<p>last year I applied to exeter, my mom's idea. I wasn't a fan of the bording though, so my ssat scores where high, but I didn't put too much effort into the interview or essays. last spring the idea of boarding school began growing on me and I started taking an interest in it. I like the freedom, and I like the diversity in both students and academic choices. as you may have guessed I am applying again. Right now I am a freshman at a good suburban east coast girl's school. it has a really good college record, so I am not doing this as a stepping stone. I just want to try some new things. my grades are varied but I have good comments (lower grades are in the advanced classes), my standerized test scores are always high, and if I try I can write a nice essay. what do you think are my chances? I'm working pretty hard on improving (especially in math), but are my present marks too low to even be considered?</p>
<p>English 9= A-, subject I am most interested in
French 3= B+
World History= B+
Algebra 2= B
Biology= A</p>
<p>extra cirriculars= guitar, varied sports and basketball, I've been working for a local peace group for a couple of years, jsa (debated twice, one lost/ one won), lit magazine </p>
<p>Well, Exeter is ridiculously selective so it's kind of a blind guess. What were your SSAT scores? Are you artsy or sporty? Do you have any safeties?
Give us some more information so we can give you a little more insight. Just remember that Exeter is one of the schools that its virtually impossible to predict chances for but we'll do our best.</p>
<p>I'm taking it in a couple of weeks, but last year I got 86%. </p>
<p>I wouldn't say I'm artsy, but more of an art appreciator. I love reading, going to museums, and am a beginning guitar player (9 months ?) after 4 years of violin. I always do a sport for fun, but am not athletically gifted. haven't taken gym for 3 years</p>
<p>I'm not investing so much into boarding school that I would apply to over 3. going would be amazing, but if I get rejected again it wouldn't be the end of the world. </p>
<p>my mom phoned them a few months ago and asked if I had any chance so it wouldn't be a waste and they said I was a strong applicant. I'm not expecting at all that that means entry, but hopefully it means something. milton would also be very good (I read that they have a strong english department). but no safeties, because I'm not looking to leave</p>
<p>Your chances will depend a lot on what the schools think of your grades from your school. If it is a highly academic school (like Milton and Exeter) then the grades are fine, they would not expect straight A's. If it is much lower in their estimation, then they might be worried about your grades.</p>
<p>If you are interested in Exeter and Milton, then you owe it to yourself to consider some similar schools that have a lot of overlap in applicants, such as Andover, Deerfield, Choate, and St Pauls. Groton is as the same general academic level, but much smaller.</p>
<p>my mom wanted me to do andover because apparently it's a more politically minded school (which is what I'm interested in), but in that sense I get the republican politics feeling. if you know otherwise don't hesitate in telling me</p>
<p>my school is not as competitive as any boarding school like exeter/ milton, but we do have an equal college matriculation (according to that ny times article). I don't really know what that means for academics</p>
<p>as to my reservations about applying to a load of schools, the story is that last year my friend applied to over 5 under 10 schools. they were a mix of boarding and day (mostly boarding), the day ones being in another part of the country. despite the fact that she's a genius who has a mountain of extra cirriculars (and her mom is friends with the dean of admissions for one of the top schools) she did not get into any except for a couple of day schools. her family ended up not moving and she still goes to the same school as me after dedicating months to the application process</p>
<p>One of the reasons I was initially drawn to Andover was because I felt that the students were more politically aware. Not sure if it's true, but that's how I felt. As with any campus there is a large mix of political sympathies. I personally feel that Andover is pretty liberal compared to other schools, but it all depends on who you associate with. There are many political clubs on campus and even some classes can have a political aspect to them, so there are many opportunities to discuss issues and get involved.</p>
<p>Yes, I'm currently a senior at Andover. Describing what's Andover's like is pretty hard to do in a couple of sentences. It's been a great experience. Even though it is a lot of work, it's a lot of fun too. I've met so many people and have had incredible classes and opportunities that I couldn't get anywhere else. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. If you have any specific questions those are much easier to answer.</p>
<p>thanks. I don't have any specific andover questions, but a regular one</p>
<p>does admissions take heavily the amount that you want to go? for instance who do you think will most likely get in, the person who really wants to go but has more average grades or the person who is thinking of the school as a safe and is a prodigy?</p>
<p>Having discussed the admissions process with a friend of mine who works in an admissions office, I can tell you that they do heavily consider the students motives/motivation for applying to private school. This is why they consider the student interview so important. Often it is not WHAT the applicant says, but HOW they say it. They want to make sure that it is the student who wants to attend the school and NOT the parents making the the child apply. I know it is probably hard for many of the young posters on this board to understand, because most of them WANT to attend a private school, but there are many children who are "strongly encouraged" to apply by their parents.
