What do you think my chances are for Phillips Academy Andover?

Prep School Admissions Prep School Chances
1

Hi everyone,

Standard chance-me. I decided to apply to PAA a few days ago and have been working hard to get the application done since the deadline is fast approaching. I just want to know what you guys think my chances are of being accepted as I know that PAA is elite and extremely selective. For some background, I am an Indian (currently living and raised in India) 9th grader at an IB school applying for 10th grade at PAA without financial aid. Here are my academics:

Placed out of Chem and Bio 9th grade and Physics 9th and 10th grade, so I am currently taking the first year of IB Physics HL and I placed out of 9th grade history so I am taking 10th grade history.

Grades (out of 7):

Physics (IB/HL): 5, World History (10): 7, English: 7, Creative Coding: 7, Spanish 3: 6, International Math 2: 6, Choir: 6

PSAT NMSQT 1400 (99th percentile, 740 Reading and 660 Math), SSAT scheduled in Feb, based on practice test scores I’m somewhere between 95 and 97 %ile but I know that the practice tests are not reliable. MAP 98-99th %ile depending on the subject.

Additionally, I am taking an online graduate/Master’s level course from a reputable university (I don’t know if I should name it) in Sports Management. I have finished 2/6 of the required courses (Sports Marketing and Strategic Management). Currently my grades are hovering around the 88-93% mark for that and I am aiming to complete the Master’s Degree in Sports Management by the end of 10th grade.

Extra-curriculars:
Varsity Soccer/Football, Model United Nations (THIMUN delegate, chairing positions for school conferences), FRC robotics team finance co-leader, play the drums for HS Jazz Band and have a Rockschool grade 5 exam in the summer. World Scholar’s Cup 4th overall in the local round with several accolades, chose not to travel for the global round. Other stuff includes the Young Entrepreneurs’ Academy, Junior Varsity table tennis and volleyball (awarded Coaches’ Award for volleyball).

Work Experience and CSR:

I had a two-week internship at a medium-sized sports content management company and conducted a social media marketing audit report for a few cricket teams (I have uploaded this as one of the supplemental documents). I also founded and am developing a sports app and am the Chief Marketing Officer for my older brother’s start-up. I volunteer at a dog shelter bi-weekly, used to volunteer at a school for the children of construction workers, spent 3 days in rural India teaching kids about pollution and the use of plastic and ran 4km to raise money for various charities as part of an organized event.

Essays and letters of rec will be good but not amazing because I decided to apply very late. Off-campus interview is scheduled. I realize this was long, so thank you for reading and I would love to hear your thoughts!

2

Very impressive. Would expect your PSAT Math (660) to be higher based on your interests and academic background, but that’s a small thing. I think 1400 is 97th not 99. There are a lot of Inidians/Asians applying with similar stellar credentials, so it’s a bit of a long shot. But you have a shot. Quality ECs.

3

Thanks for your response! I rechecked the PSAT report and 1400 is 99th percentile. Yeah, I would have liked to do better for math but it is what it is. Also, about ethnicity, most of the Asians and Indians will be American Indians/Asians, whereas I am an Indian living in India. Will this provide a benefit or a drawback concerning my chances?

4

Drawback

5

I think you definitely have a chance, however, I would still suggest broadening your search if your goal is to attend boarding school in general–not just PA. I also want to stress not just to you but to all applicants that over a dozen different extracurriculars tend to be a red flag for Adcomms as there is no possible way that anyone can devote that much time to that many activities and even in the off chance that they are doing that, what are they then truly interested in? CC, and particularly in prep school admissions we tend to fill out an enumerated list of ECs that ultimately end up becoming redundant and quite frankly arbitrary. It is much more helpful not just for your own well being but also for admissions committees for applicants to have a few ECs that an applicant is vigorously and passionately involved in. Again this is not directed specifically at you, but the “chance me” community in general.

Anyway, now that I have completed my rant I will move on to your other stats: IB HL Physics is extremely impressive, however, you would be a stronger applicant if you had one or two more IB courses (that might be out of your hand, but just wanted to put that information out there).

As a side note: if you are in your first year of IB HL Physics I suggest you ask the AO how this would affect your class schedule should you matriculate to Andover. Would they place you in AP physics or would the IB course be worthless since you would have only completed one of the two years.

Overall, I believe that you have a chance, but a limited one as it is Andover and no one can be certain of acceptance. I wish you the best of luck in your admissions office and remember to post your results on March 10th/9th regardless of the outcome. Good Luck!