<p>out of the whole complicated admissions process, what do you think is the most important that decides your acceptance or rejection?</p>
<p>the whole component (srry if i miss out smthin):</p>
<p>SSAT
Essays/Short Answer
Interview
Recommendations
hook/Special talent/EC/Athletics wtever that makes you special
Personality (?)</p>
<p>i put personality because when I asked Andover in the interview the same question, he answered kindness. i asked him what about ssat, essay, he didn't care. sure, essay matters a lot but he replied if you're not nice, you won't have a spot in andover (hope y'all are kind ppl! esp those of you who make kinda mean remarks to ppl who do chancing!)</p>
<p>Personality would probably come under interview, since that's the only one on the list that offer "hands on" interpretation of the applicant. Other than that, I would say the essay and recommendation to be important, since they reflect your character in your own eyes and your teacher's eyes respectively.</p>
<p>ECs and SSAT are important, but perhaps not as important as the above, since it's just a record of what the applicant does, but offers no insight into the applicant's character.</p>
<p>So I'd have to say interview, but keep in mind that standing out in any one of these is a sure way to admission, such as "outstanding" essays, "outstanding" recommendations, extremely high level EC activity, or perfect SSAT score.</p>
<p>I wish it wasn't like this...but theres no way they can get a great grasp on personality. Especially no way to know if your "nice"....everyones pleasant in an interview obviously.</p>
<p>But I think interviewers can kind of tell if your being truly 'nice' or not. They probably have like a feeling too, like students do when they go to visit the schools. There's probably like an aurora around you. (Well, maybe not. But it can be true! )</p>
<p>I think they'll find out if it's genuine from the interview, essay, and recommendations. It kind of shows off your personality, and since the recs are confidential, they'll know.</p>
<p>Since the SSAT is on the bottom, I'm having a feeling that I'm wasting my time studying for the SSAT... Lol, and I should be spending more time on my essays... Gah.</p>
<p>Most kids who apply are 8th graders...lots of them get nervous or shy or w.e. There is no way they can adequately "get a vibe". Ya you can tell because no ones trying to impress you (no offense), but you have to understand when I say "Acting". It doesnt mean go in there all smiley and nice, obviously they can see through that.</p>
<p>But if the person is genuinely not a good person, I don't think it would be hard to shade that.</p>
<p>I deff thinks it's personality.
For example, at our school when we give tours we fill out a survey about the student we gave a tour to and an admissions officer told us once that sometimes people who they thought they were going to accept, once they saw the survey about them they decided not to.</p>
<p>Yeah, actually, my SPS tour guide told me I was the best person she's ever shown around! She said it was nice to have someone actually CARE about where they were, listen to what she's saying and actually TALK.</p>
<p>I was like, thanks! Haha... really though, she said she was gonna give me RAVE reviews on her little card thingy, which I thought was nice. =] Too bad I decided not to apply! LOL.</p>
<p>A GOOD interviewer is able to tell your personality pretty quickly I'd think... it's their job. I've always been able to 'read' people, which benefits me sometimes, but sometimes it's just a pain in the arse.</p>
<p>Essays are also meant to show off your personality to an extent also hence the term "find your voice" that all of our English teachers try and get us to do in writing. So if you can adequately convey yourself through your essay (which I feel is the most important part) I guess in a way your also showing your personality. So I agree.</p>
<p>I don't one factor neccesarily trumps all others. If you lack one thing, then you can't get in. If you have a terrible interview, and the interviewer says to not admit, then your done. If you get a 25 on the SSAT, it could be a problem. If you have a 3.0, you may have a problem getting into Exeter. If your essays are written in crayon about how much your life revolves around your love of playing video games alone, then it can hurt you. But generally, I think that everyone has the basics, and the rest is making one the categories better than the other 80% of the people who are applying.</p>
<p>tiger_max22: Well, I didn't like the feel of the campus, or the kids. Like I said, my tour guide was an absolute joy, but for some reason I didn't feel the same connection as I did at Andover and Exeter (the places I'm applying to).</p>
<p>The campus was more than lovely on the outside - really like an excerpt from Harry Potter, but the insides left much to be desired for me. </p>
<p>I'm am mom. My son really liked SPS. He is still on the fence about applying (umm, a little overwhelmed with app essays and term papers assigned over Christmas break).</p>
<p>I didn't like SPS, but LOVED our guide. The most informative guide at any of the schools we toured! She was a bubble of friendly energy. However, the rest of the students were not friendly. The Admissions building was beautiful, but no one to welcome us when we arrived. It felt "stuffy" </p>
<p>Son says my take is skewed because: 1. I liked the Exeter Admin "House" feel.
