Do I have to be perfect?

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>I want to go to boarding school for the academic challenges, structure(schedules, support, living at your school etc...), and to have new experiences. However, My grades aren't perfect, I'm not the smartest person I know, I haven't started a charity, and I'm not a sports star. </p>

<p>I am in 9th grade, and want to apply to boarding school as a 10th grader repeat. I would need a lot of FA.</p>

<p>In middle school, I had pretty good grades. I've litterally been in honors classes since grade 4. However, I have had some academic "bumps" in the road. In grade 7, I didn't try very hard and got a 69 the last quarter of my honors science class. The next year, I had an average in science of 94. In 8th grade, I got a 55 in french. Now, I have a 90 french average. Right now, I am in 2 classes for students a year older than me, one of which is also honors, and another honors class. My average this year is about 87. If I start working hard, I know I can get an 94 average for this year and next year. I slacked off because I wasn't challeged, and I procrastinated too.</p>

<p>My SSAT will most likely be about 85-90 percentile. </p>

<p>I run cross country and track, and volunteer twice a week. I have integrity, charisma, and passion. I know I can write a pretty good essay and have a killer interview.</p>

<p>So as you can see, I'm not perfect. Not close. But boarding school would be the experience of a lifetime for me, and I wanted to know if any of you who are in bs, have been to bs, have kids in bs, or are applying to bs think that I would get excepted at any good school(need lot of FA). I just wanted to know if smart, but not perfect, kids get into good schools.</p>

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<p>There are plenty of boarding schools that would take you. Don’t get sucked in to the belief that the only worthwhile school to attend is St Grottlesex or SHADE. These are VERY competitive, good schools BUT they are NOT the only boarding school worth considering. I have friend whose kids are in BS and they have Dyslexia- so their grades were NOT perfect. If perfect kids only got into school- there would be the need for very few schools.
This forum is a little skewed towards the top 25- but research the Boarding School association web site- there is GREAT information about schools there.
FA does not exclude you either. Do your research- search for schools that realistically are in your current academic range- but throw in some “reach” schools too!
And most of all CONGRATULATIONS for wanting new experiences!</p>

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<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1073594-perfection.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1073594-perfection.html&lt;/a&gt;
I made a thread about this. I don’t believe you have to be “picture perfect” to get into prep schools. if you did, than no one would get in.</p>

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<p>Nobody’s perfect, but to get significant FA at any school, they have to really want you. I think you need to stand out in some way.</p>

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<p>Yes, they do. First, I appreciate your honesty. However, in your case, the first thing I noticed about your “pitch” was how often you backtracked or excused a low grade due to external factors and internal motivation. That will come through on an application or interview. You also start by telling us what you’re “NOT” rather than explaining who you “ARE.” Interesting choice.</p>

<p>Lots of “less than perfect” kids get into BS every day - including the top ones. But what they are able to demonstrate is that they are passionate about something. Have a sustained interest in something, and have been consistent grade wise. </p>

<p>AT this point, based on your comments and scores above, you’re probably going to have a lot of tough competition for competitive schools or ones with limited FA.</p>

<p>A hard earned “B” from someone who doesn’t slack off and works for every point, beats an “B” by someone who was bored and slacked off because they were waiting for a challenge.</p>

<p>As an interviewer, those are things I tend to point out to the school when writing up my reports.</p>

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<p>ExieMITAlum: I AM a cross country runner. I love to read. Writing is a passion of mine. I want to act. I love having classroom discussions. I like to learn. I am a researcher. </p>

<p>I’m not trying to backtrack or exuse my grades. I know I deserved those grades, because I procrastinated, but I also got that grade because I wasn’t challenged and didn’t try as hard as I should. Part of the reason I am interested in boarding school is the structure it provides; having an assigned study hall would make sure I do my work. I am really upset with myself that I earned such low grades, and I am now working hard to improve my grades, to about a 94 average.</p>

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<p>MDMomofTwo: Thank you for the encouraging words. Do you know of any schools that you think might be ok for my range of grades?</p>

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<p>There are lots- but its hard to say which you would fit as I don’t know which environment you would like to be in, which states you are looking at etc…
A really good place to start your research is [Boarding</a> School Review - College-Prep & Jr. Boarding Schools](<a href=“http://www.boardingschoolreview.com/]Boarding”>http://www.boardingschoolreview.com/) and click “school search” You can then plug in any criteria- including grade and SSAT range. You can then match yourself accordingly. It also has % accepted so you can see what your chances are
There is a wealth of information to be found…happy hunting!!!</p>

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<p>Thank You for the info!</p>

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<p>@browneyedgirl,</p>

<p>First - congrats on your perseverance. I wasn’t trying to be dismissive. I was trying to point out that schools will request and review the earlier grades. If your school isn’t rigorous or you felt you weren’t challenged, the question will be “then why aren’t the grades better?” </p>

<p>The EC’s and interests are strong, but not enough to overcome the academic issues. Think of it this way - the rigor at a BS is much, much harder and they’re screening for students who can meet those requirements and hit the ground running now. Not because you’re not a good kid, but because they’re looking a pile of thousands of applications from students also looking for a challenge and needing to weed the list down to anywhere from 25-100 students depending on what grade you’re applying for.</p>

<p>Add to that you’ll need a lot of FA. That last requirement represents a significant hurdle. There are many schools which have a higher rate of acceptance than the ones often discussed here, but their endowments are lower so the FA becomes less certain. Several students on this board reported last year that they were accepted at some schools but without FA. Or rejected specifically because they needed it.</p>

<p>So I’ll tell you what Adcoms quietly tell everyone else with that question - to overcome the prior grade deficit and to make yourself compelling for FA - get your SSAT scores into the high 80’s or 90’s and earn straight A’s across the board on all current and future classes. </p>

<p>Then cast a wide net. The link in a previous post will lead you to a wide range of schools so you have options.</p>

11

<p>Thaks for the advice! I think that I should be alright if I do get straight A’s and do well at the SSAT. I know this will sound wierd, but other than those 2 grades, I had all A’s in middle school. I know that getting into amazing schools like Deerfield and SPS isn’t really an option for me, but I hope that if I try as hard as I can in school, my volunteer work, and sports I can get into a school that would fit me well. However, like you pointed out, getting into a good school for me will be difficult; since I do need a lot of FA.</p>

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<p>But not impossible. You won’t know if you don’t try. Might be surprised. Something you’ve done might just be the trait a school is looking for that year. Good luck!</p>