***Official 2018 Stats/decisions Thread***

Prep School Admissions
21

Accepted: Belmont Hill, St. Mark’s, Kent, Westminster, Brooks, Holderness
Waitlisted: Salisbury
Likely Attending: Don’t know yet. Each school has qualities I like a lot. Choosing will be hard.

Stats:
• SSAT: Overall 96; Reading 94; Math 94; Verbal 91
• GPA Unweighted: 3.7

Subjective:
• Interviews: Most were solid; excellent at St. Mark’s
• Essays: Credible and competent
• Math Rec: Decent
• English Rec: Quite strong; teacher likes me and knows me well; is also my history teacher
• Personal/Extracurricular Rec: Very strong
• Principal/Counselor Rec: Strong
• Sports: Hockey; Baseball; Lacrosse; interest in Rowing
• Other ECs: Choral singing
• Hook: Hockey/multi-sport athlete

Location/Person:
• State or Country: Massachusetts

• Current School Type: highly ranked public middle school
• Ethnicity: Caucasian
• Gender: Male
• Grade Applying For: 9th Grade
• Age: 14
• Financial Aid/Full Pay: partial FA

Strengths: Ability to work with diverse sets of people; hard-working; determined, focused. I believe these qualities came through consistently in my essays and recommendations.

Weaknesses: Can be shy and quiet in new situations.

Why do you think you were accepted?
Well-rounded; excellent athlete; good grades and scores. Perceived as a good community member. Choose schools well; didn’t overshoot. Schools could see how I would fit in and what I would do there.
Stayed in contact with coaches throughout admission process, sent updates, and attended games.

Why do you think you were waitlisted?
I think I was waitlisted at Salisbury because of my high test scores. I am not a fit for them, and they probably thought I would not go there if accepted.

22

Accepted: Choate, Peddie, NMH, Episcopal High School, Mercersburg, WRA
Rejected: Deerfield, Westminster
Wait listed: Hotchkiss, Middlesex, Blair
Likely Attending: Either Choate or Peddie :slight_smile:

Stats:
• SSAT/ISEE/TOEFL/PSAT: 96%
• GPA Unweighted/Weighted: 6.9 out of 7 (this weird system)
• Rank: 1/170
• Other stats: - CTY National Scholar

Subjective:
• Interviews:
NMH - 10/10 Amazing.
Choate - 7/10 The AO was not engaged with the conversation.
Peddie - 10/10 Absolutely enjoyed my time interviewing with the Director of Admission at Peddie.
Episopal - 9/10 The AO mentioned, “You are the kind of the guy we want at our school.”
Mercersburg - 10/10 The only interview that took over an hour.
• Essays: 9/10 - Should have been good.
• Math Rec: 7/10 - It should have been good, but my Math teacher is Turkish;;;
• English Rec:10/10 - I read this rec before being sent to various schools. AMAZING.
• Personal/Extracurricular Rec: 10/10 - Rec from my director of Performing Arts - very close.
• Principal/Counselor Rec: 8/10 - Should have been good - my Biology teacher as well, so should know my academic ability.
• Sports (if any): Squash, Golf, Crew, Water Polo
• Instruments (if any): Guitar and Bass Guitar
• Other ECs (if any): Worked with various professional theatre companies.
• Hook: MAYBE AMC 10?

Location/Person:
• State or Country: South Korea
• Current School Type: Private International
• Ethnicity: Asian
• Gender: Male
• Grade Applying For: 10
• Age: Male
• Financial Aid/Full Pay: FP

Strengths:

Being continuously in touch with the AOs. I sent them numerous videos and letters, how desperate I am :slight_smile:

Weaknesses:

Interview in person. Every interview done with Skype.

Why do you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted?

Last year, I was waitlisted from all the schools that I applied to. Loads of acceptances this year. I guess the difference is the effort and time. I really pushed and extended myself to improve my SSAT score, personal essays and so forth. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

23

How do you know about the recommendation letters, for me its super confidential, no idea what the teachers wrote.

24

Accepted:Kent (first choice and only applied here)
Rejected: na
Wait listed: na
Likely Attending: kent

Stats:
• SSAT/ISEE/TOEFL/PSAT: 53% SSAT 8th grader
• GPA Unweighted/Weighted:. 3.9
• Rank: na
• Other stats:

Subjective:
• Interviews:. Great interview with AO
• Essays:.
• Math Rec:
• English Rec:
• Personal/Extracurricular Rec:
• Principal/Counselor Rec:
• Sports (if any): baseball, football, golf
• Instruments (if any): guitar
• Other ECs (if any): robotics
• Hook: student council, team captain

Location/Person:
• State or Country: midwest
• Current School Type: public
• Ethnicity: caucasian
• Gender male
• Grade Applying For: 9
• Age: 13
• Financial Aid/Full Pay: full pay

Strengths: mature, well spoken

Weaknesses:. Math score low

Why do you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted? Unknown what part each was weighted but for those with low SSAT it shows you don’t have to freak out if your score isn’t in 80-90s. A good interview, grades, participation in sports.

