Hello guys. I am new to the forum. My screen name is Axlethetraveller, as you can see. Anyway, I applied to Exeter, Andover, St. Paul’s, and Cate this year (as a sophomore or lower, in Exeter or Andover terms) for Junior year. They all rejected me (I applied to Exeter in February; they didn’t even read my applications. For the other schools, I am not sure exactly why I got rejected, probably because I had three A- and a B out of all the 7 courses I took, got an 86% on my SSAT, not many extracurriculars, applied in February, did bad online interviews instead of visiting their campus, and is part of an overrepresented race, Asian.)
But anyway, I don’t want to give up yet because I feel like I still have great potentials that are suitable for those schools, and I really don’t want to spend my last year in the school I am currently in for many reasons. I understand how hard it is to go into a prep school as a senior, but I am sure I will be able to adapt to it since I had always transferred from school to school. Anyway, do you guys know anyone who applied to a school like Exeter or Andover for their senior year as a Junior? How hard is it to get in?
Honestly, I don’t see the point of trying to switch schools.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I think it’s not wise. You’ll be thrown into a completely new environment and as a senior you’ll be stressed out about college but also have to make efforts socially. It’ll be a waste of time and money considering colleges will hardly see your transcript for senior year, especially those with a fall deadline. I understand that you dislike the school you are in but you’ll only have a year left. I don’t think I have an answer for the question at hand, but I have to assume that the chances will be very, very low.
I’m not entirely sure the schools accept true 1 year seniors. From the Andover FAQ:
“Every year, more than 200 new ninth graders, or juniors, begin their journey at Andover. They are joined by an average of 85 new peers in the tenth grade, or lower year, and 20-25 new eleventh graders, or uppers. A total of 30-35 new seniors and postgraduates round out the graduating class.”
I’m pretty sure the 30-35 new seniors and PGs are all PGs. If you really want to attend BS you should consider repeating a year.
Thanks for the reply ccnaf14. I understand that transferring to a school in the senior year is a lot of work, but the problem is not only I feel like the school I am currently really does not suit me, but the extracurricular programs really suck. The teacher gives no support to the after school clubs set up by students, and they rarely give students a chance to participate in any outside extracurriculars. I am really interested in learning a new language in the school and took a class this year. But the teacher does not care at all about her class. I was a boarding student last year, and I felt depressed staying in the dorm. These are all the reasons why I consider leaving. I know it is just one more year to go after the junior year, but my target colleges are those in the Ivies. I don’t think I will have a great chance of getting into a college like that if I continue staying in that school. I am already used to transferring from place to place because of my mother’s work (I have studied in several countries before I came to the United States), so adaptation would not be a big problem for me.
Thank you very much for your reply RedSoxFan18 and the research you have done for me. One problem with repeating is that I have already repeated 10th grade (not because I have behavioral or other problems but because of family issues). If I try to repeat 11th grade again, would that be a problem that will affect my admissions since I will be one or two years older than most students? I really hope I can get into Andover or Exeter though. Are you a student currently in a BS?
Prep schools do have some double repeats, e.g., Conor Kennedy.
Top prep schools tend not to admit domestic new seniors, because it’s tbe worst time to be switching schools. Fall of senior year is when the college admissions cycle goes into high gear. You’ll be needing recommendations from teachers & counselors who won’t know you.
Axel: Pinning your hopes on Andover, Exeter and the Ivies is risky, to say the least. I am interested to know what it is about these particular schools that you are seeking. Is it the brand-name prestige factor? Or have you considered which schools which might actually be a good fit for you? There are many wonderful schools out there. You may be doing yourself a disservice by aiming for just those particular schools.
Btw, just because you go to any HADES school doesn’t mean you’ll get in an IVY, several friends of mine haven’t gotten in, and friends from schools that are not as competitives (including my own)(NMH) have gotten in.
You might as well get in coming from a public school, your high school will not dictate where you get into, but your hard work will.
Thanks, hearing this assures me that it would be okay. Recommendations are not really something I worry about. I don’t have a close connection to the school I am currently attending anyway since I attended ninth grade in Canada, and my teachers switch every year because of the different classes I am taking. But you are definitely right that transferring to a school in the senior year is a lot of work though. Maybe the best option for me is to repeat another year. But would that lower my admission rate to a top ranked University? And also, some of the HADES school have a PG option. Would it be a smart choice to use the PG year to apply to college?
