Less than stellar GPA, but good hook? HADES/others chances please

Prep School Admissions Prep School Chances
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<p>Hey all, I've kind of outgrown the classes that my high school offers (a small middle-of-nowhere prep school) and I recently discovered the wonderful world of boarding schools - and that they're an option for my family. By 'outgrown' I mean that I'm either getting too deep into the fields that I'm interested in, I'm getting too ahead of my classes, or the fields I'm delving into aren't offered at my school at any level. I'm constantly having to rely on outside reading and outside sources to educate myself in my chosen fields, something I take very seriously.</p>

<p>These factors, combined, have motivated me to look into applying for a private boarding school in the 2013-2014 school year.</p>

<p>I volunteer regularly with an international organization's local presence, genuinely enjoy learning and try to occupy a great deal of my time diving into my passions (or other interesting subjects), and I really enjoy debating and defending my viewpoints with friends.</p>

<p>However, my GPA as of last year is... GASP... 3.80. From what I understand, this is an absolutely unforgivable, insufferable, and irrevocable STAIN on my academic career that I should be /ashamed/ of. And it has the most infamous potential to ruin my chances of being accepted into one of the high-end boarding schools I so badly yearn for.</p>

<p>I got this inadequate and absolutely unacceptable GPA by taking on what is notoriously the most challenging course offered at my school, last year. It was taught at college depth and with the rigor of a college course. I managed to get a high B at the end of the year, but its damage had already been done. Oh, and I took a notoriously hard language course which I got a super high B in, too.</p>

<p>My performance in these subjects was also affected by a deeply personal matter within my family. Would this be something to mention in an interview? I have proof from verified psychologists/counselors to back this up. The only good side effect of the family turmoil I weathered, somehow, I pulled out of it with a more highly intense drive than I have ever had before.</p>

<p>Oh, and my standardized testing scores are really good. I've made 99th percentile nationwide overall several times, and 98th percentile once. In several subjects I've made 99th percentile. When I took the SAT in 7th grade, my writing and reading scores were near the average for some of the schools I'm applying for. I hope that I can do this well on the SSAT, too, which I've begun to study for.</p>

<p>Extra relevant info:</p>

<p>I'm a Caucasian, American male.
I won't need financial aid.</p>

<p>So, my questions are:</p>

<p>Is being passionate about somewhat rare subjects offered by the schools I'm applying for, and having researched them well a boon to my candidacy as a prospective student?</p>

<p>Will having an almost-not-4.0 GPA with very good, defensible excuses hurt my chances at acceptance? If so, how badly? And should I mention the turmoil I weathered, verifiable by counselors, as an explanation for my less-than-top grades?</p>

<p>I'll be finishing tenth grade when I get my admissions decisions back. Should I repeat the tenth grade (something I'm not at all opposed to!) or apply for the slim, gruesome low-slot eleventh grade year?</p>

<p>If I make a higher GPA in the beginning of this year, will that affect anything in the admissions process? And should I wait to apply, in order to show that I've improved my GPA?</p>

<p>What's the difference between boarding and day pools?</p>

<p>Thanks a lot for reading! I eagerly await answers, and I appreciate you taking the time to read this. :)</p>

<p>Edit: My school doesn't offer many ECs, so I only do chess club. None of the other ECs are very relevant to my interests, or they're linked with a religion I'm not affiliated with.</p>

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<p>I forgot to add that I was the class president last year, which was my first year at the high school I attend. I guess that’s what late night posting does to the memory. :P</p>

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<p>I think you mean day schools, not day pools. </p>

<p>A day school is the conventional type of school where you go to school in the daytime and go home after school dismisses for the **day<a href=“i.e.%20the%20kind%20of%20school%20that%20you%20and%2099.9%%20of%20kids%20attend”>/b</a>. </p>

<p>A boarding school is the type where the students live on campus during the academic year. Most boarding schools do not have 100% boarding students. They have some percentage of day students, whose families live nearby the BS.</p>

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<p>I see why you’d think so (I thought about clarifying it with “admissions pools”) but I really meant boarding and day admissions pools. I was actually wondering if there is a difference between the admissions pools for boarding students and day students, as I’ve read that there is.</p>

