input please!!!

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>Hi my name is Jane and I am a current eight grader. I applied to Deerfield this year for 9th grade and got rejected. It was the only school I applied to. My alternative now is my public high school. I want to reapply next year along with some other boarding schools. I'm wondering if I should even try to apply, and if so, should I apply as a tenth grade applicant or a ninth grade repeat?!?!</p>

<p>Geographical Location: Massachusetts, near the cape so I must be a boarder at all the schools I want to apply to.</p>

<p>Ethnicity: Irish, English (Caucasian)</p>

<p>My SSATs this year: 99% reading, 98% math, 63% verbal. (ouch...I don't do well with this section...suggestions???)</p>

<p>In need of financial aid...</p>

<p>My Classes this year: </p>

<p>Honors Algebra Review/Geometry<br>
Honors Language Arts<br>
Honors Geology/Physics<br>
U.S. History<br>
Morality in Humans<br>
French 1 </p>

<p>My classes next year:</p>

<p>Honors Algebra 2/Trigonometry
Honors Freshman English
Honors Biology
Honors Modern World History
French 2
Advanced Orchestra</p>

<p>During 9th grade year, I am also taking an online PreCal course and am getting private tutoring with an education consultant.</p>

<p>10th grade/or 9th grade repeat year, I will be ready to take Honors Calculus.</p>

<p>ec's:
Dance (23 hours plus in studio a week) 11+ years
Dance teacher-paid job
Dance regional performance troupe in jazz
Dance regional lead in a Nutcracker.
Dance INTERNATIONAL first place overall high score champion.
On a dance scholarship in the subfields of ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, hiphop, street funk, pointe, modern, and breakdancing. Went to Orlando Florida and Los Angelos on this scholarship.
Cross Country-three years
Indoor Track-one year
Tennis-one year
Cheerleading-school team and competively
Volenteer work at local children's center
Volenteered to work at entended day program at my old elementary school for the past three years for about six hours per week from september to june.
Created a running club for 3rd/4th/ and 5th graders at a school that didn't offer gym. Recruited two of my friends to run the program three times a week in the fall and spring for 2 years with 56 children in club.
Drawing, Sculturing, Painting for 6= years competively for art fairs.
Science Fair honorable mention winner.
Graphic Designing for various local companies.
Yearbook staff co-leader
Play piano for 3 years, violin for 6 years, cello 6 years, viola for 6 years. Perform at art fairs, christmas concerts, local functions, libraries, etc.
Been in my church's choir since 1st grade
school chorus since 6th grade. Performed at a local nursing home.
Babysit children with wellfare parents-volenteer work
work at a local grocery store
reading
kayaking and canoing
cycling
Writing poetry and short stories.
Virtual school pilot program at school one of 7 students selected out of entire middle school</p>

<p>I'm thinking of applying next year to Deerfield Academy, Saint Paul's School, Phillips Andover Academy, Phillips Exeter Academy, Middlesex School, and Groton School. Should I give it a shot?</p>

<p>& most importantly...should I apply as a ninth grade repeat or a tenth grader???</p>

2

<p>why didnt you apply for more schools this year?
Apply as a tenth grader.</p>

3

<p>It was a last minute thing. A girl in my school has an older sister that goes to Deerfield. My dad was talking to her parents over Christmas break. My dad asked me if I wanted to apply and I threw together a complete application within 2 weeks. Obviously, the effort I put into the application and everything wasn't deserving for a spot at this excellent school</p>

4

<p>Bump!!!!!!!!!!!!!</p>

5

<p>You could go either way with your application. In your case, I don't see a strong need to repeat. I'm not sure how the rigor of your current school's curriculum stacks up against the BS's you will be applying to, but given that a friend's sibling made the jump successfully, I don't see why you can't continue on at 10th grade. The competition is roughly equivalent for either grade. </p>

<p>You may want to talk to an educational consultant about planning strategies for a more successful application endeavor next year. You sound like you have the right stuff, but maybe some outside input on your apps and interviewing techniques might be all that you need.</p>

