Curious...

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>I was just wondering, do admissions office only accept a certain number of people from a country or part of the world? For example, School X decides that this year they will allow 10 of the top students from Country Y to come to their school. If Student Z (living in Country Y) was one of the top 10 applicants in Country Y then they would be accepted to School X.</p>

<p>Also, I wanted to know what everyone out there thinks about my chances. </p>

<p>I'm applying to enter 9th grade in the fall of 2008 from Beijing, China. I go to an international school and I am a U.S. citizen.</p>

<p>Applying for: Exeter, Andover, Lawrenceville, St. Paul and Choate.</p>

<p>SSAT: Verbal-764-95%, Math-791-97%, Reading 707-86%, Overall-2262-96%.</p>

<p>I took a second SSAT, in which my scores were:
Verbal-716-81%, Math-791-97%, Reading-725-94%, Overall-2232-94%.</p>

<p>Not many ECs, I just swim, ski and play chess. For recreation only.</p>

<p>Grades are ok-excellent, I don't know about recommendations.</p>

<p>No FA.</p>

<p>Interviews went ok, except in St. Paul and Andover. Those were my first two interviews and I didn't have any experience. </p>

<p>Application essays are pretty good, I've been spending hours each day writing them.</p>

<p>Anyone mind telling me what they think my chances are? :O</p>

2

<p>i think it's pretty good. and since ur a u.s. citizen does it matter? (( i'm not sure either.)
how were the interviews? what did they ask, cuz i'm similar in your status except for the ssat's and internation school thing,; and since i'm only applying to one school i don't know what it's going to be like.</p>

3

<p>My suggestion to you is the same suggestion I have for anyone applying exclusively to very competitive schools: Consider adding a few more schools that you love but are not as competitive, unless you are happy with your local options and do not have your heart set on boarding school. </p>

<p>What I have read on this board is that many boarding schools (but not all) restrict the number of accepted applicants from a specific country. There are limited visas, but they also don't want another culture to become dominant. This may vary school by school.</p>

4

<p>Hey, I think you have good chances...
You went to my old school, right?</p>

5

<p>What school in Beijing/</p>

6

<p>International School of Beijing (ISB)</p>

7

<p>I think your chances are as good as everyone else's
And I seriously failed the ssat compared to everyone else :(</p>

8

<p>Yes, I did go to International School of Beijing. But I'm just worried about my ECs/other things, because as someone told me there are so many people good at academics that they (admissions office) do not pick the smartest people, but pick a variety of people, so people like me who don't have many things outside of academics will have a harder time getting in :(.</p>

9

<p>ting ting, what was your score?</p>

10

<p>Do you play any instruments?
Are you on the swim team?</p>

11

<p>my score was an 80, it doesn't look that bad but I'm still worried because I'm applying to choate,hotchkiss, and taft. Plus, everyone else seems to have scores of 90 and above.</p>

12

<p>tingting
Remember that 90% of the kids who took the SSAT had below a 90%. It just seems that a lot of kids on CC have super high scores.</p>

13

<p>Everyone here is just so smart! :)
Seikuu, how good are you at swimming?</p>

14

<p>I agree w/Burb Parent... consider adding a few less competitive schools to your list. </p>

<p>"What I have read on this board is that many boarding schools (but not all) restrict the number of accepted applicants from a specific country. There are limited visas, but they also don't want another culture to become dominant. This may vary school by school.
Burb Parent is online now"</p>

<p>Quick comment... this is a good observation, but I doubt it applies to you since you're a US citizen. </p>

<p>Good luck with your search!</p>

15

<p>@tingting I'm not too good at swimming, I can do all four strokes with freestyle being my strongest and I'm not on my school's swimteam but I could probably join if I tried out seeing as how some of the swim team members in my class can't swim as good as me.</p>

16

<p>Yeah, I'm in the same place as you. I would say that we're both good at swimming, just not competing. I really want to join a team though.</p>

17

<p>Your chances are very good, especially if you are fluent in the Mandarin Dialect of Chinese. Your experience of living and studying abroad in China should also be of interest to the schools as a way of enriching the cultural life of the school community. In my opinion, the elite boarding schools don't want quantity of extracurriculars as much as they value either quality or assurance that you won't just stay in your room studying all the time. The elite schools want you to become an active participant in their community. It is clear that you are brilliant, the elite schools also want you to share your gifts and experiences with the other students. Your chances are also enhanced by the fact that you do not need and are not seeking financial aid. Good luck!</p>