2. SPS didn't have snacks.
3. It was an overcast gray day
4. It was a Wednesday afternoon -- the campus was a ghost town.</p>
<p>All I know is I didn't feel comfortable enough to live there for 4 years -- but since it isn't me applying, my opinion doesn't effect him.</p>
<p>==================</p>
<p>OP</p>
<p>I think the interview & rec forms matter most because it gives the best insight of personality & academic curiousity. Kinda stinks that majority of recs are from certain subject teachers rather than teachers who may know student in a personal way.</p>
<p>BTW -- How many have completed the application process? I just want to know if my kid is the only one lagging.</p>
<p>I don't remember the guy who interviewed us, but he didn't make us feel comfortable. All business, no proding to know us as a family. Son BOMBED the SPS interview. We didn't know Boarding School was a financial reality for us until late in the game. It was a whirlwind 3 weeks from learning of BS, taking SSAT & visiting Exeter & SPS. Needless to say Son was not prepared for interview & on top of that, interview was before tour. It was obvious to interviewer that son didn't know much about SPS except the basics (100% boarding, etc). Son tried talking about CTY and "his experience living away from home combined with academic challenge" which gave him confidence that Boarding was right for him. The interviewer just came back at him with "Yeah -- everyone does CTY -- but why do you think you belong at SPS" </p>
<p>My son is young (just turned 13) and was nervous. Oh well.</p>
<p>Son is mentally gifted, but oblivious to surroundings. He'd probably get lost on a campus the size of SPS.</p>
<p>Actually -- out of Son's 4 interviews, the 2 with women went best. Maybe they just had a better way to draw him out.</p>
<p>I also never thought he was young until we looked at schools.</p>
<p>Haha... sorry I was just about to PM you the info, but I'll post it here (and to anyone who's wondering, I initally posted this but decided to delete it because I didn't want to use names):</p>
<p>I'm glad I helped!</p>
<p>What was your guide's name? Mine was Erin MacDonald (I know, crazy memory, lol) She was a bubbly red head that loved her school, she really was fantastic.</p>
<p>Yeah, I had the same experience, the students felt... snobby? Stand off-ish? Kind of in their own world. I had the opposite experience at Exeter and Andover, so it goes to show that it isn't just because they're 'teens', lol.</p>
<p>Haha, yeah I'm on par with all of your reasons! It actually was a gray, Wednesday when I was there as well. What was your sons interviewers name? Mine was Yuri, and I wasn't particularly fond of him... not sure why... or I am, and I just don't want to sound rude, lol.</p>
<p>My Mom basically says "I'd feel 100% fine with dropping you off at Exeter and driving away.", "I'd be okay at Andover, but we'd need to keep in touch for the first week or two.", and then "I would never drop you off at St. Paul's and drive away - I couldn't, it felt wrong." SOOO... yeah, she passionate! Haha... oh well, she loves me. =]</p>
<p>Haha! I know... bleh, I <em>really</em> didn't like SPS... it SUCKED! And yes, despite all my new found words, 'sucked' is the most fitting.</p>
<p>My interviewer just wasn't good at interviewing... like, he didn't learn ANYTHING. My E/A knew what 'leads' were, and how to run with them... and find out about YOU. Yuri was a nice looking, tall, fit black man, just in case you got the same guy, I'd be glad to know I'm not insane. I held excellent E and A interviews, but BOMBED SPS as well! That's SO funny! He felt a little elitist, and the interview was purely Q&A, it's like "Why didn't you just hand me a piece of paper and tell me to fill in the blanks? We could have covered so much more ground in half the time!".</p>
<p>Funny... my brother scored a 99.8th percentile on his LSAT last month, (at which point Yale came a'knocking) yet he can be COMPLETELY oblivious as well... kind of like he'd continute pulling on the push door until the hinges fell off, lol (and not to that extent, but you know what I mean =]).</p>
<p>What other schools are your son applying to? Sorry if you already mentioned...</p>
<p>Mr.Francis was cool to me, he actually seemed like a genuinely nice guy. Lots of interviewers are way to serious...I agree SPS interviews are simple lets get everything on paper. But hes a good guy...how did you feel weird with him...? It was hard becuase I Was trying to strike a conversation...got a good conversation going about basketball for awhile then he realized he had to fill out the paper lol. I get home and I realize he's the SPS new Basketball coach, I didnt feel like it was how I wanted it to go. But hey...hes got all my stats on paper and know im athletic...I think thats pretty good</p>
<p>Be prepared for Q&A with SPS...but w.e, Mr. Francis was cool.</p>
<p>Oh good! I'm glad your SPS interview went well... that'll hopefully help in your getting in!</p>
<p>Yeah, funny thing, I WAS trying to strike a conversation, but it was like "Did I say you could talk?" almost... I dunno, like <em>I</em> was <em>wasting</em> his time. </p>
<p>Regarding feeling 'weird' with him, he just... felt weird... he felt fake. Really though, I don't want to say all this bad stuff! This is JUST one interviewer, and clearly better experiences have been had (except for Notnim I suppose).</p>