update on my mx waitlist,they said it’s looking doubtful that they’ll go to the waitlist in my applicant pool
Mx sends updates based on applicant pools?
no ,personal connection with the school so they let me know
Oh ok
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Hi! Your applicant pool meaning 9th grade male or such?
9th grade girl boarder
that wasn’t the exact words btw ,I just don’t want to assume they are full among all grade levels
No that is helpful. We are same ‘category’ as you.
Hey, so I’m reading through Westover’s contract and I saw something kinda weird:
“including in the event that some or all of the School’s facilities are closed or rendered unavailable for any reason, including, but not limited to, fire, acts of God, terrorism, pandemic, or any mechanical or communications failure”
“this Contract is limited, prevented, delayed or otherwise made impractical or impossible for reasons including, but not limited to, fire, flood, earthquake or other acts of God, terrorism, pandemic, public emergency, civil unrest or other force majeure event,”
Acts of God??? I’m really confused why this is in the contract
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Google “force majeure clause” and you’ll understand! Standard contract lingo.
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For anyone with knowledge regarding the tuition refund plan. Do you get the plan even if you’re a full aid student? My mom said no but I still thought I should ask in case anything happens or one day they decide not to pay anymore 
So, for example, my son goes to Cate and they were evacuated due to wildfires 3 years ago. They were all sent home several weeks early for winter break, there was not remote learning or tuition refunds. Act of God!
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Oh okay, got it. Thank you!
For kids feeling guilty about “kids with better stats” not being accepted. Remember that you have no idea about the rest of their application. We knew kids with 99% ssat who attributed their rejection to needing FA. IMO it was more likely mediocre teacher recs. Teachers can often see through a kids bllsht and kids seem to not realize that. Teacher recs are super important in an application and this year they were probably even more important.
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I guess that means my teacher recs from my teachers who knew me for 2 months were okay in the end
I feel I must carve this on marble for future reference. Come to think of it, I have absolutely no control nor clue on what my math teacher must have written. Just because I got 100% semester final grade is no guarantee. I never asked questions, the interaction was minimal. Ouch. “Well, what can I say - this boy sure knows how to ace tests.” For all I know, it might have been this one sentence and that would have been enough to seal my doom in a hyper competitive year like this.
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I strongly agree with this. At the time of my application, my math teacher strongly disliked me, for the implied reason I was the only online student and he may have been annoyed at having to differ things from me and in person students. My English teacher was 50/50, didn’t like me didn’t hate me. I knew this so to back up my application I got my last years math teacher who really liked me to write a rec, and my advisory who also really liked me.
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I think all my teachers really did like me- but they only knew me for a few months. Now, me and my English teacher are super close while math teacher is on maternity leave. (still got close with her too) GC was always supportive, knew her for over a year, and I’m assuming she wrote a lovely recommendation. I would’ve not come far without teacher recs, considering my SSAT was not ideal…
Is there a thread for applicant advice? I think a lot of us have learned a lot this year and I think I have some solid advice. (parents feel free to correct me)
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Be authentic-this should be a given, but don’t overdo anything
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Hone in on a few ECs. Don’t try to make yourself “extremely well rounded” in that aspect.
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Don’t do ECs you don’t want to do just to get into BS- this goes back to advice 1. Do an EC because you like doing it!
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Tests are NOT everything- getting below an 80% will not eliminate you from getting into boarding schools
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Don’t just apply to the “top schools.” Prestige isn’t everything. There are a ton of schools just as good.
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Apply to schools that are a good fit. HADES are not good fits for everyone. Personally, I’m happy about getting rejected from Andover and Exeter because the AOs saw something I didn’t- I was not independent enough for those two schools. Nor was I ready for that sort of cutthroat environment
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Trust the AOs decision. If they waitlist you, trust me, they did like your profile. If they rejected you, it’s not that you are bad or dumb, just that it wasn’t the best fit for you. AOs rarely make mistakes when it comes to waitlisting/accepting someone vs. rejecting someone
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Study way before the SSAT. Even if it’s optional, take it if you can. It will help you.
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Don’t feel worthless if you get rejected. Maybe you applied to schools that weren’t for you.
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Don’t be afraid to try again. If you really want to go to BS, don’t be afraid to reapply. I admire the courage people have to get back up and try again- and AOs will see that
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Don’t write sob stories for essays. They generally don’t do well.
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75% of candidates are admissible to HADES. It’s about who you are, not your grades.
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Think about all the schools you are applying to. Are you applying because you want to? Are you applying for the name? Your parent’s choice?
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Many of the CC parents give great advice. When they say “expand your list” they mean it. Again, so many great schools to choose from that provide the full BS experience.
This is what I’ve learned from applying.
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That’s a good list. I would add that schools are really looking for the kids with “good attitudes.” If you are a kid who never tried because classes were boring because you are too smart you are not the kid that a BS wants. They don’t care how smart you are, they care that you had a crapy attitude in class. They would much rather have a kid who was smart and still tried hard in class, interacted, helped other students.
I cannot tell you how many kids I have seen over the years who were “too smart” for public school but got rejected from prep schools. Their parents were incensed but they were kids who didn’t try or didn’t display a good attitude.
I am reminded about recruiting when coaches say “recruiters are watching your attitude on the bench” they never ask about how many points you scored they want to see what your attitude is.
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I have a tip for staying engaged in public schools/schools that do not challenge you enough. I have been in this situation and I found a great solution. Set goals. For example, “I want to get at least a 98 on this math test.” or “I want to make sure that student sits with us at lunch, he seems lonely.” Using these goals, days seems less dreary and you become more productive. Another thing, get used textbooks online or listen to podcasts, through this you can expand your knowledge. During one especially unfulfilling month, I decided to educate myself on the Boer War through podcasts, webpages and books. Not everyone has a library card, if you don’t, ask a friend to check one out for you or ask a teacher. Hope this helps.
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