<p>I live in an extremely small area, virtually in the middle of no where. It's low income. There are no opportunities, we have an awful cirriculum, which I think is trailing other schools in larger areas. We have 4 classes a day and they are the basic necessitated classes like math and English. I wanted to apply for Lawrenceville, Exeter, Milton, and Andover. Since there aren;t any oppurtunities I have no community service, sports or club experience. I haven't taken any SSATs yet, but before I do I want to know if I should just give up now. The nearest Testing sites are hours away. I also need full financial aid.</p>
<p>can anyone help me out?</p>
<p>If you haven’t started the process yet, I would say you’re too late for this admission cycle. Apps are due in just a few weeks - last SSAT date for this cycle is Jan 4. Sorry.</p>
<p>I would suggest you begin the process now to apply next year, for entry in the fall of 2015. I would get an SSAT prep book and take a practice test to see how you do. Try to see if you can get to a prep school open house this year, to see if you really like the prep school scene. Andover usually has a really nice one in mid January, I think, so see if you can get to that this year. If not, then maybe there is a prep school closer to you that you can visit.</p>
<p>If you cannot register for the Jan. 4th SSAT’s then you are out of luck- if you can, well, then everything else will just take herculean effort, but it’s not impossible- I always say go for it…</p>
<p>For our older son, years ago, we started the ENTIRE process AFTER XMAS-- all of it: choosing schools, filling apps, essays, recs, ssat, interviews, EVERYTHING. DS was a late-registration standby for taking the Jan ssat-- he didn’t even have a confirmed ticket to take the test.</p>
<p>By some miracle he got admitted, despite our 11th hour bumbling. It was SO INCREDIBLY STRESSFUL, and I seriously don’t recommend doing this process in a rushed manner.</p>
<p>For our younger son who is now in this admissions cycle, we have been carefully researching schools and preparing for nearly a year. The process still stressful w all that planning, but this time it’s not insane. </p>
<p>If it is absolutely urgent to go to a bs nxt year, then u can still make-- it was urgent at the time for S1! If it’s not urgent, then apply in nxt yr’s admissions cycle, and keep your sanity. </p>
<p>Since u need FA, it is important for you to prepare your application EXTRA carefully; it is significantly more competitive to be admitted w FA. Take the year to carefully research schools; ignore the hype over the big name schools and honestly assess what is important to u that the bs must offer. Take the time to prepare for the ssat. Focus on making a good impression on your english & math teachers nxt yr; they will have to write your recs. And lastly, don’t read the CHANCES forum.</p>
<p>If u do decide to wait and apply in nxt yr’s admissions cycle, then do come back to this forum on March-10 to witness the bloodbath on Decision Day. That will give u a clear idea of what the odds are.</p>