Phillips Exeter, Phillips Academy Andover, Lawrenceville, Choate, Hotchkiss

Prep School Admissions Prep School Chances
1

Hi all-
I know these kind of threads are pretty pointless, but I’m just looking for some feedback. I’m an African-American girl applying to 9th grade from MD to the above schools. Currently in 7th grade at a private day school, but looking to start the application process early. I know it’s a lot, but thank you in advance to anyone who decides to read this!

6th grade:

Pre-Algebra: A (96%)
English: A+ (98%)
History; A+ (97%)
Science: A+ (100%)
Spanish: A+ (99%)
Art: Commendable (we don’t have letter grades for Art, Music, Physical Education, Choir, and Dance in my school)
Music: Commendable
Physical Education: Commendable
Dance: Commendable
Choir: Commendable

Honor Roll both semesters

7th grade: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd quarters, since the year isn’t over yet

Algebra I: A+ (99.5%)
English: A+ (99%)
History: A+ (97%)
Science: A+ (97%)
Spanish: A+ (99%)
Art: Commendable
Music: Commendable
Physical Education: Commendable
Dance: Good :frowning:
Choir: Commendable

Honor Roll 1st semester, and I predict it will be the same for the second semester

EC’s:

  • Fencing for 4 years (28th in the country for my age group)
  • Swimming for 3 years
  • Track and Field (at school)
  • Piano for 8 years (I have played at the Kennedy Center, The State Department, and I am about to play at Carnegie Hall at the end of the month)
  • Chess for 2 years
  • Feminist Club

I am fluent in both French and English

I took the SSAT last month and I scored in the 98th percentile, with a 710 in reading (99%), 689 in quantitative (93%) and 710 in Verbal (99%) Currently studying hard for the Upper Level exam, which I plan to take in the fall

I have not had my interviews yet, but I predict that they will go well. I’ve thought a bit about possible interview questions. Brainstorming for written essays, but I think that they will be good (my teachers have told me that I have a talent for essay writing). My recs should be pretty good, I bonded a bit with the 8th grade English teacher during Track since she’s the coach, and the 8th grade math teacher heads the Feminist Club.

Once again, thank you to anyone who decides to read this and reply! I know that this is pretty much pointless, but I’ve been scrolling through some of these, and I thought I’d do it myself. If I come off as arrogant, I COMPLETELY apologize, that was not my intention.

2

I think you have a good chance of getting in. I’m applying to some of the school’s you are for 9th grade to. Will you be applying for financial aid?

3

Thank you for replying! I may apply for some financial aid, but not much.

4

I do have to say, you have an impressive application! Obviously I can’t say whether or not you’re going to get in, as the schools you listed are very unpredictable and competitive, but you do have some great ECs and grades. Have you done any volunteer work? I know Andover’s motto is “non sibi”, which means "not fore

5

*for oneself.

(Sorry for my post being cut off! Accidentally clicked submit before I was finished :frowning: )

6

Thanks for taking the time to reply! I have done some volunteer work, such as playing the piano at nursing homes and cleaning up my school’s community and the surrounding area.

7

You do have a strong application! Although the admissions decisions of these schools can be very random to us outsiders, I’m gonna say that you’re gonna do well even if luck isn’t on your side when it comes time to open that decisions letter.

I’m going to Choate in the fall so hmu if you have questions!

8

Thank you so much @Nico.campbell !! Good luck at Choate, I wish you all the best!!

9

That’s great! Definitely keep that up and mention it in your app/interviews. Good luck with your applications!

10

I know Andover has fencing. Choate does not. Not sure about others.

11

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply!

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@preppedparent I went to a type of meeting type thing where all of the schools listed were there. I remember Andover mentioning it’s fencing program, and I believe Hotchkiss may have said something as well. However, it was some time ago, so my memory is a bit fuzzy. Thank you for your reply!

13

Andover has a fencing club, not a varsity team. Same with Exeter.

AFAIK, no fencing at Hotchkiss.

