<p>I'm a sixth grader looking at prep-schools and i just wanted to ask if anyone here had any advice for steps I could take over the next year or so. I really want to go to a good prep school (like Exeter) and I'm wondering if there's anything that I can be doing now in order to have a strong application when it's my time to apply.</p>
<p>thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Get involved in extracurriculars- pick up an instrument or something. Maybe get into some community service. Do well in school. Don’t go overboard [have a life] and don’t do things you don’t enjoy.</p>
<p>I go to SPS (St. Paul’s School) in Concord NH which is one of the schools that competes with other schools like Exeter etc… I would recommend that you join a solid amount of clubs that have different interest ranges and stick with them for the rest of your middle school career. For example, one club for academics, one club for community service, one club for personal interests. Get your grades up or if they are already solid (3.5+) maintain them. Work on your writing skills because you are required to write several short and long essays on the application which the admissions officers reply heavily upon. Have at least one sport that you are interested in and one that you have been playing for at least 2-3 years. Show some sort of artistic aptitude: music,drama,dance,art. Make sure to study before you take the SSAT to insure a prime score. Practice interviewing beforehand; this is another important part to the process. Make sure you sound well-spoken and are able to answer questions with ease (no long pauses, no stuttering). Work on balancing all these things because you still want to have some sort of life, and trust me it gets even harder after you are accepted. You have three years to get to your ultimate goal, so start the process now and it’ll be easier later.</p>
<p>Do you stand out in any sports or extracurriculars? Done any volunteer work, leadership roles? Have you ever gone out of your way for something you believe in? </p>
<p>For instance: I love politics, so I have volunteered on campaigns, written congressmen about issues of importance to me, written articles in the school paper on politics and international affairs, and have attended lectures at Georgetown. Been a leader for my Girl Scouts Troupe, co-directed a middle school fashion show with an emphasis on individuality and diversity, and coordinated a self confidence seminar for the participants and anybody else who wanted to join. The money raised at the fashion show was donated to a human rights organization focusing on women’s rights in third world countries. To top it off, having studied Chinese and French since pre-school, a couple years ago I added Latin to my plate as something I independently study because I am interested in reading all those Ancient Roman texts and studying politics from a historic standpoint. </p>
<p>Basically take that thing, the interests, you love the most - and make the most of that in a way that contributes to society and your own intellectual advancement.</p>
<p>Study the SSAT. It is a beatable test if you are determined, diligent, and practice it enough. I started in the 91% and eventually scored in the 99%.</p>
<p>What’s your GPA like now? It is important to have a very strong one with Honors courses and/or above grade level math/english/science/etc.</p>
<p>Make sure you have great relationships with your teachers & guidance counselor/principal. They will write your recommendations which are very important.</p>
<p>I would recommend curing cancer, interning for the president, getting a 2400 on the sat as a sixth grader, and making the US soccer olypmic team and maybe you have a slim 1 percent chance.</p>
<p>YOU are in sixth grade this time to be enjoying yourself and have fun. High school is time for serious(although I consider myself a late bloomer). Yes it is important to take school seriously and study and be involved but at your age you should be living your life. prep schools, especially exeter or even colleges do not look perfect cookie cutter images. </p>
<p>just remember to live a little and not worry so much until maybe the summer of your 7th grade just keep your grades up and pursuse what you want to.</p>
<p>Here are my stats
White, Male
Term Grades (as of 18th)
Math: 99.8 (rank: 2nd on “team”)
Social Studies:87.7
Reading:94.4
English: about 90
Science:93.3</p>
<p>School Band:
I do play a musical instrument, I’ve been playing trumpet since last year and I plan to continue to play into High School.</p>
<p>Accademic Honors:
I attend GT (gifted and talented) twice a week at school.</p>
<p>Extra-Curriculars:
Future Cities: A after school group which built a scale model for a competition in Boston, MA . Our school came in fourth place out of 10.</p>
<p>Mathcounts: after school group which is an academic challenge. We do a test to see who will go to the competion. This year I was not on the team, but I scored high enough to probably be on the competition team next year.</p>
<p>Sport:
Golf (I am not very athletic)</p>
<p>Other hobbies:
Chess
Reading/learning about WWII
Watching documentaries
Volunteer at the children’s library, during the summer</p>
<p>And no I am not curing cancer or interning for the President, thank you very much
Thank you for all that seriously responded. If you have any more suggestions, please make them.</p>
<p>I’m with AHX…if we give the OP advice, then soon enough some fifth grader is going to be on here wanting advice on how to ensure his/her admittance to “only the finest boarding schools in the land”.</p>
<p>Just keep doing whatever it is you’re doing. Read a bunch of the threads here on various schools. The only thing I’d give you a tip on for 7th grade is to take the SAT for one of the various talent searches (JHU CTY, DUKE TIP, ETC)…that should give you some inkling of how you really stack up against your BS cohort. Also, look into the various national scholarship programs like Caroline D. Bradley…</p>
<p>But most of all, just be a kid. And DO NOT OBSESS ABOUT GETTING INTO ONE PARTICULAR HIGH SCHOOL. This seemed to be a particularly rough year for getting into the more selective schools…and I don’t know that it’s going to get any easier. Especially if you will need Financial Aid.</p>
<p>Finally, there is no magic bullet. And a whole lot seems to depend on luck/intangibles. Kids with 99% across the board type “stats” got W/L or rejected from schools where one would have thought they had better than 50/50 odds.</p>
<p>I hope I did not come off as a jokester or anything because that was not my intention. I hope you take my advice seriously. As sevendad said do some summer program but please do not plan your life out yet so accordingly. </p>
<p>I also would like to remind you to open your options to other schools. Exeter freshmen acceptance rate this year was 17 percent it was rufflly 225 out of 1305. Not to mention I am sure many candidates who were just as qualified if not more so. There are lots of good schools out there beyond the “HADES”. It seems that boarding schools are getting tougher and tougher each year. </p>
<p>This is my serious response, I apologize again if it seems like I was beign a jerk because that was not my intention.</p>
<p>But wow your in 6th grade?</p>
<p>Really helpful thread!
Don’t want to take over your thread, but just wanted to let you know that you aren’t as crazy as some people may tell you 
I’m in 6th grade, too. A girl, though. My stats are alot like yours (except for the B… lol) and it’s nice to see other 6th graders on here. Looks like we may be rivals (Exeter vs. Andover)… but it’s alright! I hope to hear from you for the next couple of years till it’s our turn to freak out about SSATs and Essays.
If you think you may need a scholarship, please look at this site:
[Programs</a> - Caroline](<a href=“http://www.educationaladvancement.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=9]Programs”>http://www.educationaladvancement.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=9)</p>
<p>The scholarship is really looking for minorities (I am half hispanic), but you can get recruited by Exeter. One of the admissions officers for Exeter helps with the scholarship, so they do send out recruitment letters to those who apply for the scholarship and look interesting.
I am certainly not an expert, but I would love to talk to someone my age about this whole process. Please PM me or say hi whenever you see me post. Good luck and listen to everyone’s advice!</p>
<p>Just so you guys know, I’m not sure if it actually helped, but after applying for the Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship, I got a “request to apply” from Exeter. I’m not sure if this actually counts as recruitment, but still, I ended up getting in, so you never know…</p>
<p>Given how things are going here, the states should start giving driver licenses to 6th graders already.</p>
<p>Andoverhopeful: Sorry for being jumpy but it is hard to tell sarcasm from plain old “rude” on the internet.</p>
<p>To everyone thanks for the help, now I know what to do. Trying to prepare myself early so I can go through this process without confusion.</p>