Hey, I am wondering my chances of getting into Roxbury Latin. I got a 2301 on the ssat or 98 percentile, and do lots of extracurricular activities such as piano, model in, and I also take Chinese outside of school. I also play hockey. My grades are alright as I have one A-, two As, and two A+s. I am in middle school and applying for ninth grade. I am also wondering if I have a higher chance of being accepted if I have legacy to Harvard? Thanks!!!
Not model in, I meant to type Model UN
If this is helpful- I’m in all the best classes If there is one. Also my ssat was 98 overall with 99 verbal, 96/94 math, and 90 reading.
Do you live in Boston?
No, but I live in Greater Boston Area but it’s not considered Boston it’s considered a suburb.
Is Roxbury Latin not the school with a 5% admit rate for non Boston residents?
You have a great profile but if they have a 5% admissions rate then I’d say it’s somewhat up to luck.
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Alright, thanks for your feedback!
Do you know if it’s easier to get into RL if you have legacy to Harvard? I was thinking that they might because they want more kids to get into Ivy Leagues.
I think it is possible that they take the Harvard legacy into consideration, in isolated cases, but basically they can pick and choose whoever they want —and there are probably at least a dozen things they look at first. Roxbury Latin siblings or legacy is a different story…
I believe that 9th grade admissions are even harder than 7th grade admissions. You may win the lottery, so to speak, and get in, but you should recognize that it is extremely unlikely. Also, don’t they not even teach Chinese? I am suggesting that if they get any inkling that you are applying solely because it is the best school in Massachusetts from a college outcomes perspective (which it is, and I am including all boarding schools in this statement), they will look the other way. Stated differently, if I were looking at your file there (and I’ve no connection whatsoever with the school), I would question why you wouldn’t go somewhere that offers Chinese. And I do have that question: don’t Nobles and Milton (top day schools extremely close to RL in that same, south of Boston area) both offer Chinese?
Are you a good hockey player who will definitely be a starter on their team by junior year at the latest? If so, contact the coach. Otherwise, I don’t think this will help much, either.
If boarding school is out as an option (day student or not), apply for day schools in addition to RL. And good luck!
Thanks Pincite,
I am also applying to Nobles and BB&N and I just completed my RL interview on Friday. Do you know what they use your OLSAT score for? Also, if you are accepted does the letter come in a big package versus an envelope if they reject or waitlist you?
I am glad you are applying to other schools in addition to RL. I can’t help you with the admissions letter/package issue. As for the OLSAT, I can only speculate that it is 1) a way of giving some applicants who did not prep well for the ISEE/SSAT a boost, and 2) a way to cross-check inflated scores from accommodations and/or over test prep. I believe the OLSAT requires about 20 minutes of preparation to be valid, though, and RL gives less than 1/2 that, so it is in that sense farcical. But at least it must be valuable enough from RL’s perspective — or they would not do it.
As an aside, what do you make of their lack of hospitality in the sense they were the only school we visited that did not supply coffee/tea, cookies etc. to visitors? I thought it was because their reception area was small, but my wife thought it was a deliberate message of asceticism on their part. All I know is that I was jet lagged: I really needed a cup of coffee, and was none too pleased that they were the lone school to not provide it.
I thought that Roxbury Latin was a more conservative school from my interview. Their curriculum is very rigid, and I thought that the waiting area at admissions had a overly competitive air to it. I also thought that it seemed like Roxbury Latin was aiming to create a competitive and apprehensive environment and not one where I could relax and be myself at my interview.
That really is too bad, but I do think it is a great student-centered, character building school once you get in. It is a shame that so much of the interview time (for the 7th grade, at least) is allotted to testing the kids. I am not even talking about the IQ test they give (the OLSAT), but am instead referring to the math, vocabulary and other questions they ask as part of the actual interview. Then, most of the non-academic questions they do ask are canned, in the sense they obviously ask all the kids the same questions. Not exactly getting to the individual for a school that, most of all, “cares about what kind of person a boy is”. But, again, I think they do care once you are in. And I do not get the sense the students are competitive with each other. I think, if you do start in the 7th grade, at least, it really is true that it becomes a brotherhood. So I would not conclude that it is a competitive school in that sense…
Hi is there a different in admissions rate for resident vs non-resident? I didn’t find this information on their web. Thanks!