<p>Hi everyone. Next school year, I'll be really busy so I thought I would narrow down my list now. I took other peoples' advice and looked at "hidden gem" schools and those that aren't as prestigious as HADES. I'm really happy with the schools I found, so I totally recommend taking a look at the hidden gem thread and checking out some of the school websites. I still have a few top schools on my list, because I really do like them. I started with 20 schools and brought it down to 11. I would really like to bring my school list down to atleast 8 (I don't know how many schools I should apply to, so I would appreciate some input on that aswell). If you have any suggestions for schools that you really think I should look into, please post.</p>
<p>Phillips Andover Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy
Taft
Northfield Mount Hermon
Brooks School
Episcopal High School
Millbrook School
Emma Willard
Cate School
St. Andrews School Delaware
Peddie</p>
<p>In other "narrowing list" posts, I've seen the OP put some information about themselves and what I am looking for... so that's what I'm going to do :)</p>
<ul>
<li>I really like Math and Science (just thought I would put that out there)</li>
<li>Not very involved in sports, because of my severe asthma. I tried Lacrosse and enjoyed the game, but will have to wait until (hopefully) next year when my asthma improves.</li>
<li>I played the piano for about 3-4 years before I quit, because I didn't practice (this was in 3rd grade if I remember correctly).</li>
<li>In 7th grade I'm starting the Guitar and Saxophone (told it will help with my asthma once I get going).</li>
<li>Would like to do some sort of martial art, but I haven't seen any boarding schools that offer that.</li>
<li>I've always been an all "A" student</li>
<li>This probably doesn't help, but I like "leadership" kind of things. I don't want to say that I like taking control over everything, but I'm a good leader and enjoy being the leader (does that sound alright?)</li>
<li>I volunteer every other Sunday with my mom for 3 hours (I know, not much at all). I read something that someone said that community service is overrated, but I really do enjoy volunteering where I volunteer. I can't tell you what it involves, because it gives away my location, but it deals with kids and families. I started in January a few months after I turned 12 (min. age for volunteering there).</li>
<li>Kind of Speak Spanish</li>
<li>I really enjoy debating, but my horrid public school doesn't have anything like that (I really want to joing Debate and Model UN)</li>
</ul>
<p>Not impresive at all and I think I went into too much detail, but I wanted to give you a good idea of what I'm like so you can see what "class" (I really don't mean that in a bad way) of school I would get into and get in. If you need any more info, please just ask.</p>
<p>You have a list of schools that varies pretty widely in character. I can’t find a common thread that runs through the list. Have you taken any practice SSAT test to see how you do? This will help you figure out how competitive your application will be, since you don’t appear to have any obvious hooks.</p>
<p>I took a practice test in 5th grade using the Princeton Review SSAT book. It was lower level, but these are my scaled scores:</p>
<p>Verbal: 625 - 89 percentile</p>
<p>Math: 625 - 92 percentile</p>
<p>Reading: 685 - 99 percentile</p>
<p>I’m surprised I did that bad in Math and that good in Reading.</p>
<p>So about a 93 percentile :)</p>
<p>I didn’t study, so I’m sure I could do better. I also have PSAT practice test scores that I took at school. If you need them, I’m sure I can find them for you.</p>
<p>EDIT:
I also took the SCAT for CTY, if you want those scores</p>
<p>Did you just finish 7th grade?</p>
<p>I’m going into 7th grade this coming school year</p>
<p>OK, so you have plenty of time. I’d suggest using this year to really decide which extracurricular interests are important to you. Schools have to fill out their sports teams, musicals, orchestras, etc. so it will help your chances considerably if you fill a need for the school. There are far more qualified students than the schools can accept. Think of it from the schools’ perspectives. What need of theirs do you satisfy based on the skills and strengths you will already have developed by the fall of 2012 when you may be interviewing.</p>
<p>Once you’ve answered the first question, you’ll want to think about what sort of person you are socially and what type of environment will work for you educationally. For instance, a school may have a sporty “bro” culture, be more arty, more formal and preppy, more laid-back, or hard to categorize. Also, school size comes in at this point of the analysis. The schools you mentioned in your original post range from 280-1100 students. If you search this site/forum for the different schools, you’ll get a better sense of what the school culture is like.</p>
<p>Making a match in these first two areas (ECs and culture) will help you come up with a short list by this time next year. Virtually all the schools discussed on this forum are excellent schools. Fine-tuning your list for strength in math/science, specific foreign languages, etc. should come after the first two items for most students in my opinion. Finding a group of schools which will meet your personal happiness requirement is a good place to start. </p>
<p>Lastly, I’d highly suggest preparing yourself to take the June 2012 SSAT for diagnostic purposes. This will provide you with a clear picture of where you stand, and yet you will not show up as having taken the test multiple times when you take it again in the fall.</p>
<p>Thank you so much! Very thorough!
I will be taking the SATs by December for a scholarship. I really appreciate it and will follow what you said :)</p>