Chances?

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>Im applying to
Taft
Andover
Exeter
Milton
Groton
St. Paul's</p>

<p>Im a public school kid and applying for junior year. </p>

<p>1] my GPA last year (freshman) was a 4.05 and this year for the first marking period is a 4.1 (4.0 is an A in my school and 4.33 is an A+)</p>

<p>2] I am weak in the athletics area. I only play tennis and I'm on JV (first doubles) because Varsity has 7 spots and there are 2 state ranked (1 national ranked) girls on the team (One of them is #1 in NJ). My school also has a senior rule, meaning "If you're a senior and you're okay at this sport, you're on varsity." so it's difficult to get on Varsity, but I was close if that even matters at all.</p>

<p>3] I'm on math team and science league (there's only about 4 clubs in my school haha)</p>

<p>4] I take a Chinese folk dance class outside of school (dont ask)</p>

<p>5] I write for and am an editor for the school paper</p>

<p>6] I helped paint the English hallway (I don't know if that counts) and I'm really into visual art but I have no awards or anything to prove that I'm good at it so I'm not sure what to do. I know Andover allows to me send in a portfolio, but that's it.</p>

<p>7] Piano for 7 years.</p>

<p>8] Trumpet for 4 years. but I just stopped this year because it didnt fit in my schedule, so that might not count.</p>

<p>9] I'm not sure where I stand in school ranking, but definitely in the 10%. I'll say 15% to be safe.</p>

<p>10] SSATs: M- 91%, V- 96%, R- 75%, Total- 94%
I think I did terrible so I'm retaking them (all the schools said they'll consider the higher score)</p>

<p>and that's all I have to offer.
Do you think I have any chance whatsoever?</p>

2

<p>I think they only accept under five to ten kids for junior year at Groton, so that might be harder for you. Do you think you will be able to bring up your Reading score by a lot? Your GPA is great. Are you a minority? You might want to apply to a school like Lawrenceville, which is a great school, but might be a better match for you. You'll probably get into one of the ones you're applying to, especially as you did very well on Verbal and Math.</p>

3

<p>I'm actually not sure about applying to Groton. I'm not sure if I like it, so that's my last choice. and yes, I can DEFINITELY bring up my reading by a lot. I have no idea what happened! it was still in the 700's and it was a 76%. I guess others did a lot better. and my math should be a 99% I also messed up for that, so my January testing should be a lot better and I'm confident about that.
I'm chinese and I know we're known for our competitiveness, so does that decrease my chances?</p>

<p>also, I stayed at Lawrenceville for a week (camp) and I didn't like it very much. I'm also not allowed to apply for it because my cousin is. Horrible rule, I know.</p>

4

<p>Oh! and I also got a national latin award last year</p>

5

<p>Hm... I only got a 728 on Reading but a 96 percentile, so there must have been a lot of people who got between me and you, I suppose. A lot of my friends did better on Reading than on Verbal, and I was the opposite. </p>

<p>Asian people are stereotyped as hard workers, I guess, and are beginning to make up a lot of the prep school/college applicant pools. But, then again, you have just as much chance as anybody else if you are at the top of the applicant pool. I guess it wouldn't help you if you had bad grades, but you don't, so that's good.</p>

6

<p>ARE YOU SERIOUS! YOU GOT A 728 AND A 96%?
wow. I got a 704.
what a difference. that's amazing and really upsetting.
well, I got 6 questions wrong. I guess I just have to try harder next time.
I do admit that while I was taking it, I was so confused and angry with the reading section. I had difficulty with it, while others said it was easy. maybe it was an anxiety attack haha, but my score proves that I did bad.</p>

7

<p>You got 6 questions wrong???!!? I got 4 wrong!!!!!</p>

<p>That is so weird. Then there's this one girl in my grade who got a 99 in Reading, and she got 1 question wrong. That is insane. What, did no one get SSAT scores in Reading from 75 to 96? If they got 5 wrong, then they'd have a leeway of 20 percentage points.</p>

8

<p>i'm hoping it was a mistake. a very BIG mistake. haha, but probably not.
just to think, if i got 2 more right. ugh! that's so frustrating.</p>

