<p>Please, share your secrets.</p>
<p>Andover-I’m *<strong><em>ing sexy
Exeter-I’m *</em></strong>ing hot
Milton-I’m *<strong><em>ing fast
Hotchkiss-I’m *</em></strong>ing stubborn
sps-I’m *<strong><em>ing amazing
Deerfield-I’m *</em></strong>ing rich and preppy
Can you match me? That’s what I thought…</p>
<p>creepy…</p>
<p>I love you principalviola. Thank you for that.</p>
<p>I believe PV has hit it right on the mark:)</p>
<p>Andover- No idea. I bombed my interview. I couldn’t come up with any questions at the end and ended up asking my guy if he went to Andover.
Exeter- Don’t really know. My transcrips and EC’'s were good
Groton- Amazing interview and very good essay
Middlesex- everything
Hotchkiss- recs maybe</p>
<p>this is my personal thoughts but…</p>
<p>if you want to know the secret of getting in, all you need to remember is:</p>
<ol>
<li>Be unique</li>
<li>Be well-rounded</li>
<li>Pay the full tuition</li>
</ol>
<p>Being unique is defined if you are super amazing good in math or in any sports. something like that.</p>
<p>Being well-rounded means something like you can play sports and keep the grades up at the sametime. you are not a nerd who only does math. you are also interested in volunteering and in arts. well-rounded is like yourself being a circle, not a triangle.</p>
<p>And of course… being able to pay the full tuition… even if you need some aid, it wont always be available for you. and i believe that many people are aware that even if the officers like you, but if the school budget is too tight, you are very likely to be rejected…</p>
<p>something like that.</p>
<p>I respectfully disagree. Be who I am and you will be in.</p>
<p>I posted this from another thread:
"As someone who knows nothing secret about admissions, I can only speak as someone who got into both Exeter and Andover. I can tell you that my ssat was only 1 percentile above Andover’s average (94) and that I have only one real impressive extracurricular which I quit 3 years ago. Overall, I had nothing that made me stand out except for one thing, my interview. I interviewed with Michael Gary, the admissions director, and just tried to charm the hell out of him, to be as blunt as possible. At the same time, I gave an honest answer for every question, it’s just so much easier to give a good honest answer than a well thought-through even white lie. So, I’m good with conversations, that’s my thing. I’m lackluster by E/A standards in everything else, so I would encourage you to find something thats your thing. It could be sports, ssat, interview,essays, what-have-you, but make sure that you show the admissions people something really just amazing about you. I think we can all find something incredible in ourselves, so I urge you too look for it "</p>
<p>I agree with istoleyournose! Find your “thing” and do it well. I know all different kinds of kids who have gone to BS so there is not a simple singular answer to this question. SSATs help but a good friend of mine scored way below and still got into Exeter…
High grades help but are not a given…unique is good as is a hook.</p>
<p>be yourself, don’t try to sugarcoat anything, they’ll know. in my MX interview, my interviewer asked me “what drew you to Middlesex”? I couldn’t come up with a good lie, so I just told her the truth, “I have to admit, I didn’t think of it, my parents did and they compiled the list of schools that I’d be applying to”. I think she really liked it. So just be yourself. Be truthful. If it helps, be blunt.</p>
<p>Izzy, I’m not sure that saying your parents led you to it is a good idea. But yah, be yourself to some degree.</p>
<p>What they said 
Yeah, same here. My SSAT vocab score was waaaay below the average, but I still got into Exeter. I was not too formal, nor too casual with my interview. Like istoleyournose, talking is my “thing” too, even though i have difficulties speaking in English. I even told my interviewer about my brothers and how I babysit them. (When I’m nervous, I say really random things) Oh, and I said a “cheesy but funny” joke about Andover 
</p>
<p>Just be yourself, be spontaneous!</p>
<p>I think i got in cuz i applied</p>
<p>I said the same thing that Izzy did at L’ville haha. They ask me a similar question and I was like “Well actually my mom really pushed me to apply here although I wasn’t sure I wanted to…” then I think I went on to say that I was glad she did because I really liked it.
My interview might have been one of the reasons I got in, they also liked my EC’s a lot though.</p>
<p>exeter- interview and essays for sure. i sent my best essays and my interviewer really liked me. my interview started at 3 or 4ish, and when i finished, everyone else was gone (except the faculty)! and trust me, when i first came in, the admissions office was packed. </p>
<p>groton-essay. i sent my best essay to this school. i actually didn’t think much of groton. it was actually a school i thought i’d get rejected at…</p>
<p>milton- interview. it was actually my first interview so i was pretty nervous but i think i really came out as who i was. also, my ec’s definitely made it seem like i was leaning towards the school since i had really arty ec’s.</p>
<p>Groton was the only school I applied to since I was applying to be in eight grade…</p>
<p>I think essays and how much you want to go to Groton specifically. I had terrible test scores as an international student (especially in verbal/reading sections of the SSAT). But I wrote decent essays about why I want to go to the school.</p>
<p>The interview was terrible (the interviewer actually told me I needed to learn to speak English more fluently, in the most direct words possible.) But then I e-mailed/called/harrassed the admissions people every day along with my mom telling them how much I wanted to go there… Then I got in.</p>
<p>It’s really not formulaic. Yes, you have to have the basic plumbing between your ears to do the work, but that could be SSAT’s in the 60’s or the 90’s, it could be B’s or A’s etc. What’s most influential are the recommendations, interviews and essays because these get to “who” you are. Top schools try to get a fix on what your personality would add to the community. What they look for can change year to year, interviewer to interviewer. </p>
<p>Izzy’s advice to be yourself is the most important. Interviewers can and do spot kids who are coached. That doesn’t mean you don’t practice the interview, but it DOES mean you don’t fabricate answers you think the School wants to hear. Be yourself and you’ll be refreshing. Be refreshing and you’ll be remembered.</p>