<p>I emailed Groton and asked if I can schedule a phone interview and they said they aren't doing off campus interviews this year? What happened? lol They did them last year.. Now I have to get two extra recs.</p>
<p>I emailed Groton and this is the reply:</p>
<p>We would like for all applicants to submit the additional recommendations in place of the interview. The admissions committee may request an additional telephone interview only if they feel they did not learn everything they would like to know about you from your application. We look forward to reviewing your application.</p>
<p>So, I guess its two extra recommendations for all the students who didn't do interviews....</p>
<p>Yeah, my reply was:</p>
<p>At this time we are not offering off campus interviews or telephone
interviews. Please submit two additional recommendations-either personal
or academic- in lieu of a personal or telephone interview. These
additional recommendations should be clearly marked as "in lieu of
personal interview".
These along with complete application material will be moved on as
complete for review by the admission committee.
If you have further questions, please call or email our office.</p>
<p>I find this confusing - does Groton admissions mean their Personal Recommendation that they have for download on their website, or just an actual "LETTER" ?</p>
<p>I think it should be from the personal or academic form.</p>
<p>i think it's a sign you shouldn't apply to Groton.:) i think interviews are very important (maybe even key) factor of admission. I think you're chances of getting in are probably lowered by not having interview. i would just pick a different school, since it doesn't sound like you've done much on that app. anyway. :) Have you decided on your final list yet?</p>
<p>ughh
because of my distance from lawrenceville (if you havent bothered to look at the member information on the far left of your screen, im in beijing right now) i had to get two extra recs instead of an interview and i picked two of my teachers.</p>
<p>im only applying to 5 schools so if i drop lawrenceville that would be 4 and although im far from thinking lawrenceville is a safety, it makes me think would dropping lawrenceville lower my chances of getting into a (any) boarding school?</p>
<p>Groton has a new director of Admissions who came from Lawrenceville.</p>
<p>I can't have an interview with Middlesex either, unless they want to know more about me after I get my application in!</p>
<p>that stinks maybe you should pick another school to apply to</p>
<p>Jonathan1 -- I agree with NellyRae, it might be a sign that your chances are a little lower than other applicants. I don't know for certain -- but I do know that two of the schools my son was looking at (St. Andrews, DE and another -- can't remember) said that they did do phone interviews if the applicant wanted. However -- the kids who visited and interviewed on campus were looked at first for admissions. Only after reviewing those applications are the applications from those who didn't visit and interview in person looked at. We were specifically told by St. Andrew's that admission's spots and FA were distributed to the first group before they looked at the applications from those who didn't visit. As you can imagine, we dropped St. Andrews, DE from the list.</p>
<p>Jonathan - after LIVING on this board for 2 whole years why did you wait so long to schedule interviews and why are you waiting so long to complete your applications? Yes, I sound like the mom that I am! :)</p>
<p>So you're saying that they don't think I'm a good applicant? They don't know anything about me, so I don't think that's why.</p>
<p>I've already had my Andover and SPS interviews. Hotchkiss said I should schedule an off-campus interview. Deerfield, Cate, and Thacher said I should get all my forms in first, then I could schedule an interview up to a few weeks after the deadline. MX and Groton said they aren't needed unless they want to know more about me after I get all my forms in. Taft said I could schedule one and they will get back to me, and there wasn't any answer at Choate.</p>
<p>creative1 - First, I had trouble deciding which schools I want to apply to, and I still do! haha. I think I'm just going to apply to all the schools that I'm interested in, and see what happens on March 10. Starting tonight I'm having an intensive application session that will go until Sunday afternoon. :) I have outlines for all my essays so it won't be too hard. My New Year's resolution is to not procrastinate. haha I just started procrastinating this year, which was probably the worst point in my life to start!</p>
<p>no -- Just that some schools may look at kids who don't interview on campus or don't interview at all AFTER the other applicants. I wouldn't have thought this -- but after asking if the lack of an on-campus interview would effect admissions, that is what a few schools told me. </p>
<p>As long as you are applying to a number of schools, you should be fine. Last I heard, you were only applying to 4 or 5 schools -- looks like you are adding some schools to the list, which is good.</p>
<p>You may have procrastinated -- but you can still get all your apps in on time, so don't worry. Some people do best under pressure -- let's hope you are one of them!</p>
<p>i honestly don't think you should be applying to all those schools
some of em i understand like choate but,.... honestly the schools ahve teh ability to see where else u applied so,,,,
why r u applying just to apply?
u say u want to become fluent in spanish and french? honestly the only way for that to happen is that you must be at equivalent of level 4 spanish sopmore year and level 4 french</p>
<p>THE ONLY SCHOOLS WHICH I THINK YOU WOULD DO GREAT ARE AT:
Andover
Choate
Middlesex</p>
<p>even tho you say you have gone on the website and done tons of research (which i believe) i don't really think you have any idea what hotchkiss, cate and thacher and groton are like
you are going on word of mouth which would be dangerous
because if you get into hotchkiss and decide to attend, it will probably be not what you want</p>
<p>be careful but, the schools i stated earlier, you would do amazing at.</p>
<p>i'm procrastinating too. I fact, i'm on this site when i should be working on andover app. should probably go do that....but Oprah is on in 23 minutes, so OF COURSE i'll have to take a break to watch her...</p>
<p>yeah, i'm doomed. I also have to do regular school homeowrk as well. joy.</p>
<p>Jonathan, Capriatifan does bring up a very valuable point. You haven't visited any of these schools, except for Andover, and it is really difficult to get an idea of the school by just looking at the websites, viewbooks, and dvds. It truly is incredible how you know within an hour or so whether a school is right for you when you are walking the grounds. Is there anyway you can fly out to the schools for an onsite interview? I know it is really late in the process, but the last thing you want to do is get accepted to a school you really hate. (Or, not get accepted because they can't see your personality shining through the application. </p>
<p>And, not to be negative, but with your lower SSAT scores, it would be helpful for them to meet directly with you. It will give you an opportunity to explain the scores and assure them the scores are not a reflection on the type of student you are.</p>
<p>Aren't there some cheap flights from Detroit? Would your mom or dad take time off to go with you?</p>
<p>capriatifan -- If Jonathan only applied to Andover, Choate and Middlesex, he would still be going on word of mouth since he has only visited Andover. What makes your "word of mouth" better than other posters? I think applying to more schools is a better plan if you really want to attend boarding schools.</p>
<p>As far as fluency -- there is no rule that you can't become fluent in a language unless you are in level 4 as a sophomore. That is ridiculous -- it all depends on the motivation and aptitude of the student and the methodology of the teaching. If Jonathan wants to be fluent in Spanish and French by the end of high school, I am sure he will make it happen no matter where he attends school.</p>
<p>Capriatifan, why don't you think I would do better at those other schools? You're right that I don't have a lot of information about these schools because I've only visited Andover, but I've talked to several students from each of these schools, which is the main reason I've chosen to apply. By applying to seven or eight schools, it will hopefully give me more options on March 10, and I can actually visit the schools to see which one is best for me. I'm not just applying for the sake of applying like you said. Why would I do that? I really want to go to boarding school, but unfortunately I don't have the opportunity to visit them. The schools I've talked to said that having an off campus interview won't lower my chances and they realize that it's hard for me to go out there. You guys are so lucky you have parents that want to go through this process with you. My mom and dad are supportive, but only in the sense that they're letting me applying, which is progress from last year. I'll try to convince my dad to fly out there with me in a few weeks, but I doubt that will happen. I'm retaking the SSAT next Saturday so hopefully I'll do a little bit better! </p>
<p>P.S. - The school I'm going to now is pretty good, so it won't be the end of the world if I get rejected everywhere, but I will still be disappointed.</p>
<p>As for languages, my goal isn't really to be fluent in French and Spanish by the end of high school, but that would be great! I'm probably applying to one of the Middlebury language programs which means I would probably be in AP French Language next year, and if I self studied a year of Spanish (my dad is fluent), then I would be in Spanish III.</p>
<p>Jonathan -- my son is applying to 4 schools on the east coast, none of which he has visited. While I think that lowers his chances a little at those schools, he is a strong student in the general pool of applicants. His plan is to see where he gets accepted and attend revisit days.</p>
<p>Have you considered looking a tier down? I know you are really set on those top tier schools -- but you might consider schools that are less selective and whose stats you at least come a little closer to. You don't have to attend if you don't want to -- but it might give you more choices come March 10th.</p>