Off the top of my head, the ones I can thing of that have teams are Lawrenceville, Masters, and Hun. However, if one is a really talented fencer, boarding school is probably not the best avenue to pursue. Most highly competitive fencers (and swimmers/divers/skiers/soccer players, etc.) complete at the regional club level, which is usually hard to coordinate with the schedule of a BS.

The expert here though, is @SevenDad so hopefully he can chime it.

14

@skieurope Thank you so much for your advice!

15

Did someone say “fencing”? :wink:

FWIW, I agree with skieurope that boarding school is probably not the best avenue to pursue fencing at a high level. I might even say that Masters (due to proximity to concentration of quality clubs, coaches, training partners in NYC) and Culver (due to proximity to Notre Dame/Escrime du Lac fencing club) are probably the best bets.

Lawrenceville I have mixed feelings about for fencing. There is proximity to TigerZ, the club run by the Princeton coach, as well as a few other local clubs…BUT, Lawrenceville has some sports participation requirements/restrictions on pursuing out of school elite sports training. Also, Saturday classes certainly not convenient for getting to NACs, etc. TBH, in recent years the best fencers at L-ville mostly did not fence for the school team. IMO, Lawrenceville does not field the best HS team in the state…by a long shot. Hun has even weaker team, but also the benefit of having TigerZ nearby.

While you will see a handful of BS grads on the rosters of top college programs, for the most part the kids are products of local day, public, and homeschool backgrounds. Lee Kiefer, the world number 1 women’s foilist and 4 time NCAA champion went to a public high school.

See you in Salt Lake?

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Note: There are some strong clubs in Boston area…so Andover/Exeter could work (I think Harvard’s MacKenzie Lawrence trained with Michael Marx for a bit, though she is originally from Kansas, so I’m guessing was at Heartland before going to Exeter?). But as with Lawrenceville, the challenge is getting from school to the club on a regular basis while managing schoolwork/class schedule…I don’t recall off the top of my head if PEA/PA have Saturday classes or not.

Depending on your weapon type, you may want to consider Oregon Episcopal School…which is basically a way for saber fencers who are not from Portland to train with Ed Korfanty, Mariel Zagunis’ coach. A quick scan shows that they also have an epee/foil partner club (NFC) nearby.

17

Andover does not, and PEA has classes on some, but not all Saturdays. Although PEA has been trying to revise the calendar for a while to eliminate them all together.

18

PEA has about 6 Saturday classes/year. PAA has none and you can take the commuter rail into Boston.

19

@SevenDad Thanks so much for replying! I did think about that, and my parents and I are debating on whether I should go to BS because of the fencing. I wish I could go to Salt lake, but I’m in a 6 week summer camp and I can’t go :frowning: good luck!!

20

I think a lot depends on how much you envision fencing being a part of your life going forward. If you want to fence for a competitive program in college, then I think it’s important that you maintain a high level of training and competition through your high school years.

You’ll need to balance that with your motivations for attending one of the selective (and rigorous) BS you mention in your thread title. And there will probably be tradeoffs.

Here’s a relevant anecdote:
A few years ago, when touring Princeton with my non-fencing older daughter, a girl in an Andover sweatshirt asked the tour guide about the fencing team. The guide asked what kind of experience the girl had…and she said something like “I really just fence with my school’s club. Andover doesn’t have a team and I don’t have much time to go to national competitions.” The guide responded with something like “Well, you know that our team has Olympic level fencers on it, right? So while I’m sure you could try to walk on, I don’t think you’d be that attractive of a recruiting prospect.”

For me, being most familiar with the NYC fencing scene, I would recommend that Masters in Dobbs Ferry, NY make your consideration set. Some of the best clubs, coaches, and fencers in the country are based in the NYC area. Plus, Masters fields an interscholastic varsity fencing team (competes in league with other area private schools) and has an outstanding fencing room on campus.

I don’t know where your home club is in relation to St. Timothy’s in Stevenson, MD…but I think that could be another good “lesser known” boarding school to explore.