Hi everyone! I’m in eighth grade and I am going through the application process for private secondary schools. I would like to know my chances for getting into top boarding schools.
Academic Achievements
-Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth
-Principal’s Honor roll every marking period last year
-Co-Founded a club to teach entrepreneurship to kids
Science Olympiad
-College level scores on an English standardized test
-Taking a course at Princeton University on entrepreneurship
-Invited to do a workshop at Princeton on entrepreneurial leadership
-Teaching myself Chinese with the help of my Chinese friends
-Founded a local coalition to respond to climate change
-Teaching personal money management to young children
-Taught myself investing (Intelligent Investor etc.)
-Taught myself entrepreneurship
-I am investing successfully now
Other Passions/Activities
-I play Water Polo moderately well
-I played soccer for 9 years, the last 2 years I have been playing a year up
-Love reading (Twain, Dickens, Tolstoy, Orwell etc.)
-Played Piano for 5 years
-Science (engineering, physics)
That’s about it! If you guys could give feedback or constructive criticism that would be awesome! Thanks!
I am a junior, I’m a tour guide, my mother is an admissions officer at a different boarding school, and I’ve spent a lot of time working in secondary admissions departments these last couple years – so I’ll let you in on a secret. As long you have good grades, a well-written essay, and great SSAT scores, you don’t need to spend time worrying about having well-rounded extracurriculars. I mean, you’re like 13. The admissions department doesn’t expect you to be a superhuman, just a good kid with a nice personality and some passions. So if you have an activity or subject that you’re particularly interested in (e.g. science or business or soccer), spend some time researching it and working at it, and you’ll have an awesome interview because admissions officers ALWAYS want to talk about your interests. So don’t stress too much about your academic achievements and extensive extracurriculars: just zero in on one or two things that you enjoy and have some fun
If anything concerns me, it’s your username: “princeton2024.” You realize that 2024 is in almost a decade, right? Enjoy being a kid for now and don’t be focused on a specific college from the age of 13; that’s unhealthy!
Focus on getting a good SSAT and interview; and I really stress the importance of the interview as someone who knows the process inside and out! Also: you sound like you live in the Princeton area, so if you’re applying to be a day student at Lawrenceville know that it is more difficult to get in there as a day student, so be sure you sound interesting and not like a run-of-the-mill smart kid – because I’m sure you are a smart kid, but they’re equally concerned about finding friendly, kind, and passionate students for the boarding school community!
Good initiative, don’t stress too much (especially about college – it’s five years away!), and good luck!
