Phillips Exeter Academy

Hi, so I currently go to a private middle school in NH. I took the SSAT twice hoping to get a better score the second time. I did, getting a 90% overall, but I don’t think this score is high enough to get into Exeter. I know that school grades, personality, interest in school, and recommendations also matter a whole lot but I’m only pretty good at one sport and academics is supposed to be my strong suit. Just a little background on me- I play field hockey, do swimming, ski for fun, and play tennis competitively and well. Math is my strong suit which I got 98% on the SSAT, also why I’m interested in Exeter because I know they’re strong in mathematics. I play violin and guitar, violin for 8 years and guitar for 6. I am a mostly straight A+ students and most of my teachers like me. I love cooking and digital art. I feel like even though my background is alright, my SSAT scores aren’t high enough considering the immense competition with a top academy like Exeter. I’m a bit scared honestly because my sister got waitlisted from Exeter and Andover, Andover which my dad is a former alumni, which shows that Andover doesn’t really care about alumnis’ children. My sister did a bit worse than me on the SSAT, but she’s brighter in personality than me in my opinion. I wanted to know considering everything I do and my SSAT scores, if I would have a chance at getting into Exeter in 2021. I also know that even though scores aren’t required due to COVID, having a good score would impress the schools.

Untrue.

But the days of having an alum parent resulting in automatic admission are long gone. While it helps, and legacies have a higher acceptance rate, more legacies are still rejected than accepted.

I don’t do chances, but wanted to correct the misinformation. Also, don’t limit yourself to PEA unless your local school is a decent fall back option.

Your test scores are sufficient to get you into Exter and other boarding schools - but, as you note, it is just one of many criteria.

What other schools are you applying to?

If you want to work towards a higher score, there is still plenty of time to practice the sections that give you trouble. Underscoring the scoring mechanism of the test is helpful.

Having a connection to the school does give a boost, but just a boost. You have to completely qualified in every other way.

Last summer I listened to another parent who was a PG at Andover complain about his daughter (charming, mediocre grades) not being admitted to Andover. We were sitting in their lovely second home on a vast acreage, he and his wife are both employed as corporate lawyers, and they applied for financial aid. He was shocked, shocked she was admitted!

Congratulations, 90th percentile is a fine result. The difference between that and the PEA median of 94th %ile is only about 5-6 more correct answers out of 150 questions. Your SSAT score won’t materially hinder your chances.

Just go knock their socks off in the interviews and on the essays and see what happens.

There are a lot of boarding schools that have a good enough math program to satisfy you. Don’t limit yourself to Exeter for that reason.

A 90% SSAT doesn’t keep you out of the running. I assume your verbal score was around an 80/85%, if your math was a 98%. Probably still fine. If you are rejected it wouldn’t be because of a 90.

@doschicos I’m applying for Andover, Exeter, and St. Paul’s. I looked at my sister’s scores and I’m glad that my scores were significantly better than hers, but I’m still a bit worried because my sister applied to more schools whereas I’m applying to only the top three schools.

Have you considered expanding your list?

You will get some pushback here that there is any such thing as a “top three”. Imo, if that is your approach, Those three schools can get the sense that you are applying without knowing who they really are and whether they are a fit for you. It is much harder to write a good application if you don’t have a better reason why you are applying to a school beyond school reputation.

Lots of great schools out there. Why limit yourself? Sounds like you are stressing yourself out by limiting yourself to three.

Regarding expanding your list - if your sister did not gain admittance and your only application “improvement” on hers is ssat score I strongly second (or third) the recommendation to broaden your search.

And if your only motivation is “Exeter is strong in math” then you have some fun ahead of you- learning about another dozen or so schools which are ALSO strong in math!

I don’t mean to be a wet blanket, but it seems like going to BS is important to you, so…unless you are good enough to be recruited those “extra” activities don’t mean very much. All they say is “this kid was involved in more than one thing so she is involved in school.”

Cooking for example - Unless you have a YouTube cooking channel with 50,000 subscribers it’s unclear to me how it’s an activity that means much to a BS. If you have a love of cooking it might make a heartwarming essay but I wouldn’t be listing that as an activity.

You say tennis is the thing you’re good at. Do you love it? Are you good enough to make varsity freshman year and help the team win? Then it matters. Then it can make a difference between your sister’s outcome and yours. (As an example - have you been to nationals or states? Sorry I don’t know what it’s called in tennis. In soccer there are state and national championships, in basketball there are big tournaments where all stars are picked by coaches.)

I only say the above to explain why people are saying you need to apply to more schools. Every year there are smart kids who don’t understand why they don’t get into schools - there are a lot of really smart kids applying to these schools. The bigger schools can take more of the average smart kid, that’s true, but it’s super super hard to chance those kids because the reason they get in is the intangible that we cannot see online.

@one1ofeach I am really good at cooking, I’ve never been in a cooking competition, but out of all of the culinary schools, I’ve always been at the top of my class and probably good enough to go on Masterchef Jr. I’ve been playing tennis. I have gone to states, made it 5th place in states this past season in 2019, not nationals though. I LOVE tennis. I probably can make it to varsity freshman year and help my team. That’s what I’m training for and have been on a steady, guaranteed path to Varsity in freshman year. All of this is not me trying to be boastful, but rather HAVING to show off what I can do.

:lol: You make it sound like getting into SPS is some consolation prize. It is just as competitive as Exeter. Often the acceptance rate is lower.

Did your sister matriculate? How long ago did she apply?

Admissions seems to get more competitive each year and the schools are seeing increased demand with the pandemic.

Re: cooking - great hobby but you need to think of admissions in terms of what can your strengths/interests/ECs add to the school’s community.

Pardon me while I roll my eyes that someone “only” got accepted to SPS.

?

Someone is in need of a reality check.

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@skieurope and @doschicos what i’m trying to say is that my sister applied to at least 5 more schools than me and only got into one of the schools she applied for. I’m not saying St. Paul’s is a bad school; I’m saying I’m not confident because I’m only applying for 3 schools

If you are one of the top 100 math students in the 8th grade in the world and are looking for a math team, you should look extra hard at Exeter. Otherwise, many BSs will provide you with more than enough math to challenge you. Listen to the advice here and broaden your list of schools.

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@isabeleatskimchi

Think of it this way. These schools have acceptance % in the low-mid teens. Let’s use 15% on average (and to be clear…that’s actually higher than reality). To state the obvious, that means that 85% of applicants don’t get in. 85. 15 out of 100 get in, 85 out of 100 do not get in.

I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt thatat least another 15, and maybe more like 30/40/50 out of the 85 who do not get in have grades, scores, ECs, recommendations, etc. just like yours. Or better. And they don’t get in. That’s why you should broaden your list. That’s why you should really search for fit, and then prepare yourself to demonstrate to the schools you’re applying to what makes you stand out, and how you will contribute to their specific community, not just BS in general.

PLEASE take to heart the advice you’re getting here. People are trying to help you, really. And they’re doing so from experience. Not only from their own kids having gone through the process, but from spending a lot of time on this forum seeing the same thing over and over and over and over again every year: bright, shiny, kids with 99%ile SSATs. A+ GPAs, stellar ECs and recommendations, etc. who have no options come March 10.

You are right not to be confident because you’re applying to only 3 schools (especially those 3 schools). Therefore, apply to more schools, including less selective schools.

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I haven’t considered expanding my list because my current school, The Derryfield School in NH, is a decent back up option.