Suggestions for Application?

Prep School Admissions
1

I know there are a lot of these forums, and they basically can’t say for sure if I will get in or not, but after reading some of them, I would like to get some suggestions on my personal situation (I hope that’s okay). :slight_smile:

I am currently finishing up seventh grade. I am thinking about applying to Phillips Exeter Academy, Deerfield Academy, the Lawrenceville School, and maybe Phillips Academy/others in 8th grade, for 9th grade.I also skipped 6th grade, but am not much younger and am about as mature as my seventh grade peers. I am fluent in both Mandarin and English, and am learning French and Russian.

I am a straight A student, with many A+s, too. (I am a straight A+ student in Art and French, and sometimes in Language class.) The lowest grade I’ve ever gotten is a B-, and that was in Gym class.

SSAT: I took a practice one this year (Upper Level) and got an overall 85th percentile for grade/gender. My actual overall
score was 2157. I will be taking another SSAT this June to see if I get any better, and if I do, I will use that for my
applications.

School Testing: For 7th Grade, I am currently in the 96th percentile in ELA and the 99th percentile in math.

Extracurriculars: Piano- 4.5 years, and Golf- 1.5 years
7th Grade ECs: Free Press (basically a student newspaper at my school), and Math Circle
5th Grade ECs: Lego League (a Robotics and Teamwork competition on innovating solutions for a problem. My team got 1 of the top places for Regionals, and got 14th place in Sectionals. We were the back-up team for State Championship).
Next year, if we move, I am thinking about joining Mathcounts and Science Olympiad, as my new school would offer them.

Awards:
3rd Grade:
Writing and Illustration award- 3rd place in state
Writing award- Anthology competition- (they don’t have place numbers, but I won a spot in the region’s student
anthology book)
Piano Competition- Rated: Superior
4th Grade:
Writing award- Grand Winner in state
Illustration award- State Award of Merit
Writing award- Anthology competition- won a spot in the annual regional book, again
Writing and Illustration award- 2nd place in state
Math test award- Team Winner and National Honor Roll
Battle of the Books competition- My team won 4th in state
5th Grade:
Lego League (like you read earlier)
Writing award- Grand Winner in state
Music Composition Award- Grand Winner in state
Writing award- Anthology competition- won a spot in the annual regional book, again
Town Art contest- Winner for age group 5-11
7th Grade:
Minor Award, only school-wide - Excellent Student Award
Writing award- Grand Winner in State
Writing award- Award of Merit- National (4th- 8th place)
Writing award- Silver Medal in the Midwest Region
Music Composition Award- Award of Excellence in State
Piano Competition- Rated: Superior
I think that’s all.

Summer Programs:

  1. I have attended a gifted and talented summer program for my state for many years, (but I stopped going to it for the next program I have down) and actually got into it a year earlier than their normal age limit.
  2. I have attended a great math camp in the summer (It is hard to get in, and has kids from all over the country. They have a few international kids too.)
  3. I have also gone to sailing camps over the summer.
  4. I have gone to some golf camps.
  5. Next summer, I will go on a tour of Europe, through the countries of France, England, and Spain, which will help me
    broaden my world view even more.

Passion: I would probably describe writing as my passion, because I love doing it, but I really like piano and art, too.

I have also done horseback riding before, and would like to try lacrosse sometime.

Well, if you even got this far, I am REALLY sorry for writing so much, but I would just like some suggestions. What can I include to make my application stand out? And, I am also incredibly sorry if I sounded like I was bragging. I wasn’t trying to.

2

You have a good chance! You have a lot going for you (I’m so impressed that a seventh grader can accomplish this much), so I’ll focus on how to improve your application. A lot of information you have on here is irrelevant. Schools do not want to look at your accolades from third grade. Limit your achievements to 5-10 that you are most proud of. The rest of your achievements and your tour of Europe can be mentioned in an essay or during the interview.

What you can do to improve your application: give yourself a story, show that you’re well rounded AND a good writer. Share some of your short stories, and prove to the school that it’s your passion. Having a love for writing will make you stand out. It would also help to have a sport, so maybe do a fall sport or try one over the summer (perhaps horseback riding?). Since you might be moving to a new school, you’ll have to get to know your teachers well. Have a good first impression, and I’m sure they’ll write you an amazing recommendation. Also, always aim for all A+'s and 99%. Even if you don’t achieve that, you’ll challenge yourself and probably receive good results.

Also, widen your range of schools. I know people who were in the 99% but still got rejected from most of the schools they applied to, while people in the 85% were accepted at their first choice. Look at some other “lower-tier” schools that you like and would enjoy going to as much as the ones you’re currently thinking of applying to. I added Madeira, and Episcopal High School to my list, along with two other schools in my state.

Good luck! Don’t be afraid to ask about the admissions cycle.

3

@saigonollie :Thank you so much for your reply and all of your advice! I have some other questions, though:

  1. How would I put all of my achievements in an essay? Should I just incorporate them into the story I'm telling?
  2. What kind of story should I have?
  3. For being well-rounded, is having piano, art, having an interest for math enough, and being bilingual enough?
  4. I heard that living in the Midwest is a 'hook' for some people, since not many people apply from it. But, since I'm probably moving this summer (to near the coast), will that impact my chances? Will they only look at where I currently live when I'm applying, or will they also take into consideration that I lived in the Midwest for most of my life? (I don't know. it probably doesn't matter, but I heard that having a 'hook' helps you a lot.)
  5. Do you have any tips for the interview? I am pretty loud with my friends and family, but I tend to get quiet when I am nervous. Any suggestions?
  6. Are you already in a boarding school, or...

