Best to start off formal & adjust to more casual if the formal approach makes others in the room uncomfortable.
Questions can be either general or specific. Specific questions show that you have researched that school.
I love Exeter’s location !
Okay. I’m just worried about getting stereotyped as “typical Asian” because living in the South, people love doing that and it is really demoralizing to have worked so hard to be different, but to be stuffed back into the “general Asian” mold.
You will not have that issue at any of the New England prep schools with which I am familiar.
I hope i don’t seem over cautious but I REALLY want to go to Exeter so i guess its best to think of everything
You will do well. Just be sure to apply to several schools.
If i decide to apply to more schools now, do I have to retake the SSAT for those schools too?
@ImWaisian I just PM’d you. @Publisher is giving you great advice.
Unless @BigBlueSwim is the PEA swim coach and is typing comments while having drinks with the director of admissions, a statement suggesting assured acceptance to PEA is overstated, to say the least. Being an excellent swimmer may be considered a hook, but again, that is far from suggesting a guaranteed acceptance.
My comment regarding the SAT and SSAT is from my son’s own experience. While your score on the SAT is great, my son scored substantially higher at your age and went on to get an SSAT that was good, but not as high as he hoped. He ended up retaking it and scoring very high due to improvement in his verbal score. Again, my point is simply to not assume that doing well on the SAT would directly correlate with a high SSAT score. They are different tests and your SSAT score will benefit from some directed preparation.
As for the interview…relax and be yourself, first and foremost. Don’t try to be a NE person in hopes of fitting into a NE school. These schools value diversity and the unique things that make you the person you are. Be prepared to explain why you want to go to school X. Common questions revolve around the unique things that you enjoy…and by unique, I don’t mean things that no other applicant has ever done. I mean talking about recent assignments/projects, recent/favorite book(s), subjects/activities/sports/volunteering you enjoy, etc. Think about these things ahead of time and answer from the heart; Don’t give answers that you think they want to hear. The fact is, if the fit between you and the school is not right, based on honest answers, then you don’t want to be there in the end.
The info you have provided looks great, but there are NO sure things in this process. Browse the threads on CC and you will become familiar with that important concept. Don’t pin hopes and dreams on one school. Do your best in the application process, cast a wide net in regard to the schools you apply to and you will have a good M10 (M9 actually). Good luck!
Check out Mercersburg. They have a very strong swimming program, too… Gorgeous campus and arts center.
I don’t know about the swimming program at St Andrew’s School in Delaware, but that school had some of the nicest kids we met while touring. They have a community service program where they bring kids with disabilities to the St Andrew’s pool and the students work with them.
While I agree with @Altras that no one can state with certainty that you will be admitted to a particular school, it’s hard to argue that national-level athletic talent is a meaningful admissions hook. And as @BigBlueSwim is a parent of a swimmer in a rival BS, I have to believe s/he can put your swimming accomplishments into perspective.
I have never seen recruited athlete boarding school admit rates, but if it’s anything like the admit rates for Harvard’s recruited athletes, it’s likely to be meaningful. See, for example, the article from the Harvard Crimson titled, “Filings Show Athletes With High Academic Scores Have 83 Percent Acceptance Rate,” which you can find with a quick Google search.
@Altras I scored a 1300 when I was in 7th, for the Duke talent search. I am sure I would be able to score much higher, like a 1400 due to the added practice from Advanced English and I have finished Pre-Calc
And thanks to all of you who have commented. It really is beneficial because this is the first (and hopefully last) time I apply for BS!
@Publisher Just a passing thought: should I dress in a specific way?
^for the interview
OP, I think some of the comments are great. You are an excellent candidate. But I wouldn’t count my acceptance until you have it in hand. There are many, many kids with excellent stats some even better and they don’t all get in. You will be put in the bucket of your various accomplishments and male, Asian, swimmer, etc. So you will be competing against others who have similar characteristics. There could be more swimmers or people from your state or really anything that tips things in your favor ( or not). There are also many legacies and many other things which AO’s consider. Be prepared. And good luck.
@Happytimes2001 Thank you. I am studying for the January SSAT right now in hopes of getting a high score
@ImWaisian As I’ve said it many times on this board, there are many wonderful and impressive kids. You are one of them. There aren’t enough spots for all of them at PEA and PA or even the top 10 schools. That’s why the acceptance rates are so low. If you know and understand this, one March 10th you will be prepared. For those who really want to attend a boarding school, there are multiple schools from which 5 years from now you can likely attain anything you like. It really is an embarrassment of riches when you look at the sports, arts, classes and facilities all BS schools offer.
@Happytimes2001 I am prepared to get rejected, but I am working as hard as I can to try and not get rejected.
@ImWaisian I’m a freshman who is retaking the ssat this January as well. My greatest tip for you would be to familiarize yourself with the types of passages on the test.
@YoungThriver Do you know what the math goes up to and they types of passages? I struggled with historic passages on the SAT and i only got a 600 in the English section.