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<p>Of course there is a difference in the day v. boarding applicant pools. The day kids live in neighborhoods that are a feasible commuting distance to the BS. The boarding pool draws from the ENTIRE world and all the diversity that that offers…</p>

<p>Some BS have it written in their charter that they have to serve the local community, so some offer much-reduced rate tuition for the local day kids. My understanding is that, in general, the day appicants have a higher admit rate than the boarding applicants.</p>

<p>But don’t envy the day students. They have a much different experience in the BS than their boarding peers. It can be socially isolating to be a day student in a BS w a low percentage of day students</p>

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<p>Thanks for clarifying that. I definitely don’t envy them if their BS experience is that much different from the boarders’ experience.</p>

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<p>You seem to be very cocky about your Academic achievements and grades, let me be the first to tell you that a 4.0 GPA and and 98% on the SSAT will not assure you a spot whatsoever. What makes YOU stand out from everyone else is the first thing a school wants to know, there are hundreds of kids with your same pedigree applying to possibly the same schools as you. As for EC’s, chess club is good, but you have no sports. And if your school didn’t offer any EC’s, that is no excuse for not having any. You can play for the community team, anything like that, so if you have no EC’s its your own fault. Sorry if I came out a bit harsh, but with a student of your caliber <em>gasp</em> I shouldn’t sugarcoat things.</p>

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<p>I honestly thought that my 3.8 GPA was bad, and that a 98% on a standardized test was pretty much the norm for applicants. I was only attempting to poke fun at the stress there seems to be about perfect GPAs, and how my GPA isn’t perfect at all. Haha, I appreciate your honesty though. </p>

<p>I guess I should be more careful with written voice, because it really can be hard to discern. I don’t believe myself to be a top caliber student; my achievements are average for my boarding school applicant peers and I realize that. I just hope that the less quantifiable of my qualities can shine through.</p>

<p>Thanks for calling them achievements; I honestly thought that they were as common as simple prerequisites for applicants!</p>

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<p>I hope your original post was sarcastic, Artyem. </p>

<p>Although I did have above a 4 in middle school, people with C’s/81% SSAT percentile get into Exeter. </p>

<p>Wanna know why?</p>

<p>They have something special to offer. There are many people like you, who do go through personal family issues, get stellar SSAT scores, etc. It’s all very common. You need to tweak your application so that it says something unique about you. For example: how did you deal with your personal family matter? That’s something only you can answer. </p>

<p>-An Exeter senior</p>

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<p>Thanks for the advice, sulzbachbaby. I appreciate it. My original post was written with a very sarcastic, lighthearted tone and with the innocuous intent of offering a less stressful perspective to the admissions process - all coming from a common applicant with a GPA that isn’t stellar, compared to many other applicants.</p>

<p>I’ll be sure to take your advice on injecting something unique about myself into my application… and I’ll be a little more careful with written voice.</p>

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<p>Can we finally try and get rid of hades. There is so historical significance to the acronymn- they are all top schools but it is misleading. There are not all in the same area, or in the same conference. There are other schools for example not in the list that are more prestigious, more selective , and have more impressive matriculations so what is the point of singling out these 5 schools- how about just using top boarding schools going forward?</p>

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<p>It doesn’t always matter what the college matriculation is here. It never matted to me anyways. The quality of education, the people you meet, the facilities, the extracurriculars are top notch at this school. I can’t describe my experience at Exeter to anybody because it’s truly unique and you feel like you have long-lasting memories of it. The people who shape boarding schools, the education, everything… if you’re in it only for the colleges you can apply to from there, then you’re going to miss out.</p>

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<p>Exeter is a great school, no doubt about it, but many people just look at the superficial things, such as: the name, and college matriculation. The most important thing (In my mind,) is choosing a school that will challenge you, but will maintain you happy. As for applying as a repeat Sophomore or a Junior, in a way it is the same, admissions wise, far fewer are accepted for junior year, but a lot less apply, as for Sophomore year, more are accepted, but more apply, so it kind of evens things out. In my opinion entering as a junior would be a bit more stressful, mainly because it is an important year for college, as for Sophomore year its not as “intense.” for students.</p>