Suggestions On Reapplying?

Prep School Admissions
1

I’m currently an eighth grader and I am currently hesitating about whether I should reapply.

Let me explain my situation. (If you want to hear the shorter version, just skip to summary)

I applied to a lot of schools and none of my top choices (PE PA Choate) were able to offer me a place, and I am pretty sure that I am not getting off the waitlist.

Although I have confidence (not really that confident) about being able to get into Choate next year due to some inside information, I have zero confidence in getting into PE or PA.

Also, I am what you can call a STEM competition student. Basically doing competitions such as AMC, AIME, USJMO, and in my opinion, I am quite successful in that field.

My local public high school is one of the US’s best high school for the competition. Really only PE and PA can is better than my local school based on competition. For example, MOP is a national summer camp where the US selects only 60 people can get selected every year for further competition to get in the national IMO team (4 people). While Choate has almost none(I think in the history of Choate, only one get into MOP) and PE has one or two(not sure but should not more than 3), my local high school also can almost guarantee one every year.

Now, here is my dilemma. I am really not good at achieving a high GPA score. The best I can do is maybe a 3.95 at my local high school. However, if I attend a top private high school such as PA, which requires students to focus a lot on humanity(I am really not good at), I might not be able to even guarantee a 3.8. I have heard plenty of people who climb really high in the field(some much higher than I ever will be) but failed because of a low GPA.

In addition, top schools such as Harvard and MIT do not really care if you are in a private high school and I already have legacies for schools such as UPENN that really cares about private high school.

On the other hand, private high schools will have a much better experience and better resources in general, as they do have more money than public schools. In addition, they significantly increase my chance of getting into schools such as UPENN and Brown.

Summary:

I apply to school mainly via my STEM competition achievements. I am quite successful in my opinion, and I should have enough achievement by the time I apply to colleges such as MIT and Stanford. However, I am bad at humanity studies, and I am horrible at achieving good GPA scores.

Should I choose a more enlightening high school experience and better resource(keep in mind that absolutely no guarantee of getting accepted, so also risking wasting a lot of time in my ninth grade which is pivotal to my competition) with the risk of getting a low GPA score and waste a lot of time on humanity(less time for STEM).

Or should I choose a safer option of going to my local public high school(which is one of the public best high school) which I can spend a lot more time on my competition and achieve a higher GPA score. However, the disadvantage is I might have an experience not as amazing as I might have in private school, in addition to having a significantly lower chance of getting into Ivy schools on the lower end on the Ivy league such as UPENN(which I have legacies).

Can you please give me some suggestions? I am really unsure right now.

2

Sorry for the grammar. I was really tired when I posted it so I did not even proofread it.

3

The most successful kids I know don’t plan so much. They take one experience at a time and build on it. Take your desire to attend an Ivy (( someday )) out of the entire process and focus on what you want to do right now.

Question: Why do you want to go to BS?

BS is more than prior/current stats … or a possible Ivy acceptance down the road. Your post totally skips the critical four years in -between part! If you can’t articulate the reasons why you want to go then you should probably stay put - because you’ve totally missed what they’re looking for and the entire point of a BS education.

Forgive me for being tough and please don’t be hurt or offended- I’m actually trying to help :

TBH- If I interviewed someone like you ( as an alum ) , I wouldn’t think you were viable or ready because your focus and ambition ( while somewhat admirable ) is on ALL the WRONG stuff.

You should only reapply if you can change your mindset. Maturity, readiness and a willingness to try new things ( here and now ) is key. It also helps if you can identify what those new things are because BS is all about getting out of your comfort zone and personal growth - not your definition of a prize four years from now .

Hey - definite bonus points if certain colleges are still your heart’s desire when you reach V Form and you get an acceptance the following year … But in all likelihood - you’d be much better off applying to an Ivy from a cardboard box on the side of I95 - not the BSs you named in your post.

So… IMHO - If the above post reflects your past presentation to BS AOs - then you probably came off as way over-programmed which in turn diminished your overall app . You’re in 8th grade and if you conveyed any of this Ivy stuff to a BS AO - it was definitely a red flag. If Ivy League placement was a major hope and dream for your parent(s) during their interview… that sealed it.

