Trying for next year. Any advice?

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>Seems like boarding school ain't happening for me this year. Sad, but oh well. As an international student, my parents wanted me only to apply for the "HADES" league schools (if not it's not worth going all the way to the US they said). So that's what I did....and the result? 5 rejects and 1 waitlist...=D. </p>

<p>Yea...not really what one would be ecstatic about. Anyway, I figure that I've moped enough, and it's time to think about my application next year. This time, I've decided that I'm mostly going to apply for schools that are easier to get in(I am in no way implying that these schools are inferior. It is just statistically proven that they have higher acceptance rates, that is all) and maybe re apply for some of the "HADES" league schools again.</p>

<p>However, I do have a worry. This year I am absolutely certain that I will not have any time to do any mentionable items that would look good in my application. This is because I am taking the GCE "O" levels this year (the General Certificate of Education "Ordinary" level), and my school limits all the activities that we the graduating students can do, since they only want us to study in this crucial year. </p>

<p>For those of you who do not know (which would be the majority in this forum), the GCE "O" levels is used for admission to proceed to higher education in this country( not college, but 2 years of Junior college so to speak, before university). However it can also be readily used to apply to Universities overseas. That is to say, technically, I can apply to universities in the US next year after I have received my results. </p>

<p>What I am trying to say is that,my application will not look much better compared to this year. What are things I can do improve my chances? I am aiming for schools like Loomis Chaffee, Concord,Choate( waitlisted this year)....</p>

<p>I am planning to take the SAT this year. Do you think it will help me if I get like 1700~1800?
Please take into consideration that I am a 10th grader(by US standards) and am applying for 11th grade next year....</p>

<p>My report card from last year wasn't good, I got a lot of high 60s and a few 70s....
Where I come from there is no A+ or A- It's just an A. It ranges from F9 to A1. (A1 being the best of course). </p>

<p>A1= 75 and above
A2=71-74
B3=65-69
B4=60-64
C5=55-59
C6=50-54</p>

<p>Below C6 means that you fail. A1 is basically an honors grade already(it's because it's THAT hard...) . It's very different from the US grading system. So although I got what is recognized as Bs and As, it looks very low if defined by the US grading system. </p>

<p>Here's what I have going for me( I don't have a lot of extra curriculars...) : </p>

<p>-160 hours of community work over 4 years
-Member of Scouts, with leadership position
-Member of Media Production</p>

<p>Please, any advice would be helpful. I am determined to get into boarding school next year. </p>

<p>I apologize if I sound rude,arrogant or irresponsible in any of my posts, I will be sure to amend them and my attitude.</p>

<p>Also, can anyone elaborate to me on rolling admissions? The only thing I know about it is that you can apply late...? Yea I'm a bit clueless on this....</p>

<p>Edit: Copied and pasted this to main forum. Thanks to NeatoBurrito for suggesting.</p>

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<p>As an intl student, I fully understand this kind of misconception. In my country, if you say you’re going to college in US, people would immediately ask “Is that Harvard?”. And then 99.9% of time the answer is “no” and people start looking puzzled, like “Why do you even go there? WTH is that Yale college?” </p>

<p>You probably have 0.1% chance of getting accepted to HADES with that profile (I did take into account your grade scale explanation and stuff). You should really apply to lower tier schools (your chance is still low in many of these schools). </p>

<p>Things that may boost your chance if you still apply to top schools:

  • Full pay, or better yet, ask your parents to donate $ to schools
  • Being a recruited athlete
  • Coming from an underrepresented country (= no one from your country ever attended that school)
  • Winning a major international competition
  • Legacy</p>

<p>As an international student, I know how hard it is to get accepted. Other (US) people may suggest things like doing well in interviews, getting an A, increasing your SSAT by 5%… but trust me, those won’t really help.</p>

<ul>
<li>Which country are you from by the way?</li>
</ul>

3

<p>He’s from…okay I’m really familiar with your Olevels haha. </p>

<p>I’ll reply to your post after I come back from school =)</p>

4

<p>I guess no use trying to hide it. I currently live in Singapore (but I’m a foreigner here also)</p>

<p>Yea, I know I guess the HADES schools are just too hard to reach with my status. </p>

<p>The only thing that I can do from what you suggested, is the first one. Maybe the 3rd one also…</p>

5

<p>I suggest focusing primarily on articulating well in your essays and interviews - I found that doing this helped me a lot in the long run.</p>