<p>I think I'm reapplying to boarding school for my sophomore year and here are the schools im looking at. I need to get it down to 5 though, so if you have any you think I should knock off just tell me!</p>
<p>Fits:
Episcopal High
Kent
Miss Porters
Stevenson
St Andrews</p>
<p>Safeties:
St Marks
Pomfret
Ethel Walker</p>
<ul>
<li>I want a school that has either crew or swimming (surprisingly not a lot have both)</li>
<li>preferably New England area or the San Francisco area of CA</li>
<li>my GPA is around a high 3.7 at a private school (last year I was a low 3.9)</li>
<li>I love science and I made straight A's this year</li>
<li>I would love a school that offers Greek</li>
<li>I want a strong sense of community (I'm hesitant about choate...)</li>
<li>I applied last year to most of HADES and loomis and was rejected by HADES and waitlisted by loomis (however I said it was my last choice in the interview.....oops)</li>
<li>I'm willing to repeat freshman year</li>
<li>I have a few leadership roles in my school</li>
<li>Teachers hate me. I don't know why.</li>
</ul>
<p>Thanks for reading! I'll chance/help you too if you ask!</p>
<p>It’s just that I don’t LOVE the school as much as I love the other schools on my list. Do you know a lot about episcopal? Is it very academic? Thanks!</p>
<p>I know a few teachers at Episcopal, and from what I’ve seen it’s an absolutely amazing school. They have a strong Classics department (many kids do well on the national Latin and Greek exams) and the community is very close-knit and has a ton of school spirit. It’s not in New England, but it is just outside Washington D.C., and the school really takes advantage of the resources of the city with weekly field trips (I think kids also can go on their own on the weekends.) The academics are very strong, but it’s not a cut-throat kind of place. I saw it more from a teacher’s perspective, but it was clear that the students and teachers had very strong relationships, and my friends speak really highly of the quality of the kids they teach. I don’t think the website does much justice to the school–it was so much better when I visited. I don’t know how you’ll cut the list down, but your “Fits” are fantastic schools, and you could get a top-notch education at any one of them.</p>
<p>I’d focus a bit more on your specific interests. If swimming is a big deal for you, then why is Taft on your list but Hotchkiss and Deerfield not? Taft is a terrific school, but they don’t have a swimming pool. Crew and swimming are very big at SAS, so why isn’t it a top choice? Be prepared to make a strong case to each school that it is special. That means being totally on top of your interests and why they overlap perfectly with that institution’s strengths. Good luck!</p>
<p>Deerfield and Hotchkiss are wonderful schools and they were on the top of my list last year, but I didn’t get in. And actually SAS is one of my favorite schools! xD</p>
<p>How would the list look if you only included schools you love? Don’t apply to any school if you don’t love it. Schools look for students who love them. Experienced admissions officers are adept at reading teenagers.</p>
<p>Going into the second round, correcting the “teachers hate me” factor will be your biggest challenge.</p>
<p>I would only bother with one ‘safety’ school, and make sure it’s one you would be happy to go to. There’s no point in applying to a school you wouldn’t want to attend.</p>
<p>Given your interests, I would definately include KENT on your short-list – a classic New England boarding school. Our S just finished his freshman year there and really enjoyed it…as you probably know, Kent is nationally/internationally recognized in crew (both boys and girls) and has a good swimming/diving team too. </p>
<p>Also, in thinking geography, remember which athletic league each school is in as you will be traveling to games each Wed and Sat – Kent is in the Founders League which is Kent, Hotchkiss, Taft, Choate, Loomis, etc. all New England/CT schools…</p>
<p>Applications were up over 40% this past year, so like many boarding schools, each year the application pool gets stronger and admission tighter…also, Kent broke ground on a new dorm/classroom complex (info on the website) which will be very nice when done…</p>