25

Accepted: Lawrenceville, Deerfield, Choate
Rejected: none
Wait listed: Hill, Cate, St.Pauls
Likely Attending: Lawrenceville!
Stats:
• SSAT/ISEE/TOEFL/PSAT: 43th percentile
• GPA Unweighted/Weighted: 4.0
• Rank: N/A
• Other stats:

Subjective:
• Interviews: All were amazing, my favorite was Choate and Lawrenceville
• Essays: I poured my heart and soul into them, I’m an okay writer

26

Accepted: None
Rejected: Andover
Wait listed: Choate, Lawrence (Groton, MA)
Pending: Exeter (Who else hasn’t gotten an email)
Likely Attending: Unknown

Stats:
• SSAT: Total: 2208, Verbal: 755, Quantitative: 770, Reading: 683
ISEE: Total: 3362, Verbal 910, Reading: 911, Quantitative: 917, Math: 924
PSAT (only sent to Lawrence): Total: 1200, Reading/Writing: 530, Math: 670
• GPA Unweighted/Weighted: 8th grade: 3.95 unweighted, 4.21 weighted; 9th grade, 1st quarter: 3.91, 4.19 weighted
• Rank: My school doesn’t tell us our rank
• Other stats: No IB/AP tests, as they are only for 10th-12th graders

Subjective:
• Interviews: Great
• Essays: Talked about my international perspective (I’m Nigerian-American)
• Math Rec: Confidential, probably good
• English Rec: Short but great
• Personal/Extracurricular Rec: Family friend who went to Exeter, confidential, but probably good
• Principal/Counselor Rec: Really late, but probably good
• Sports (if any): Indoor/Outdoor Track
• Instruments (if any): Violin (4th-6th grade, will pick back up)
• Other ECs (if any): Debate
• Hook: I have a unique appreciation of the opportunity of a/an [enter school here] education.

Location/Person:
• State or Country: Fairfax County, Virginia
• Current School Type: Public
• Ethnicity: Black
• Gender: Male
• Grade Applying For: 10
• Age: 15
• Financial Aid/Full Pay: Aid

Strengths: I am creative and resilient

Weaknesses: I am not that detailed, and I am not to use to an Andover, Exeter, etc. level of schooling.

Why do you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted?

I was rejected/waitlisted because, at a private school standard, I am not as smart as I am hyped up to be at my school. Also, I don’t have strong ECs. I am one of the slowest on the track team, I haven’t touched my violin in almost 4 years, and I was planning to join Debate, but found out that they had a full roster.

I probably should have applied to more than four schools, to be honest.

27

Accepted:
Rejected:
Waitlisted: Choate and Andover
Likely Attending:

Stats:
• ISEE: 9, 8, 8, 8
• GPA Unweighted/Weighted: N/A
• Rank: N/A
• Other stats: N/A

Subjective:
• Interviews: Choate’s went fine; I had a nice conversation with a very kind woman, nothing too great or bad. On the other hand, Andover’s interview was pretty bad. The questions my interviewer were asking me were very tough and made me feel like he was waiting for me to mess up.
• Essays: I think my essays were pretty good; I chose topics that I was interested and passionate that the admission office would like
• Math Rec: Not sure, my math teacher wasn’t a big fan of me but she wouldn’t write me a bad rec
• English Rec: Again, not sure, my English teacher liked me enough but she tends to be brutally honest and will write all the good and the bad
• Personal/Extracurricular Rec: My piano teacher for 8 years wrote this so I’m 100% sure it was great
• Principal/Counselor Rec: I think my counselor likes me so it was probably nice
• Sports (if any): Volleyball
• Instruments (if any): Piano, flute, voice, double bass
• Other ECs (if any): Debate
• Hook: Mainly music but I’m good all around

Location/Person:
• State or Country: New York
• Current School Type: Public
• Ethnicity: Asian
• Gender: Female
• Grade Applying For: 10
• Age: 14
• Financial Aid/Full Pay: Full Pay

Strengths:
There’s nothing I’m particularly bad at so I’m a really all-around student. I also sent a lot of supplemental music materials and I’m very invested in it. In addition, I stayed in frequent contact with the coaches.

Weaknesses:
My teacher recommendations probably weren’t amazing, my academic grades and test scores are pretty average/low for an Asian, and there’s nothing that made me stand out.

Why do you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted?
^ my weaknesses.

