just wondering:how accomplished are the kids who actually GET IN to top prep schools?

Prep School Admissions Prep School Cafe
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<p>While browsing through the 'Chances' forum, I read about heaps of kids who were not only talented and smart, but accomplished in so many things, and I saw many who ended up with the 'I got rejected..' post on March 10th. </p>

<p>So really, just how smart/accomplished are the ones who actually got accepted?</p>

<p>If there's anyone who did get accepted to some 'really-hard-to-get-into' prep schools, would you mind giving a few tips or a few ideas about just HOW SMART YOU HAVE TO BE? (slash accomplished, of course) AND would you mind writing about your FA as well? (is this too intimate?)</p>

<p>Also, does your essay affect your chances a lot? AND off-campus interviews?</p>

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<p>Well, I was accepted into Lawrenceville, Hotchkiss and Peddie in terms of “top prep schools”
I mean, I guess I would consider myself one of the students who are motivated to learn everyday but I highly doubt that that was what helped me.
Really, you just need to be yourself ^^
For me, what probably helped was that I have a passion for art and I have set up a community service project that is related to my passion. Community service is something that is ESSENTIAL when you’re applying.<br>
To be honest, not all kids are amazingly smart with outstanding SSAT scores. As long as someone is decent in their academics and they have some strong ECs and passions which will benefit the school, they should be a strong applicant.
I applied for FA but I did not receive it.
Oh, and for essays, I guess they helped a little. I think my drawing showed a unique side for me for Hotchkiss. But really, I think it’s more of the interview that really helps. One tip: stay in touch with your interviewer! :)</p>

<p>Well, good luck if you’re applying! (sorry if this is a little long)</p>

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<p>I was accepted to Exeter and St. Paul’s. Getting into boarding schools is hard! I’ve learned that having a good interview and essays is a HUGE factor. A bad interview can lower your chances immensely; as well as essays. Getting to know who YOU are is very important. No school wants to accept a very qualified but boring and mean student. They want qualified and nice! Do know though, that just having good interview’s and essays cannot get you in either. You still have to be qualified to a certain extent.</p>

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<p>Here’s my view as a parent who has been through the process twice now:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>“Smart” is important (more so or less so depending on the schools where you’re applying) UP TO A POINT. Some of the toughest schools to get in to have average SSAT scores of 90%. Having a higher SSAT score (i.e. 99%) will not necessarily give you an edge. It certainly won’t hurt you, but it may not help you either. And having a lower SSAT score won’t “count you out” either, within limits, but the closer you are to the “average,” the better off you’ll be. (If your SSAT is under 70%, I think you will have a very hard time getting admitted to some of the “top” schools discussed here, unless you have a very, very strong “hook” - i.e. recruited athlete.)</p></li>
<li><p>Demonstrating that you’re ‘“working to your potential” is more important than super-high test scores, and that’s where your grades come into play. If you have 90%+ SSAT scores, but a 3.0 GPA, that might say that you’re not motivated or disorganized when it comes to your school work. (I know that there are a few pre-prep schools that are super, super tough, and where it’s almost impossible to have an A average.) But for most kids who can score a 90% or higher on the SSAT, if you work hard and apply yourself in your middle school classes, you should be able to get mostly As, with an occasional B. SSAT testing is a situation where you have a limited amount of time to complete the work, and not all kids test well. At school, however, it is definitely within your own control to listen in class and take notes, do your homework, study for your tests, and get extra help if you need it to excel.</p></li>
<li><p>There are LOADS of applicants with 90% and above SSATs, and 4.0 GPAs, taking honors classes or succeeding at advanced course work. So, how do you “stand out” from the crowd?</p></li>
</ul>

<p>By participating in activities that YOU are passionate about, not activities that you’re doing because you think they will look good on applications. Do you live and breathe a sport, and have been successful in that? Do you have a unique interest or talent that you have been pursuing for a while (chess, or writing, or singing, or playing an instrument, or painting, or acting, or robotics, or volunteering in your community, etc.)? I don’t think it is as important WHAT you choose to do, but that you do have something that you are committed to and passionate about.</p>

<p>There are discussions on the college application boards about the difference between a school looking for “well rounded applicants” (kids who are a little bit good at a whole lot of different things), or a school looking to create a well-rounded community by populating it with a bunch of great, but “lopsided” kids (kids who have a specific passion or interest that they are really terrific at). </p>

<p>For what it’s worth - both our kids are going to great schools next fall, and I would characterize them as smart, nice, hard-working and “lopsided” in their interests. They both have one “major” area of interest where they excel, and then other areas where they have interests, too, but it’s not their “primary” extra-curricular pursuit.</p>

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<p>I’ll put in one vote for the well rounded student. </p>

<p>My D applied to 4 schools this year - was accepted at 3 with 1/2 FA (1 GLADCHEMMS and 2 lesser known gems) and waitlisted at 1 (GLADCHEMMS). While she is smart ("A"s through middle school and 90+ on SSAT), the head of her school said that they have known other kids who were equally smart. Apparently what stands out for my D is her motivation, her enthusiasm and that fact that she is really well rounded.</p>

<p>In terms of ECs she plays 3 sports - and, while not a super-star at any of them, coaches like having her on the team because she is focused and a hard worker. Likewise, in the arts, she plays an instrument (9 years) , sings, and acts. Again - not a super-star at any but very solid and clearly loves doing all three.</p>

