<p>Hey I’m going to eight grade this school year and I am obviously applying to schools as well. I want to apply to Hotchkiss, Lawrenceville, Exeter, Andover, Peddie… (but mostly Hotchkiss)
I am so scared too…
I got an 82% on my SSATs and
75%-Verbal
88%-Math
69%- Reading
i am probably not going to get in
i get all As except one B+ in French
i swim competitively and have 4 silver times
i play the piano have participated and fairs and one prizes (for 8 years)
I also volunteer for Special Olympics and PTP
I have a business
and two blogs-poetry and creative writing
have done art lessons since I was 7
and so on…
do i have a chance? plz help</p>
<p>Don’t have a negative attitude. Even if you get a SSAT score in the 98th percentile (like I did :P) , your are not guaranteed to get in to every school you apply to. Show interest. Tell the school that you like the most that they are your first choice. Get the SAT vocab app and go through ALL the words. Your verbal score will go up 5-10 percentile. READ! </p>
<p>-Advice from a student going to Hotchkiss this year</p>
<p>Actually I read a lot… But thanks for the help! what extra curriculars did you have and what was your verbal and critical reading score? Thanks again hopefully I will see you at Hotchkiss in 2014!!!</p>
<p>I am not going to lie and say everybody at Hotchkiss has parallel scores, but I had a 97th percentile verbal and a 95th critical reading. My overall score was a 98th percentile.</p>
<p>ECs/Hooks:
Piano:8 years
Saxophone: 3 years. My teacher asked the school to change my schedule so I could play with the High School Jazz Band (Which performs at national embassies) .
Basketball: 5 years. Played Small Forward for middle school basketball team.
Can read and write in 5 languages.
Mensan. (I hope this doesn’t come off as pretentious, but I am listing the activities I put on my application.)
I started a recycling program in my very small town.
Won Presidential Award for physical Fitness</p>
<p>I’m also Asian. That (I think) played to my disadvantage. Remember to convey to your interviewer that Hotchkiss is your first choice. (Which I hope it is!)</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Many Great Boarding Schools in California -
Many of them along the pacific ocean or very close to it , great weather and great education.
[Boarding</a> Schools in California](<a href=“http://boardingschoolsincalifornia.org%5DBoarding”>http://boardingschoolsincalifornia.org)</p>
<p>Where can you ask questions?</p>
<p>If you have questions about Hotchkiss, pm me when you get to 15 posts.</p>
<p>thx prepschoolplease im asian too but i got the presidential award in the fitness test as well can you put that on ur application</p>
<p>@swimmer you can put that on your app. I’m not sure it will give you a big boost, but it can’t hurt.</p>
<p>Wow so many posts I never saw! (Even though they don’t really involve me haha.)</p>
<p>But I’ve decided where I am applying which are:</p>
<p>Phillips Andover, St. Paul’s, Lawrenceville, Hotchkiss, and The Hill School.</p>
<p>I am still quite scared, I don’t really have a big legacy and am choosing not to apply for FA due to the fact that it might affect my chances (even though FA would help a lot.)</p>
<p>I would say that I am a pretty strong essay writer so that is not of my worries but I’m afraid my grades might not make it. I’ve never gotten a grade lower than 90% this year but my grades are not all 100s. I heard that language really helps so I guess I should add that I am fluent in Korean and English. I also know Spanish and am currently learning Chinese. I hope that does make a difference on my application so that I can be set apart from the others.</p>
<p>Oh, and I would like to add my mother let me have a bit of say now to where I apply. I convinced her to let me apply to Hotchkiss and St.Paul’s. 
So yay for improvement in my parent trusting me!</p>
<p>Everybody on these boards puts too much emphasis on SSAT scores. I believe that your middle school program, your grades in middle school and the teacher recommendations weigh heavily in the decision. I would not spend too much time asking for people to review your credentials because it will not affect whether you get in and may set an artificial expectation. Taking the ssat more than twice will not necessarily help you. Although the school may only see one set of scores they will know how many times you took the test. The school fit and your maturity are factors that no one can assess based on the things you have posted and they weigh on the decision. If you have a passion and strength in a particular area athletics music or drama, I would definitely contact the appropriate person because that can set you apart from the pack. These school need a well rounded student body and it is not just about ssat scores. My son is entering Andover in the fall and all of his scores were not in the 94th percentile. Good luck, do your best, be yourself and keep an open mind. There are plenty of options out there, look hard and stay away from all of the chatter on cc, it can drive you crazy.</p>
<p>@firstgenbsp112</p>
<p>Thank you for the reassurance. I was very worried about my SSAT scores. My mother says my math is not good enough 68%. My Vocab was 99% and Reading 89%. So my mother says my other scores are good and she says my extras might not “be enough.” I do not have a million but the ones I am involved in, I am very involved and have been doing for a long period of time. </p>
<p>I hope that my deep passion and want to attend these boarding schools is enough to convince them that I am right for their school.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help everyone!</p>
<p>The last thing you want to do in front of AOs is give an impression that your parents have a very strong influence on your application, decision-making process and eventually life. I know many students from Asia (or having an Asian background) with such strong parental involvement. I am not sure if that is your case or not but I have a feeling like that by reading your several postings. Show them you are independent and mature. Show them you are considerate of others and passionate about not only entrance but the life at BS. Don’t throw every EC that you have had like a supermarket, which is not going to help, but find what you really love and can talk for at least 10 minutes in details.</p>
<p>The Presidential Fitness Award is a very low bar so I would not put it on an application. Now a Golf Medal in the Olympics, that you put on an application. Avoid fluff</p>
<p>@patronyork</p>
<p>I don’t think my mother will have that much of a strong influence on my application. She leaves most of the filling out forms to myself because I think she trusts me on the essay items and applications. I understand it may seem that way but my mother is just having the most say on where I apply to. </p>
<p>My mother and my cousin say that my tone when I speak is mumbled and negative for some reason. I did not ever think that before mainly because in school around my teachers and friends I am energetic and in fact speak quite loudly. It is probably because when I speak in Korean I get nervous. All I can hope is that my speech will not affect my interview. When they ask questions I will probably pause to think about them or say “Umm” and stutter a bit. Will this effect what they think of my potential?</p>
<p>Anyway, thanks for the advice.</p>
<p>Admissions officers are usually very experienced people. Don’t worry so much about that and just try to be yourself and natural. As I have already mentioned, show them your passion and the reason you want to get into a specific school. Have them feel there is a good fit between the school and yourself, not tell. At the same time, be modest and nice. (Who wouldn’t act nice?) They would prefer a nice student to an arrogant when conditions are equal.</p>
<p>The schools I would like to apply to are Groton, St.Pauls, Hotchkiss, Tabor, Choate Rosemary Hall, and Deerfield. </p>
<p>I am a sophmore with mostly A’s and some B’s, i am currently taking one AP class.
I do Crew after school, work a job on Saturdays, volunteer at animal shelter on weekends, and I am part of my school’s art club.<br>
I am not applying for financial aid.</p>
<p>I attend a very big public school in Washington, DC. There are not many kids on my grade that do get “great” grades.</p>
<p>I have not taken SSAT yet, but I will take it in two weeks. I worked with a tutor the whole summer to help prepare, mostly in Mathematics.</p>
<p>Please Chance me!!!</p>