked out about not having awards. Its more about my SSAT scores. I did excellent on two sections but horrible (I mean absolutely awful) on one section. But my total score is still above average for the schools I’m applying to. And I do well in the actual class of this subject, the questions just threw me off even with lots of prep I wasn’t expecting them to be so tricky. Should I be worried?
Everyone worries… it’s only natural. Applicants with a 99% SSAT score should worry and smart ones do.
FWIW- When I read posts on Chances and see all the 8th /9th grade academic powerhouses with boatloads of awards, I don’t think Wow! I think- What else do you have? What kind of person are you and what else are you bringing to a BS campus? And (most importantly) - will you be able to convey all of that in a meaningful way on your application?
If you meet the academic standard/ requirement and your application allows your personality, character and enthusiasm to shine through… your chance is as good as anyone else’s- including the kids with laundry lists of academic awards/ accomplishments and better SSAT scores. Honestly- pouring it on only makes a BS AO wonder: What does this kid do for fun? Does this kid even know how to have fun?
My oldest son was a classic academic over-achiever ( plus JBS triple V athlete) when he applied to SS and we had to tone his applications WAY down in order to strike the right balance- you know… so he would at least appear human- like a kid - albeit a super smart one but you know what I mean.
A great BS application (IMHO) is all about balance not hubris. The most important part of a BS application isn’t about academic perfection , being a spectacular athlete or having an amazing EC. It’s you and why you want to have this experience.
@PhotographerMom wow thanks so much for this I was a little worried but this really helped! Thanks so much. I am pretty confident that I expressed myself as best as possible on the applications.
@PhotographerMom Help! Some AOs gave me that impression when I had an interview. As a matter of fact, all four of them (I’ve had four interviews so far) asked me “How do you have time to sleep?” and/or “When do you sleep?” Is this a really bad thing for me??? I’m so worried… :((
admissions could go either way but trying to stay positive lol
) If you haven’t interviewed yet be sure to express interest (in one or two other sports ) when you do. It will be noted and considered along with your application.