Sorry, this is a bit sloppy and disorganized :confused:

28

Accepted: Thats a no
Rejected: Hotchkiss
Wait listed: Exeter, Andover, Milton, Groton, Deerfield
Likely Attending: ummmm

Stats:
• SSAT/ISEE/TOEFL/PSAT: 91 percentile
• GPA Unweighted/Weighted: 4.0 ( no weighted)
• Rank: Tied for first with 6 others
• Other stats: 31 ACT composite

Subjective:
• Interviews: In order from worst to best: Exeter, Milton, Andover, Deerfield, Hotchkiss, Groton

Exeter was really uncomfortable (for me) as it was my first one
Milton was pretty standard but my answers were a little forced
The alumni at Andover had no idea what she was doing, but we got along pretty well
Deerfield was relaxed and I feel like I did well
Hotchkiss was one of my first, but everything flowed smoothly
The Groton interview was by far the best. (all of my interviews were over skype) The interviewer showed me around a dorm and introduced me to some of the students.
• Essays: Fine. I doubted myself on those, and some were rushed, but honestly I don’t think I could have done a whole tun better
• Math Rec: Idk. Never got to read it, but the teacher likes me. That said, it’s my first year at this school district
• English Rec: Same as above, but the teacher likes me less. He is my debate coach tho.
• Personal/Extracurricular Rec: These should be good.
• Principal/Counselor Rec: Honestly no idea
• Sports (if any): Xc, tennis, sailing
• Instruments (if any):
• Other ECs (if any): Debate
• Hook: Geodiversity?

Location/Person:
• State or Country: Iowa
• Current School Type: Public
• Ethnicity: White
• Gender: Male
• Grade Applying For: 10
• Age: 14
• Financial Aid/Full Pay: FP

Strengths:
ACT of 31, being in Iowa
Weaknesses:
Literally everything else
Why do you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted?
subpar SSAT and no hook

29

Accepted: Exeter, Episcopal
Rejected: Taft, Lawrenceville, St. Paul’s
Wait listed: Hotchkiss
Likely Attending: Exeter (but not sure yet!)

Stats:
• SSAT/ISEE/TOEFL/PSAT: 97%
• GPA Unweighted/Weighted: 4.0 unweighted, lowest final grade 98%
• Rank: N/A
• Other stats:

Subjective:
• Interviews: Episcopal, taft, and hotchkiss were my best interviews; Exeter went well but I was nervous (it was my first one) SPS & Lville felt a bit stiff
• Essays: Good, writing is my strong point.
• Math Rec: Great
• English Rec: Good
• Personal/Extracurricular Rec: Very good, got a track coach and a family friend to do this
• Principal/Counselor Rec: Great, principal was very excited to do it
• Sports (if any): Track, Volleyball (reached out to coaches with stats/vids)
• Instruments (if any): Voice
• Other ECs (if any): Teen Ambassador an NC Aquarium, organized a blood drive at my school, church choir, NJHS
• Hook: Small town, sports

Location/Person:
• State or Country: North Carolina
• Current School Type: Public Middle School
• Ethnicity: White
• Gender: Female
• Grade Applying For: 9
• Age: 14
• Financial Aid/Full Pay: FA

Strengths:
Good essays, good interviews, good recs

Weaknesses:
Though I got a 99 in verbal and a 98 in reading, I got a 76 on the quantitative portion of the SSAT, which is pretty low.

Why do you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted?

I pretty much expected to get rejected by Lawrenceville and St. Paul’s; I just didn’t like their vibe on campus, and it probably showed. Also didn’t have the best interviews at those two. The Taft rejection was a little more surprising, because I had a great time visiting and my interview was great; however, the AO who interviewed me seemed very worried that Taft wasn’t my first choice (and I mean, it wasn’t), so that probably contributed. Taft was the first school I heard from, so that did kind of sting. Next, I heard from Hotchkiss, which was one of my absolute favorites (I didn’t have one first choice, just several that I liked) and found out I was waitlisted, which honestly surprised me. I just felt like I was such a good fit for Hotchkiss, and I did really want to get in. I was pretty confident I would get into Episcopal, simply because they have a smaller pool of applicants, making it easier to stand out. So that wasn’t much of a surprise. I also had a great time on campus and got along well with my AO. The only result that really SHOCKED me was my acceptance to Exeter… I still can’t really believe it. Like Episcopal and Hotchkiss, I had a great time on campus and really felt like I could see myself there. I was super nervous for my interview, but I suppose I did well enough, and my Exeter essays were especially strong so I’m sure that contributed.

After I visited the schools, my favorites were Episcopal, Exeter and Hotchkiss, because that was just were I could see myself and where I enjoyed myself on campus. Interestingly enough, those were the schools that accepted/waitlisted me. Because of this, and because my applications were pretty uniform across the board, I say that the main reason for acceptance/rejection for me was simply fit–aside from Taft, which I feel like had more to do with yield.

30

Accepted: Lawrence Academy, Concord Academy
Rejected: Deerfield
Wait listed: Milton
Likely Attending: Concord

Stats:
• SSAT/ISEE/TOEFL/PSAT: flat 90 on overall SSAT, strongest in vocab and reading
• GPA Unweighted/Weighted: N/A
• Rank: N/A
• Other stats: N/A

Subjective:
• Interviews:

  • Concord: really connected with the interviewer, really interesting person albeit a temp hired for the admission season. She asked some really hard questions but I think I answered them well enough. Lack of prep sometimes helps with appearing honest.
  • Lawrence: Same with concord, a really good interviewer. She seemed impressed at my background and general profile. Interview questions were pretty easy, nothing out of the blue.
  • Deerfield: Interviewer didn’t really seem invested in the conversation. He was ok. I think my parents ruined it by saying something about me not being a straight A student in the past. That definitely ruined my chances.
  • Milton: Worst interviewer yet, she didn’t really make an effort to make it a comfortable conversation. Just said questions and took notes.