There are many reasons why students take a PG year at BS but getting into a “Top Ranked University” usually isn’t one of them. Do BS PGs get into fine colleges ? Absolutely - but not because it’s a " strategy ". And - just so we’re clear: You can’t do Senior year and graduate and then do a PG year at the same BS… that’s not how it works. You have to do your PG year somewhere else.
By the way- Recommendations do matter for college admissions so you’ll need to figure that one out and perhaps worry a little bit more. Don’t get hung up on “HADES” either because attending one of those schools ( at this juncture ) won’t further your cause. BS isn’t the vehicle to a "Top University ". YOU ARE. Some really smart/ accomplished kids would be better off applying to college from a shipping container located in some remote Iowa cornfield.
You’d be better off finishing HS where you are and apply to colleges from there. At that point you’ll know where you stand ( with college admissions ) and then you can plan how to best move forward. If you still want to do a BS PG year after that then apply to BS.
Your stats and outcome last round are telling you something you shouldn’t ignore. I’d aim for different schools ( if you still want to apply to BS this year or a PG year later on ) and I would also suggest that you adjust your reasoning for going to BS… Honestly- If I were a BS AO reading this I’d steer clear of you because your priorities and rationale for going are all wrong.
I know there is a lot of competion going on between kids who want to attend these schools. And yes, their brand names are a prestigfe factor, but that’s not the thing that motivates me to go to those schools. As I mentioned before, my current school lacks a lot of extracurricular programs, and I feel like it is not giving me a lot of personal support. As for a school like Andover or Exeter, I am sure you have looked into their academics and saw the number of courses they offer (almost 300-400 courses) and the wide variety of extracurricular programs they have. I know you may see this as a worthless decison, but I really want to use my last few years of high school as a year to explore more about my interests and expand my skills and not staying in a school that I don’t like and lacks support; a school like Exeter and Andover offers the perfect oppotunity for this. And also for schools like the Ivies, since I am still not sure of which universities I want to attend or which really suits me, in the meanwhile I feel like it is always good to aim high since I am sure everyone on college confidential knows they are prestige schools and people graduating from those schools tend to have better jobs when they graduate. I still do not know if I will end up in one of the Ivies when I graduate, but by aiming for those universities, I can expand my options because they are really hard to get in and therefore can force me to work harder and aim higher.
Just one more quick thing to also keep in mind: If you repeat Junior year at any of the schools listed above your grades will likely dip or possibly even tank at the worst possible time. BS is a huge adjustment ( in and out of the classroom ) for every new student no matter what their stats are or which BS they attend ( Dream or Gem ) so you’ll need to factor that in when you choose which year or BS to apply to.
You’ll also need to be reasonably certain you won’t be completely sabotaging yourself at a very critical time - leading up to college admissions . Junior year is a very tough year for every BS student and I have yet to meet a BS student ( my kids included ) who just sailed through Junior year… and these kids are BS veterans and very smart.
No one is saying that you shouldn’t shoot for the stars… Just be smart about it and try to look at your options and potential boarding school opportunities objectively and maybe do a little risk assessment while you’re at it.
If your sole focus is an acceptance from a "Top Ranked University " you’ll likely be disappointed and you’ll end up missing out on everything BSs are designed to teach… and (sadly) all the wonderful things you can learn about yourself along the way… which will likely in turn make you a stronger candidate for college admissions…
Oh, and if you do apply to BSs again next year or later on for a PG year, I’d suggest you’d put a little more thought and effort into the process. Perhaps there was a valid reason for “bad online interviews” and late apps but you’ll need to really pull it together for the next round or all of this is just folly- and that goes for all boarding schools ( Dream or Gem).
