<p>Anyone want to share their story about how they triumphed in this admissions round after experiencing bitter disappointment applying last year?</p>
<p>Anything you did differently this time? Cast a wider net? Took up tuba-playing water polo? </p>
<p>@mrnephew</p>
<p>I’m dying to hear these stories! It’s exactly what we need right now.</p>
<p>Last year, I attended a private school pre-k/8 school where a lot of my fellow classmates were looking into boarding schools for high school. My interest for boarding school was sparked by my classmates interest, and it all took off from there. The pre-k/8 school that I went to was the little brother/sister school of a well known mid-Atlantic school, which explains why so many of us were considering the boarding option for high school. So I applied to our big brother-sister school thinking it would be perfect. I had friends that were older than me already attending that school, and they reassured me that it would be the perfect fit.</p>
<p>The wait list letter comes around (and thankfully, I was on spring break,) and I was devastated. Even worse was the fact that I watched 7 of my friends in my small grade (we were a close knit bunch) get accepted. And there I was. Not accepted. Going back to school after break was tough; as the little brother-sister school we had a lot of interaction with the big brother-sister school, so it was hard to forget it and move on. I had friends there at my “dream school”, I had friends that were going to be there. I’d be in town on the weekend and see kids (obviously from the big brother-sister school) walking around with “X School” t-shirts, in the stores, eating around town. Visit back days were rough because about 1/4 of our grade would be gone visiting “X School.” Adding insult to injury was career day shortly after spring break which featured four speakers. One of the speakers was an admissions officer from my “dream school.” All this piled on top of me, making the process of forgetting and moving on all the more difficult.</p>
<p>But I did it! I came back this year and applied to 7 schools: 1 rejection, 3 waitlists and 3 acceptances; 2 of the acceptances were at my first choices! Really happy I tried again - it all paid off!</p>
<p>GMT, do you see that there are 3 identical threads…???</p>
<p>Haha, I’ve been waiting for one of these. </p>
<p>I got rejected at Andover last year after a hectic application started two weeks before the February first deadline. </p>
<p>I thought I’d get in, with a 99 ISEE, good grades, recs, etc. I didn’t. </p>
<p>Do I tried again this year but instead took more time on essays went on interviews. </p>
<p>I got into Loomis, L’ville, and Kent. </p>
<p>Moral of the story: never give up. </p>
<p>I might bump this… next year. :p</p>
<p>NEVER GIVE UP @stargirl3!</p>
<p>You got it!!! @stargirl3</p>
<p>This happened to me! I applied last year to Concord and Choate. I was accepted to Concord and wait listed at Choate. After attending revisit at Concord, I knew it wasn’t for me, so I took a roll of the dice and applied to Peddie, L’ville, and Taft as a sophomore this year (we decided Choate was too preppy). I got into L’ville and Peddie, and was wait listed at Taft! I’m very very happy so yay 
And I’m not sad about Taft at all really because their acceptance rate was at 10%, so I’m not gonna be hard on myself about it.</p>
<p>If you got rejected this time around, try again! Last year I was a little too daring and applied to Andover, Choate, Deerfield and a good day school in my area. I got rejected at Andover, wait listed at Choate and Deerfield and got into the day school. My parents were all for me staying close to home but I knew I wanted to go to boarding. I bumped up my SSAT score by a lot and added a new sport. I was so happy this year to get into Choate and wait listed at Deerfield. Don’t give up! Schools really like hard workers</p>
<p>i applied to andover for 9th grade-rejected. applied to exeter, sps, and cate for 10th grade-waitlisted. applied to exeter, andover, sps, deerfield, lawrenceville, taft, and hotchkiss this year for 11th-got into exeter and deerfield, 2 schools who barely let ANYONE into 11th grade!