• Essays: I would say that my essays were pretty good, turns out that I’m a good writer under stress.
• Math Rec: should be pretty good, math teacher this year really clicked with me
• English Rec: a little bit distant from my English teacher, she knows me well enough though. I trust her.
• Personal/Extracurricular Rec: had one from my skating coach, not quite sure about how it was. Nothing negative though.
• Principal/Counselor Rec: Don’t really know my principal or counselor all that well. I doubt that the rec was bad in any sense though.
• Sports (if any):XC, track
• Instruments (if any): Piano, Cello
• Other ECs (if any): figure skating, art, dance
• Hook: I guess I come off as a very self motivated student, learned things by myself online

Location/Person:
• State or Country: Mass
• Current School Type: private day
• Ethnicity: Asian
• Gender: Female
• Grade Applying For: 10
• Age: 14
• Financial Aid/Full Pay: Full pay

Strengths: Dance (was a student at a pretty prestigious ballet school), Tech things (learned how to code by myself)

Weaknesses: can be described in rec letters as ‘quiet’, lack of recognition (awards), not enough team sports

Why do you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted?
Concord: really a good fit, I’m in-between the arts and sciences. Interview probably pulled a lot of weight for me. Plus they have a computer science department, which helps my case (studying coding by myself)

Lawrence: it was my safety school, think I over qualified for it. Really an arts/sports school, which helped in the sense that I was pretty into the arts.

Deerfield: straight up rejected, probably because of that one time in the interview in which my parents mentioned me being a less than stellar student. Admission was cut off right there.

Milton: waitlisted again for the second year. I think it was my lack of sports involvement. Could’ve done speech or something to help cover for that but, lack of sports and an unenthusiastic interviewer really doesn’t help. Kind of bitter over this one.

General Comments:
I worked harder this admission season, which is depressing since I would’ve probably gotten the same results if I hadn’t worked as hard. Example being that I got waitlisted at Milton last year, even though I worked a fraction as hard. Reading over my essay from last year, it had spelling and grammar mistakes every other sentence caused by my state of constant sleep deprivation. I still probably would’ve gotten into Lawrence, maybe Concord.
I regret not applying for more schools, most notable one being Exeter. I’m okay. I got into concord, pretty good fit for me I guess.

31

Accepted: Phillips Academy Andover
Rejected: none
Wait listed: St. Paul’s School, Phillips Exeter Academy
Likely Attending: 50/50 Andover or stay at current school

Stats:
• SSAT/ISEE/TOEFL/PSAT: 96 percentile overall SSAT, 83 Verbal, 99 Quantitative, 96 Reading
• GPA Unweighted/Weighted: Dunno, but mostly A’s, a few A-'s and A+'s, nothing lower than a 90%
• Rank: N/A
• Other stats: N/A

Subjective:
• Interviews:

  • Andover: First interview, so pretty nervous. I connected well with interviewer, and seemed very interested in me. Not just a Q and A, but a real conversation. We a good flow.
  • SPS: Interviewer seemed a bit rushed, but nice enough. Average questions and average answers.
  • Exeter: Nice interviewer, seemed interested.

• Essays: Wrote all of them that same weekend. I wrote about myself and my interests.
• Math Rec: Math teacher liked me, but wasn’t close. Probably good.
• English Rec: Not close with teacher, but knows I’m hardworking and a good writer. Probably good.
• Personal/Extracurricular Rec: Great recommendation. My robotics coach only knows the best in me and my leadership and communication skills. Knows the best of my personal qualities.
• Principal/Counselor Rec: Great. He really likes me and knows about me, especially some personal struggles and how I overcame them, such as bullying, etc.
• Sports (if any): X-Country, track and field
• Instruments (if any): Piano
• Other ECs (if any): Dance, robotics, art
• Hook: Very eager student. I’m also a straight-A student that is very well-rounded and has career aspirations as a girl in STEM. I’ve won a few national and international piano competitions and placed in a few division meets in track & field.

Location/Person:
• State or Country: New Hampshire, USA
• Current School Type: Public charter school (top-performing high school in the state)
• Ethnicity: Not a URM or ORM, but Asian
• Gender: Female
• Grade Applying For: 10
• Age: 14
• Financial Aid/Full Pay: Applied for 90% FA. Need a lot of it.

Strengths: Well-rounded, eager student

Weaknesses: No team sports, although a lot of teamwork in robotics, school, etc. Need a lot of FA. Applied for the first time as a 9th grader, and it’s harder to get in as a 10th grader.

Why do you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted?
In my Andover interview, he asked me, “So, is there anything else you would like to tell me?” I answered very bluntly, “I want to go to Andover. That’s all there is to it.” I wasn’t as blunt in the other interviews, so maybe that was something. I think I got into Andover because it’s the only school I applied to that was need-blind. Luck is also a huge factor.

