<p>Hi all,
So I just finished about 3/4 of my essays but all will need to be rigorously edited. My mom has been backtracked by work and has to complete the parent statement in a short amount of time. My interview for hotchkiss is Monday, my parents are making me retake the ssat on Saturday although I have an 93 percent average and all a's. (I'm applying to Hotchkiss and Andover). I need to finish my essays for a local secondary school, and need to mail my recommendations on the 6th for an 8th deadline. On top of all this, a distant family member just passed and we're going to his funeral tommorow. What do I do! Please help me allocate my worries accordingly. Please help!</p>
<p>SSAT - no worries, you already have a good score. Interview - no worries, because you just have to show up and be you. Mom is out of your control. Mail the recommendations tomorrow. That leaves the essays. They need to be worked on, not worried about, so get to it. :-)</p>
<p>Do not worry. Listen to twins mama. Breathe. You will be fine!</p>
<p>Thing is, all my teachers said they would finish up their recs during the winter break. Even my headmaster said so. They were all aware of the application deadlines and I told them in November. I’ll be at hotchkiss on Monday so I’ll have to get my sister to mail them and get them from school. I also didn’t put many ecs on my candidate profile so I have to make up for that in the interview since hotchkiss has no additional information section. Another problem is that when my mom signed up for a parents account for my local secondary school, she also did the candidate profile which she botched and didn’t capitalize anything. I feel like this’ll leave a terrible impression and if I don’t get into either Hotchkiss or Andover, I won’t get into the local secondary school and I’ll be screwed. I’m literally pulling my hair out and don’t know what to do. Also, it would be a huge help if there were any sample answers to the essays so I can see how people usually write these things with such tight constraints. Any help would be appreciated.</p>
<p>SSAT: your current score is fine for any school. </p>
<p>Interview: dress as if you were going to dinner at a good restaurant with your grandparents. </p>
<p>Essays: use spellcheck. Reread them aloud. Don’t get too tied up in editing.</p>
<p>You’re almost done.</p>
<p>I don’t intend to sound harsh, but if you are having trouble dealing with the pressure of completing these applications, you should consider whether you are ready for the academic pressure of Hotchkiss or Andover. I am here to tell you that the pressure is more than you can imagine and adapting to the pressure is the greatest challenge for first year students. So my advice is use this opportunity to see how you fair under pressure. No one is going to provide you with sample essays. Pick a questions and formulate a response you are comfortable with and don’t over analyze things.There are kids who are filling out applications fo 6-8 schools which presents significantly more pressure. Good luck.</p>
<p>Really try not to panic. The school will judge you on YOU: your grades, your essays, your scores (which, as others have pointed out, are good for any BS), and your interview. The school doesn’t need you recommendations (or essays) to be in before your interview. The recommendations can even arrive a little past the application deadline. Don’t worry about what your mom does. Calm down and focus on your essays-- they ARE under your control. If your stuck, try to talk them through a little with a friend or someone in your family. Read them out loud to yourself. Then work through them, one at a time. Read them over in the car on the way to the funeral. Just try to calm down so you can focus if they’re ¾ done, you’re almost done. You’ll be fine. Dress finely for your interview, think about what you want them to know about you, think about why the specific school fits you, and think of a couple good questions. They’ll be friendly and will want to know all about you. It’s more important that you talk about the ECs you really care about than that you have some huge list. What everyone is trying to tell you is that we’re all on your side-- but if you panic and worry about things beyond your control (recommendations, your mother’s forms), you’ll never finish your own essays.</p>