Rank Me for Andover, Exeter, Hotchkiss, Groton, Deerfield, Berkshire and St Paul’s

Prep School Admissions Prep School Chances
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Hello! I am from South Africa, and was looking for boarding school application advice. I am applying for Andover, Exeter, Hotchkiss, Groton, Choate, Deerfield, Berkshire and St. Pauls. Hotchkiss is currently my top choice but I am doubtful I will get in.

I am open to considering other schools if any of you have recommendations.

Gender/Ethnicity/School/Financial Status:
Male, Black, St Michael’s School, Would need most likely 50-75% FA.

No legacy status, parents went to state schools, and boarding schools are foreign to me.

Applying for:
Grade 10 (or repeat Grade 9)

SSAT:
I only started the application process in December 2021 so I could not find an SSAT slot that was near me and that was before the date that my current school opened.

I have not yet scheduled any interviews.

I have not started with most of my essays but am planning on writing them by myself and having others check them so they will be “in my own voice.”

Grades:
I am an A and B student. My average mark for the year was in the 83rd percentile

Recommendations/School Report

I my recommendations may not be as in depth or as comprehensive as I have only known the teachers for 1 year but I’m an active participant in class.

Achievements:

  • Member of African Climate Alliance

  • Participated in research of an article in the Cape Argus newspaper

  • Member since mid 2020

  • Achieved red and blue Academic colors

  • The highest level of achievement possible in a single academic year

  • Member of SADC Apimondia Youth Initiative

  • Member since Late 2020

  • Attended United Nations / South African Government organized conferences

  • Confrence was co-organized by the South African Government and UN Women (A part of the United Nations)

  • Made an appearance on eNCA

  • eNCA is a South African Cable TV news network

  • I had spoken about global warming and the role of parents in instilling values such as climate aware

Hobbies and Extracurricular:

  • Soccer

  • Played competitively for 2 years but currently play in my personal capacity

  • My position is: Defender

  • Rowing

  • Never played competitively but I have been rowing in my personal capacity for 3 months

  • Basketball

  • Played competitively for 3 years but I currently play in my personal capacity

  • My position is: Small Forward

  • Public Speaking

  • Never completed competitively but I currently participate in my personal capacity

  • Debating

  • Coding

  • Never completed competitively but I currently play in my personal capacity

  • Current Position: Junior coder (basic level)

Disruptions caused by the pandemic have resulted in the hindrance of professional sport activities. I am very interested in joining Model UN, Economic and Political clubs, and looking into doing international programs. Currently, they are not available to me. Most interested in Information Technology and economics.

I know applying for these schools is a long shot. Any advice you have to offer will be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

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Schedule your interviews ASAP! They may be filled up by now in some schools. Also, apply to some less competitive schools if you want a real shot at boarding school. The top schools usually are admitting A students at the top of their class.

Also, of course you should be writing your essays by yourself. That goes without saying.

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Thank you for the advice!

Do you have any other suggestions for other schools that I could apply to?

Secondly, I think that my Achilles heel is that I’m not very good with essays.

Do you think I should stick with applying for 10th grade or should I apply for 9th?

Lastly, I have been informed by my current school that I am in the top 10 students in the entire school and either 1st or 2nd place in my class so I am just waiting for the rankings to come out in January which is when I’ll update my canidate profile.

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Have you checked out the “hidden gems” thread? That might be a good place to start. The essays often have choices, so just pick the best ones for you and show your personality/who you are. You have lots of essays to write, so get started! But first, you need interviews scheduled!
Schools on SAO I believe have standard essays, not individual to each school like Gateway, so maybe apply to a few from there. Someone let me know if I’m wrong about that as we are only on Gateway schools for now.

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Yes. Unfortunately only SAO lets you submit the same four essays for each school, while Gateway has all individual prompts to a particular school. Some prompts on Gateway do repeat though so be mindful of that.