Prep School Admission Process

<p>yep I most certainly did!! :DD I’m having a simmer of hope here…also did traveling to all over europe, and even columbia…on my own, with actual colombians that I met in scout camp in NY, it really broke away my stereotypes and trust from main stream media… :)</p>

<p>Thats great, thats gonna help you!</p>

<p>bump… help on admission process</p>

<p>You’re looking for an answer we either can’t – or won’t – give you. It’s a black box for a reason. If people really talked about how decisions are made, then everyone would adjust their applications to try to meet the criteria not understanding that it changes every year depending on the mix of applicants, the volume, and staff availability. They’d get clones and consultant crafted resumes instead of real students on the page.</p>

<p>I just got off the phone last night with parents and a student who wanted to know if they “had” to take certain classes in order to qualify. Everyone becomes so desperate to put together the right package they forget to enjoy the journey. </p>

<p>Suffice it to say every application is read at least once, many are read more than once, and there’s a lengthy - sometimes contentious - meeting of the minds to narrow down a well-qualified list to a manageable size. Then a delicate dance to figure out who in that pool gets an acceptance, a waitlist, or a rejection (many issued with regret because they’re good kids).</p>

<p>Someone who is accepted one year, might not have been the year before for a variety of reasons.</p>

<p>So best thing to do is just relax because it’s a long ardous wait until March 10.</p>

<p>You’ve already mailed all the applications. There’s nothing you can do.</p>

<p>If this is really your interest…
Aspire to become an admission officer, or call after Apr 1 and ask why you got in/or not.</p>

<p>Please keep in mind that the interviewer’s job is to make you feel comfortable, relaxed and to bring out the best in you. They are usually very good at what they do. As a result, everyone should have a good, or even great interview. If an ao does his or her job right, the applicant should leave with a Sally Field’s “they really like me!” feeling.</p>

<p>It is only one piece of the pie.</p>

<p>To all the kiddos out there, this is what zuzu is referring to:</p>

<p>[YouTube</a> - sally field best actress oscar “places in the heart”](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube)</p>

<p>forward to about 3:10</p>

<p>I would also guess that more often than not, a “bad” interview is not with an ao, but with someone else filling in; a coach, teacher or dean. This is just a guess though.
zp</p>

<p>I agree with what zuzu wrote about the “bad” interviews.</p>

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<p>[PA</a> Sees Most Competitive Applicant Pool in School History | News | The Phillipian](<a href=“http://phillipian.net/article/9693]PA”>Article: Antonio Pulgarin Speaks to Toxic Masculinity, LGBTQ+ Rights, and Latinx Issues in New Exhibition “Whispers of a Caballero.” – The Phillipian)</p>

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<p>How on earth do they have enough information to determine this? Creativity could be shown by EC interests and perhaps the application, and organization by teacher comments and ability to keep up grades with many ECs, but how do they make any kind of meaningful determination of a candidate’s ethical reasoning?</p>

<p>Interviews and teacher recs maybe …?</p>

<p>One school’s director of admissions told me a couple of weeks ago that four people read each file and then it goes to a committee after that with their recommendations. All decisions at that school are made by the first week of February because then they have to go to Financial Aid. </p>

<p>Another school told me that the person who interviews the student is the “lead” and presents that student to the committee. They did not say how many read each application, but it sounded like the whole committee did from other parts of the conversation. At this school, when it comes down to decisions, they said, sometimes near the end, those who are most passionate about the students they “present” get the students in. Which means, your interview does in fact mean a lot (or it can). </p>

<p>Neither of these schools mentioned per grade committees. </p>

<p>Most schools take into consideration “wish lists” from coaches, music, etc. (ie: recruits)</p>

<p>Beyond that, very basic info…anyone’s guess is as good as anyone else’s. And as others have said, and as I’ve told my child…you’ve done all you can, it’s out of your hands now.</p>

<p>@Linda S.: The second example supports my notion of every AO getting a few “puts”…kids he or she wants to “put” in the incoming class.</p>

<p>@Linda S: first week of Feb? I think most schools just finished processing files in early Feb. So they read 1000+ applications in a week?</p>

<p>I don’t get that either…submission is until February First, so ***?</p>

<p>If the deadline is Jan 15, by the end of first week in Feb, they’d have had two to three weeks reading the applications. For a smaller school without a lot of applications, it is possible.</p>

<p>80% of the andover students board, and their apps are due february first,</p>

<p>When I visited every school they said even though applications are submitted on the 15th reading does not start till the 1st of February and the letters wouldn’t come on the 10th if they finished them that quickly…</p>

<p>@ lindas could you specify which schools you’re talking about?</p>