Hi. As a high schooler nearing the end of their freshman year I am inquiring on as to what my chances are of getting into either of the two schools mentioned above(also most schools that are part of the ESA) Now I know CC is chock full of forums such as this and many have described scenarios quite similar to mine but I am still finding that advice difficult to put into practice. I’m am a 9th grader and attend a rather prestigious high school in eastern Maryland. Many of the top alumni from my school have gone on to the Ivy League and other well known exclusive colleges. Now unfortunately I do not stack up as admirably against my peers that are considered “top” but am instead trying to plan ahead by seeking admission to prestigious prep schools. I believe my chance are considerably low when my grades are taken into account. All through out middle school I only received honor roll once and was essentially a c average student. During these years I payed little attention in school and hardly put forth any effort in my class work. Fortunately I was somehow able to matriculate into all honors and advanced classes. I also took French 2 and Algerbra I wherein both of which I earned c’s that greatly affected my gpa when I would enter high school as a freshman. As of now in have just begun the 4th marking period. My grades from this school year have been
1rst mp
Everything above a 95 except English where I earned a B
2nd
3 classes were 91-95 range and other 3 were 85-89
3rd mp
3 classes 91-96 and other 3 were 83-85
(I will update this post with EXACT grades as soon as I locate a grading sheet)
In regards to extra curriculars I have no participation in any group, club, or sport partly because I transferred to a new school halfway through the first semester and getting into ec’s proved to be much of a challenge. Also I have recently been awarded a sling of accolades and awards due to my participation in the regional county science fair. I won 1st in mathematics and won the grand award which is an invitation to participate at the 2016 Intel ISEF in Phoenix this may. I also will be taking the SSAT which I have been tediously reviewing for in a few weeks and am curious if I can guarantee any chances into prep schools if my score is high enough(that is it compensates for my grades). So what are my chances in getting into the ESA schools?
Thank you
Best regards
What is ESA?
To summarize your post, it sounds like you have A’s and B’s now and your main (only?) extracurricular this year is science fair. Are you going to the Intel ISEF? For the summer and next year, can you get more involved in some group activities/sports and also continue to shine in science/math? Do you have relationships with some teachers or mentors who can write a great recommendation for you? I don’t know whether you will have to show middle school grades if you apply for 11th or to repeat 10th. If you do, can you explain what changed between middle school and high school that resulted in the huge improvement in grades? If you don’t have to show middle school grades I wouldn’t bring it up. And for your last question, SSAT scores cannot guarantee getting into any school, let alone Lawrenceville or Exeter. But you should give it your best and aim for a high score. There are a lot of good schools out there besides Lawrenceville and Exeter with science programs and research opportunities which could be a good match for you. But going to a top boarding school is not an automatic ticket to improving college chances, so if that is your only reason to go, you need to think carefully about it. Lots of helpful info here on this board in other posts. Good luck!
mass2020mom Thankyou for your kind response. I would like answer your first question regarding the ESA. The Eight Schools Association (ESA) is a group of private college-preparatory schools in the United States of which many consider to be the Ivy League of prep schools. In my acceptance to participate at Intel (to which I am going) I realized I that I can rise above the c average student and perhaps try my best to aim for prestigious schools. I know that many of the ESA schools have little to no preference in math or science but I still want to challenge my self to get in to them. Whether they are of technical or liberal arts background is of little concern to me as I am still uncertain of my career path. I believe I can improve my chances via more ec’s and higher grades but I am stuck trying to compete with my peers who are always 10 steps ahead of me. As I mentioned in my first post I attend a rather prestigious and highly ranked public school and shining out among my peers is not all that feasible. So what can I do asides from the typical join 3 different honors societies, play 2 varsity, and be the president of every club at my school to make myself stand out in my application to the ESA schools. And also as was the original question in my first post “So what are my chances in getting into the ESA schools?”
Thankyou
Best Regards
I don’t want to be discouraging but you will be faced with just as many accomplished peers at boarding school as at your current high school. So you have to make the most of the things you are good at, like the science fair, and also work on projecting a more confident attitude and more of a teamwork/community focus. Can you volunteer with some younger students to help with middle school science fair, or math club, or at a science museum, or something like that. It will improve your chances if you show some sense of wanting to help others and being a team player. Some people do that through sports but there are lots of other ways. I can’t comment on your actual chances, just trying to give you a sense of where you can improve, which could help with college or boarding school.
I have heard of the TSAO (ten schools association) which has most of the same schools. Maybe they added a couple recently?
ESA (Eight schools) has NMH, which TSAO (Ten schools) does not. TSAO has Loomis, Taft, and Hill, which aren’t in ESA. DA, L’ville, PEA, PA, and SPS are common to both groups. How this evolved and why there are two separate groups with meaningful overlap is beyond me.