Hi, I’m new here and I hope somebody replies as I’m quite distressed.
I’m a fourteen year old Asian and I’m from a little town in America where there’s one public high school and one private middle/high school. I’m currently attending the private one but it lacks a diverse community and a sense of competitiveness. Most people there don’t care about doing well in school as much as I do. I’m at the top of my class and my grade has been straight As since 5th grade. I’ve played flute for six years and I’ve played piano for three years. I’ve played basketball (not on the national level) for three years but I’ve never considered myself to be even decent at it.
I’ve never had to study for a test and I’ve still managed to get good grades so I had it in my brain that I’m smart. I started to become interested in boarding/prep school last year when I was in 8th grade thinking that maybe BS would give me more of the challenge I wanted. I was naive and hopeful. I thought I could get into Andover because I was at the top of my current school. I didn’t even finish applying last year. Just the SSAT score made me realize how serious boarding school actually is.
I’m applying again this year. This time, I was smart enough to pick more schools (Berkshire, Deerfield, Andover, Emma Willard, and Northfield Mount Hermon). My first concern is do I have enough ‘safe’ schools? My second concern are the SSATs. I did pretty bad last year and I’m studying harder for this year. I understand that none of the schools I’ve listed would consider a 64th percentile as their first choice. My last concern is if I do get in, would the competitiveness would be too much for me to handle?
Can someone give me some advice?
Thanks, Cindy
Hi!
- Let me adress one thing first: the term 'safe' is a relative term for the most part, so I can't really tell you what is safe and what isn't without knowing you better (even though not many schools should or can be considered safe).
- PM me and I can tell you all about how I preppared for the SSAT!
- Again, I don't really know you personally so I can't tell you what you can and can't handle. Keep in mind that although these schools do have extremely high achieving students, that doesn't necesarily make them competitive. Yes, obviously if you need to be at the top of your class then these schools are probably not for you because everyone is smart and everyone is high-achieving. It will become much harder to win at everything like a lot of kids did at their old schools before coming to boarding school. I can't speak to any experiences at these schools on a personal level in terms of competitiveness, but trust me when I say that the cut-throat, sabotage-happy academic environments portrayed are not true FOR THE MOST PART.
p.s: I applied to NMH, Berkshire, and Andover last cycle so I can definitely help you out if you need it 
I’m actually a current Berkshire student so pm me if you have any questions about the school and I would be more than happy to answer! I also got accepted to (but in the end decided to not attend) NMH- even though it was a great program and I really was torn, so I can tell you about that from what I know just based off my tour, interview, and revisit day.
Hey Cindy,
Your list of schools looks good, there is a diverse selection of schools on there. I will say though, most of these schools are in pretty remote areas (Deerfield, NMH, Berkshire) and are not large schools (besides Andover). That can be a positive or a negative, but it’s really all about your preferences. Based on your current list, I would also recommend looking into Kent, SPS, Loomis Chafee and Hotchkiss. If you are looking for a different environment (larger, more suburban/urban) I would say, Choate, Middlesex, and Lawrenceville are also great options, but are all pretty selective.
If you can, I would say visit a bunch of schools in person, because a quick tour of the school can tell you ALOT about the school and its fit for you.
I’m going to be attending Choate this fall (^^so is Nico i believe^^) so PM me any questions you have about the admission process and SSAT!
p.s. I also consider myself the Waitlist Specialist (lol) so if you have any questions about the wait list now or in the future then hmu
@Allenz6107 @cababe97 @Nico.campbell Thanks! How were your tours? What were they like?