@Calliemomofgirls Thanks! Honestly if we did end up crossing paths that would be so exciting!
I did consider Groton last year and it’s on my maybe-but-unlikey list due to its academic culture? It seems very competitive to me and I just want to have a fun time learning advanced material, y’know?
Hello everyone.
Last year I applied to boarding schools and got accepted at one with financial aid, but due to COVID and everything else going on in the US during that time, I decided not to go. This year I’m giving it another shot, and I’m hoping that nothing comes in the way this time around.
As of now, my current list is:
Andover
Exeter
Choate
Deerfield
St. Paul’s
Hotchkiss
Hill
Lawrenceville
Looomis Chaffee
Groton
Kent
Middlesex
I’m also thinking of adding the following:
Masters
Peddie
Taft
Concord
NMH (if I can navigate their interview process 
)
Putney
Milton
I’m applying for financial aid so I think I might apply to some more schools. What do you guys think?
Also, I’ve heard a wider list called the “Top 35” mentioned a lot in this thread and some others. Can someone give me a sort of general list of the schools usually considered to be in that list?
Your help will be much appreciated! 
Hi everyone ! I’m applying for grade 10 in the following schools as an international applicant but I’m freaking out because I need a great amount of financial aid. My profile is good I guess but I don’t play any sports. I come from an underrepresented country . Schools I am applying:
Andover
Exeter
Chaote
St. Paul
Middlesex
Hotchkiss
Groton
Milton
I know they are very selective but can anyone suggest me about any schools or chance me from my another thread as I didn’t get much reply. Thanks in advance.
@ThePhoGuy I’m just another applicant but that seems like a good list to me! It might be a little bit much though, but that’s just me.
@Highschool12 I don’t know if you ended up getting more insight on your chance me but that list looks kinda selective to me. You could probably search something like “hidden gem” in the forums to find more schools or look at old acceptance threads and see where people ended up.
Anyways, how are you guys doing? I’ve scheduled all but two interviews now and I’m planning on asking for recommendations very soon. I’m slowly starting to work on my essays but, to be honest, not much progress here at the moment haha
My list right now is Putney, Brooks, Miss Porter’s, Concord Academy, St. Mark’s, Hotchkiss, Middlesex, NMH, Masters, and Westover but I might take out Middlesex and Brooks (too athletically-oriented?) and add Williston and/or Tabor? Not entirely sure yet.
@mondaydevil If you are trying to move away from athletically oriented I would not sub Tabor in. Tabor is heavily athletically oriented- so unless you are obsessed with Marine science probably not the school to switch in. Also, just a note, a lot of the smaller schools, Groton, Miuddlesex, Brooks, etc, might seem athletically oriented because every kid plays multiple sports but that is because at a small school everyone needs to play if you want to field teams. Schools like Andover are big and don’t need every kid to play on a team.
@one1ofeach Thanks, that’s good to know! Do you know anything about Williston?
No, sorry, that wasn’t a school we looked at.
HI EVERYONE
I’m applying for fall of 2021 like you guys. Some things to note about me is that I’m a female (i use she/her pronouns), I’m applying for financial aid, I’m part of the lg(b)tq community, I’m a POC, and I won’t be taking the SSAT, not bc of COVID, but because I’m dumb, but, the admission officers don’t have to know that ?
The schools im applying to are:
Phillips Andover
Loomis Chaffee
Middlesex
NMH
Concord academy
And I might apply to Exeter and SPS.
I would apply to more but my application fee is already 295 and possibly 345 if I add Exeter. (Remember I’m poor ?, also too rich for a fee waiver ? so that’s a problem)
Anyways, I’ve been doing dance for 8 years, and still not on pointe, hopefully I can go on pointe at the schools. Some of my other interests are philosophy, ASL, fashion, lgbtq and gender studies, psychology, poetry, meditation/mindfulness, theater, and watching Netflix 
But basically I’m going exaggerate everything about me bc in reality I’m really boring lmao.
I haven’t really started my essays yet but I’m a strong writer so those will be good. I assume my interviews will be good as well because even though I’m introverted and have practically no social skills, I’m like really good at making myself seem genuine and faking connections with people to get what I want (no wonder my grades are so good ?)
all in all my resume is not that impressive, I’m just good at making it look impressive. But, I am entering a writing competition so I hope I can get at least the lowest award.
