How good do you have to be so that boarding school will accept u?

<p>im a 7th grader and ive dreamt of going to boarding school ever since i was 9. in 9th grade im hoping to go to groton, saint pauls or whatever school that accepts me.
How good do you have to be so that boarding school will accept u?
i was browsing online and this one girl didn't get accepted to hotchkiss. she does sports, 12 extracurricular activity, and got a 97% on her ssat. im really scared that im not prepared enough becuz i don't do 12 extracurricular activity and i dont think ill get a 97% on my ssat if i take it.
if u use to attend boarding school or attends boarding school, can u tell me how they accepted u?
im scared of the ssat too!!! the verbal part is what im afraid of most. the essay seems hard too. what kind of math do u get tested on? algebra?</p>

<p>This should be in the chances forum. Look on the forum started by TomTheCat, it has all the info you’re looking for.</p>

<p>The next generation of CC-ers have already started arriving. Wow. I feel OLD. ;)</p>

<p>You ARE old (; just kidding</p>

<p>Don’t use “u” for the word “you”, or say “becuz” instead of “because”. That might give you a head start.</p>

<p>[/rant]</p>

<p>in addition to test scores, it is mostly about you and your interests and what kind of person you are. your application is extremely important, and the ssat is probably the least of your worries.</p>

<p>Boarding school look for many different things: intelligence, interests, community, sports, arts - and sometime/most times they are looking for “the whole package” top scores, plus varsity potential athlete plus talented in the arts with good community service. The more complete the package the better. </p>

<p>But sometimes admissions follow no logical pattern at all. Just be the best person that you can be - and the rewards will follow.</p>

<p>You are getting a great head start by asking these questions.</p>

<p>Look at what is required & what you can start improving now</p>

<p>Essay-- The SSAT essay is only the tip of the iceberg. There are mutli essays for each application. </p>

<p>If this is an area you feel you are weak in then practice writing now and find a teacher/mentor to review. Look at genneral application essay question - this can be college app questions (many books on those), summer programs, you name it – anything to start you off as “practice” questions.</p>

<p>Unique personality! is key :)</p>

<p>You never know what school will accept you and what school will reject you… until March 10, I mean.</p>

<p>Try asking students of the schools what the schools are in need of (I got an email from St. Paul’s about a month ago saying that about 10 of the 22 people on the varsity soccer team were seniors so they really needed to recruit soccer players). If you fit in one of these, then you might have a good start compared to those who don’t.</p>

<p>The interview is VERY IMPORTANT, so don’t think that the interview is just a small portion of the application process. Most people go mad over scores but I’ve found otherwise :D</p>

<p>Well 130 out of what? 130 out of 1000 is OK while 130 out of 200 is “ughh”.</p>

<p>your essay and interview is probably the most important thing.
(just my opinion, but i think that’s what got me into the schools).</p>

<p>thank you all!! also does the location of where i live matter??? because next year i’m moving back to california and i’m in arizona right now. Do you think i’ll have a better chance getting into bs if i was from az rather than ca or the place where you’re from doesn’t matter at all?</p>

<p>You may think differently, but this is how it went for me I’m pretty sure (and I got into my top choices, Andover, Brooks, and Milton).</p>

<p>Least Important:
SSAT (Should get 91% or above overall)
There will be a lot of 99% (I had 97% overall and I got 45% on the math section. So you can not do as well on one section and still do well overall.
Grades (Should average to be a 91 or higher)</p>

<p>Middle:
Normal Extracurriculars
(Sports)
(Music)</p>

<p>Most Important (In order of importance, least to most):
Interview
Special EC’s
Application Essays</p>

<p>These last three will show what you can add to the school (In a different way than everyone else), and show the qualities of your personalities in relation to the school. If the essays on the application fit the style of student they want, you have a VERY high chance of getting in.</p>

<p>thank you soontoboard. now i know what i should improve and work on. what if i don’t have alot of extracurricular??? don’t people always say quality not quantity?</p>

