<p>Hi everyone! :) </p>
<p>I just wanted to pitch in my two cents on the entire process. I know many of us on CC have anxiously waited for M9. Also, we have seen many qualified candidates for HADES, GLADCHEMMS, etc. I admit to have poured over CC for hours prior to M9 and thinking, "How on earth will I get in to any boarding school?? Everyone here has 99% SSAT, recruited in sports, etc etc...!" </p>
<p>My hopes went down during this time. However, instead of my rambling, I would like to make a point. It's not the quantity of ECs, SSAT percentiles, or whatnot. It's what you can contribute. It's what the AO thinks that you can do to prosper at their school. I was not one of the 99% SSAT students or recruited athletes. In fact, I have never played a sport in my life. I made a 59% on the Reading section on the SSAT. In addition, I didn't have all As..I had a couple Bs my freshman year. Horrifying, I know right? In the end, I ended up getting accepted into Choate. I was overwhelmed when I saw the letter. I literally read it 31415 times just so I could comprehend what it had said. </p>
<p>For future candidates, please do not try to cram in ECs. It's the quality, not the quantity. It's what you can contribute, not how many times you came to so and so club meetings. Focus more on essays. Convey your position effectively. Try and make yourself appear unique to the AOs. Of course, do great on the SSATs! But they are not everything. The one SSAT score will not offset you whatsoever. This is why boarding schools read each application 3 - 5 times. It gives them the opportunity to understand you better. </p>
<p>I hope I relieved some of the tension for future candidates, as well as current applicants who were notified of their decisions. :) In the end, the school that accepts you is the one that loves you (thank you CC members haha). They chose you for a reason, no matter how badly you may have done on the SSAT, grades, etc.</p>
<p>Anyone else would like to pitch in? I hope this thread relieves the stress of post-M9. :)</p>
<p>Congrats to you. I went to grad school near Choate and I think it is one of the great schools. My son did not apply as we wanted schools in thw West. Otherwise it would have been my first pick over Andover or Exeter. No offense to those… Choate is such a great school. Feel the tradition that JFK followed. </p>
<p>What you said is very true. Schools want to see more what you can bring in. Otherwise they would have filled the entire class with SSAT of 99%. They chose you because you will fit into their culture well. I feel like it would be better to be attractive and likeable than a test machine. Great job. You earned it with your own merits.</p>
<p>Congratulations, FutureExonian15. Your point is well taken. I totally agree with your comment “convey your position effectively”. I was able to predict where my child would get in, where waitlisted, and where rejected (except for one surprise), based on what C wrote for essays and short answers. Early in the process, C was pumped and enthusiastic, and did a fabulous job describing passions/EC’s, and why the school was a good fit. </p>
<p>C spent much less time on those later apps, and the essays and short answers just did not make a convincing case for acceptance. For example, C had made a great connection with MX interviewer, remained in contact, and I could tell the interviewer wanted C there. But then I saw the essay C wrote for MX at the last minute - it was impersonal, and added nothing positive to the overall application. And nowhere on the MX app did C elaborate on the most important EC. “I’m sick of all this, just send it in”, C said. So…got a waitlist from MX…</p>
<p>So you are right: it is not just about scores, grades, and a list of EC’s. To some degree, it is how you present yourself and make your case, and that is something you over which you have a lot of control.</p>
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<p>Congratulations, FutureExonian who will be going to Choate.</p>
<p>I realize you mean well, but I find your account makes the whole admissions process seem cruelly arbitrary. </p>
<p>So future applicants can learn from your success, would you mind sharing whether you have a strong hook? Do you think it was your essays that did it? Did you apply for FA?</p>
<p>GMTplus7: I didn’t apply for FA, and I think my essays were pretty well written although I did them in a rush. My “hook” was math team, and I had a couple of awards from local competitions as well as attending a national competition.</p>
<p>@honarymom: Haha, my mother predicted where I’d get in, too! :)</p>
<p>Even though I am not FutureExonion15, I can share some details about my own application process. Personally, I believe that my Choate interview was what got me accepted. I got to show my interviewer my true personality, and it helped bolster my application a lot! My interviewer really got to know me very well, and saw how passionate I was when asked about my favorite subjects (Humanities.)</p>