I'm worried my race will affect my application.

Prep School Admissions Prep School Chances
1

<p>I'm a 9th grader in a public high school from Vancouver, Canada. I have a Chinese background and I noticed how most BS are packed with Asian students, I think my race will definitely affect my application, what do you guys think?</p>

<p>But anyways, I am applying to Hotchkiss, Exeter and Andover, please tell me what you think about my application:</p>

<p>Academics:
4.0 GPA (straight A's)
District Silver Medal in Prose Writing
Math Honours
Top French 8 Student</p>

<p>Athletics:
Track - Hurdles 5th in the Fraser Valley's
Dance - Hip Hop and Street Jazz
(Recreational:)
Snowboarding
Skiing
Skating
Swimming</p>

<p>Foreign Languages:
Perfect in Chinese (perfect in speaking, comprehending, writing)
French since Gr.1 (student of the month)
Starting Spanish
Sufficient Japanese</p>

<p>Music:
Practical Grade 8 Piano
Advanced Music Theory Rudiments
Clarinet (concert band)</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
Media Club
Canadian Cancer Society (community service)
Student Council (school government)
Glee Club
Theatre (Seussical the Musical, Check Please, Suessification of Romeo and Juliet)
Published Articles</p>

<p>I will be doing community service in Costa Rica, British Virgin Islands and Mexico later this year and the at the same time, I will earn certification in International Yacht-master Training, IYT International Crew, American Red Cross First Aid & CPR. (this will appear on my application)</p>

<p>In my application I also included fields like being elected the Student of the Semester consecutively for 5 year when I was in a communist school in China and also elected the Student President there.</p>

<p>My current practice SSAT test score is 2274 but I will improve before the actual thing.</p>

<p>Please tell me anything else I should add or what the schools are looking for that might lack in my application. Please be honest! Thanks in advance.</p>

2

<p>what makes YOU special as a Chinese then?
I think your essays will make the difference…
Nothing else stands out as much.</p>

<p>It’s likely that your SSAT scores would come out lower than your practice test scores.
What courses are you taking at the moment?
What do you want out of/ like about Hotchkiss? Exeter? Andover?</p>

3

<p>You don`t need to fill out your racial background on your application. You only need to show your nationality.</p>

4

<p>There is interview and my last name is way too obvious so the school will know about my ethnicity.</p>

5

<p>You have a lower chance of getting in :(</p>

6

<p>You need to be who you are. Be confident in your interview and be proud of your name. I don`t understand why everyone thinks that the only boarding schools in the world are the GLADCHEMMS. Lots of great schools will love to have you as a student.</p>

7

<p>It’s because of the reputation surrounding them, BUT I do agree with you (:</p>

8

<p>Thanks for your honesty scales. </p>

<p>You mind telling me where I need to work on to increase my chances?</p>

9

<p>By all means, keep a few GLADCHEMMS on your list. You should also add a few tier 2 schools. That would be schools with a 25 to 30+% acceptance rate. In that range, you will find some wonderful schools. It<code>s always advisable for top students to have a little of both because the admissions game is unpredictable.
Some popular tier 2 schools mentioned on this board are: NMH,Loomis,Kent,Brooks,Governors,Westminster,Peddie,Blair,St. Georges,Tabor,Berkshire,Suffield,St.Marks,St. Andrews,Mercersburg.
I</code>m sure theres many schools I missed and very sure others will chime in to give their opinions on some of these school actually being on a tier 2 or 3 level. Just keep in mind, you need to find the school that fits you. I<code>m sharing this info w/ you because when I first started this process, I was all about the big name schools. But later I found that some of these top schools didn</code>t really fit me. When I opened up the possibility of looking @other schools, it was more exciting and less stressful. I no longer had to fit the mold of a perfect student trying to get into those top schools. Having said that, I am a top student with a good chance to get into some of the top schools, but I<code>m also realistic and I don</code>t want to put all my apps in one kind or basket. We as applicants don’t have control of each yrs. application pool. The trend is currently very competitive therefore, it`s wise to spread things out a little. I hope that helps, good luck. :D</p>

10

<p>Well since you know French and do Dance your chances are higher because it breaks away from the sterotypical Asian mold (:</p>

11

<p>I don’t wanna start a new post but if I was asian and not Chinese or Koreans would my chance increase? Cause when i went for my tour i didnt see anyone of my ethnicity and one of the school told me that they only had one person with my ethnicity.</p>

12

<p>What school was it?</p>

13

<p>I have worries about this race issue too…even more for colleges than this. I feel kind of like I’m being cheated (weird wording I know but I can’t come up with anything better). First of all, I was adopted when I was a baby by Caucasian parents…so I don’t even have the “Asian Parent Upbringing”
However, I fit into the Asian mold really well. (violin, math, academics, etc.)
But it’s all me! It’s not just because I’m Chinese. I hate when people assume that! It’s really annoying. PS I must fit into the mold so well most people don’t realize I’m adopted.
Ugh…
I feel your pain IP!</p>

14

<p>@jerryreps,
Race might affect your app. So would being an international applicant. But coming from Canada isn’t like applying from Africa or Asia.

</p>

<p>Wow… um a kid who plays 5 sports and does tons of other extracurriculars. Doesn’t stand out whatsoever. That’s really common. (SARCASM)</p>

15

<p>Thanks a lot guys! Glad to know I’m not the only one out there.</p>

<p>Haha scales, I’m sort of rebellious too because I try to break out of the stereotype and that certainly would be mentioned on my essays.</p>

16

<p>The fact you’re Chinese will not affect your application at all. You yourself noted that boarding school campuses are loaded with Asian students - this is precisely because most boarding schools don’t have quotas for this kind of thing. Andover certainly doesn’t. If they did, there would be fewer Asian students here - but there aren’t.</p>

<p>Don’t worry yourself about things you can’t control.</p>

17

<p>I would think that your race is unlikely to affect your application UNLESS you were coming straight from your native country, in which case it may actually raise your chances (depending, of course, on how many other students of the same nationality were applying). Good luck!</p>