<p>Hi, I'm in 7th grade and in 8th I plan on applying to some boarding schools. So far I plan on applying to Taft, Andover, Proctor, Blair, Thacher, Kent, and Deerfield. Should I have more safety schools? I read some of the chances threads and got really scared. I can't speak 6 languages!!
Any advice is appreciated.(:</p>
<p>7 Schools all of them different, well your chances will depend on your grades, tests, sports, ec’s.</p>
<p>What are you looking for in a BS? strong academics, a specific sport, arts, a huge campus, small one, need fa? keep in mind those things while choosing the schools you’d like to apply to.</p>
<p>(just my opinion) :)</p>
<p>Hello,</p>
<p>The best way to answer your question is to ask two more:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Do you have a viable option at home? (a good school you can afford where it won’t matter if you get rejected everywhere?)</p></li>
<li><p>Will you be applying for financial aid?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Financial Aid makes school admissions much, much, harder. Lots of kids around here will tell you to only apply to schools with the biggest endowments as they give the most aid, but that’s not the whole picture. The school I work at gives out some whopping aid awards to kids that they really want to come here. Keep in mind that applying to lots of schools also means more visits, more interviews, and more essays. Only your family can figure out the right number for you.</p>
<p>You’re going to go all the way to California to apply to Thacher but not Cate? Okay, let me show you some things.</p>
<p>Thacher Avg. SSAT: 90%
Cate Avg. SSAT: 83%</p>
<p>Thacher acceptance rate: 14% last cycle
Cate acceptance rate: 22% last cycle</p>
<p>Thacher Avg. SAT: 1962
Cate Avg. SAT: 2027</p>
<p>Top Matriculation Choices, Thacher’s past five vs. Cate’s past four:
Thacher:----------------Cate:
USC(17)-----------------USC(17)
Tufts(11)----------------NYU(14)
Stanford(11)-------------Stanford(11)
Dartmouth(9)------------University of Chicago(10)
Colorado College(8)------Colorado College(9)
U.Colorado Boulder(8)----U.Colorado Boulder(8)
NYU(8)------------------Columbia(7)
Middlebury(8)------------Brown(7)
Claremont McKenna(7)—Cornell(7)
Wesleyan(7)-------------Davidson(7)
George Washington(6)----UC Berkeley(7)
MIT(6)-------------------University of Pennsylvania(6)
Colby(5)-----------------Colby(6)
Bowdoin(5)---------------Barnard(6)
Colgate(5)---------------Sarah Lawrence(6)
Georgetown(5)-----------Middlebury(5)
Whitman(5)--------------U. of St. Andrew’s, Scotland(5)</p>
<p>Now what have we learned here? Cate has more forgiving acceptance rate, with 22% vs. 14% (still, Andover’s vs. Exeter’s is 13% vs. 20% respectively, to give perspective). Cate also has a much lower SSAT, but still manages to groom it’s students to have much higher SATs and just as good (if not better) matriculation.</p>
<p>People tell me Thacher’s outdoors program is what sets it apart, however. They have horses on Cate, but not much else. At the beginning of the year, all Cate students go on week-long back-packing trips all over California. After this, the outdoors program will typically offer 2-3 day camping trips every 1-2 weeks. These all vary greatly, however. For instance, this year I kayaked and snorkeled for two days in Santa Cruz and a few weeks later mountain biked to a secluded natural hotspring (so cool), and was treated after both trips to In-N-Out Burgers before returning Sunday night. For the even more dedicated, students can take “outdoors” in place of a sport, which may include (but is not limited to) surfing, white-water rafting, hiking, rock-climbing, snorkeling, and wilderness survival training. Oh, and Cate has two year-round outdoor pools. Thacher has none.</p>
<p>Still, I must admit that the point that I view to be most important, acceptance rate/SSAT vs. the final products of Matriculation and SAT, are most notable in Concord Academy and Linden Hall (if you’re a girl, that is). Concord has an 84% SSAT and 32% Admit Rate turn into a 2050 SAT and stunning matriculation. Linden Hall shot up to become second only to Exeter (BY JUST TWO POINTS!!!) in SAT with a 2095 average. It’s admit rates are over 50% (last published rate was in 2009 with 75%) and has an SSAT average of just 78%. I don’t know what they’re doing, but it’s working.</p>
<p>If you are interested in California boarding schools, Cate is definitely the one to consider, as ThisOneKid mentioned. </p>
<p>Another school that I would strongly suggest is Webb Schools in Claremont, CA. </p>
<p>Its acceptance rate is more forgiving along with lower average SSAT scores. Their average SAT score is similar to Thacher and Cate. Their college matriculation stat is amazing. The school does not officially release its SSAT, acceptance rate and SAT scores but somehow you can take a guess by looking at the boardingschoolreview.com. </p>
<p>The Webb Schools have two schools under its name, the Webb School for boys and the Vivian Webb School for girls, each with 200 + students. It has the only high school with the accredited museum of paleontology in the nation. Highly respected school in the area sending many students to liberal arts college nearby such as Pomona and Claremont. One of the true hidden gems with heavy emphasis on academics and research with Californian vibe.</p>
<p>Also, its college counselor is known to be the best among boarding schools. Very respected and experienced.</p>
<p>Thank you guys so much! I looked at Cate and I really like it! It sounds very impressive. I will do more research. yes, I need financial aid. I’m not really not an artsy person except for theatre. I would love a school that has soccer and/or cross country. (I’m from the south��) You guys have been a lot of help! Thank you(:</p>
<p>Also, does Cate have a more competitive or relaxed atmosphere?</p>
<p>Apply to Stevenson if you’re interested in West Coast schools. Beautiful location (Pebble Beach).</p>
<p>Are you entering 7th grade this September?</p>
<p>Yes, periwinkle. I know I’m planning early. Lol I always have to have a plan(:</p>
<p>^^if you REALLY want to get proactive and get some practice, you could consider going through the application process this year for Groton’s 8th grade class. Then you’d know the process start to finish with just one school application, and if you happened to be accepted…well then you’d have a different kind of decision to consider.</p>
<p>I would love to do that! I really can’t though, because I wanted to
Spend this year doing sports and improving my grades. I don’t think I can do that if I miss school. So since I can’t go through it yet, I’m going to keep asking about other peoples experience. Thank you for the advice though(:</p>
<p>Booknerd18, your list is fine for a 7th grader. Print it out, and put it in a drawer. Close the drawer. </p>
<p>Don’t look at it until next summer. Devote yourself to having a great 7th grade year. </p>
<p>Try new things. Don’t worry about high school now. Stay away from this website until next year.</p>
<p>Periwinkle, yeah that is what i am going to do. Have a good year, I mean. I just wanted to have a good idea of what my plans were. I wanted to take some of the pressure off of me when the time comes. thanks(:</p>
<p>You will change so much over the next year, it’s fruitless to decide your list now. Adolescence is an amazing time of life, but it’s a swift-moving stream. Next year, you’ll have had a whole extra year to draw upon, and you’ll know your strengths and weaknesses better.</p>
<p>Thank you, I will keep your advice in mind(:</p>