@Mexstudent2013 Thanks for the reply. I’ve heard a ton of stories about kids who fell to get into the Ivies even they had perfect test scores and gpas with a crazy amount of extracurriculars. But it is always smart to do well in academics and participate in a lot of outside of school activities though. Transferring to a public school from a private boarding school (I currently attend this type of school) would not be a good option for me since my school lacks extracurriculars and support for students who exceed in academics. I also do not like the learning environment. I think most of the public schools are like this as well. By the way, I’ve heard about NMH before, and I really liked the programs and actually wanted to go there on my first year but never had a chance because it was too late to apply. Does your school have a PG year? And is it hard to get in as a repeat?
@PhotographerMom Wow, I have never heard about that a PG year actually works this way. So it is impossible to attend a PG year in the same school where you spend your senior year? Would it be okay to not graduate in your senior year and attend a PG year then graduate in your PG year?
Also, just to clarify the reaons why I want to attend those schools. I understand that not every kid who goes to a BS school end up in the Ivies, but they offer a lot of support for their students and have a lot of programs. Going there would help me to expand my skills and help me explore more interests.I know you may see this as kind of valueless, but I don’t want to spend all years of high school in a school that does not suit me, and I want to go to a school that motivates me to keep working harder and dig deeper into my interests.
@axlethetraveller You can’t attend a PG year if you haven’t graduated from high school.
I didn’t mean that you should transfer to a public school, I tried to say that kids from public schools also get into ivies, not only kids in boarding schools.
NMH has been a great place for me, and moving there from my home country has been the best decision I’ve taken so far, I actually enrolled as a repeat junior, I think most kids who apply as juniors to any barding school are repeats, but there are a lot of repeats in every grade,
NMH does offer a PG year, rising seniors get around 30(ish) PG’s for senior year. I don’t really know what are our statistics for PG’s but I can probably find that out, just send me a DM and ill be happy to help.
On a side note- most PG’s come here to do something very specific, (generally sports) hockey/wresting are the main ones, although not all of them come for sports.
Yeah, junior year is probably the hardest out of all the other years of high school, especially in a BS school. But if I get in, I will try my hardest to pull it through just like I did in my previous experiences of transferring schools Thank you very much for your advice @PhotographerMom I will take some time to think about this, and if I apply again, this time I will really pull it together and never let it go as bad as last time.
@axlethetraveller: A PG year works just as PhotoMom described at all boarding schools; senior year and a PG year are two different things. Also, your reasons for wanting to attend a school like Andover or Exeter will be perfectly satisfied by a very long list of boarding schools. Those two do not have a lock on thick course books or extensive extracurriculars. You may be surprised to discover just how prescriptive the course load is at BS. 100 or more courses to choose from sounds great, but realize that you will only be able to take a very small handful of those, so anything more than even 25 fancy electives is going to be well beyond your ability to consume. In four years at Choate, our son took only five courses beyond what he was mandated to take. Even within those mandated courses (Math, English, Language, Science all four years), there may be several paths/choices, but you are only going for one, possibly two years, so ANY of that very long list of boarding schools is going to give you more choices than you can possibly sample.
You really need to get some real-live counseling, my friend. You are targeting elite boarding schools, and give as one reason:
Newsflash, these boarding schools are BOARDING SCHOOLS. You are likely to feel depressed staying in the dorm. And the winters can be LONG.
Your SSAT may be too low for 11th/12th grade admissions, as well.
Public Schools can be excellent, and many are. You will find that those admitted to elite colleges are people who took advantage of whatever meager resources were offered and had a hand in substantially improving them, rather than pointing out their shortcomings and trying to leave to ally themselves with already-winning places. If there is room for improvement, show that you had a hand in making those improvements, or else found extra-mural resources to get what you need.
Bottom line is that you need to put in the work wherever you are, rather than rely on association with success to “rub off” on you. Prestigious schools are prestigious because their lifeblood- the people (students, staff, teachers)- are exemplary. They are not trophies to bestow greatness on those who can figure out “how to get in”. If you can show that you are exemplary and can contribute to the school’s lifeblood (by showing the impact you are making right now, where you are), consider applying on time, properly.
@ChoatieMom Thanks for your advice. Is it true that you can only take five courses in a semester in most of the prestigious boarding schools? I heard that it is much harder to get As in most of these schools than in public schools, is that right? How do colleges view a student who gets Bs in these schools compares to a student who gets As in public schools?
