I’m an 8th grade girl, and an international student. I require full FA because my parents make approximately 40,000/year
Grades and Stats:
GPA: 9.4/10 or 3.81 (based on conversion table)
Mostly As and a few occasional Bs
SSAT Scores: 81 percentile (80 Reading, 87 Verbal, 66 Quantitative)
Ive also had plenty of English Awards from the school and city (Won spelling bee 3 consecutive years, and placed 9th in a National TOEFL Competition- still got bronze medal for it tho)
My recs were pretty decent I think bc they didn’t rlly show me, and my essays were pretty personal and heartfelt
Sport:
Bronze medal in Basketball City competition
Bronze medal for 400m sprint in track competition
Mostly been in school sport teams since 4th grade and occasionally won medals
Other E/Cs:
Top 20 Speak2Inspire National Debate Competition
9 years of Piano- I did some piano performances to raise money for charity, and recently got a merit certificate for the Grade 5 Trinity Keyboard Exam
Shuffle danced for about 3 years? I have a few videos that I also sent to the school
Had a lot of charity and volunteer work (yard sales for charity, planting trees in the park, etc etc)
I also sing and I did send in a video of me playing the piano and singing
You definitely should’ve applied to a larger variety of schools with lower acceptance rates. If you did you’d probably have gotten in somewhere.
My advice is to consider whether or not you’d like to apply as a repeat freshman or a sophomore. Less FA especially for an international student to go around in the 10th grade.
You also need to show from now until the next cycle that you’ve grown and expanded on your interests and abilities.
You say “international”, where in the world do you mean? If it’s Asia, you need higher scores to stand out. If in under represented regions, then your scores are fine.
You sound like a great student with a lot to offer a school!
From where I sit, the mistake was: you applied to three schools, not ten. Lots of people get 3 rejections or waitlists! The difference is that they applied to seven more so they might also be getting some acceptances in the overall mix.
You sound awesome though!!
I agree with applying to a larger range of schools. This gives you some more opportunities given the low acceptance rate and the same amazing kids applying to all of the same amazing schools. It also gives you the chance to explore schools that you may not have thought were the right fit. There were two schools, that I initially focused on for my daughter, but after visiting and diving deeper understood that they were not right for her. She got into schools that we thought she would not and WLed at schools that we thought loved her. It is a process and each school has different needs for their classes. Broaden your reach … but I will say the application process is an education in itself and you are all the better for going through it. Hang in there. Good luck!
Definitely consider applying as a repeat freshman… and possibly rework your app/essays to be more ‘pointy’. Basketball highlight video, track video highlights? Piano performance video? Maybe play some chamber music/accompany a violinist or woodwind player for their local competition/recitals? Everyone always needs a pianist… you will look GREAT (IMHO). Debate video? Whatever you do, everything highlighted in your application should revolve around a narrative. Like: You’re a team player: sports and chamber music and debate team? I’m guessing… but you get the idea.
ALSO: BS want nice kids who will take advantage of what they offer and add to the community, and above all they want kids to love to learn (this is straight from the mouth of the admissions director at a T5 BS). Make sure your recs talk about who you are as a person, not just academics. If I remember correctly, BS apps ask for math, English, and administrative recs as well as an EC rec and then an extra/personal rec. Always send that personal rec even if the school doesn’t ask for it. I know 1/2 the schools DS applied to asked for that additional rec and the other 1/2 did not. DS reached out and asked if the school would accept an extra rec and all of them said yes. I think it made a big difference.
FWIW this is just one person’s opinion, so do with it what you will. If I were you I would look at the 2023 BS stats thread to see where kids got in, what they think got them in, etc. It is eye-opening and I bet you will learn a lot there. Good luck! I know you will do great next year!!
I’m def wondering whether I want to be a repeat freshman or right into sophomore year- I’m not sure which one would increase my chances more- and I’m kind of hesitant about the fact that I might be older than most people in my class?
Will applying as a sophomore lower my chances?
REPEAT! Many kids do this. You will not be alone. I’m sure there are many discussions on CC about reclassing/regrading/whatever it’s called. Do read the various posts and ask questions. It seems like there is no downside. Good luck!
