<p>I'm going to back up this boat for a second. We've got a decent feel for your background.</p>
<p>I'm trying to figure out your objectives. </p>
<ul>
<li>You are 9th grade age and are attending CC as part of homeschooling.</li>
<li>You could easily continue at CC and transfer into a quality school in LA (perhaps UCLA?) in a year or two if your grades are good as you are rather unusual (young and able to handle college work) and that always helps keep an application on top of the stack.</li>
<li>However you want to attend a prestigous boarding school instead of continuing on this course.</li>
</ul>
<p>I am guessing that with your academic achievement that you are aiming higher than UCLA (not a bad school itself) for your undergrad work.</p>
<p>I am also guessing that you feel like you are missing a bit of your youth by going directly to CC with adult students and not your peers.</p>
<p>I get the feeling that your parents have chosen your current path because the nearby public and private school offerings are well behind you academically and you would just sit there and stagnate. </p>
<p>They are allowing you to apply to Andover/Exeter because it brings a good probability for HYPSM admission, an honor which they see as a marked improvement over what you can get on your current path.</p>
<p>Now, lets compare last year to this year.</p>
<p>Last year, you were a homeschooled 8th grader who had pretty good SSAT scores, but not much else to measure you on. I am assuming here that you didn't have "teachers" to give you recommendations. Grading on homeschooled students is very difficult for prep schools to measure. And like you said, you didn't have much in the way of ECs because you were moving a lot. Quite frankly, there wasn't much for the schools to latch onto there and get a feel for how good of a student you are.</p>
<p>Now contrast that with this year. You are at a CC doing college level work (hopefully getting A's). You are working in a mature adult environment, something most high schoolers cannot say. You will have college instructors to write your letters of recommendation, not high school teachers. You have SAT scores that are reasonably close to the averages for Seniors at Andover/Exeter. This is a huge difference. You still have over 3 years to improve those scores still.</p>
<p>Yes, you still don't seem to have ECs. I'm not sure enough about the details of how you spend your spare time (time not studying), but I'm sure there is a story someplace. Do you work in a family business or get to travel (you mentioned that your family has moved a bit)? ECs are not all about leadership and social interaction or athletic ability. They are about things you have done that make you a more interesting person and more passionate about achieveing different goals. They represent different experiences you can bring to the student body.</p>
<p>Quite frankly, I like your odds of getting into Andover/Exeter better than many of your Chinese 4.0 GPA 98th percentile public school peers who were in upteen different clubs. Why? Because you are NOT the stereotypical Chinese student you mentioned in your first post. Yes, I'm sure you identify culturally with those other Chinese students, but you have taken a path much less travelled and have a demonstrably more mature view of life from living in the adult world of CC.</p>
<p>The first thing you need to do is realize that you have a MUCH more presentable package this year than last year's (which through no fault of your own was rather weak in evidence). You've got to get past that "bitter" rejection and realize that they really had no idea who you were and who you are now.</p>
<p>You also need to make the most of that CC opportunity. Start going to you instructor's office hours and find a reason to ask questions and discuss topics further. You will need those instructors' recommendations in a few months. If you come across as a bright inquisitive student, that is what will find its way into your recommendations. </p>
<p>I would also recommend retaking the SAT if you possibly can. Of course, a prep course (especially on the verbal side) would also help this cause. Most people improve their SAT scores in the 6 months between sittings.</p>
<p>I guarantee that they will not ignore your application with these unusual credentials. You will need to be equally bold in your interview.</p>
<p>You've got to let them know that you are there for at least an equivalent academic experience and want to take advantage (and are more than capapble) of the top opportunities in your favorite field of study, but are looking more for the other parts of being a student in a high achieving school. You are looking for those things missing in your home schooling environment and look forward to being a very active part of that type of community. </p>
<p>The key thing here is confidence in how you approach things. </p>
<p>No more
[quote]
I am a Chinese girl in L.A. (I know, how typical.).
[/quote]
You are unique and are experienced way beyond the typical applicant.</p>