UPDATED: Chance Me?

Prep School Admissions Prep School Chances
1

Hi, I am quite nervous for the March 9th decision and thought it’d be helpful to ask for some opinions.

A reply would mean so much to me ?

I am from a South East Asian country.

I am a straight A student in an International Private School.
My SSAT score wasn’t quite pleasing, I got an 84% due to having only 4 days to study :frowning:
My parents did not want me to take the February SSAT for they wanted me to finish all the application elements by the deadline.

These are some of my ECS.
I have recieved a total of 17 academic awards in my school within 2 years.
Student council president
Founder and leader of a community organization (teaching english) - has been running for 5 years now.
Basketball, soccer, volleyball (all varsity)
Clarinet (chosen as the school’s clarinet player representative) - 5 years
Student council (only one in the entire grade) - 4 years in a row
In 6 other clubs - (can’t mention)

All were campus interviews, it all went well. Deerfield and Andover seem particularly interested.
I got the Community Service Counselor for Andover, which is perfect because I am very passionate about community service and application revolves around it.

I am very passionate about serving the community, I have met highly respected individuals such as Madame Graca Machel (Nelson Mandela’s wife), Former Prime Minister of my country (know my family well), United States Ambassador of my country and many more.

In the Character Skills snapshot, I got ALL demonstrating (the one that’s full bar).

Teacher recs: blind but they said i shouldn’t worry and that it’s great
Essays: Really good, reviewed it a lot, proofread by my cousin currently studying in Harvard

FULL PAY
No legacy

I have an upperclassman from my school who is now in Andover.
There is no one applying from my school this year.
However, from my country, there were about 20 taking the SSAT on January?
A lot took it earlier.

------------ Do you think I stand a chance?

Thank you.

2

If you have to go through this process again in the future, your application will not be considered incomplete or late if you take the Feb SSAT.

Do you stand a chance? Don’t take my reply too seriously as I am an applicant as well. You’re an International applicant with a “low” SSAT score. That’s a weakness. You’re full pay, meaning that they’d make money off of you if they accept you and you chose to attend. That’s an advantage.

I don’t know how to chance you since I’m not an admissions officer nor do I have the details of your application. My advice would be for you to figure out how each school benefits from you attending and to see if the pros outweigh the cons. If that’s the case than you stand a chance.

3

Yes, you stand a chance. Your application will likely go before a committee, as you are neither a clear admit nor a clear reject. I think it will ultimately come down to your essays and interview.

4

YoungThriver
Thank you for the reply.
I tried to convey that to my mom but she said it’s better to get it in first IDK.

Do you think an 84%tile will be a HUGE disadvantage?
I asked one of my upperclassman who got admitted last year, he said it was fine.

Do you think community service would help? I’ve been doing it twice a week (6 hours a week) for 5 years and one of the respected individuals I mentioned above wrote my recommendation. Does that help?

5

ThomasBr
Thank you.

I think that my interview went well. The AO in Andover emailed me personally about how she was very impressed with my community service and personality.

My essays were pretty great too. The center idea was my community service for it is what I am most passionate about.

6

84th percentile is a fine score. It proves you can probably handle the work. Whether or not you get admitted will depend on the rest of the package. All of the schools you are considering have students who scored lower than 84th percentile, though they were strong in other areas.

7

@IndoApp For Exeter and Andover, it’s a weakness but it won’t disintergrate your chances.

A score in the 84th percentile is an incredible score for a majority of boarding schools in the U.S but it’s a meh for some of the schools you seem to be reaching for.

8

Believe it or not, Exeter and Andover have kids with scores below the 84th percentile :wink:
That score alone will not keep you out.

The document @YoungThriver linked to is very old. It lists specific scores as “requirements” when the schools have NEVER indicated a specific minimum score. The scores listed are more likely to be mean or average scores, which are something different entirely.

The acceptance rates are outdated, too. They claim Andover was the most selective school with an acceptance rate of 14%. Nowadays, Groton and Thacher have rates of 11-12 percent… And they misspell Thacher… not a very credible doc.

9

In that case, disregard the link.

10

CaliMex Thank you so much for this! Are you also an applicant, if so, good luck!

11

YoungThriver, Ahh I see. Thank you.

12

CaliMex is a parent :slight_smile:

13

I do think that your SSAT score could be higher, but if you get rejected/waitlisted, it will not be because of the score. What other schools are you applying to? I think you will receive good news on M9!

14

MODERATOR’S NOTE:

I deleted it as the link is not allowed per ToS.

15

ilovechoateeee hi! yes, i also do think my SSAT score could’ve been better with more days to study!
That’s great to hear, I was very nervous about my score.

I am only applying for Deerfield, Andover and Exeter. I know applying to these three prestigious schools can be a disadvantage, however, I wanted to see the schools before applying and fell in love with these 3 schools most. Considering that if accepted, I’d be spending the next 3 years of my life there, my parents wanted to see the schools too!

Thank you for your reply!!!

16

I am late in the conversation and in admission process as well, but one has to remember that SSAT scores are only an indicator that the student can handle the work load of class while participating in sports and community activities. Also, I imagine 84% is the average of your subjects, it also matters how well/poorly you have demonstrated in the individual subjects. You also didn’t mention anything about your LORs, again, it’s fair to imagine they should be strong for a straight A student with strong community awareness. Now, the SSAT score is only a screening tool for mere mortals; I assume when the schools feel the student can bring unusual attractions such as top athletes/musicians or development (big donor) candidate, celebrities, connections, etc to the table, they are know to be exempt from this screening filter, since it is assumed that they will be under different admission pathway towards college as well. Their path to success is paved, just simply put, differently. Now, I believe these schools base on previous track record, admit about 12-15% of freshman body from overseas. You will be competing within that group. So, depending on your family connections and status, how much they can contribute to school, which celebrity would stop at school while on US tour, to visit you, a lot can change. I have a feeling the personal email from Andover AO, is a great indication that school finds some interest in your application; my student who is a strong candidate in many different aspects, (with high SSAT scores), did not receive such. Let us know how it goes!

17

@GGNewton Thank you!