My friend did tell me that it is usually VERY clear when a student does not have the desire, and I am sure that any parent of a teenager will know what I am talking about, teens have a not so subtle way of letting their feelings be known!!;)
Good luck to all you students applying to schools, remember there are LOTS of great schools out there, make sure you find the one that fits YOU!</p>
<p>My son was asked at every interveiw "why do you want to go to a boarding school." I know a few kids (as one poster here clearly did) can do a great job of faking it, but he said to us he can usually tell in the first 30 seconds of an interview if the kid wants to be there or if its his/her parents. That's why they interview kids without their parents. My son's answer (which I didn't know until about the 4th interview when the admissions person told us) was that it wasn't about boarding or day, it was about finding the right school for him - if that is a boarding school, than that will be great, he's ready for it. If it's a day school, that's ok too. It's funny because I told him that this person was impressed with that answer and he said "they all are, that's why I keep saying it at all the schools. But it is true."</p>
<p>one thing that you originally posted that I wanted to comment on was "I like the freedom". What "freedom" do you think you will have at boarding school over your present school? I am curious because, from my research, students at boarding schools tend to have far fewer freedoms than those that live at home and attend a traditional day school. No driving, scheduled check-in and curfews, restrictions on weekend activities, etc. I am not saying that is bad -- just the reality. You might do some checking on the freedom part before you decide if boarding school is for you.</p>
<p>I meant freedom in choosing courses. this school that I go to now is very small and therefore doesn't have too many classes that you can take as well as bigger diploma requirements for subjects that I don't really care about. </p>
<p>for instance in math there is a certain path you take with the only choice being between ap calc or ap stats in senior year. milton only makes you take up to algebra 2 (which I'm doing now) I would still have to do a couple of courses for college, but technically I could use my credits to do a double english or double history. also the classes you can choose to do are so much more interesting and there are tons more of them. </p>
<p>sorry I didn't detail what I meant by freedom, I'm not a big late night person (can't physically stay up past 11) and don't get my liscence until spring of senior year anyway, so that's not too important</p>
<p>I think if it's academic freedom you're looking for, exeter is a great place to get that. they have incredible breadth in all subjects and offer many lesser-taught foreign languages, including arabic, russian and Chinese. unfortunately, if you can't stay up past 11 and you plan on getting involved in extracurriculars, exeter may not be the best fit for you.</p>
<p>do you know how much homework students get on an average night? </p>
<p>if the day ends at 8 pm, and I give up basketball if needed, plus an hour free, I would be able to swing a total of 4 hours of hw, otherwise you're right. that's why I'm also really trying for milton</p>
<p>Hi, I'm a 4 year at Exeter, and I remember as a freshman (prep) I wouldn't get too much homework. If I did the two hours during study time, I was fine, plus working during frees, so that was about 3 hours a day. Extracurriculars are difficult, but can be fit into schedules. I am in the symphony, chamber, and do chamber ensemble and private lessons now, but my freshman year I could only fit Symphony and lessons. Your schedule gets better as you move up, though.<br>
But classes are great. The first term Junior studies class is a joke, but Sophomore (lower) year gives you a lot more variety and free time. I love the school, but do hate it during the times when I get a lot of tests and papers do in 1 week.<br>
The thing most Exeter alums say is that after Exeter, college is a breeze:P</p>