<p>I am currently a rising sophomore who is very much interested in attending Phillips Exeter Academy. It is absolutely my dream school, I'm obsessed with, and it is beautiful. This is the place where I truly want to finish up my high school career. However, I don't think my stats really scream Exeter student. My freshman year was completely and utterly horrible, here are the final grades to prove so.
Repertory Company: B+
Honors English: C+
Spanish 2: B
Honors World Cultures: B
Algebra 1: A+
Honors Biology: A+</p>
<p>My ECs were: Mock Trial, Math Team, and Anime Club
I don't really like sports, I am not physically fit to do them and I am not interested in playing one.
Obviously, my grades are HORRIBLE. I just really love mathematics and science and my current school, a public comprehensive high school, does not have the best mathematics and science departments. There is a lot of cheating because students who do not belong in the honors level classes are placed into them and the science teachers do not teach. I am doubling up in math next year and I am taking Honors Chemistry as well. I am taking every honors class offered and AP US History. I really love science, it is my passion. My grades could have been better if I tried, which doesn't scream Exeter. But I honestly hated all of my classes, with the exception of English, which was not all that good as well. Discussion was just not emphasized and I tuned out, mostly because I was silenced while trying to start up discussions that were relevant. Exeter, with its Harkness table method, can really provide the fulfilling learning experience that I crave. My stats may be a joke to everyone, but I've spent every waking hour just reading about Exeter, watching videos about Exeter, raiding the Exeter website for the latest and greatest in news, I just love Exeter and everything about it. This is the place that will aid me, however much they can, with my passion for science. If my grades are flawless for sophomore year and I secure leadership positions within my extracurriculars, do I even have the slightest chance? I know the admit rate for uppers is freakishly low, but all I can do is hope. This is the place where I belong and where I can thrive. I just know it.</p>
<p>have you considered the Exeter summer program?</p>
<p>At home, take a look at MIT open course ware, Khan academy, and other internet STEM enrichment sites. Several are recommended on the MIT admissions pages. </p>
<p>For 11th and 12th grade transfer, your standardized test scores will be needed, and will have a significant impact on your chances. Look over the Exeter admissions site and recommended testing for 11th grade admission.</p>
<p>I’m not sure that Exeter IS the best place for you, honestly. While it’s true that the math and science are excellent, but you’d still be required to take lots of humanities classes. Lots of intensive writing and reading along with discussion–so your C+ in English is something of a red flag. Exeter’s goal is to produce a well-rounded student. If you crave math and science, there are lots of schools, public and private, that focus on those subjects in a way that Exeter does not. The summer program, where you can focus more on your areas of interest, also sounds like a great alternative.</p>
<p>My son found Exeter English and humanities the most challenging (his strengths/interests were math/science) So much of the grade is subjective and based on in class participation/discussion at the table that if you are more quiet by nature your grades can suffer.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your time and insight while answering my question. Perhaps my infatuation for their mathematics and science departments got in the way of the realistic mindset I should have when considering a school like Exeter. I was just so infatuated with my interests that I did not consider that this school is what it is because they are so successful at producing and catering to the well-rounded student that should be prepared for college because of their varied academic abilities. 2prepMom, thank you for providing me with a plethora of resources. The MIT OCW should be an extremely challenging supplement. Thank you to classicalmama as well for suggesting the summer seminar, perhaps that is the only way I should be involved with PEA since the humanities aspect of their curriculum is extremely important. And thank you to PA-C for the kick in the butt. If your son found the humanities courses challenging, then I will probably find them EXTREMELY challenging with that C+ in English. Perhaps I should opt for aiming high way later on during the college admissions process. Thank you all for helping me out.</p>