A family member was WL and/or denied at all 6 of her BS choices (she did have a wide ban of schools). She definitely will re-apply next year. I’d like to provide some encouragement and success stories! For those of you who re-applied and were successful the second time, any tips you care to share as to why/how you felt your application was positively received the second time. The feedback family member has heard is that this year, schools received record numbers of applications and many legacies (family member was one (both Mom and Dad) and very talented, super qualified students were WL and/or denied this year. Thanks, in advance.
I was not successful the second time, but I did get off Groton’s waitlist the third year. My persistence got me in. Remember that there’s so much luck involved that results might just be better next year, or they might not.
Stay in touch with the schools whose waitlists you’re on, and make the best of what you have.
Wow @stargirl3 …Good for you. Much admiration and all the best at Groton!
DS1 was waitlisted at SPS, Andover, Exeter his first admit cycle. He reapplied the next year to Andover, Exeter, Peddie and Loomis. He was accepted at Andover, Exeter, Peddie and waitlisted at Loomis. You will get credit for persistence. IMO the key for DS1 was that he took a very critical eye to his application and worked hard to fill in the gaps. Added some community service and school leadership. We broadened our school choice and varied our FA approach. We were also more aggressive at working the athletic coaches.
On persistence: My daughter applied to two schools the second time around - the wonderful school she now attends and the one she fell in love with the first time around, the one that changed her mind about boarding school. Second time around at that school, no warm welcome - it almost seemed as though she wasn’t expected - promised teacher meeting not available, very perfunctory interview, AD who had been truly appreciative of daughter the previous year stayed in her office. (Very different from the way the AD at her current school acknowledged the heartache of the first application and the courage it took to try again.) My point, if any, is that your young relative will need to develop a thick skin during this process, and that persistence may not even be acknowledged, let alone rewarded.
@stargirl3 Did your SSAT score/percentile change significantly between 7th grade, when you first applied to Groton, and 8th grade, when you applied for 9th? (I assume one takes the Upper Level SSAT both times for Groton, but let me know if it is the Middle level that aspiring Form II kids take. I’m particularly interested in how the Quant/Math score may have changed, especially if you took the same test…
@CaliMex My percentiles went down each year. I don’t know about the actual scores.
From personal experience, despite what many users say about BS wanting to see commitment, I believe schools are hesitant to accept students who have applied in the past. In 2015, I was WL at 2 top schools. This cycle, my SSAT, grades and EC’s all improved yet I was still WL in 2016. While I understand this may have been for a variety of reasons,as prep school applications have many components, I find it odd that all of the schools I added to my list (similarly if not more competitive) accepted me this year. My theory is that, if you are re-applying, schools know that you weren’t offered any acceptances (most cases) during the last cycle, which may cause hesitation and doubt.
To those re-applying, make sure to add new schools to your list. Sometimes, as it was in my case, you may find a school you are even more excited about attending. Good luck to all re-applicants. You have a long yet rewarding road ahead.
Last year I only applied to Andover and Exeter and got waitlisted at both (my essays for both were awful and my Andover interview went badly). This year, I applied to 9 schools and got into Andover, Exeter, Hotchkiss, Milton, and my three safeties (WL@Mx and CRH). I would say that the key is to be cute, unique, and memorable. The schools already know whether or not you’re qualified, and a youthful impression seems to be more of what they look for rather than overly serious or cliche applicants. Another thing to keep in mind: at the Andover revisit, the head of admissions said they only accept “nice” kids.
Yes, it is a well known fact that it is Andover’s #1 requirement. They have cornered the market on nice kids. 
Seriously. Everyone at Andover is nice…uh yeah.
Listen, people. EVERY BS wants nice kids. It is the second most important thing for a community with teenagers from diverse backgrounds lumped up together 24/7. What’s the first important? Their bottom line. Don’t shoot the messenger. If they don’t mean it, why do you think they’d say it?
@panpacific: Not that I care to get into another argument over your ongoing, ironclad defense of Andover’s honor…but your comment #11 only underscores the point people are trying to make.
Of course every BS wants nice kids.
The fact that the Andover AO came out and said that in a public forum simply reeks of “the lady doth protest too much”. Well, me thinks, at least.
@SevenDad So if everyone likes Sunday days, is it wrong in any way if I say it loud “I love sunny days”? I am “defending Andover’s honor” alright, but not as much as someone defending sas’s, dare I say?
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
I’m assuming that any further back and forth between @panpacific and @SevenDad will be handles via PM, as the off-topic conversation does not belong here. Thank you.
Every boarding school wants nice kids that are also smart and multi talented in addition to be geographically, culturally, ethnically and economically diverse. Scareddwarf 's post #8 is incredibly comical, managing to be both arrogant and naive all at the same time. Sorry all. I know she is a teen but if she made these kind of comments in an interview I would be incredibly critical of such an applicant.
These elite schools want kids to be “cute, unique and memorable”? And, they don’t want “cliche or overly serious” applicants. The Andover AO said “they only accept nice kids”…Well let’s see, what does a nice kid LOOK like? Since every applicant goes in knowing what the schools are looking for I don’t suppose it’s possible that most kids are on their very best behavior regardless of whether or not they are truly nice. I seriously doubt that any one school has any more nice kids than any other. In fact schools filled with driven, high performing students are also likely to have a bounty of competitive and highly self confident students many of whom will be selfish, narcissistic, spoiled, entitled, take no prisoners , mini masters of the universe. Nice?..well that would be nice.
When Andover AO says they want nice kids, they are not bragging that Andover has more nice kids than other schools. It is a message they want to emphasize to potential and current students that niceness is very important, so be nice. I don’t understand why some posters seem critical about such a statement. Scratching my head…
Our daughter applied to 6 schools last near for s grade 9 admission. She was WL at 4 and accepted into 2 - one of which we were not fond of and one which she couldn’t see her at since it was an all girls school. She decided to return to her JBS for ninth grade. She reapplied this year for a tenth grade spot. Her grades were similar (A student) and SSAT were identical. She has more leadership opportunities at school being in 9th. I think the biggest differences is that we did our research and cast a wider net. We applied to 11 schools and she got into 10 with 1 WL. She also took the lead and contacted these schools herself and was “in charge” of the application process. This helped to show she was mature and ready to go.
@panpacific I think many view it as phony/saccharine/disingenuous. Well of course they want nice kids. Who doesnt? The opposite of nice is …not nice. If no one wants not nice kids why say anything? Nice is a genuinely awful word. It is often a euphemism for she was nice but…unqualified. or nice but I am not interested in dating, hiring, admitting him/her. For the AO of one of the top schools to say that makes me scratch my head. If they have to choose between someone they have identified as truly one of the nicest applicants with weak credentials verses the not nice (arrogant, egomaniac, jerk, pompous) with all the great attributes who do they pick? What criterion do they use to ascertain niceness?
^^ You are nitpicking faults that are not there with your forced interpretation on a benign message from AO asking students/applicants to be nice to each other, which is particularly important in a community with higher concentration of ambitious young people many of whom come from previleged background. In my view, it is a message that’s worth repeating by many boarding schools, and in fact it is just in different ways with different words… Let’s move on already.