For sports, I am playing golf, but I’m not good at it. I also have some experience in sailing, but again, not much. Do you think that’s enough?
And, yeah, I do have some ‘lower-tier’ schools on my list (just a couple that are in my state.) Anyway, thanks again!

4

If you want to play golf or do sailing in boarding school, definitely mention that. You don’t have to be good yet, but you may want to practice those more before 9th.

The accomplishments can be in a list; the passions should be essay topics.

Explain that you are a midwest kid in “other information” and that you are moving to XX.

5

Not for the schools you have listed. They can all fill a class over and over again with qualified applicants that they do not need to accept a student from a certain state just to stick a pin n the map. That said, all things being equal (which is never the case), an applicant from Iowa may be a very slight advantage. But if you’re from IL or MI, no.

Skip the 3rd and 4th grade achievements. Nobody will focus on that.

6

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!
@skieurope: I might mention that I am not from IL or MI (or any populous state).

7

Will I still have I slight advantage if I lived there, even if I move elsewhere?

8

If you don’t currently live there, no. Whatever slight advantage you had evaporated.

9

Oh, okay. Thanks!

10

Hey, sorry for not responding sooner:

  1. Incorporate them into a story, some of these seem like they’d be interesting. For example, I incorporated the fact that I was part of a movie club/editor for school videos into an essay about “Finding Nemo”.
  2. Just let the school know what you’re passionate about. I submitted a video of me skateboarding and snowboarding and as a result, got labeled “the snowboarder” by the admissions team. It’s always good to be well rounded but still have some passion or unique trait. This is more of your personality, in the essays and such.
  3. Well-rounded, to me, means sports, extracurriculars, and academics. You mentioned golf, however, so I’m sure you are well-rounded.
  4. I don’t believe it is a hook, at least not at that level of competitiveness. Maybe at some schools with easier admission.
  5. For the interview, I got a lot of advice to be nice, but honestly, I had to be assertive. Like when my interviewer classified me as an academic person, or as a language-oriented person, I corrected them and let them know another aspect of myself. Being nice is necessary for every social situation, be confident and motivated, show the school whether your personality is a good fit.
  6. I’m going to Choate next year! But I went through the admissions process twice and know how stressful it is.
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@saigonollie:
Thanks! I’m sorry for not replying earlier, too.
It seems like schools really care about passions… just how much do they focus on them?
And, I’ll definitely be using those tips for the interview- but, should I bring anything to the interview? (maybe stuff like my favorite books or something?)
Thanks again, and good luck at Choate! :slight_smile:

12

HI @BoardingAddict - short video clips of your sports, your performing arts (recital piece?), arts & photography portfolio - you can show it quickly on your phone…it worked out well for our student

13

Do your homework prior to the interview and review each schools offerings and signature programs ahead of time, go into the interview able to articulate how you plan to contribute to each school’s programs and be specific. After awhile the schools all blend together and you’d be surprised how many kids say they want to play golf while interviewing at a school that doesn’t offer it. Most important, just relax and be yourself.

14

Listen to advice from @chemmchimney ! Adding to that post (above) about doing your homework, you should know the history of each school you apply to and their program offerings. This will also help you answer questions during interviews and on essay prompts. At least one school had an essay question about its founder’s philosophy. Do your homework and try to learn how you can contribute to the school. Several schools had this specific question either during the interview or on the application. Kiddo did this and reviewed the athletic team rosters, as well.

Of course, we knew which schools offered golf and who needed golfers :-c

15

Don’t feel bad about bragging! Bragging is a vital part of applications.

You have an awesome resume. Talk about it in your interview and profile and stuff, but your essays aren’t for you just to write a list. When you write your essays, focus on making sure they really show who you are. Think of a book with a well developed character and try to imitate the way the author got you to know his/her characters. Make sure that that stranger at a school in Massachusetts knows what you want them to know about you, and make sure that there’s no doubt they will like it.

Like what others above said, do your research about a school and have good school-specific conversations. Don’t ask anything you can find on their website; instead, read through the website and if there’s anything that gives you a question, write it down in a notebook and bring the notebook to your interview. Be confident in your interviews and engage your interviewer with questions about them (why they’re at XYZ School, what their favorite things are, etc.) don’t wait for them to ask questions about you. You’re there to impress them, but you can’t let it get to a point where you’re listing things off as they grunt and write it all down.

My last piece of advice for you is to broaden your list. All the schools you’ve listed are extreme reaches. You seem to have a great chance at getting in but at the end of the day, they’re ultimately lotteries. Andover, Exeter, Deerfield, and Lawrenceville are definitely not the only good boarding schools out there. They’re great, and I’d say go for it if you got in, but right now, you don’t have the luxury to narrow it down to those four. NMH, Mercersburg, and tons of others have awesome opportunities even though they aren’t globally well known, and you have a great chance of getting in there. Check out schools outside of New England, too - Baylor School, McCallie (if you’re a guy), Asheville School, etc. The students there are still really nice and impressive, the education is still really good, and the opportunities are still super available. Additionally, I can almost guarantee you’ll get handwritten mail from them, and they’ll practically beg you to come to their school because all the schools that aren’t Andover desperately want more students at your level.

You have a great chance, but those are some really intense schools, so make sure you’re prepared for rejection. Don’t be afraid of safeties - the definition of a ‘safety’ when it comes to prep school applications is pretty unfair to the safeties that are really really good schools. Consider this advice (but also consider that Andover and Exeter rejected me this spring…) I wish you all the best of luck in your applications next year!