Grade: 7
Applying To: Grade 9
Race & Nationality: Half American, Half Japanese.
Background: International school student, currently living in Beijing.
Semester 1 Grades:
• High-Level Math - A- (only class in my grade that you can where you are placed based on ability)
• Social Studies - A+
• English - A+
• Science - A+
• Chinese - A-
• Phys Ed - A
• Spanish - A+
• Design Technology - A+
Grade 6 grades are all A and A+'s except for two Bs in Chinese
Grade 7 semester two scores look promising with all 90%s and more.
Rank: 3rd out of 110 students
Studying hard for SSAT, and making a strong start on the essay.
EC’s (these are where I think I have a chance to get in):
• 1st place individual scholar and 1st place team at an academic decathlon tournament (debate, studying material, writing, collaborating). I have a certificate to show this. I also lead the whole group of other teams and coach everyone to get better. Going to Hanoi and then likely Yale for rounds of advancement.
• Middle school team made it to a final round of a massive social innovation competition run by HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW and DUKE UNIVERSITY. The tournament was for high schoolers, and I was recommended to do it through teachers.
• Won a summer policy debate tournament run by the Claremont Colleges, 4th place speaker among some of the best speakers in southern California.
• Student Council President and five years of experience in this.
• Spoke at my schools TEDx conference this year, a selective process where 40 students in grades 5-12 tried to have a spot to present.
• In MS tennis competition team, a tryout process from 30 students in middle school.
• I do WuShu, a traditional Chinese form of Kung Fu. I recently won two gold medals in a Hong Kong tournament. I also have one bronze medals and silver medals at the Shaolin Temple tournaments.
Hook: As a leader (stuco counts) of an international school with over 50+ nationalities, I have seen it all, and I think I will suit the collaborative trait of Exeter students. I have a friend who is Austrian, another who is an Australian of Aboriginal blood, and another who is from South Africa. I take elements of both cultures, Japanese and America. I always identify as both, not one particular one.
Also, I am self-motivated and strive to do my best in everything. The first year I did academic decathlon, I did not do particularly well. However, I worked hard and improved.
Another EC:
I do WuShu, a traditional Chinese form of Kung Fu. I recently won two gold medals in a Hong Kong tournament. I also have one bronze medals and silver medals at the Shaolin Temple tournaments.
Furthermore, the wording of the classes is a bit wrong. The only class that we actually all get placed in a level for is math.
Do you need fa?Are you a citizen of the US? Are you only applying for exeter? Overall I think you have a good chance of getting in though what exactly do you mean your half american?
^^ similar questions as above. which country do you reside in? do you need financial aid? and make sure you apply to a lot of schools! (ex. Blair Academy, St. George’s School, etc)
I’m a US Citizen, and I don’t need FA. My father is American, while my mother is Japanese.
I think you have a good chance
do intend to apply to other schools? exeter is incredibly difficult to get into, especially as an international student.
While Exeter is difficult for anyone to get into, and it’s naïve for anyone to claim that any applicant has a “good chance,” the OP would not be an international applicant., but a US citizen living abroad, whose acceptance rate is on par with domestic applicants.
None of these are hooks.
“Not needing FA” is almost a hook 
Are you sure it’s not a hook? Because Exeter encourages collaboration and an international community. This is something I have to offer to the school.
This is an anti-hook. Top schools like PEA have more than enough applicants with international experience.
I’m a purist, so any hook you have happened ~12-13 years ago when you exited the womb. You were either born with insane athletic ability/as a URM/into a family that has legacy and/or donates a lot of money to the school and/or are celebrities. Leadership and collaboration are learned skills, not hooks. Not that schools don’t value them, but they are not the advantage of a hook.
Your particular background might make you an especially interesting person with different life experiences and perspectives than domestic applicants or applicants from over-represented geographies. It may give you rich material to mine for essays and interviews. But it does not give you an automatic advantage or hook. Does that make sense?
Ok, can I have some feedback regarding my EC’s?
All of the competitions you participated in are highly impressive in my opinion.You seem to show leadership qualities which I think schools will like about your app. You doing Kungfu is really unique and definitely makes you stand out which will be beneficial.Like I said earlier you have a good chance of getting in.What do mean though that your making a strong start on the essays?
I have good ideas for what I am going to write about. Specifically, one thing being how growing up in a Chinese neighborhood has shaped me, and describing my passion for one of my EC’s.
I am just writing bits and pieces I think I can use.
That makes sense,are you applying to any other schools.
Loomis Chaffee and Peddie.
Update:
Class Rank: 1/115 (only received at end of year)
Semester 2 Grades:
• High-Level Math - A+
• Social Studies - A+
• English - A+
• Science - A+
• Chinese Level 3/6 - A-
• Phys Ed - A+
• Spanish - A+
• Design Technology - A+
GPA: 6.9/7
Weighted: 7.1
Applying to (along with Exeter):
• Milton Academy
• Phillips Academy Andover
• Peddie School
Personal Rec Options (advice on who to pick please):
- Kung Fu Coach who can speak English relatively well, but not write great (from China), he can talk a lot about me personally and my beneficial self-motivation.
- This years Social Studies and English teacher who likes me a lot, and who I genuinely talk with out of class (from England). He will say a lot of good things, besides maybe being slightly arrogant sometimes.
- Piano Teacher (English is pretty bad, from China). Not sure what insight can be contributed here, not so personal.
SSAT Full Practice Test Score Breakdown:
Math - 91st percentile (all the Chinese kids taking it screws up the percentile for my grade)
Reading - 98th percentile
Vocab - 96th percentile
Composite: 95th percentile (I want to get practice test scores up to 97th to 98th before I take the real test in September)
High School Parliamentary Debate Competition (as a middle schooler):
5th place team / 15 teams
7th place speaker (4 way tie) / 30 speakers
I’m not trying to bump the post, I just want to hear new opinions now with some updates.
You should apply to Choate