General Comments:
Dunno yet where I’ll go. Boarding at Andover will only be 45 minutes away from my house, but I don’t know if I’m ready yet to leave my family. I love my current STEM school, so I’ll see during revisit days. Good job to everyone!

32

Format (copy & paste all thing below):
Accepted: Choate, Deerfield, Lawrenceville
Rejected: None
Wait listed: Andover
Likely Attending: I have no idea yet!

Stats:
• SSAT/ISEE/TOEFL/PSAT: 92%
• GPA Unweighted/Weighted: 3.9
• Rank: School doesn’t rank
• Other stats:

Subjective:
• Interviews: Andover was my first, so I think that one wasn’t as great as the others. Choate, Lawrenceville, and Deerfield were awesome interviews. For those three, the conversation carried along well.
• Math Rec: My math teacher told me that she wrote a good recommendation, and I do well in that class.
• English Rec: My English teacher told me that she also wrote me a good recommendation, I do well in that class as well.
• Personal/Extracurricular Rec: Very good recommendation from a family friend that I’ve known for years.
• Principal/Counselor Rec: Good, she told me that she wrote a good recommendation.
• Sports (if any): Lacrosse (I’ve played for nine years)
• Instruments (if any): none
• Other ECs (if any): I’m very interested in art and STEM as well (attended Brown University’s STEM 1 Program)
• Hook:

Location/Person:
• State or Country: New Jersey
• Current School Type: Public School
• Ethnicity: African American
• Gender: Female
• Grade Applying For: 9th
• Age: 14
• Financial Aid/Full Pay: Full Pay

Strengths: Essays, SSAT, Interviews, Varied Interests

Weaknesses: I do well in Math, but it isn’t my strongest subject, I only play one sport

Why do you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted? Possibly because of my interests in many different things, as well as the interviews and the essays…I really don’t know, I’m just surprised I got into Choate, Lawrenceville, and Deerfield.

(End)

33

Accepted: Loomis
Rejected: NA
Wait listed: Exeter, Hotchkiss
Likely Attending: Loomis

Stats:
• PSAT: 99%, 1360
• GPA Unweighted/Weighted: 3.9
• Rank: NA
• Other stats: NA

Subjective:
• Interviews: All went pretty well, I wasn’t as nervous as I expected. Worst interview was Exeter, I got stuck on a tough question.
• Essays: Decent but nothing extraordinary. Although I’m a good writer I didn’t put my best effort into it.
• Math Rec: Blind. Iffy, teacher doesn’t love me.
• English Rec: Blind, but teacher really liked me.
• Personal/Extracurricular Rec: Blind, but I was old teacher’s favorite.
• Principal/Counselor Rec: NA
• Sports (if any): Tennis, only lessons though
• Instruments (if any): Piano
• Other ECs (if any): Newspaper, Model UN, Knowledge Bowl, Student Council, NJHS
• Hook: Lived & travelled across the globe, accustomed to change

Location/Person:
• State or Country: US citizen but live overseas
• Current School Type: Private
• Ethnicity: Half white, half Asian
• Gender: Female
• Grade Applying For: 11
• Age: 15
• Financial Aid/Full Pay: Full pay

Strengths:
Extensive background in biology, good writer, high PSATs

Weaknesses:
No arts or sports, mediocre at math, introverted

Why do you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted?

My interview at Loomis went pretty well and my essays were good, so I’m not surprised I was accepted there. I was a little shocked about being waitlisted at Hotchkiss though–maybe there just weren’t enough spots. Exeter’s probably the most selective of the three so being waitlisted is understandable. Still, if I was accepted to all three I most likely would have chosen Loomis so it’s fine.

34

Accepted: Loomis
Rejected: NA
Wait listed: Exeter, Hotchkiss
Likely Attending: Loomis

Stats:
• PSAT: 99%, 1360
• GPA Unweighted/Weighted: 3.9
• Rank: NA
• Other stats: NA

Subjective:
• Interviews: All went pretty well, I wasn’t as nervous as I expected. Worst interview was Exeter, I got stuck on a tough question.
• Essays: Decent but nothing extraordinary. Although I’m a good writer I didn’t put my best effort into it.
• Math Rec: Blind. Iffy, teacher doesn’t love me.
• English Rec: Blind, but teacher really liked me.
• Personal/Extracurricular Rec: Blind, but I was old teacher’s favorite.
• Principal/Counselor Rec: NA
• Sports (if any): Tennis, only lessons though
• Instruments (if any): Piano
• Other ECs (if any): Newspaper, Model UN, Knowledge Bowl, Student Council, NJHS
• Hook: Lived & travelled across the globe, accustomed to change

Location/Person:
• State or Country: US citizen but live overseas
• Current School Type: Private
• Ethnicity: Half white, half Asian
• Gender: Female
• Grade Applying For: 11
• Age: 15
• Financial Aid/Full Pay: Full pay

Strengths:
Extensive background in biology, good writer, high PSATs

Weaknesses:
No arts or sports, mediocre at math, introverted

Why do you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted?