<p>So, I would say there is a place for the well-rounded student, and well as the “lopsided”
!</p>

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<p>You know, when I saw the word “lopsided” used to describe many of the kids who are admitted to the top schools, I found myself immediately thinking how true that is; admissions by top schools over the last 10-20 years has tilted ever more toward the goal of collecting idiot savants (kidding, sort of) with the idea of owning future thought leaders in sub-disciplines of sub-disciplines, while admission of the well-rounded kid becomes more the exception and less the rule. </p>

<p>The danger for the institution is that it’s almost always the well-rounded kid, like massmomof1 has described, who becomes the glue that binds the community, who is able to move as easily among different groups as within a single group, who often leads others. While the last couple of decades have been a much publicized (and stressed over) paean to the brilliant and accomplished sub-specialist applicants, it’s my hope next couple of decades will see an increased admission of the “great kid, the well-rounded kid” as a necessary counterweight to achieve a healthy and happy community.</p>

<p>This difference between the lopsided and the well rounded applicant is also an apt description of the difference between a large boarding school and a small one. I’m definitely NOT saying one is better than the other, just that you’re likely to find more well rounded kids in the smaller school as a percentage of the total school population.</p>

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<p>For me, it was personality. Being outgoing, down-to-earth, charismatic, and bubbly helps you stand out compared to shy, straight-A students or stuck-up kids who have legacies. Being super outgoing helps in an interview because you become more honest and more poised during the conversation. It really helps you connect with the admission officer/alumnus who is interviewing you. </p>

<p>It’s also good because it gives you a voice in your essays, it grabs the readers’ attention and makes them want to know what you have to say. My interviews were probably what helped me get in. At all the schools I interviewed at my mom got the same feedback ‘your daughter is so outgoing’ or ‘she can really carry herself well’ even though my SSAT scores would say otherwise. </p>

<p>You have to have something that sets you apart from the well-rounded kids, you can say you’re well-rounded and got in, but there must’ve been something else about you. Whether it be personality, an interesting essay, glowing recommendations, something. </p>

<p>But to answer the question directly, we’re pretty accomplished. :wink: :D</p>

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<p>I’m pretty sure it was my essay that got me in. . .as well as the full pay factor :).</p>

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<p>My son is more well-rounded than lopsided… plays 2 sports well, but isn’t a super-star athlete. He has several awards in academic competitions, and is obviously an eager, quick learner. His SSAT scores were in the mid-90s, and he has straight A’s, or just about. I think what helped him was his demonstrated ease with being away from home. He has lots of experience with long summer camp experiences (both outdoorsy camps and academic programs), overseas travel away from his parents, etc. It’s obvious to an admissions counselor (and us) that HE is driven to leave the nest, and will not be the homesick or withdrawn type. He has a big global view and loves meeting people from all over the world. This came across in his interviews and essays, and probably in his recommendations. In this way, it’s clear he will be one of those kids that is the “glue” holding the community together, or at least that he’ll be able to integrate into a variety of different social groups. The other thing that helped us is that we are from a midwestern, under-represented state, and that we didn’t request financial aid. He was admitted to Groton, Hotchkiss, and St. Paul’s… which led to a very tough decision process on our end. A lucky problem to have. Hope this helps!</p>

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<p>I got in to Exeter and Andover, and from my experience (as its been said before), Grades do count and intelligence counts but up to a certain point there will be alot of people with similar grades so that wouldn’t play a huge role in the decision. There is a in my grade who had almost identical grades and ECs as I did but he got waitlisted at Andover. you have to find something that identifies you as different from all the other straight A 90 percentile applicants, something interesting or a passion that you have. I got full FA from both schools, and I think that my passion for acting really set me apart in my interviews, and also the diversity factor seeing as my parents were born in Senegal and grew bilingual in English and Wolof. Those are just my thoughts, and Good luck!</p>

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<p>“accomplished” doesn’t really capture it. There are kids who are very accomplished, and there are others who are just lucky. Schools want a dynamic class and choose across a broad spectrum. An underrepresented state is not an “accomplishment” any more than gender or race are. Some kids have money, some talent, some a demographic that is sought (and some have all of those). Having a strong sense of what you want and what you offer will help you decide where to look.</p>

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<p>The sad fact is that there are WAY more qualified, talented, “deserving” kids than there are spots available for them at the “top prep schools”. This is why CC forums are littered with disappointed kids who, on paper, seem like perfect fits.
Some posters have used this as an opportunity to denegrate the ones who do get in by claiming they bought their way in, or by saying they are all legacies and fac brats, but that is not true, nor fair. For sure some of that comes into play, but the reality is that the admissions process is brutal, the outcome sometimes Quixotic and sometimes just plainly incomprehensible ( like kids admitted to one of the “elites” but rejected by 1st or 2nd tier schools)
ITS NOT A FAIR PROCESS- but then again, no one ever claimed it was. When there are 1200 kids vying for 90 places ( as was the case at Groton last year), then by definition, a lot of really great kids are going to get bad news! :(</p>

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<p>From an Exonian article, quoting a member of the Admissions Committee: “To some degree, I hope you realize, it’s a crapshoot.”</p>

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<p>Succinctly put SevenDad LOL :)</p>