My tid bit on BS Acceptance

Prep School Admissions
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<p>Feel free to skip to the last three paragraphs if you don't want my life's narrative.</p>

<p>Last year I was accepted to Andover, Hotchkiss, Choate and Kent. I had applied as a "true" student and not a repeat, but during my interviews the coaches at HK, Andover, Exeter all wanted me to think about being a repeat. I was able to apply to HK as both a repeat and true student(BASICALLY I was notified that there was room in the class of 2012 for me when my letters came). Kent was originally my second to last choice, but the way that FA worked out Kent would be almost 10 grand cheaper with the possibility of an addition 10 grand of scholarship money floating my way if I got the grades. I was accepted to HK as a repeat, and the coach at Choate wanted the same... I could go to Andover as a 2011 graduate, but it didn't happen.
Andover was my dream school, and my amazing visit only hurt me even more when I couldn't attend. Going to Kent was cheaper and I have a little brother that is applying for the class of 2014 to think about. </p>

<p>I was still bitter about my situation until November(Last year). I hated the fact that I had done so much to get in and was held back by the almighty FA distribution that seems to be more like a lottery than a formula... I also had this idea that I would become 2nd rate, and if I had gone to Andover I would somehow continue to be perceived as a 1st rate person. </p>

<p>This didn't change until I met people that were in my situation. I met another junior in my dorm that had the same situation his freshman year, and chose Kent b/c of FA(Instead of Lawrence). Again, I met three people who opted out of Exeter after their soph years because they just weren't happy. I almost expected them to be Gods of knowledge(This board gave me good reason to believe that also...). Granted Exeter was harder, but all of them agreed that their workloads at Kent were at least 90% as challenging if not as challenging. The main difference was the environment for them. Kent was much more focused on learning instead of competition and constantly raising the bar. </p>

<p>I'm on the math team at Kent and I really expected to be a top scorer considering I picked little old Kent instead of Andover. I almost got moved to the B team my fall term. As a team, we have captured our divisions title. We were ranked higher than Hotchkiss, Taft, Loomis and Choate. When we went to Harvard we earned 3rd and 5th as a team, which surprised the hell out of me. </p>

<p>Andover would be my road to Wharton or Babson or Tufts or wherever. I thought Kent would kill my chances anywhere... I can happily say that my grades and scores at Kent put me on par with Columbia, Tufts, Colgate, Babson, Dartmouth, U Chicago, Cornell and a bunch of other great schools(My grades fluctuate, so this is from my current average plus how much I think they have moved up)... I thought my value as a student would go down if I went to Kent... Kent even pushed me to apply to college early, and I have my own acceptance letter right here with a 10,000 scholarship offer if I skip my senior year(it is to USC and I am not going to leave Kent). My grades at Kent would be a bit lower at Andover, and maybe I would not be able to get into such good places with only average Andover grades. My Kent grades are in the top 25%, but my SOS is ranked in the top 10 in my class(Out of 150ish). Kent wasn't the death of me, but a test of if I would find the motivation to still push myself even in the face of my misguided ideas.</p>

<p>You can still go to a good school. You are still you. Going to Andover won't turn a smart kid into a genius. Going to Kent won't cause a Harvard caliber student to have to pick community college. </p>

<p>Now, I don't know if I would necessarily pick Andover over Kent... I wish I saw the value in Kent from the beginning as well. You'll find smart kids everywhere, and the "big tier gap" really doesn't even exist. My time here has been amazing and the opportunities I have had are too good.(I went abroad for the very first time for free with Kent, I'm working with the schools financial consultants to learn accounting+finance and I am getting an internship with Kent's recommendation). Kent has given me the reigns to expand to my heart's content, but with the prerogative to choose how hard I want to push it and where I want to delve into.
Wherever you find yourself, BE HAPPY and don't view it as the end of the world. You are still you, and you have no idea where that road will lead.</p>

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<p>take your facist thoughts elsewhere please</p>

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<p>This post is great, thank you for taking the time to make this.
I have to admit that I was biased against other schools becuase my dad is a Hotchkiss grad. When I told him this, he lectured me about the variety of amazing schools and how they can all offer you amazing opportunities. There is also this huge fixation about tiers which is annoying because people constantly belittle perfectly good schools.But again, thanks for this post, its a great perspective</p>

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<p>Thanks Poly, and my dad was not a grad of these schools, but early in his career he was passed up for grads from ivy league schools and had the view that no one would take me seriously at an ivy admission office if I had not attended Andover.</p>

<p>Davedrake, I dunno what your deal is… Maybe you were being funny(And to an extent you were), but I hope everyone takes my words to heart and kind of doesn’t get caught up in the utter BS that BS is from the outside(Not meant to be a pun).</p>

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<p>Bravo!!! well said.</p>

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<p>Italianboarder, thank you for your really excellent post. And Davedrake, thank you for making me laugh! Timing is everything in comedy, and Dave you have talent there!</p>

<p>On a more serious note, even Ivy’s are overrated. Its not where you go its what you do with your life.
My great great great grandfather went to Harvard, and you know something, I bet he would be the first to tell you that even community college is not a dead end. Quite the opposite. Play the hand you get to the best of your ability…and care for more than oneself, thats what counts.</p>

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<p>Sadie-same in my family! Whenever my family members talk about their expiriences at the ivies, they end the sentence with " but there are other AMAZING schools out there"
My dad is the same with Hotchkiss he says" Ya, it was a fantastic school, BUT there are other ones that are just a good/ if not better for you personally"</p>

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<p>Thanks Italian! One of the things that I liked about Kent during the app season was that they really seemed to look at their students as individuals and really push them to go as far as they could, but with support. I still like that about them. I have heard from parents who describe their children as “very bright” and say that they are now thoroughly challenged at Kent.</p>

<p>I would like to think that I have tried to be a voice for the so-called second tier. My son applied to 4 schools that people would place in this category and let me tell everyone, I would NOT have spent the energy in visits and research, or have been willing to make the sacrifice of letting him leave home at 14 if I didn’t think he would get a first rate education at them.</p>

<p>It’s good to see you around. Don’t spend all of your break on CC though!</p>

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<p>italian: would you suggest Kent for me to re-apply to next year(I didn’t apply there this year) And is the campus really as nice as it looks?How is there financial aid?</p>

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<p>Yeah I’m thinking of Kent too…</p>

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<p>@Rad
My break at Kent is from March 6th-29th, and I just popped on when my brother mentioned that he wants to apply next year(Oh good God we are at it again…).</p>

<p>I would suggest Kent, but you need to learn about the school by yourself and make your own judgment. I like it. </p>

<p>The campus is so mind blowing… It is very condensed (Except for Soccer players… fields are a ten minutes walk) and the fact that it is in a valley really limits the amount of snow (The most we got was around a little shy of two feet, probably 18 inches. Surrounding areas were hit with three feet). The beauty of the place is such a nice distraction from the workload, and I find myself sitting in the library by a window over looking the river and just feeling happy. </p>

<p>Financial Aid… Kent is second to none. Just by breaking down the numbers, you will see that Kent offers way more than you will find in almost any school and above what a majority of the schools in Kent’s size can offer. As a student body, we continue to raise money(Around 15-25k a year I would say is raised by the students to pay for scholarships). Since the school draws heavily from NYC, during times of economic boom for finance Kent really prospers. Fortunately, the endowment was not hit nearly as hard as other schools, and I am happy to say that FA for Kent looks better than ever.(I basically regurgitated a letter I got from the FA committee ensuring the FA students that all is well) Kent’s generosity is really hard to find elsewhere at the same level even at HADES schools. Kent is leading in terms of Merit based scholarships as well(I would say over 80% of the merit award recipients display some form of need).</p>

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<p>What italianboarder has desribed regarding how he chose Kent is a more common dilemma some students have to face in collge admission. Each year some strong college applicants are agonizing over the options they have: pay 40K+ for a top tier college, take a partial scholarship for a second tierd collge or go with the free ride in the state university. Eventually they will make their own decisons based on their conditions and priorities. What strikes me most is that ppl who have to face this dilemma are often very strong and capable students in the first place. To them, there is really not much of a wrong choice. Their motivation and hard work put them in a position where they have these options to choose from, and will continue to serve them well wherever they end up with. An individual like italianboarder will succeed whether he’s in Andover or Kent. As a matter of fact, I think he would do just fine in his public school. School is what you make of it. Don’t let school define you. You go do great things in your school!</p>

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<p>italianboarder</p>

<p>can you explain why kent has an awful reputation in NYC ?
not saying that it is bad school at all but can you just elaborate on why it has the rep.</p>

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<p>I checked it out for this time around but didn’t apply b/c the FA info was very vague. Now regretting that lol Do you know if they take late apps haha</p>

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<p>Great post, Italianboarder.</p>

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<p>Great to hear you are doing well Italian! I remember you and am so glad you are happy!</p>

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<p>Pa-C I can say that I do remember you also, and I gotta say your comments helped me on this board alot… The days of FIF, Dyersmaker and everyone that added to my original experience…</p>

<p>@Hcos12893</p>

<p>Kent’s reputation is NYC is a product of two things mainly.

  1. The fact that almost 75% of the students from NYC are full pay and a portion have been kicked out of another local NYC prep school.
    Kent is kind of viewed as a haven for thsoe with money whose kids couldn’t cut it at a nyc prep school… The fact is that Kent is the best school that often makes exceptions for exceptional students(Or rich students sometimes)… </p>

<p>Take one brilliant girl… She left Spence after showing up drunk to a school function and gets shipped off to Kent… She has great grades, doesn’t do anything on campus(Which is a majority of the year) and she is a good friend of mine. She can now go to her dream school of UVA where Spence kind of gave up on her(I can see why they booted her tho…). </p>

<ol>
<li>Kent is particular to NYC money because the kids from NYC donate big. During my trip to London, the option to pay for another student was given to everyone, and some of the NYC kids payed for 2 people in addition to themselves(An additional 4,000-5,000). </li>
</ol>

<p>During sports trips for preseason, the school sent an email with the schedule and mentioned that they would love someone to pay for meals… An NYC kid’s parents paid up the $1200 for a few meals. The NYC kids are also able to get internships and do summer programs, making the money they have turn them into better college applicants. The fact that many of the parents are Ivy legacies and help Kent build a network to offer opportunities for student internships doesn’t hurt at all…</p>

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<p>its good that all these do that for their school
its a ashame that is has that rep in NYC its a good school that offers a plethora of great activities, experiences, and friendships to many students.</p>

<p>I liked kent its just due to its remote location i would have to give up club soccer which for me wasn’t really an option, i did tour it and loved the campus and town around it so quaint and peaceful.
i also love how kent takes kids from africa for soccer i think thats such a good thing to do</p>

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<p>Well, whenever I go to NYC and I wear my Kent sweatshirt I always get 2 or 3 people asking me if I go there and telling me how good of a school it is… </p>

<p>Most sports recruits for soccer are from other countries. Hotchkiss had some brazilians a few years ago and they always have a few international students to play soccer.</p>

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<p>bro im not hating i was just wondering why it is</p>