<p>I just thought that since there was a waitlist thread, there should be a thread for people who plan on reapplying next year.
I'm planning to reapply next year as a sophomore and I want to know for the essays, if you reapply to the same school and you have to answer an essay topic that asks like, "What do you like most about yourself?" can you answer in the same basic idea as before because I don't think that the thing you like most about yourself can change in a year.</p>
<p>I’m also reapplying as well. What’s your current list?</p>
<p>For now, I was thinking:
Deerfield
Andover
Hotchkiss
Exeter
SPS
Choate
What about you?</p>
<p>I’m reapplying also. I want to try to shorten my list but also make it a balance of reaches and safeties. I want to find some schools that are strong in the humanities. I’m not sure about Kent, Taft, and Pomfret. If anyone has any suggestions please share. 
My List:
- Concord
- Pomfret
- Choate
- Taft
- Kent
- Hotchkiss
- Deerfield
- NMH
- SPS
- Exeter
- Andover</p>
<p>Yeah, I need to choose some safety schools too but I’m not sure where else is a good fit for me.</p>
<p>yay me too! im looking at more tier 1.5/2 this year with only a few 1 so this is my uncut list</p>
<ol>
<li>Taft</li>
<li>Deerfield</li>
<li>Choate</li>
<li>St. Andrew’s DE</li>
<li>Hun School of Princeton</li>
<li>Episcopal High</li>
<li>Emma Willard</li>
<li>Ethel Walker</li>
<li>Kent</li>
<li>Porters</li>
<li>St. Mark’s</li>
<li>Milton (Day)</li>
<li>Middlesex (Day)</li>
<li>Blair</li>
</ol>
<p>I need to get my list down to 6 though…but i not really looking at Blair a TON just i dont want to have 13 schools because im superstitious.
if anybody has any “inside scoop” on any of these. I’ve already applied to Deerfield, SPS, Hotchkiss, and Loomis. I also interviwed at Groton and visited St. Mark’s and Milton so if anybody has any questions feel free to ask!! :)</p>
<p>I didnt finish my application anywhere last year, and I’m adding some schools this time (only applied to Andover and Deerfield before)
applying to:
Andover
Deerfield
Exeter</p>
<p>Also thinking about Lawrenceville, Kimball Union and possibly a few girls schools. I need to add at least one safety to the list above</p>
<p>I will also be reapplying next year. Currently my list that really needs to be cut down is:
Milton
Deerfield
Hotchkiss
Concord
Lawrenceville
Choate
Groton
Peddie</p>
<p>I applied to the first 4 this year and was waitlisted at all 4. I will not be reapplying to Andover or Exeter because after some research I’ve come to the conclusion that they are too big for me, and I would prefer a school with a more close-knit community. Anyway, that’s 8 schools, and I want to cut off at least 2-3, so yeah. :)</p>
<p>My list:</p>
<p>Deerfield
Hotchkiss
St. Mark’s
Kent
Taft
St. Paul’s
Groton
St. George’s
Loomis
Middlesex</p>
<p>I’m thinking about a lot of schools. I’m strongly considering adding KUA to my list to replace either SPS or Groton. </p>
<p>Anyways, like many of you, I was WLed most places last year. But, I’m planning on changing around my essays. I mean, I already know EXACTLY what I’m going to write for the Deerfield essay. I want to show them that I’ve changed and grown over the past year. How were all of your essays this year?</p>
<p>If you’re interested in suggestions to freshen or fill out your list, you might consider posting a few of the key interests/strengths that will shape your choices.</p>
<p>-I forgot a school, I will also be applying to Thacher.</p>
<p>@ifax108; I think my essays were one of my weak points this cycle. I have always been way more into math & science than humanities and history, and writing has always been my weak spot. I will be studying writing with a tutor this summer though, so hopefully that will improve my essays. </p>
<p>@kraordrawoh; Good point. Well, I’m actually open to any suggestions, but my parents are very typical Asian parents and will only consider the more famous schools. It is very narrow-minded of them, and I have tried my best to convince them otherwise, but it was hard to even convince them to let me consider Peddie and Thacher. Those are two incredible schools in my opinion, but on our list of schools ranked by highest average SAT score in 2009 (no idea how accurate this is, got it from a testing prep place), they were not in the top 10, they were 12 and 18, respectively. That is how stubborn my parents are. Anyway, other than that, I will definitely lean towards schools with a stronger math/science program, with a stronger music and arts program, and I probably won’t enjoy being at a school with a strong focus on athletics because I am very clumsy and unathletic. :)</p>
<p>on a different note, yongatilla, great idea to start this thread and I’m sure all of us reappliers (?) can help each other throughout the next cycle. :D</p>
<p>@yongatilla: If I was your parent/friend/counselor, I’d advise you to broaden your list significantly. None of the schools on your list are even close to being a sure thing for even the most qualified of applicants.</p>
<p>@aaralyn: Tell your folks you know of at least one Asian parent who does not subscribe to the “top 10 SAT scores” philosophy, and that it seemed to work for his (my!) daughter…</p>
<p>Best of luck, all.</p>