9

<p>That's SO weird. Then how could anybody with 5 questions wrong get between our scores? They'd have to choose between a 75 percentile and a 96 percentile, because their raw score would be the same as anybody else between us. Do you get that?</p>

10

<p>If I am reading this correctly, MSU is applying for 11th grade. The percentile scores are normalized for each grade. 11th grade applicants have a higher score distribution than lower grade applicants, thus requiring a greater number of correct answers to get the same percentile score.</p>

<p>I hope this helps.</p>

11

<p>You're in different grades. That's why. It wasn't a mistake; reading is the one with the most difference for every question, and the difference in grades does matter quite a bit.</p>

12

<p>Ooh. I get it. I thought you were in eighth grade, too. Sorry about that. :)</p>

13

<p>It took me a minute to get, too. At first when I read your posts I couldn't believe it. That would be so outrageous if you were in the same grade, though.</p>

14

<p>OHHH okay. no wonder. i was getting mad. haha sorry about that.</p>

15

<p>heyy im applying for junior yr too- pretty much the same schools, and my ssat score's around ur range, (overall 95%, 99% in reading and high 80's in other two) good luck!</p>

16

<p>good luck to you too!
I wish i got a 99% in reading, lucky!</p>

17

<p>what math level are you on? any advanced or honors classes? what did you do over the summer? introverted/extroverted? reserved or underserved? how many years have you been playing tennis? be honest: are you really good? recruiting material? do you have a portfolio? what visual arts? what are your mediums? do you play any other sports? do you engage in creative writing (poetry?) or more formal writing? do you talk to adults a lot? where are you from? any legacies/cousins/siblings? financial aid? have you had any interviews yet? how did they really go? what kind of public school do you go to? how big? do you know your teachers well? do they know you personally? are you 15 or 16? have you ever had a job?</p>

18

<p>lol blairt, love the questions</p>

19

<p>lol. i'm a sergeant.</p>

20

<p>oh my. haha well blairt,
what math level are you on? Algebra 2 and I currently have an 102 average in the class and got a A+ in it last marking period</p>

<p>any advanced or honors classes? Chemistry and English (My school didnt allow me to move into Honors in math because they said I didnt have the grades. but I think if I'm over 100, I should be able to move!) and I don't take a history this year because my school isn't offering an Honors History this year. odd, i know.</p>

<p>what did you do over the summer? I did a lot of tennis, SAT courses. I admit I don't have anything amazing for the summer, which might hurt me.</p>

<p>introverted/extroverted? both actually. A little introverted at first, but I am extroverted when I know who I am dealing with. So, for the interview, I'd start off a little shy but that doesn't last long.</p>

<p>reserved or underserved? Im sorry, i dont know what you mean.</p>

<p>how many years have you been playing tennis? a little less than 2. started freshmen year. and yes I am. I'm not extremely over the top good, but I am good and I learn quickly.</p>

<p>recruiting material? ?</p>

<p>do you have a portfolio? I do not have a prepared put together one, but I have enough drawings to do so.</p>

<p>do you play any other sports? not in school.</p>

<p>do you engage in creative writing (poetry?) or more formal writing? more formal, journalistic pieces. I could write poetry, but not narratives. </p>

<p>do you talk to adults a lot? not a lot, but i do talk to them on a regular basis and I'm comfortable while talking to them
where are you from? New Jersey. If you're talking about ethnicity, I'm chinese and born in america</p>

<p>any legacies/cousins/siblings? no :&lt;/p>

<p>financial aid? not needed</p>

<p>have you had any interviews yet? no I have not</p>

<p>what kind of public school do you go to? It's a normal one. I'm not sure what kind of answer you're looking for. It's a rich school with stubborn parents who won't donate, but it's not run down or anything if that's what you're asking</p>

<p>how big? about 600-700 students
do you know your teachers well? a few</p>

<p>do they know you personally? about my personal life? no
are you 15 or 16? 15
have you ever had a job? I've babysitted for other families if that counts. I can't get a job until I'm 16 unless I want a job at King's, but that's all filled.</p>

<p>I hope this helps haha but its useful</p>