Contrary to popular belief- Ivy placement is NOT a BS ambition, goal or job.

Read their mission statements and go back to being a kid without a college roadmap. If you prioritize differently- you’ll probably be more successful with admissions next time. Stick to what is directly in front of you or you’ll miss the opportunity and all the good stuff that comes with it .

Bigger Question: Did you apply for any amount of FA?

4

There is no solid reasoning in your post for attending a boarding school if your local school school is one of the “best” and you are doing well there. You will have no better chance of admission to an Ivy from either place and, due to the strength of the BS pools, you may have a tougher time if you do not end up at the very top of a BS class. As @skieurope always correctly comments, “colleges choose students, not schools.”

Your goal should be getting the best high school education you can consume, not any particular college result. When the time comes, your chance of admission to any college with single-digit acceptance rates will be very slim even if you have top stats and a flawless resume; there are just too many of these “perfect” applicants for too few seats. If you do not understand this, you should start reading on the college side of this board and start broadening your horizons. There are many excellent colleges that will prepare you well to get where you want to go in life. At this stage, you should focus on getting the most out of your upcoming high school education wherever that is, and college will take care of itself.

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@PhotographerMom and @ChoatieMom Thank for your suggestions! I totally understand your points, although I did not present any of the Ivy League stuff during my application. With that aside, I think I choose BS because they provide a lot of resources and programs such as fundings. Also, they generally tend to have better students base. I think these are the main two reasons why I might choose BS over my local public high school.

Also in case, you are wondering why I didn’t get accepted, it was because of my GPA and leadership activities, at least according to the admission officers I talked to.

My personal belief is that high school experience is definitely important, however, the experience that a top College can provide is gonna(in my opinion) be better than what a top high school can provide, so my plan is to try to utilize high school’s resources to better apply for colleges. After all, High School is called College Prep School. But I certainly get your point and will adjust my mindset.

Also to answer your bigger question, no I did not apply for any amount of FA.

6

What is this inside information you speak of?

PA has a 6-point scale grading system so a 3.8 at PA is essentially a ~2.9 if we were to convert that to the regular 4-point scale.

Although I couldn’t find the exact data on this, I’m going to use it’s peer institutions to create the assumption that UPENN probably has a student body mostly a made up of students who came from public high schools. With that being said, I don’t think they really care about private high schools.

Both PA and PEA have strong STEM programs so don’t think your missing out on STEM by choosing to attend PA (if you get accepted).

If you actually plan on reapplying to BS, don’t let them know that you’re planning on using their school as a stepping stone into the Ivy’s. This will not turn out well for you in the end.

All the best!

7

An anecdote which may or may not shed some light: DD was always a strong student, outgoing, class leader, athlete,performer, etc. Made her own decision to apply to BS, really against our wishes. No visits, no interviews until the 11th hour when there was some scrambling by the schools she applied to for video interviews. She was really applying blindly.

She had a learning partner (LP) through middle school-the two of them worked at their own level and it was nice they had one another to be challenged by. Their school was willing to provide accelerated opportunities because there were two of them who could use the enriched curriculum. Her LP likewise considered going to BS for HS. Apparently he had a direct line to PA. We tried to convince DD to stay home and relax through high school, to enjoy being a big fish in a small pond. We thought going to a competitive BS with a student body full of strong learners would be setting herself up to have a weaker application when the time came to apply to colleges. Well, she made her own decision, to go to boarding school and to learn among strong learners and risk being “average”. Her learning partner, in the meantime, decided to stay home and be that big fish in a small pond and he was. We would run in to him and his family around town and envied that they got to have that time together.

Fast forward to college acceptances and revisit day…and the two of them, applying from different schools in different states, are back together for college. Completely unplanned. The moral of the story for us is that whether one is the big fish in small pond or being pushed in a more challenging learning environment, your application should reflect who you are and the right match is the right match. We hated letting go but it was right for our DD, but you don’t have to go to boarding school to go Ivy.

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In the first place, one would almost never have to convert an Andover GPA. In the Second place, that conversion is wrong.