Spanish grades were like that since I was taking High School Spanish since 7th grade but switched to Latin in 9th because I felt like I would do better in Latin and I was always interested in it.
I don’t think my math teacher likes me that much to be honest, she just graduated college last year and this is her first year teaching math at our school so she doesn’t know much about anything. Otherwise my other teachers and I have a close bond except the math and guidance teachers (both new teachers who graduated/new to the school).
I think my interviews are the strongest part of my application so I’ll make sure to emphasize who I am as a person.
If you are repeating 9th, I think you have a very good chance since so many more openings! And if you interview well, even more so.
And nobody can promise anything of course…
Re-reading my original post I sounded more pessimistic than I was even for 10th though! Your awards are great:)
EDITED: I agree with below, I am not sure any schools in metro boston are safety anymore, they really care about fit. I know of a kid who got into Commonwealth but not CSW, e.g.
Commonwealth and BUA are quite small but if I were you, I will not aim them as safety school. 40% admission rate could be from years back though. If you wants to extend your backgrounds with orchestra and music competition, Rivers, CSW are rising up academically and all around; even these two schools get quite competitive.
I never had like a terrible grade in 7th and 8th. The lowest I ever had was a B+ for a quarter grade in 7th and 8th. Otherwise the lowest final grade is a A-. Its just this 9th grade quarter 1 grades that are mid. I have 90+ for Honors Latin, World History, English 1, Honors Orchestra, and Probably Honors Physics (Didn’t get the test back but pretty sure I’ll have over a 90). My math grade is the only one not over a 90. I think it’ll be a B or a C or maybe even a D, but I’m not sure.
I would think Commonwealth would be a safety school because in my public school alone we have 5-10 students going to Commonwealth every year. Last year was our lowest amount of kids going to Commonwealth and we still had 4 students going. I feel like or at least in my opinion I have a better overall application than most of the kids who go to Commonwealth from my school. (They have a higher grade than me overall, but its like if I have a A they have a A+ etc, otherwise everything else like the SSAT, awards, ECs, I think I have a advantage over them). But who knows.
And for rivers and CWS, I don’t think they are really a match for me. Of course their music program is strong compared to other schools but their academics program is still growing. And even though their music program is strong its not like the best of the best (in my opinion). Like I know the concertmaster of Rivers orchestra, she is in the back of 2nd violin for BYSO’s BYS. I’m in BPYO which is arguably better since its entirely tuition free + we tour the globe every year. And I’m in 2nd violin in the front even though theres college violinists from NEC, Berklee, Harvard, Tufts, UMass, etc. So in my opinion Rivers isn’t really a fit for me.
I am assuming your test scores have been adjusted for 9th grade. Please make sure to do that. To echo what another writer mentioned, none of the competitive MA schools are safe for you. You may still get into one so good luck.
An earlier poster said that commonwealth has about 40 students per grade. Are you really saying that in some years, 25% of the class comes from your public school? Or do you mean up to 10 kids out of the 160 across the four grades (so like 3-4 per grade)? I think it would feel a bit claustrophobic to go to a private high school that fills a quarter of its class from a single middle school.
Last year, in my 8th grade class there were 5 kids who were admitted into Commonwealth and only 4 kids who decided to attend there. I think its because my middle school is highly rated (It was t5 in the country a few years back, now I think its t100-200 in the country).
I know none of the high schools are safe for me. To be honest, I don’t even think I’ll get a w/l this year. Thats why I’m looking for safety/match schools because I want to get out of my public high school (even though its t500 in the country which is definitely good, but recently they like I mentioned before are trying to get rid honors classes, and just recently I found out that they are removing 5 important aps next year), along with that the programs that it offers have been declining in the past few years and the teacher qualities have been declining too.
Personally, I think you should focus on schools that will allow you to do your music the way you are doing it now as all other options seem to be inferior.
CSW is one that seems to create a fair bit of flexibility for students pursuing interests outside the school environment. You might want to frame your search that way.
I will apply to CSW (Thanks for the advice), but the only thing I’m really concerned about is about FA and about the getting in part. I know they have 4 million of FA for 310 students ish which is a lot but I’m not sure if its a lot. And I’m worried since I’m asian I won’t be able to get into the school because of this grades math grade (every other year the lowest math grade I had was a 96).
If you need FA, there is nothing you can do but apply for it. The schools have it for students they think can bring something to their community. All you can do is show them what that is in you and hope for the best.
Math grades are not evaluated differently for Asians.
Look! You have a set of priorities that involve location, FA, and your EC. You can accommodate all of those by staying in your public school, and you can make the most of that.You can also throw your hat in the ring at BS that meet your needs. And if that works out, you’ll need to make the most of it there. But the thing is this – your fallback option is fine. You have nothing to lose.
If you want to apply, do it. If there are issues to address, do so. There’s nothing to be gained in making excuses for fear of rejection. Sometimes, you just need to put yourself out there!
Alright, I’m going to apply to Commonwealth and CSW from what I’ve heard from this thread as match schools. I really don’t like my public school especially with the college profile going down and the programs going down hill after they spent most of the next 5 years budget on the new school building. Is there any other high school that has a really high acceptance rate but with decent FA? I honestly don’t care whether I can go to my current YO since theres always other YOs. I’m already applying to 12 schools, so I think either 1 more or I can stop now.
This is the list:
Andover
Exeter
Choate
Hotchkiss
Milton
Concord
Middlesex
Groton
St. Paul
Deerfield
Commonwealth
CSW
(A safety? or stop with 12?)
Also in this list I think most of them are reaches but could someone make a list for me based off of my overall application and organize them into Reaches, Matches, Safeties, etc?
It should be on their website. They are one of a handful of schools to use the academic schedule they do, so they explain more it pretty well. The key thing is that it can be highly individuslized and flexible, giving students quite a bit of room to accelerate or devote to particular interests. Iow, it could work well for your music interests. They can definitely tell you how other students like you have managed it.
I don’t know how they implement their FA.
Remember, you don’t need to apply if you don’t feel it’s a fit after a visit and interview. Explore the website, formulate your questions, and visit. If it’s not right, you can stop there!
I’m not going to mention which school, but its one of reach schools I’m applying to.
Ok so I had my interview with them today and I met with the Music Director and some of the other faculty there. I talked with the Music Director and he took notes of what I’ve said and he took me around to tour the music facility. At the end he met with both me and my dad and he says he really likes me and told me to email him when I’m done with my application so he can advocate for me in the admissions committee and so he can tell the admissions team to choose me. He says he would really love it if I could join their community both musically and academically.
Along with this, my interviewer at the end of our interview asks me to send her my resume because she wants to memorize who I am so that she can “advocate for you during the admissions process”.
Is this a good thing to hear from them or is it just a thing thats heard by everyone who talks with these people? Along with this I talked with the Math Department Head of this school and she says she would also love for me to join the community and also told me to email her once I’m done with my application so she can mention me to the admissions team.
Thanks
Sorry if theres any typos or anything I wrote this in my car on phone.