<p>@aaralyn: I’ll admit I’m biased by SAT scores to some extent, but what I watch more closely is the relationship between inbound SSAT scores and outbound SAT scores. To the extent that you use SAT scores, I’d suggest looking at the median and top quartile. Some of the schools with strong sports clearly accept athletes with scores well outside the normally acceptable range. This biases the SATs in particular, especially if the school takes PGs.</p>
<p>As SevenDad wisely points out, there’s a lot more to it than scores. In fact, if SAT scores were most important, I’d have put my kids in one of the NYC day schools rather than sending them to BS. Concord does well on SATs because it has more of a day-school student mix and clearly doesn’t recruit athletes.</p>
<p>With that said: I’d suggest looking at some schools that have strong math/science but aren’t on your list. I’m puzzled why L’ville would be on the list but Exeter not? The difference between 800 and 1100 isn’t really so great. I’d also suggest looking at Taft, Westminster and Berkshire. All have strong math/science programs and reasonably new facilities too. If you want to go to BS, job #1 is to make sure you’re accepted! :)</p>
<p>@SevenDad: That was a problem for me. This year I was waitlisted at Deerfield and Andover and rejected at Exeter and Lawrenceville. It never occurred to my parents (they are asian) that I might not get accepted so now we’re all disappointed and are searching for some safe schools. I’ve been looking for schools that are big on music but I don’t know where to start. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>I am considering reapplying and this is my list so far…
Choate(Day)
Andover
Kent
Hotchkiss(Maybe)
Northfield Mount Hernon(Not sure about this one)
Hopkins School(Maybe?)</p>
<p>@yongatilla I know that Hotchkiss is big on music, and if you want girls schools Dana Hall is big on music, and i think that Groton seemed sort of artsy…</p>
<p>Some advice from an interviewer. The “old” way of thinking was to concentrate on grades and test scores then focus on the most exclusive ones. But these days the schools are becoming more well known via internet and outreach and a lot pickier. Worse, students who would have never considered boarding school are fleeing their public school districts in droves - and as budget cuts across the country loom it’s about to get worse. Boarding schools are no longer just for the “elite” who can afford it, but a safe haven for bright hard working kids of all economic levels looking for a more compatible peer group.</p>
<p>So – because the bulk of the applicant pool are students with stellar credentials (grades, high scores). Parents focused on the “old” way of choosing based only on numerical stats are in for a shocker. There isn’t enough room for them all, and the trend is now to build a diverse class since experience has suggested that not all students with great stats are good BS candidates and many students with lower stats do just as well.</p>
<p>Focus now on passion, where you “fit”, and where you won’t be just another tuition payment or number in the crowd. If you focus only on schools based on the top “five” or so - be prepared for odds akin to a lottery.</p>
<p>This is so cool! Thanks yongatilla, for making this thread.</p>
<p>The school’s I’m considering are:</p>
<p>Choate
Deerfield
Hotchkiss
Groton
Peddie
Episcopal
Asheville
Dana Hall
Baylor
St. George’s
Foxcroft
Madeira
Thacher
Cate
Miss Porter’s
St. Andrews-DE</p>
<p>@aaralyn-I know, my mother has that typical Asian thought too. She even has a book titled somewhere along the lines of, “A study of elite American education.”</p>
<p>@SevenDad; Yeah, I actually know of many parents that don’t force things onto their kids like that, but my parents just use counterexamples of their friends who have. xD</p>
<p>@kraordrawoh; Yes, that’s true too. Milton has the highest average SSAT score that I’ve seen so far, according to boardingschoolreview, at 90%, but is ranked 5 on the SAT list I have. I, of course, believe that there is much MUCH more to choosing a school than the SAT scores, but my parents are very prejudiced. As for Exeter, like I mentioned in my first post, I will not be reapplying to Andover or Exeter because after some research I’ve come to the conclusion that they are too big for me, and I would prefer a school with a more close-knit community. I will definitely take a look at those schools, thank you for the suggestions.</p>
<p>@yongatilla; high five about the Asian parents! xD I was also waitlisted at Deerfield, but rejected by Andover and waitlisted by Exeter. I also agree with Ehphant that Hotchkiss has a strong music program, my interviewer talked about their music building and all the guest performances.</p>
<p>@circlemidnight; Wow, that’s a lot of schools. 
But wow, really? That’s pretty funny. :P</p>
<p>@aaralyn: If you’re really looking for a more intimate seeing, I’d suggest cutting out all schools with more than 600 students and then looking at those in the 250-600 range that are particularly strong in your areas of interest. You might also want to consider the educational approach (i.e. traditional vs. progressive) of the schools. Most of the schools fall on the traditional end, but there are some that take alternative approaches. This is not an area of expertise for me, but I believe NMH is an example of a school with a more “progressive” educational philosophy.</p>