<p>Regarding SSATs At a second visit day a few years ago a dean described that DA uses SSATs as a threshold indicator not a differentiator. Another words, they want to see that you get above a certain level as an indicator you can hold your own academically, but having scores above that level does not necessarily help you get in. And no, I do not know what level they are looking for.</p>
<p>Regarding other factors My sense from observing the kids in the school is that they are looking for active and engaged students who can contribute something special to the DA community. First you need to have the academic accomplishments that show you are a strong student able to be an active contributor in small classes filled with other strong engaged students. You need to be self-motivated and able to interact well with both peers and adults. You need to bring some significant talent or accomplishment outside of the classroom in athletics, arts and/or leadership. Finally, they are looking for students who really want to be part of DA.</p>
<p>Regarding the interview Demonstrate your interest in DA (do some research), demonstrate your ability to interact with adults and peers (shake hands, look people in the eye, show confidence, ask questions), and talk about the passions, interests and accomplishments that make you special. Remember that the essay is another great opportunity to differentiate yourself from the many other students with strong grades, test scores and recommendations.</p>
<p>My interviewer at one of the HADES schools said that if you get above an 80% on all sections of the SSAT, you will be fine. So it is basically like a threshold that 1012mom was describing. </p>
<p>In my opinion the interview and essays are the most important part of the application process. Most students applying to boarding schools will have a decent SSAT score, decent grades, decent extra-curriculars, and decent recommendations but your interview and essays is where you can really stand out.</p>
<p>One thing which I think can help you get in is your EC’s. Most applicants to these schools are academically capable of handling the work. So basically what gets you in is your EC’s. Suppose one year they need a new soccer player or a tuba player. They’ll admit the tuba player kid over the kid who’s amazing at tennis because they don’t need a new tennis player. Mostly admissions is hard to predict, and after a certain point it’s out of your control.</p>
<p>@JoshByron,
I think that being a legacy trumps athletic recruit, but maybe not full pay. A full paying legacy is practically guaranteed admission.</p>
<p>Hahaha, true, a combo like that would be unbeatable. Although…imagine a legacy who was also an athletic recruit AND full-pay. Wow, he’d get in 100X over.</p>
<p>Okay, I’ll try to clear up some misinformation here.</p>
<p>1.) Legacy is not that important. There is a lot of legacy competition as there are many alums, so legacy acceptance is not significantly higher than non-legacy acceptance. However, having a sibling who is attending or has attended, more than triples your likelihood for acceptance.</p>
<p>2.) Because Deerfield has 400-450 students less than PA and Exeter, they do need to accept well rounded students. They cannot afford to admit as many “one-trick ponies” as the larger schools and remain competitive. In other words, it helps to have more than strong academics.</p>
<p>@CKSABS,
Thank you. From what I’ve gathered most top tier schools get so many applicants that most of them seem to be able to handle the academic work. Probably what gets you in is EC’s.</p>
<p>“A full paying legacy is practically guaranteed admission.”</p>
<p>This is definitely false. Both my father and I attend(ed) the school and my younger sister wasn’t admitted this year. She is good at sports, does well academically, and got acceptable SSAT scores, but this year was a very competitive year.</p>
<p>“I think that being a legacy trumps athletic recruit, but maybe not full pay.” @Ifax </p>
<p>DA cares a lot more about their lax team then making a couple of alum happy.
being an Athletic recruit is probs the strongest EC you can have other than personally saving the lives of children in africa.</p>