Hello guys,
I’m a current freshman in high school and I’m applying for 10th grade. Choate is my top choice and I really want to get in. I just want to know what my chances are.
Info:
- I’m an Asian female (Chinese) and I am fluent in both Mandarin and English
- My high school is top 10 in the state and I have straight As (4.0 GPA)
- I had mostly straight As in middle school but I had a few Bs and one C
- I play Varsity soccer and I’ve played club soccer for 5 years
- I’m in my school’s advanced art class
- I played soccer, basketball, and volleyball for my middle school
- I’m currently taking Algebra 2/Trig
- I took the SSAT in November and I got 90th percentile (Pretty low reading section ;-; )
- I went to CTY last summer
- I’m NOT a financial aid applicant
I’m a teacher’s pet so the rec letters should be fine.
I did my Andover interview and I think it went fine. I doing my Choate interview in like 3 days ahhhhhhh.
Anything would help. Thank you so much!
Why are you only applying to those two schools? Being able to afford tuition will greatly increase your chances, but there aren’t that many sophomore spots to begin with and the competition is still fierce. If you are set on attending boarding school, I would add more schools to the list.
Is it because you want a larger school? Because you want a casual dress code? Access to a particular program that only those two schools have?
My parents are only going to pay for my tuition if I get into a top school and Choate and Andover are top schools. Also, the locations are pretty nice and my parents think the location is important. Is getting in for 10th grade drastically harder??? Thank you so much for your reply!!
Have you spoken to the girls varsity soccer coach at choate. I know that coach recruits. What level club soccer team do you play for?
Are your parents basing this on some ranking from a magazine? Those are based on arbitrary criteria. Depending on how you weight the criteria, you can end up with a different ranking. For example, if you rank by popularity or reputation, the top schools will be those with the most students and graduates and/or those who have spent the most on marketing. If you rank by selectivity, well, there are several schools that are far harder to be admitted to than Andover and Choate. If you rank by the percentage of graduates who end up at Ivy League schools, you have to consider that these East Coast boarding schools have more students who have a leg-up on Ivy admissions simply because they have relatives who attended, too. That doesn’t improve your own chances at all.
Please encourage your parents to speak to people knowledgeable about boarding schools and education instead of relying on rankings designed to attract eyeballs and sell ads.
Most boarding schools are in beautiful locations and have lovely facilities. That is NOT how one should choose a school 
Ok will do! I am more interested in Choate and Andover because of their size which is relatively larger compared to other boarding schools.
It may be too late but SPS and Exeter are usually in the “top” rankings and in the same area. SPS is a little small and rural but Exeter is pretty similar to Andover for size, campus. and in-town location. Andover IS one of two top schools for traditional academics in the country, but anytime someone posts “I want to go to Andover because it is the best” they will take some flak. It’s nothing personal.
Your community leadership/service/volunteering is wicked light based on your bio. Hopefully that is more rounded in your materials. Usually Andover kids also have President of Student Council, or 500 hours of documented charity work, or class VP.
Full pay helps. You look great for a typical public school student but average for the Andover pool. 20% ish, the typical average chance there. Good luck.
Thank you for your feedback! I will try my best.
I have not. I plan to mention my athletic achievements during my interview. Should I reach out to the coach?
I’d say 10-20%. You should expand your school list. There are many excellent schools in many excellent locations. Not all are as big but many would be more likely to accept you.
Good luck.
Thank you for your feedback! My list is extremely small because my current high school is academically strong so even if I don’t get in I will still go to a good school. I started off with a larger list but I narrowed it down to Choate and Andover because I want to spend more time on the application and focus on two schools versus spend little time on many applications.
Absolutely, reach out to the coach! Ahead of your visit if possible so they can meet you.
Unfortunately, I live on the West Coast so I’m doing an interview with a traveling admissions officer. I would love to see the campus though, but my school only has very short breaks so I was not able to fly to the East Coast. Thank you for your advice!!
Again, what level soccer do you play? Are you playing da soccer in California? If yes then the choate soccer coach will help you get into choate. The Andover coach is a little weird about club soccer but she still recruits. You should absolutely be emailing those coaches ASAP. Do you have video of yourself playing? Most high level club teams record games. Although if you play da in ca you probably don’t need footage.
I play soccer for my school. Varsity level.
@saddoughnut27
Ahh got it. Thought you said you played club soccer.
@one1ofeach So I’m currently constructing one of the emails and do you have any advice on how I should write it? I am a bit unfamiliar with the process.
@CaliMex Regarding the locations, I meant that the schools are near major cities and closer to airports since I live on the west coast, being close to transportation is important. I do agree most boarding schools have beautiful campuses and facilities though!