Perseverance is a great quality that they admire, i believe. don’t worry so much about test scores or the fact that you aren’t a horseback riding, non-profit starting violin prodigy. i had horrible ssat scores 3 years in a row (i just can’t figure that test out) but my grades were solid. and this year, my essays for exeter and deerfield were awesome and my interviews even better! they need to know the real you, why you want to go to their school, and what you are going to do there. DON’T GIVE UP!</p>
<p>This thread rocks…keep it coming.</p>
<p>A few years back, my kid applied to and was waitlisted at Groton. Got into 2 out of 4 the next round. I know there have been others who’ve been admitted in round 3. For those of you who need FA and have been continually waitlisted…I wonder if the junior year of high school isn’t the year that the scales will tip in your favor FA-wise since the school will only be underwriting 2 years of your schooling. And agree that perseverance is nothing but a positive. </p>
<p>Last year, I applied to Andover (top choice) for 9th grade and was wait-listed. This year, I applied again (3 weeks before the deadline!) and got accepted!! I don’t feel like I changed anything about myself; after all, being yourself is the main component that schools look for. However, this year I did “show off” a bit more in my application/interview. </p>
<p>same with @violinjaa, I was waitlisted at Andover last year and was admitted this year for 10th grade.</p>
<p>the few weeks after march 10th last year were absolutely devastating. applied to five, waitlisted at five. it was my first real failure in a long time and it broke my heart to let down so many adults around me who had expected success, and even more so to see my friends’ photos of revisit day on social media. </p>
<p>looking back though, i’m glad i had the brutal wake-up call. not getting closure until early summer was painful, but it gave me time to reflect on why the schools hadn’t taken me in and taught much needed lessons in humility and being realistic. it was clear that i wasn’t ready for boarding school when i submitted my application, and an acceptance instead would have been equally crushing, if not more (not that i’m saying yall aren’t ready for bs, i was particularly naive last year idk)</p>
<p>this year i focused a little more on being strategic in how i presented myself as an applicant (putting more emphasis on my demonstrated strengths and keeping the poetic waxing low), and i guess it worked it’s not like i went through a complete transformation though, it was mostly just portrayal so people should definitely consider reapplying - you never know!</p>
<p>We went through the process twice as well. The second time around DC was definitely more mature and “battle-hardened”. Emphasizing very specific strengths consistently in the interview & essays I think was helpful.</p>
<p>Us too. A couple of years ago, for 9th, DS applied to 3 of the most selective schools. Was WL’d at one, denied at the other two.</p>
<p>For 10th grade, cast a much wider net (thanks to all the great advice on this forum). Applied to 7 schools, including a few hidden gems. He also studied for the SSAT much more diligently the 2nd time, and brought his score up quite a bit. And his grades were much better in 9th as well. Accepted at 3 schools for 10th grade. Now attends Cate.</p>
<p>So yes - don’t give up! Persistence often pays off!</p>
<p>Okay so last year I was pretty sure I wouldn’t get into any schools and when March 9th came, I found that I had predicted just that. After crying it out, I decided that I would try again. Though it was very hard, as the application process had been so stressful for me.
I then joined the ABC program, which helps you fill our a common app so you don’t die of writing like a thousand different types of applications and stuff. One application, one essay, no worries.
So I put a lot of effort into that one application and a lot of love into my essay, and I got to know my teacher relatively well for good recs, and I also joined the Diversity Club, GSA, and an internationally acclaimed choir to beef up my ECs.
Then I rocked almost all of my interviews, having some great true conversations, and getting to know some great interviewers and which schools they represented.
Then come March 10th of this year, I came 6/11 for which schools I applied to, and I’m being flown out by three of them to revisit. This is a dream come true.
So bottom line: don’t give up. Just don’t. And I now you’re maybe feeling super bitter about not having gotten into any schools, but if you truly work hard and try to be the best student you can be, it’s all worth it in the end.</p>
<p>First of all, sorry for any typos in my last post, I can’t be bothered with editing.</p>
<p>But Tips for interviewing:</p>
<p>~Look up common interview questions like “why do you want to go here?” or “What is your passion?” or “Why boarding school?”. These are often hard questions to answer, and you should know what to say. Don’t rehearse them obviously, but have an idea of what to say.</p>
<p>~ ** get comfortable talking about yourself and your accomplishment/weaknesses. ** You are probably such an incredible singer, football player, mathematician, or whatever you may be. Play that up! Make that known, and emphasize that you want to not only continue that activity at their school, but take leadership in it. </p>
<p>~Laugh. (But don’t force it. That’s weird.)</p>
<p>~Talk about your passion if you have one. Go into detail about why you love whatever you love and show it. Gush about it for a good minute (That’s longer than you think), and really convey that you’re willing to truly work to get better and better at it.</p>
<p>~Ask meaningful questions. Ask about how new students are integrated into Harkness at Exeter, the gradng scale at Andover, how the daily schedule works, or if they serve good vegetarian options in the dining hall. Ask things that matter, and that you truly want to know more about.</p>
<p>~Send them a handwritten note stating how much you enjoyed the interview and that you’re very excited about what the future holds. Speak to something you talked about during the interview as well to help them make a connection to who you are. </p>
<p>~Stay in touch. Don’t let that note be your last means of communication. Get to know their ____ director, ask them ore questions, get to know several people who are on campus so you can make connections. Just ask good questions and let them get to know you a bit better.</p>
<p>This is all, so I hope you all have better luck next year!!! (though it won’t be luck because you would have earned that sh*t)</p>
<p>I was listening to NPR yesterday. They had a story about the increasing emphasis on grit in education and in college admissions. As AO’s rank candidates in several categories including character, it seems to me that those who apply a second year are demonstrating grit. The very fact the you apply again might increase your chances because it proves that you have a quality the schools value highly. </p>
<p>My oldest daughter was waitlisted at six schools and rejected at one her first year. Her second year, she had three acceptances, all of them with substantial FA. She did a few things differently, which undoubtedly helped. But she also showed that she was willing to pick herself up after a defeat and try again. And the schools knew that she was serious about BS, something that is important as the schools worry about yield. </p>