<p>I know that stats do not guarantee admission to any school, but I would like to get a feel for how my stats look on paper. I am still trying to pull together a list of schools that I am interested in, so please feel free to suggest schools. Thank you!</p>
<p>*Clubs: Community service with HomeWorks, local soup kitchens and food banks, volunteer work with a local inner-city school/enrichment program
*Sports: Year-round competitive swimming since age 5 (I am nationally ranked.)
*Music: I've played piano for 10 years now, and I've played guitar for 4 years. I taught myself both instruments.</p>
<p>Subjective:</p>
<ul>
<li>Interviews: I hope they go well. I'm fairly good at talking with people and expressing myself.</li>
<li>Essays: They should be pretty good. I'm a good writer.</li>
<li>Teacher Recs: Should be pretty good. I think my teachers like me, and I work hard in my classes.</li>
<li>Principle/Counselor Rec: Most likely pretty good.</li>
<li>Hook (if any): Maybe an athletics hook? I've been swimming competitively since I was five, and I hope to continue swimming in high school (whether I go to boarding school or not). I am also an avid creative writer and have had works published in several magazines and journals. I am working on my first novel, and I will be trying to get it published when I am finished with it.</li>
</ul>
<p>Location/Person:</p>
<ul>
<li>State or Country: Southeast US</li>
<li>Current School Type: Private</li>
<li>Ethnicity: White</li>
<li>Gender: F</li>
</ul>
<p>Other: I have a lot of experience travelling internationally. I attended Johns Hopkins CTY Summer in 2011 and 2012. I have been a part of Odyssey of the Mind for many years.</p>
<p>PEDDIE! Check out their record at Easterns. Look at the non-swimming parts of the school that might matter to you most. Of course, other really great schools have pools. Even though your stats are outstanding, don’t stick exclusively to the uber-selective schools. </p>
<p>Then again, St. Andrew’s in Delaware loves the Southeastern kids and has a lot to offer as a small school – and the SE kids love SAS, in part for not being as far north and having a southern-friendly culture. (I take it, though, that lots of NC kids are spread out among all of the well-known NE boarding schools.)</p>
<p>Just happened to check this out again, and noted the interest in creative writing. Peddie has a terrific writer in residence, Paul Watkins, who usually teaches writing as well as history. His latest novels are under the pseudonym Sam Eastland, but he has been prolific under his own name. Peddie is in central New Jersey, near Princeton, and has an excellent reputation, overall.</p>
<p>I’m looking at Andover, Deerfield, Peddie, and Mercersburg. I’m also kind of looking into Bolles and Baylor. I’d really prefer a school with a more casual dress code since I’ve been having lots of trouble with changing from my practice suit to my school uniform in the few minutes I have between morning practice and the start of school. But I’m not completely opposed to schools with formal dress codes. Thanks for the feedback!</p>
<p>That’s a great record. I mean your scores are so high! And your ECs are amazing. I think you’ll get in the tops school but the admission process is tricky and you never know. Make sure your interviews are great! I think you should just act calm and have a decent conversation. Good luck :)</p>
<p>Peddie has so much experience getting their swimmers into amazing schools; college counseling and the athletic offices work very well together, the university coaches know Peddie well. Peddie’s people behave very well toward each other. That’s a function of a medium-sized school, offering big opportunities, and lots of veterans on the faculty who help the kids to pass down a very healthy culture on campus. The other schools are great, but pay attention to the vibe and also the surrounding environment. Mercersburg and Deerfield can feel isolated to some, while Peddie has shops a block away, a mall/movies about one-two miles and Princeton is nine miles.</p>