I am an 8th grade student and I am applying to some top US boarding schools, which are Andover, Exeter, and Choate I’m currently studying in Asia in an international school, and being Asian/Chinese, everyone is highly competitive and I doubt I will actually make it.
Academics:
~ Top 10% in our school
Average of 7 (out of 7) for IB MYP (54/56) which is, in GPA, 4.0
Completely Bilingual: English and Chinese. I am also studying French.
Got an award, “Head’s Commendation”, which means that my grades are 90% and over.
Standardised Testing:
SSAT: 2300+ for the test, when converted around 98%ile
Sports:
Tennis (I have been playing for 7 years) - in the tennis team at school
Golf
Figure Skating (Freestyle 3)
Music:
Played Piano since 3, taking diploma exam soon.
EC:
Green Team
School Magazine
Kids4Kids (Charity)
WWF
UNICEF representative
-SGLI (student global leadership institute)
School’s Debate Team
Art (went to some competitions)
-ELCHK (charity where you teach english)
The main thing I want to focus on this year is Debate and WSC. WSC is world scholar’s cup (http://www.scholarscup.org/), which is basically a debate, writing, and a test competition all in one. I do 5+ hours of debate a week, and I really want to feature that in my interviews and applications. For WSC, I have participated in the regional round in Hong Kong, participated in the Global round in Kuala Lumpur, and I am going to Yale this November to participate in the Tournament of Champions.
Other stuff:
I went to PEA summer school, and got 4 honors (Which is basically A+), so I’m guessing that might help me.
For recommendations, I think all of them are pretty good.
What do you guys think? Do you think I have a chance?
You look fairly typical for an Asian applicant. Many other students just like you. Go to the prep school subforum and read about other students. Very few unhooked students from China get in (even with great scores like you).
The biggest factor will be whether or not you need financial aid.
My son was accepted to Andover, and we went to the accepted student day. I remember meeting only one student from mainland China the entire day. The young girl was pleasant and friendly. Her parents were wealthy and from Shanghai. The daughter on the other hand spoke with a perfect American accent. So she probably studied at some sort of international school, or maybe even a junior boarding school.
So the bottom line is that its very difficult to get in from China. Just make sure you apply to a wide range of schools, otherwise come M10 you might be shut-out with no acceptances. Good luck
I’m so sorry to butt in like this, but some corrections might be made. I happen to know her in real life and this case seems to be a bit different. Well firstly, not all Chinese people from Asia live in China, so you theoretically have no right and on no basis can you assume that being Chinese and living in Asia means that you are living in China. This brings me to my second point, which might in other cases give her an advantage, how would dual US and other country citizenships (POB in US if I’m not wrong) or school alliances (G20 Schools) affect her (or our) chances?
On the other hand, with 20% of students from our school going to Ivy colleges and famous universities around the world, so there isn’t really a desperate need to apply to boarding school (and possibly end up in a worse place where we are now)
Just curious and not trying to hijack this thread, but does having dual citizenship help applicants? Maybe not from the over-represented ones like China (unfortunately the case for this OP student who seems to have excellent credentials) but other less “popular” countries.
In fact, it is illegal for Chinese to have dual citizenships, so that isn’t possible. Lots of Chinese people (the richer ones) are coming to the US
to give birth, not only as the children can receive US citizenship, but the one chile policy does not apply, they also get to know the child’s gender before birth. Most Chinese you see with dual citizenships are dual US (or Canada) with SAR or Singapore passports (which is the case for the OP). Lots of the Chinese you see in boarding schools aren’t even Chinese. This is also influenced by a Chinese rule that if you are Chinese, you have to go to a local school to study (need confirmation). From what I know from Chinese boarding school 3rd parties, last year (or this year), nobody with a Chinese nationality got into Exeter. Well that’s the ugly truth for Asians and Chinese when it comes to high schools…
I’m guessing then the hoards of Asian students I saw at Choate last week are US citizens. How can one say this good student has no chance. That’s a bit rough @thebahierd16 as this is your 2nd post. I only have a few myself but might think being a new “contributor” you’d at least have a burn in period. There seems to be plenty of old-timers here willing to stick it to anyone – guess you learned fast…
