Do I even have a chance?

Prep School Admissions Prep School Chances
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I am a 14 year old male living in lower “upstate” NY. We are not rich or even middle class meaning we can’t afford any expensive test prep classes or prep-school advisors. My mom knows nothing about the admissions process so I am literally on my own with this. Earlier this year a relative very close to me died and it messed with my psyche causing my MP1 grades to plummet, leading to me failing two classes (which my school, due to a technical issue when enrolling me, placed me in just a week before the marking period ended, so I was screwed no matter what). The current district that I live in doesn’t allow students to just transfer HS without having them physically move from one place to another, so unless I get into a private school, I’m stuck here, in a place where I know I will not be challenged or get the help I need.

I know that because of this information I won’t be getting into your stereotypical feeder schools–Deerfield, Hotchkiss, Andover, Exter, Chaote–those are just dreams. I haven’t applied to any schools yet out of fear of it being for nothing. I wanted to just list my stats here to see if based on these, I have a decent shot at a (somewhat) semi-okay private school, preferably boarding.

About me: I am a (as I said before) Fourteen year old male currently living in Orange County NY, I am Native American, Black, and Hispanic. My parents came here when they were about twenty and mostly stayed in the Bronx/Manhattan until my dad died. I go to a High School with about 3000 students or so. I am not very religious, I do a lot of volunteering and writing in my free time. My middle school didn’t have any honors classes so I literally cannot take them this year, though I am told that I will more than likely be doing a majority of honors classes for 10th grade. Obviously, due to my income being less than $25000 a year, I will be applying for financial aid (which will KILL my chances here, I know)

My 8th grade transcript is pretty good, all A+'s with 1 B+, this year I flunked two classes for MP1 because of the issue mentioned before, so grades are my biggest worry. I haven’t taken the SSAT or any other test. My current Mp2 grades are all A+'s with the lowest one being a 96(?) so theres definitely a curve there.

ECS: I’ve seen kids on this site who are absolutely cracked when it comes to this, next to them I look terrible but I might as well

-Debate team (2 years)

  • Mock trial (1 year)
  • Lead editor/financial manager of a student run political science blog (3 years)
  • Student Council (4 years: Delegate, VP, President, President)
  • Tutored kids from lower income areas in NYC (2 years)
  • Bowling (5, 6 years?)
  • Made nationals with scholastic bowl team (3 years, got to go to DC, really fun!)
  • It’s a bit dumb, but I manage a discord server with about forty thousand people. (four years)
  • Lead editor of school magazine (1 year :()
  • Key club stuff (1 year)
  • Founder/president of Finance club (won nothing yet, but it’s nice)
  • Internship at big finance firm (woohoo)
  • Intership / research with a Pharmacuetical company that develops plant-based vaccines (1 year)
  • Formed a small group for BIPOC in finance/business, nothing huge, only about 100 members or so.
  • Writes short stories on a social media platform and have developed a following of less than 5k people.

I have no legacy connections.

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You look like a person who would be a welcome addition to most BS communities. The well known schools you mentioned are different from each other in vibe, so as much as youwantsomeoneto want you, you also need to figure out what you want from them…

My advice – particularly as you need a lot of FA - is to cast a wide net and to pick schools where your interests are a clear fit. Just because you are less familiar with a school doesn’t make it second tier or “semi-good”. Those less known schools offer excellent academics and a great experience to their students. You don’t have a ton of time, but it’s not too late to add some to your list.

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The answer is yes, you have a chance to gain admittance to a good boarding school.

1.) You write so well that I am not even sure you are actually a 9th-grader.

2.) Needing full financial aid will not kill your chances, especially if you show the schools how much you can contribute to their communities.

3.) No boarding schools are really feeders anymore into the Ivies.

4.) Given the date, you’d have to hustle and be proactive with the application process, but there is still time.

5.) There are many boarding schools in NY and CT that offer fine reputations and likely excellent educations. One you might consider would be Kent School: https://www.kent-school.edu/, which has a large financial aid budget. Other folks may recommend others. You can start your search at www.boardingschoolreview.com.

Good luck!

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Mercersberg and George are 2 that are known for generous FA but most will find the funds if you are what they need.

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Time is critical but you can explore test optional schools to not have to worry about 1. getting a payment waiver for testing, 2. getting an actual testing date, 3. the added stress of test prep. Sure you can, but keep in mind that many schools have a 15 January deadline which is basically 1 month away. You still have to hope schools have interview spots available at this point. Additionally you have financial aid applications that will also be due soon and you need to secure waivers from schools for that as well. You also need to secure admission fee waivers from the schools.

You have a lot of “leg work” to do, cut yourself some breathing room and really consider cutting out any schools that require testing unless you absolutely fall in love with a school that requires it. If you do then act NOW because you can request a waiver for the testing cost but it will take some time to get it and get registered. You may struggle in finding a nearby location offering the test because they are full (remember these centers offer hundreds of qualifying exams for students and professionals, it isn’t just the ssat they offer) and you may have to go out of state even to find a location with an available time! Other options to consider are schools with later deadlines or rolling admissions so you don’t feel the time crunch. It’s not just YOU that has things to do for this application, remember people have to write your recommendation letters and you need to give them time. Teachers are (in many cases) in a time crunch around the holidays and first of the year because of marking periods. They have vacation time coming up, too! They may not have time to write a letter in the time you give them and it isn’t fair to them to expect a quick turn around either.

Make lots of lists: list of things you want in a school, list of schools (then narrow that list based on what you want and what they have), list of due dates and requirements needed for each of those schools’ applications, list of what you need for financial aid applications (often due about the same time as the admissions app), list of all waivers you need to obtain and how, and start checking off boxes!

You can do it but you have to be hyper focused at this point in the game.

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I wish you the best!

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May I know which school you have applied? I do believe you are a good candidate for a lot of Borading schools.