Those wishing to Re-Apply for next year

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>Hey, to those who are really bummed out that they were rejected or waitlisted this year, I highly encourage you to re-apply next year to some of these schools or different schools.</p>

<p>In 2009, I was a newbie to the application process, so I headed for the top schools, even though some of those schools didn't feel like the right choice for me. I applied to Andover, Exeter, SPS, Taft, Deerfield, and Concord. I was a good student with pretty decent ECs, but I was applying with FA. Even though, I figured that I would get in to at least one of them. Man, I was wrong. When March 10th arrived, I was rejected by all but Deerfield and Concord, where I was waitlisted. I couldn't believe it.</p>

<p>So, starting last summer I decided I would devote much time to becoming a better, well-rounded applicant. I started studying the SSAT from August-December every day, memorizing many pages of vocab words and making sure I was prepared. I started playing an instrument I had not played in a couple years and joined multiple clubs at school, got better grades, and did more community service. I also decided to apply to Deerfield and Concord, but this time choose different schools that were in my opinion not as good as the schools I applied to the previous year. The only other difference this year was that I did not need FA.</p>

<p>Fast-forward to March 10th this year. I received 6 acceptances and one waitlist (Concord- lol), much to my surprise. I was ecstatic. I will be attending my first choice school next school year (Deerfield.)</p>

<p>This was my success story, and I urge many of you who got the same results as I did last year, to get right back at it and re apply in the Fall! Try to improve on what you thought were your weaknesses during this admissions process. Most importantly, if you believe in yourself and commit yourself to getting in to a school next year, I have no doubt you will succeed. Best of luck and never give up!</p>

2

<p>Congrats! That is actually a really inspiring story! I am really trying to push it so I can apply for the 2012-2013 school year!</p>

3

<p>@prepschoolseeker- I hope that everyone reads this. You are an inspiration to all! Congrats!</p>

4

<p>What a fantastic post, prepschoolseeker! Congrats! It is wonderful and an inspiration to all to see that your determination and persistence paid off.</p>

5

<p>I also have a similar story, not as amazing but something similar.</p>

<p>I applied to Andover last year as a incoming 9th grade day student. I had great grades, great extra curriculars, but did absolutely horrible on my SSAT’s and needed FA. Even though Andover is a need-blind admission, financial aid obviously has to be a factor in admission. I had so much confidence until I got that SSAT score… an overall 55%. When I got my rejection letter, I was so disappointed in myself.</p>

<p>This year, I decided to do more research on schools and ended up applying to Andover, Exeter, Choate, and Hotchkiss. With good grades and extra curriculars, I knew I had to study for my SSAT’s. Miraculously, I pulled off an 86% overall, and although that wasn’t outstanding, it was a whole 31% higher than my score from the past year. Although Prepschoolseeker’s story is more exciting, I ended up getting accepted from Choate, wait listed from Andover and Hotchkiss, and rejected from Exeter. I will be going to Choate next school year and am extremely excited about it. </p>

<p>I guess my message is similar to Prep’s… If you were rejected or waitlisted this year, use it as feedback. Do some research and apply to more schools, study harder for those SSAT’s, etc. I don’t want to sound like a life coach, but you need to believe in yourself too! If you set your mind to it, you will be able to achieve it. Always use your failure as feedback.</p>

<p>Congratulations Prepschoolseeker on your acceptances, and thank you for sharing your story!</p>

6

<p>Thank you all!</p>

<p>And brandonnnbsc, congratulations on getting accepted to Choate. I am sure you will love it there!</p>

7

<p>Yeah guys same story here too (to a lesser extent though). Last year I applied to Andover, and the outcome was a rejection. This year I decided to apply to Deerfield, SPS, and Loomis. I was accepted at Loomis and WL’ed at SPS and DA. Work hard and keep fighting, miracles happen !</p>

8

<p>

</p>

<p>That’s a pretty HUGE difference, prepseeker! :D</p>

9

<p>@neato</p>

<p>That it is ;)</p>

10

<p>i’m with neato on this one… i might seem overly cynical but i do believe FA plays a pretty large role in admissions, and there’s only so much one can accomplish in a year (not including winning a lottery, coming across a large inheritance or forcing parents to work 25 hours a day) besides getting better test scores, grades, polishing essays and more volunteer hours…</p>

<p>regardless, congratulations !</p>

11

<p>A good lesson for all–Hard work pays off.
Congrats, all, well deserved!!! :)</p>

12

<p>For those who really want to board next fall and reapply to your preferred schools for 2012-13, I’d suggest looking into the junior boarding schools if you’re a current eighth or ninth grader currently. My view is that a strong performance in a JBS will remove any concerns your schools may have about your ability to be independent and adjust to boarding life. </p>

<p>We’ve personally had good experiences with The Bement School (co-ed) and Cardigan Mountain School (Boys). It’s worth a call and visit to the websites.</p>

<p>There are other JBS as well. I believe there’s at least one member of this board who graduated from Eaglebrook (Boys).</p>

13

<p>Whether you apply for FA does make a difference, but note that not ALL rejection or WL decisions have to do with your applying for FA. If a good number of full paying students with “profiles” better than yours get turned down, why do you expect you should be admitted - regardless whether you are applying for FA?</p>

14

<p>^^Agreed, FP still doesn’t provide the answer to the schools’ question of “chemistry” and a diverse student populace. Of course the size of the school’s endowment per student certainly impacts how far they can go with FA to create the ideal community they want.</p>

15

<p>DA, FA makes a difference in admission and that’s why most schools are need-aware. If it made no difference, all schools would be need-blind.</p>

16

<p>This may be an unpopular opinion, but too much emphasis is being put on the need for FA as a reason an applicant doesn’t get in. If you look at the stats of acceptances at all the top schools, it’s roughly 50-50, FA vs. FP even in these trying economic times.</p>

<p>You can’t do anything about the need for FA, so focus on what you can improve, your stats, ECs, sports, music or recs.</p>

17

<p>Very true, DAndrew. At the most selective schools, applicants need a certain amount of luck as well. I’m not surprised by those non-admits at the super selective because they are a reach for everyone. I have been told, however, that the primary reason for the WLs in my d’s case is related to FA. After all, the FA kids have to make it past the FA committee too. She could have just as easily been WLed as a FP student at those top schools.</p>

18

<p>neato, I was actually addressing a statement from another poster who got a 55% SSAT score and didn’t get in Andover and therefore concluded “Even though Andover is a need-blind admission, financial aid obviously has to be a factor in admission”. So basically the logic here is that if a school ever rejects you then it is because you applied for FA, and if the school says it’s need-blind then it’s not because it rejected you.</p>

19

<p>DAndrew, if you had read my post all the way through, you would have seen that I blamed it on myself, not on a need-blind FA thing. All I was saying is that Andover says they are need-blind, but obviously cannot be spending trillions of dollars on FA, thus not being to accept everyone. </p>

<p>I obviously know that they didn’t reject me because of FA, it is probably because I did bad on my SSAT.</p>

20

<p>Don’t beat yourself up too badly Brandon. You’ll probably never know why, except that with admit rates close to 10% 9 out of 10 kids will be rejected. There will be kids who had the same SSAT score as you who got in, and those who needed FA who got in as well.</p>

<p>Truth be told, it’s a real crapshoot and all the schools are very hard to get into.</p>

<p>All anyone can do is maximize their credentials, try to be “nice” and hope for the best.</p>