<p>Yes, quality over quantity is important. You should, however, take part in at least three sports or extracurriculars each year and, on top of that, ideally you should take part in some type of community service and, if possible, leadership such as student council. An instrument or two will help you as well. These schools are looking for well-rounded students who do what they do well. Some schools give better opportunities for extracurriculars like this than others, but what schools will want to see when you end up applying is dedication. Start activities as early as possible - 7th grade is a great time to take up sports. Throw yourself into them and give them your best.</p>

<p>As has also been said, interviews are really important because they are one of the few opportunities that the admissions committees get to see you as a genuine human being. These are easy and straightforward as long as you are not nervous. A good way to prepare for these is not to come up with answers to generic interview questions in your head. Since you’re in 7th grade, you’ve still got time to get into thinking intellectually and articulately. Next time a teacher, parent, or friend asks you a question that requires thinking, take a deep breath and express your answer articulately and intelligently. Then start thinking in the same way. In your interviews, be genuine. If your interviewer doesn’t like you, it’ll be the school’s loss.</p>

<p>Best of luck in your future applications!</p>

<p>The kind they like in particular:</p>

<p>Community Service, or an International Service Project
Intelligent Sports (Mock Trial, Model United Nations, Debate) or an abnormal sport/instrument (kickboxing, didgeridoo)</p>

<p>Soonto, however well supported your “theory” about importance of application materials is, I do not think you have enough empirical data (consistantly looking at EVERYONE’S stats and looking at every mean/median/mode). Also, I highly doubt that the adcoms have a hierarchal value for each part.</p>

<p>a big sport helps… i got accepted at Andover and Exeter and they told me it was due to my fluent and confident language around adults, strong recommendations and hockey abilities… haha they called it hockey abilities… i got lucky becuz hockey is cut throat in the northeast. people say scores vary, but i feel 90 and above is good, and dont worry about the essay on the SSAT, it doesnt count. i am with you though, i thought i would do horrible on vocab, i kinda did, i got a 720 which i thought was okay, but a 720 is 80% on a vocab… but i got a perfect math score (99%), so everythign evened out to a 95%. i was actually surprised that they said my recommendations were up their, i thought they would be just like all the rest of us(teachers pets haha). and for EC’s, i just picked up a few clubs, i did debate club, its really just meeting and talking about politics once every few weeks. and peer tutoring which shows im “giving back to the community” and math coutns which shows i have extra interest in a subject, my essays were mediocore i guess. nothing too special.</p>

<p>hope this helps =)</p>

<p>Yea I know. Its a bit rough. I was just doing it based off of what seemed to work for me and my friends and people on the forums. I’d like to hear what you have to say about importance though; that is if you’re willing to write it down or guess.</p>

<p>I was looking at average SSAT, other accepted people’s grades, and what seemed to make it for others/what I’ve heard from people who go through boarding school processes a lot.</p>

<p>My EC’s were:
Lacrosse
Tennis
Model UN
Tufts EPIIC (Like MUN)
Duke Talent Identification Program
Tufts Institute for Global Leadership High School Program</p>

<p>I’d say what my hook was though was “Girl’s Education Mission.” It allows girls in Africa to be self-empowered (They make stuff, we sell it here) and go to high school.</p>

<p>So community service is REALLY good to have. As well as a couple sports.</p>

<p>we30, where are you going next year? Or going now?</p>

<p>yes i agree with tomcat, interviews are very important, some essays and stats dont tell them who you are… you could be a total psycho who got good scores but is afraid to talk to people and just put down robotics club and student council, they only really can get a sense of who you are by talking to you. express yourself and be confident. dont act nervous or intimidated by the interviewer. just talk like its a friend. i didnt step up my vocabulary and have adjectives with my life story, i just told them how i feel about things in life and how i view the world and how i want to positivly affect it</p>

<p>i think interview is most important… all the stats in the world cant make up for a non-wellrounded and socially inept person… they just couldnt thrive in the school and thats what the adcoms need to look at.</p>