<p>Im a legacy at two of the top schools frequently mentioned here (Id be sixth generation at one and fourth at the other). Unfortunately, neither is St. Pauls, which is the school I truly want to attend. I only like my parents (and grandfathers and great grandfathers, etc.) schools. Although disappointed at not attending one of their schools, my parents said they would support my decision. Im only applying to the three schools.</p>
<p>How do I convince the admissions people that St. Pauls is where I really want to go? My family is very well known at the other schools (trustees, buildings, money, etc.) and I fear SPS will not believe me that it is my first choice. Is there anything I can do to convince SPS admissions, other than telling them, that they are my first choice?</p>
<p>(My parents told me not to give out too much info about myself, but heres a, hopefully, safe overview.)</p>
<p>Im an 8th grade day student at a junior boarding school. Overall A average, but only a 88 in English (I hate to write). I do really well in Honors Science (100) and Algebra 1 (96), but Chinese (95) and History (92) are my favorite subjects.</p>
<p>I have glowing teacher recommendations. I have excellent ECs with several hours each month in community service and Boy Scouts (almost Eagle). I dont really have a Fall sport, perhaps Cross Country. Im a very good wrestler (won New Englands in my weight class last year) and play lacrosse in the Spring. I may switch to Crew as a coxswain in prep school though.</p>
<p>I also did well on my SSATs (99%), but who knows about that writing part </p>
<p>kill the interview and essays. personality counts for a lot. honestly, you sound like exactly the type of kid these schools look for, so don't worry about it too much.</p>
<p>Why do you prefer St. Paul's School over the two legacy schools? Have you interviewed at SPS yet? If you are able to articulate why you prefer St. Paul's, then it is really just an issue as to whether or not SPS considers it to be a match for you and them. Being a legacy and donor at other prestigious prep schools will not harm your application in my opinion.</p>
<p>hey don't need to know if it's your first choice. it's not like it's going to influence their decision all that much. have you been to st. paul's campus? i'm also applying there, how did you like it?</p>
<p>My SPS interview is in December. My fear is that they won't accept me because they don't think I would go there.</p>
<p>I love the feel of the campus during my visits. I have two good friends there, and I like the size of the school and that everyone boards. The combined Humanities class is better than just English, the Mandarin program is strong, and wrestling is very good. The food is fantastic! Most importantly, I felt more independent (anonymous) there. (No headmasters and admissions directors meeting with me and falling over my parents. No buildings with my name on it.)</p>
<p>nexgen is right Nelly - if they know (and I's guessing they do) the name and that he is a legacy at 2 other schools, they do need to know they are his first choice because schools like thier yeild numbers to be up there. If they feel he won't attend, they really might not accept him on that basis. </p>
<p>That said, every interview so far, my son has been asked what schools he is applying to. I think you can address it there - tell them "of course, I'm applying to xxxschool and yyy school since my father and grandfather went there. However, St Paul's is my first choice because I feel more comfortable there then at those schools, I like the smaller size and the commuinty feeling and the fact that all students are boarders. In addition, I really like the idea of Humanities class."
Pretty much say what you stated here and you should be fine. Your enthusiasm for the school should be apparent in the interview.
Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks. I think one of the hard things for most applicants is that when they are interviewing, they don't usually KNOW what their first choice is so they don't have the advantage the nexgen will have going into the interview.<br>
The school that is currently at the top of our list was our 3rd school visit - out of 10. Nearly impossible to tell honestly that it was his / our top choice. So then, it's how do you let them know that after the interview?</p>
<p>Yes, Linda, they know my family at St Paul's (it's a small world, especially among boarding schools it seems), but they haven't said anything during my visits. I did not want to interview until I had a good feel for the campus. My friends said I would love it there.</p>
<p>Other than my interview and essays, is there anything I can do? Yes, they'll see I know what I'm talking about and I know the school, but is that enough? Maybe I'm too skeptical, but why would they believe me (given my family history)? Again, my fear.</p>
<p>I get your concern. You like the legacy schools enough that you don't want to skip applying to them (one possible route in your situation) but at least at this point in the game, you think you like St. Paul's better. </p>
<p>Most bs applicants never tell a school they are the top choice. What you, like any other applicant, have to do is establish a fit between you and the school and convey what you would add. If your essays and recs are good, someone with your educational background, athletics, full pay, and test scores is extremely likely to get into the legacy schools. If you are a legacy at peer schools why would you even bother applying to St. Paul's if you weren't very interested? It certainly isn't a safety school. Have you had contact with the coach? Think about the other factors that differentiate your fave school from your legacy ones. You are in private school so you should let the admisssions counselor at your school know where you and your parents stand.</p>
<p>Thanks, Inquiring mind. Yes, I will meet with coaches during my interview visit. My placement counselor is aware of the situation and will also speak to the admissions people.</p>
<p>As I've mentioned before, at SPS I'll be blazing my own trail. There are no footsteps to follow or expectations as there would be at my parents schools. I also believe my academic strengths (and weaknesses) are better suited at SPS than the others. I especially appreciate the teaching style there. (This is based on talking to my friends who are at each of the schools over Thanksgiving break.)</p>
<p>Some hope. I shared my concern with my father on the way to school today and he said he would talk to a few of the SPS trustees he knows. He told me one of them used to work for him! What a small world.</p>
<p>nexgen: Your post #5 above is convincing. Trust the St. Paul's admissions folks, as they, similiar to Andover, Hotchkiss, St. Andrew's, Groton, St. George's, etc., are very good at what they do. You, however, will not be anonymous at St. Paul's School as it is a very caring community toward all of the students; alternatively, you won't be coddled or catered to either as I have heard reports that even the best connected have received discipline based on their actions and not on their connections. Please look at my post #52 in the "Tell Me About Lawrenceville" thread.</p>
<p>Icy - I definitely don't want to be coddled and hope never to have discipline issues. I don't want or expect anything more or less than anyone else, which is exactly why I think SPS would be better for me. I especially like the caring community.</p>
<p>Yes, I understand that you are looking to be your own man. My post above is in support of your choice. As a side note, a few years ago Forbes magazine, I believe it was Forbes, did an article on Asia's wealthiest family whose daughter was then a St. Paul's student. Her family's wealth and status was unknown to the other students and, reportedly, she was just another student--both before and after the article appeared in print. My point is that you will be quite comfortable and as "anonymous" as you want to be at St. Paul's whether your family has billions, millions or a large financial aid package. One aspect I find appealing at SPS, is the foreign exchange program during spring break which offers free study at England's top "prep schools", study in Sweden, and other locations in Europe, including Finland and France among other choices.</p>
<p>I don't mean to come across as nasty, but if you want to be the same as everyone else you could try to convey you love of the school by yourself, instead of asking for the help of trustees.</p>
<p>nexgen, I see you are passionate about St. Paul's. Just be careful that you do not create the type of situation you are trying to avoid at the legacy schools.</p>
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Most importantly, I felt more independent (anonymous) there. (No headmasters and admissions directors meeting with me and falling over my parents. No buildings with my name on it.)
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I shared my concern with my father on the way to school today and he said he would talk to a few of the SPS trustees he knows. He told me one of them used to work for him! What a small world.
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<p>You may want to think about which is more important.... feeling independent or having your father talk to his ex-subordinate trustee.</p>
<p>Personally, I think your passion will come through in your interview and there is no need to do anything else. Good luck!</p>
<p>So...these trustees...they're on the Admissions Committee? Because, if they're not, then you're trying to pull strings. Personally, I have no quarrel with that. If that works, it works and why not do that if that option's available to you? I'm just here to disabuse you of the idea that you're not looking to pull strings.</p>
<p>If...of course...you're not blowing a lot of smoke at us by pretending to be an anxiety-ridden teen who needs anonymous message board advice despite being about the most wired applicant to ever come down the pike.</p>