My interview at Loomis went pretty well and my essays were good, so I’m not surprised I was accepted there. I was a little shocked about being waitlisted at Hotchkiss though–maybe there just weren’t enough spots. Exeter’s probably the most selective of the three so being waitlisted is understandable. Still, if I was accepted to all three I most likely would have chosen Loomis so it’s fine.

35

Accepted: Hotchkiss, St Paul’s School, Deerfield, St George’s, Emma Willard, Miss Porter’s
Rejected: NA
Wait listed: Taft, CRH
Likely Attending: Not sure yet

Stats:
• SSAT: 85% (Math >90, V>80)
• GPA Unweighted/Weighted: 4.0 unweighted
• Rank: NA
• Other stats: ACT high scores

Subjective:
• Interviews: Great! Really nice AO’s at all accepted schools. The CRH AO seemed tired/not interested (sorry).
• Essays: Worked for over a year anticipating the topics. Started writing essays in August -very strong.
• Math Rec: Blind.
• English Rec: Blind, but teacher is really tough so was worried
• Personal/Extracurricular Rec: Blind. Hopefully nice because of the hard work put forth in sports
• Principal/Counselor Rec: Blind
• Sports (if any): Lacrosse, golf, sailing, plus other competitive sport
• Instruments (if any): N/A
• Other ECs (if any): Student council, dancer, church acolyte, Duke TIP (state rec), CTY academic honors
• Hook: Former nationally ranked athlete, varsity athlete, ballet-jazz-modern 10 years of training, competed in international events.

Location/Person:
• State or Country: US citizen
• Current School Type: Private
• Ethnicity: Multicultural
• Gender: Female
• Grade Applying For: 9
• Age: 14
• Financial Aid/Full Pay: Full pay

Strengths:
Multi-Sport athlete, solid A’s, honors courses, high SSAT math score,Performing Arts background, multiple academic honors, student government, portfolios & videos were good, commitment to sports and training as a dancer. Talked about wilderness training and architecture course over the summer. Can fit into a school in different ways.

Weaknesses:
Relatively low SSAT reading score below 85 (got worried based on CC stats). Two of the competitive sports are played in the same season in NE and one AO told us that would be a problem (“no use to us”). One sport is not that popular and only a few schools are interested or need it. Should have spent more time studying for SSAT - but did practice analogies 15 minutes a day for months and did OK.

Why do you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted?
Being a multidimensional applicant helps. Relieved that its not all based on SSAT. Very strong essays written from the heart. Being strong in math. Having athletic experience that is unique and at a high level. Having highlight videos of sports and performing arts. Being a STEM student, PA/VA student, and athlete. Filling the school’s needs, offering something to the school. Also, knowing each school’s history really helped during interviews. Doing homework@ each school in advance. Taking time to have highlight videos on the iPhone to show during interviews, also. Knowing what you want and expressing it to the AO. Comfortable speaking with adults. Preparing for interviews helped. However, got really rattled by AO’s asking what other schools applying to or being asked to rank schools (unfair).

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36

Accepted: Exeter
Rejected: None
Wait listed: SPS
Likely Attending: Exeter

Stats:
• SSAT/ISEE/TOEFL/PSAT:SSAT 90%
• GPA Unweighted/Weighted: 4.0 uw
• Rank: NA
• Other stats: NA

Subjective:
• Interviews: Exeter 9/10 Intense reception area (made me nervous with the clearly VERY wealthy families) but great talk and positive staff. SPS 8/10 positive but too short to get my full info out
• Essays: Strength for me but no amazing personal life story
• Recs - All blind but suspect quite positive as I have a positive and vocal (appropriate) classroom personality.
• Sports: Running with a solo state title (expect a big factor for me) plus high level soccer.
• Instruments: None
• Other ECs : NJHS VP, Student Council President, 3x a week special ed peer (also big factors)

Location/Person:
• State or Country: NH
• Current School Type: Public 6-8 middle school
• Ethnicity: White
• Gender: M
• Grade Applying For: 9
• Age: 14
• Financial Aid/Full Pay: Partial FA

Strengths:
Academics, student government, elite athletics, essays, “well rounded”

Weaknesses:
SSAT for top 5 schools
No amazing life story, solid middle class, needed aid

37

Accepted: Exeter
Rejected:
Wait listed: Andover
Likely Attending: Exeter

Stats:
• SSAT: 93% in January, 94% in February
• GPA Unweighted/Weighted: 3.9
• Rank: NA
• Other stats: NA

Subjective:
• Interviews: 10/10 for Exeter, 10/10 for Andover. I absolutely killed both of my interviews.
• Essays: My Exeter essays were without a doubt some of the best writing that I’ve ever done; however, my Andover essays were so-so.
• Math Rec: Blind, but I assume that it was stellar because my math teacher loves me.
• English Rec: Also blind, but my English teacher also loves me.
• Personal/Extracurricular Rec: Blind, but y choir teacher thinks I’m one of the best in the class despite only having joined this year. I assume the rec was good.
• Principal/Counselor Rec: Blind as well, but I also assume that my counselor’s recommendation was stellar as well. I talked to her about my applications around once a week since the beginning of the school year. However, I’m not super sure about my middle school principal’s recommendation, as I can’t really tell whether he loves me or hates me.
• Sports (if any): JV volleyball, Varsity rugby.
• Instruments (if any): Piano, concert choir.
• Other ECs (if any): Habitat for Humanity, Model United Nations (I am super active in this club), Student Council (president in middle school, currently a high school representative), school newspaper, piano, tennis, and badminton.
• Hook: None