6

<p>& some help on how to crack the verbal section of the SSATS!!!</p>

<p>Goaliedad: Do you know how to find an education consultant that knows all about prep. school admissions? I have a tutor now that helps me excel in trigonometry and next year precalculus, but she would be useless in helping me in an admissions process. She knows nothing about what these schools want in applications and interview...</p>

7

<p>Definitely look at St. Paul's if you're serious about ballet. It has a strong ballet program.
Since you're taking honors classes and are advanced in math for your age, I would apply for 10th grade if I were you.</p>

8

<p>I've heard someone else say almost the exact same thing about St Paul's dance program. Yes, I am VERY serious about ballet and probably wouldn't be able to go to BS without it.</p>

9

<p>start reading more and studying more vocab. thats all I could tell you.
they have some ssat books with a list of common vocab words that show up, thats pretty helpful too</p>

10

<p>Contact Deerfield and have them debrief you on your application. Politely insist on getting a candid assessment of what your application looks like to them, relative to the pool of talent that they have to sort through. That's what most people miss when the chances threads go up...the fact that there are well over 1,000 chances posts that they have to choose from.</p>

<p>It's like listening to Paul Abdul on American Idol who tells all the contestants how wonderful they are and how they make her oh so proud. She never faces the reality that one is going to have to say "Adios!" Yes, they all sound better than I do when I'm in the shower and my WetTunes battery is charged enough to drown me out. But someone's gotta go...and that's the part we do a horrible job addressing here.</p>

<p>A non-confrontational call to Deerfield to ask about what they saw and what they think you need (things within your power to correct) to be a better applicant next year. Even if you don't apply to Deerfield...or even ANY BS...this info will help you now for when you later apply to college. You don't want to be as far behind then as you were this year, right?</p>

<p>So get your $50's worth and get a consult on your application from the people who understood its strengths and weaknesses better than anyone.</p>

11

<p>Thank you. I hate how the SSAT has a verbal section. I think it's useless. MATH? definitely crucial. READING? crucial. VERBAL? who cares if you know some random word's synonym by heart. That's the reason I have a thesaurus. I'm not the thesaurus, though...</p>

12

<p>janemac - it definitely won't hurt to improve your vocab so you could score better next round, however, I am sure that is not the only (or even the most important) reason you did not get accepted to Deerfield. I agree with D'yer that you would benefit from contacting the admissions office to see if they can give you some guidance on making a stronger application.</p>

13

<p>can I e-mail or do i HAVE to call?</p>

14

<p>I didn't use an educational consultant myself, but there is a new member edconsultant22 iirc who does placement for a feeder school. He might be able to help you identify what makes a good educational consultant. </p>

<p>One of his posts he talked about how many students have problems in mock interviews he puts his kids through and are unaware of their problems. I think this is probably one are that could yield significant improvement especially at the highly competitive schools.</p>

<p>As to contacting D'field, with the chaos that is probably going on with revisits, people on waitlists calling and such, now is probably not a good time to call. It would probably be good to set an appointment for around May 1, when things slow down a bit. You could email to try to arrange this meeting giving an idea of what you are looking for in your email so they are well prepared.</p>

15

<p>I'll just e-mail my interviewer for now.</p>

16

<p>If you're not comfortable calling, have a parent call. e-mail does not lend itself to candor and bluntness that I think would be most beneficial to a prospective candidate.</p>

17

<p>I e-mailed asking for advice and requested for her to drop an e-mail when she gets a chance, or scheduling a phone call..</p>

18

<p>^That would be a logical way to get the answers you want...</p>

19

<p>I find it funny that you got an amazing score in Reading and a marginal one in Verbal. Try looking at the questions you got one. Analyze how you think about them.</p>

<p>You're a good humanities student, it seems; usually Reading and Verbal are close to equal (or have been for me).</p>

20

<p>I think reading little passages and finding the main idea is much different than being tricked on analogies and synonyms...</p>