HI, I’m in middle school and aiming high for maybe Andover and Exeter during high school. When doing some research
online, I found some requirements that I wasn’t revealed to on the website. For example “SSAT scores overall have to 93%” or “at least 20 hours of community service” Since I still got 2 years left until I actually have to apply- get rejected or accepted. I figured perhaps people who are or are really familiar with the schools give some advice.
Do I honestly have to do 20 hours of community service?
My grades are straight As except Science and Language Arts which are sometimes As or Bs.
I played the Cello for 3 years and is the lead cello in the grade
Won local art shows
Alright guys, tell me what are my chances and if I should to improvise. (I’m planning to play a sport, but don’t know which one.)
I would shoot for a 90%+ on the SSAT. The year I got into Andover(2012), I was right around the average at 94%. Many have community service before coming to Andover, and it is a great way to embody the “Non-Sibi” spirit of the school, however I had no community service before coming to Andover. My two cents of community service is don’t bother doing it if your sole reason is to improve applications. Find a comm serv project you actually care about, and run with it. Many applying to Andover have straight A’s, so try as hard as you can in that department. If you have a few B’s in Language Arts, make sure your SSAT verbal scores are very high. As for extracurriculars pick a couple that you are very passionate about, and do them really well. It is NOT necessary to be the kid who participates in a dozen different ECA’s but has no real passions for any of them, because there are ways in which admissions can tell which ones you truly care about. Picking up a sport can be a great thing to do, since sports are mandatory at Andover/Exeter