How important are grades when applying?

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>Hi, I was wondering how much weight admission offices put on your grades at your school? I have mostly A's and a couple A-'s... </p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>Well it depends where you are looking to go to what schools are you interested in?</p>

3

<p>Seriously?</p>

4

<p>I’ll be 100% honest, the things that most (not all, but most) prep schools most care about are:

  1. What middle school you went to (was it private or does it have a good reputation?)
  2. Whether or not you’re a legacy or have siblings that go to/went to the school.
  3. Whether or not you have a lot of money.
    There’s a gap before they really consider academics…
  4. Extracurriculars/sports
  5. Teacher recommendations.
  6. Your interview.
    Gap
  7. Grades
    Huge gap
  8. SSATs</p>

<p>Short answer: grades only start to be important if you don’t fit the non-academic criteria. In that case, they’re still not terribly important (note: that’s not to mean that you will get by on Cs and Ds! I just mean that a kid with a B average might not have a lower chance than a straight A student.)</p>

5

<p>^ Might be the worst bit of information I’ve seen on the site in a long time. If anyone is reading this thread, please do not pay attention to mfarrell’s post. It would be tough to be more wrong than s/he is.</p>

6

<p>Agree with Parlabane. </p>

<p>Grades provide one data point for schools to consider. One reason that the application often requests a “school profile” is because admissions offices want to understand what a student’s grades might mean in context. A “B” in a difficult English honors class at a highly ranked middle school denotes something different than an “A” in a standard English class at a poorly ranked public middle school.</p>

<p>I believe that prep school admissions are as much an “art” as they are a “science.” There is no secret formula. Be your best, true self - whatever that might be - and you will find the right place . . . which could be something very different than what you’re imagining right now.</p>

7

<p>I think if you flip mfarrell’s list upside-down, it’s closer to the truth</p>