Location/Person:
• State or Country: France, but attending an American school.
• Current School Type: International
• Ethnicity: Multiple mixed West-Asian races, and European (the Middle East, Indian Subcontinent, Europe). However, this was not listed on my application.
• Gender: Male.
• Grade Applying For: 9th (repeating)
• Age: 15
• Financial Aid/Full Pay: Financial Aid

Strengths:
Everything listed above (particularly my grades and my extracurriculars), my background as an international student having lived in seven countries, and that’s about it.

Weaknesses:
Very weak math SSAT scores (~75%), I also didn’t believe that I was doing enough in regards to academics and extracurriculars to get into schools like Exeter or Andover.

Why do you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted?

Exeter:
I had applied the year before and been rejected, and my application this year shows a significant level of growth compared to my last year’s application. Other than that, I genuinely have no idea. In all honesty, I didn’t believe that I was going to get in and kept having crazy anxiety about it.

Andover:
An overall weaker essay and I didn’t apply the year before.

38

Accepted: Hotchkiss, Blair, Miss Porter’s, NMH
Rejected: Loomis
Wait listed: Exeter, Taft
Likely Attending: I don’t know!

Stats:
• SSAT/ISEE/TOEFL/PSAT: 95% (R: 90, Q: 91, V 94)
• GPA Unweighted/Weighted: 3.7
• Rank: No rank but honor roll
• Other stats:

Subjective:
• Interviews: I clicked with all the interviewers and had a great time chatting, except Loomis and Taft. I chatted a lot with my Hotchkiss interviewer about my summer as I attended summer camp there.
• Essays: Pretty confident! I put a lot of effort and I hope the admission officers saw that
• Math Rec: Blind, should be pretty good!!
• English Rec: Blind, also should be strong
• Personal/Extracurricular Rec: Blind but amazing!
• Principal/Counselor Rec: Blind, probably not the best but still pretty good
• Sports (if any): Swimming (on my school’s swim team and a local team, competes in regional and inter-school competitions)
• Instruments (if any): Flute (school’s orchestra and band)
• Other ECs (if any): School’s book club (won regional quiz last year), volunteers to help kids at a local library
• Hook: Legacy (Hotchkiss only)

Location/Person:
• State or Country: Somewhere in Asia (don’t wanna specify sorry)
• Current School Type: Private Day
• Ethnicity: Asian
• Gender: Female
• Grade Applying For: 9
• Age: 14
• Financial Aid/Full Pay: Full Pay

Strengths:
Definitely legacy and maybe also summer camp for Hotchkiss. For the rest, maybe interviews and essays.

Weaknesses:
ORM (Asian, international)

Why do you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted?
Enthusiasm! I made it seem like (not in a fake way!) that I really really wanted to go to every single school that I applied to.

39

Accepted: St. Paul’s School, Deerfield Academy, Milton Academy
Rejected:The Hill School
Wait listed: Phillips Exeter Academy, Groton, Choate, Episcopal High School,
Likely Attending: I’m not sure yet

Stats:
• SSAT/ISEE/TOEFL/PSAT: 86th percentile overall: 87th verbal 91th reading 66th math (yikes)
• GPA Unweighted/Weighted: 4.00/ 4.57
• Rank:36/478 (1st decile)
• Other stats: taking AP Gov as a 9th grader

Subjective:
• Interviews: my best were definetly at Exeter and Deerfield. My Exeter interviewer and I discussed just about everything under the sun (my dad said we were in there for quite a while) and after the interview she later went on to tell my father that she didn’t understand why I wasn’t accepted last year. I had a really fun talk with my AO at Deerfield, and after the interview he said we would definetly advocate for me for a spot at the school. My AO at SPS didn’t ask me any question about my likes, interests or goals, but rather focused on what classes i was in and what classes id me taking if i came to SPS for 10th grade. I dont really feel like i was asked any questions that showed what kind of a person I am, however during the middle of the interview, my SPS interviewer from last application cycle said she really thought i was wonderful and that she had given me a top score on my interview. All other interviews were relatively good, nothing besides the usual.
• Essays: (I wrote only one essay for all the schools as I applied through A Better Chance) to be honest, writing isn’t my forte and I don’t really remember my essay, however Milton had me provide an additional essay which I put a lot of thought and effort into
• Math Rec: I’m not sure, however my SPS acceptance letter said both my math and English teachers “wrote positively about me as a person and a student” and that in one of my reccomendations one of my teachers referred to me as a top notch young lady and student
• English Rec: see above
• Personal/Extracurricular Rec: N/A
• Principal/Counselor Rec: my counselor (who id never met up to this point) called me down to her office and had me talk about my interests l, my goals, what kind of person i am, etc., she said she would right anything bad so I assume she wrote something along the lines regarding the things we discussed.
• Sports (if any):none
• Instruments (if any): guitar (2.5 years) voice (alto, 4 years)
• Other ECs (if any): volunteering (volunteer for childcare at local church, cofounder of a charity for homeless children alongside brother and friend, community outreach club), Spanish (I’ve been learning since kindergarten and having lived in Miami for a while I have a relatively good accent)
• Hook: I’m not sure if I have one…