The only thing I’m worried about is getting recommendations, like, these people know me, and you might think that that’s a good thing but it’s not. The person they know, is a quiet, stuttering, mess ?. And I’m pretty sure my English teacher hates me, all my friends love her but I think she’s a b. She LOVED me last year but I haven’t participated this year at all and I made a mistake she called out so I’m doomed ??. My math teachers is new this year and I’m bad at math and haven’t talked to him at all but he’s like the extraverted version of me so I’m sure everything will go over fine with him.
Ok I know I’m annoying so I’ll stop now, feel free to text me on snap (@ riverssiegmann) or insta (@ rivers.2006).
I appreciate your time, thanks for reading. , ???️♀️( Pretend I knocked you out when you finished reading this)
For all of you worried about interviews, George and Groton are doing a presentation (together) on Monday about this. Details on their IG pages. (Georgeschool and grotonadmission)
Consider adding some schools to your list. You have picked some of the hardest schools to get into in the country. There are multiple threads about great schools with higher acceptance rates that are current - you can easily get a great list together by reading those threads.
IF you are not taking the SSAT you will need stellar grades and great recommendations. IF you are not going to get stellar grades you need a solid SSAT score. You cannot apply to schools like this and think you are going to coast your way in because they are TO this year.
[I assume you were kidding when you say you are dumb - so I will not tell you that if you actually struggle in school going to schools like Andover or Middlesex would be a huge mistake.]
hello ! I am an eighth grader in New York applying for boarding schools this year. I will be applying for andover, deerfield, choate, St. Paul, (possibly blair) and lawrenceville. Currently I attend a public school that is mainly focused on academics. I recently took the SSAT/ISEE and for the SSAT received a 97 percentile, and on the ISEE scored a 9, 9, 8, 7. Outside of school, I play table tennis competitively. I have been to a variety of tournaments, both national and international. I have represented TeamUSA at international tournaments as well. I also am on a swim team, attending a variety of competitions with my teammates.
I have also attended the United States Earth Science Organization (USESO) Junior Program, and have attended the International Earth Science Symposium (IESS), a program where students from America work with students from other countries to create an Earth Systems Project.
In table tennis, I also do community service. I have worked with my coaches to teach younger kids how to play table tennis, and just encouraging them to do better both physically and mentally, since a lot of sports rely on mental heavily.
I do not have a legacy, and my parents are not super wealthy. They are wealthy enough to send me to these schools, and it depends on my performance to see if I am able to get into these schools.
I would appreciate it if someone could tell me what my chances are of getting in, however choate would be my first choice. Thanks for reading this and helping me !
@yslasagnak3501 you might want to post this as a separate thread in the Chance Me section! We usually just talk casually about the admissions process here (: You do seem like a strong candidate though. Good luck!
If you see this, would you please PM me? I need advice for the interview!
@MariTheTrex What kind of advice do you need? You can usually find a lot of information just by searching the forum.
Hello again guys, and thanks for the advice! My SSAT just came in and I got a 98th percentile (99 Q, 99 V, 95 R). My school grades are mostly at least 9/10, with no subject getting lower than an 8. How should I feel about these scores and whether they’ll improve or hinder my chances?
Gongratulations! They won’t hurt your chances - you’ll have cleared the bar for academic ability. But creating a class isn’t like creating a running relay where you just want the 4 fastest runners.
Focus on your essays now and you’ll be as well positioned as you can be.
St. Mark’s went test optional today!!
This is so off-topic but I was looking at old decisions threads and found who used to go to my school!! They didn’t specify but I recognized the username and the schools they applied to, since I actually asked them questions about the school they’re at. They also mentioned another person who was applying that year and it matched up. This is insane. What a small world!
That’s cool! I could never find anyone from my school because(and my Loomis interviewer agreed) no one to very few people from my school apply. Always cool to have someone from the same school apply!
Just had an odd interview this morning:
AO: Hey, by the way, I’m working from home so my puppy might be barking and I apologize in advance.
He then proceeds to keep looking back at the puppy and even leaves a couple times to check on it.
The interview was 20 minutes and I got anxious and couldn’t think of anything to say so I definitely didn’t represent myself as well as I could have.
I’m honestly thinking about just not continuing the application. It was a maybe school, but there were a lot of things I really liked about it