Location/Person:
• State or Country: northeastern region of the U.S.
• Current School Type: Public high school
• Ethnicity: Nigerian
• Gender: Female
• Grade Applying For: 10
• Age:14
• Financial Aid/Full Pay: partial financial aid

Strengths: good interviews, advanced in Spanish, lots of volunteering

Weaknesses: ssat scores ( especially math scores as they were totally out of range to my other scores). Not very multifaceted (mainly an artsy kid, not part of any sport or academic teams)

Why do you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted?
At Milton I believe that my additional essay played a major role in my acceptance. At Deerfield I feel my interview is what won them over. Lastly at St. Paul’s, I believe the connections I made along with my recommendations are what got me in.

General comments: from this whole process I feel the takeaway is that your scores are not everything! My scores this time around were lower than my scores from last year, yet I was still offered a place a SPS (I was a reapplicant there). And to anyone who’s M10 results were not what you wanted (I can relate i applied to 5 schools 2017-2018 but only one acceptance with no financial aid), don’t be afraid to reapply, you’ll never know if things will work out. I honestly just feel so grateful.

40

Accepted: Choate, Deerfield, St.Paul’s, The Hill
Rejected: Loomis Chaffee, Hotchkiss
Wait listed: Andover, Exeter, Lawernceville
Likely Attending: (View the Thread: 4 Boarding Schools, 1 Decision (St.Paul’s, Deerfield, Choate, Hill ) )

Stats:
• SSAT/ISEE/TOEFL/PSAT: 60th–Reading(ouch!), 97th Math, 92nd Verbal
• GPA Unweighted/Weighted: 3.72–Unweighted
• Rank: School doesn’t rank
• Other stats: I take all honor classes (I think this is plus, depending on the school you’re coming from.)

Subjective:
• Interviews: Loomis Chaffe was my very first and defiantly do a little digging into the questions they ask you prior to the interview. The best way to do well in the interview is to talk about something important to you when asked something. For instance, talking about something you had to overcome. I did very well in my Deerfield, St.Paul’s, Hill, and Choate interviews. I did not however, do well in Exeter at all. The questions weren’t very different, however they asked questions directed at your grades and accomplishments more and ended up not mentioning several of them. The same goes for the Andover interview. They will ask you if you are applying to other schools. Always tell the truth, do not lie and think that saying no will make you seem like a more desirable candidate.
• English Rec: My English teacher described me as sweet, radiant person who gives smiles all round in my transcript, so maybe this is the same in my recommendation.
• Personal/Extracurricular Rec: I had one from my community service teacher and one from my track coach, I believe they went well.
• Principal/Counselor Rec: I think she wrote an excellent recommendation :).
• Sports (if any): Soccer (I’ve played for nine years), Karate (Seven Years),
• Instruments (if any): Tuba (1 year)
• Other ECs (if any): Interested in Science and competed in Science Fair winning gold in all divisions, Did a couple math competitions here and there (not very active with it).

Location/Person:
• State or Country: Georgia
• Current School Type: Private Day School
• Ethnicity: Nigerian
• Gender: Female
• Grade Applying For: 9th
• Age: 13
• Financial Aid/Full Pay: Full Pay

Strengths: My essays were very personal, don’t treat your essays like the ones in English Class, make these special. My interviews are also very strong. I cam across as genunine. I’m telling you, these admission officers know when some is unauthentic. I was competing at a state competition for science when applying to these schools so that was a major plus.

Weaknesses: My grades were not very strong because I wasn’t as serious in my 6th/7th grade years, however my 8th grade year was amazing! That was what made my GPA so low. These schools want students who go above and beyond the school ciriculum (much like colleges) so be sure to make the most of your middle school years :).

Why do you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted? I believe that I was accepted into SPS, Deerfield, Choate, and the Hill because of my essays and interview. I think that these schools say my potential because of this and showed I was a creative and active thinker. Oh and also, reach out to people! Taking initiative and talking to teachers about your interests proves that you really want to go to their school. I can say the same for the students currently in the school now. I believe that I was waitlisted for Andover, Exeter, and Lawernceville because I never reached out, my grades weren’t very positive for me, and I had mediocre to bad interviews. I would recommend on-campus interviews for these schools. This is because you will get a sense of the school a bit more and may have the luxury of being interviewed by the dean! For the rejections from Loomis Chaffee and Hotckiss. I think this was because I didn’t spend as much time on my essay (did them the day before), my interviews were not very strong whatsoever (typically having a sidetracked conversation and continued despite the lack of energy the person interviewing me had). Good luck to 2018-2019 applicants! :slight_smile: