I applied for a competitive prep school. When I had my interview, the interviewer wanted to talk to my parents. She said that my chances of getting accepted were very high. I had no grade lower than a 99%. I am a good student, so I assume I had good recommendations. When I got my admissions decision letter, however, I got an outright rejection. I would have at least expected waitlist, What happened?
Essay, Requiring Financial Aid, or sometimes no one knows why a person gets rejected. For me, I thought I did everything right at Choate. My best interview took place at Choate, my grades and SSAT were good, and I thought my Choate essays were my best. However, I was rejected from Choate but got into Exeter. I’m sorry I can’t provide any more details as we don’t know what happens behind those closed doors. Hopefully you have another option. Goodluck!
Did you have ECs/sports in addition to grades?
Prep School admissions officers at the most elite schools will tell you quite simply, they don’t want study and test robots. They want people who have a passion for sports and/or other extra curriculars who have demonstrated high levels of achievement in ECs.
One AO told me “I’ll take a 90% SSAT over a 99% SSAT student who admits they sacrificed other activities just to study for the SSAT”.
First of all, whoever interviewed you should not have said that your chances of getting accepted were “very high”.
Second of all, hopefully this was not the only prep school you applied to (if going to a prep school - vs. local public - was essential).
Third, read your first sentence…you applied for a “competitive prep school”. That statement alone should tell you all you need to know. As has been more than hinted at in numerous threads over the years, the competition at the most selective/most popular schools is brutal. NOBODY should assume they are a lock for any of the most selective school unless their family name is on a building.
Sorry to sound unsympathetic…but here’s a thread I started LAST YEAR that is pinned to the top of the forum:
Here are two bullet points in the OP of that thread:
- There is no "magic bullet" to getting into one of the more selective boarding schools in the US
- With admit rates in the teens, your chances of getting into schools like Phillips Andover are not good
I did not start that thread to be a “Debbie Downer”…I did not to let prospective applicants know what they were in for. Hoping you have a backup plan that is appealing enough.
^^^SHOULD READ “I did it to let prospective applicants…”
That will teach me to post while getting ready for a wedding (not mine!).
Keep in mind, prep schools are not necessarily taking the most competitive students academically. They are putting together a diverse class/community, much like colleges. When putting together a class, they consider these things:
- geodiversity. How many times have you heard X has students from 49 states (that elusive North Dakota) and 19 countries? 2) recruited athletes: they need athletes to feed their voracious athletic machines 3) legacy: they have to turn away a ton of legacy students 4) URM’s and First Gen: so many students at prestigious boarding schools want students that ivies want too, and give up a ton of spots to kids who will apply for Questbridge when college apps roll around, and who add to the community because of URM status, SES, or first gen. You’re thrown off in understanding who they pick if you think its all about grades, SSAT’s, good students, and EC’s. That’s not the admissions game.
One more thing. When my student a few years ago interviewed at Deerfield, the interviewer apologized but excused herself for about 20 minutes out of the 30 minutes to say she heard a legacy family out in the hallway, and had to go and talk to them. Said family had been WL the year before, and she felt it was her duty to go and talk to them (at the expense of my student’s interview). It became crystal clear, that every applicant is not on equal footing, that legacy and other things (over normal smart students) take priority in Admissions.
bump
There are no guarantees with the admissions process. So many factors come into play.
This is a trickier question. Posts I’ve read on this forum suggest that schools use the WL differently, sometimes preferring them over outright rejections. Experienced posters suggest that it is better to send honest rejections than to give kids false hope with a WL which one poster called “weasel rejections”.
Last year, one admission director voluntarily said she wouldn’t worry about dd’s being accepted there - waitlisted. Another director said she would be an example student and called academics director who wanted to see her in person - rejection. No one can make the decision on own. It is made by their admission committee. Encouraging words should be taken with a grain of salt.
On the other hand, we received the same level of assurance from two other schools that actually accepted her as well. Probably the two schools that didn’t accept her really meant to take her as well. But there are always other students whom they want to take as well.
I think @SevenDad and @preppedparent sort of ticked all of the boxes. At the end of the admissions process, there will always be kids who probably deserved to get into a school that don’t and kids that probably didn’t that do. A lot of the time the admissions process isn’t perfect and the school learns that on a later day and sometimes they very consciously choose someone who probably shouldn’t be there, either for athletic, legacy or literally any other reason.
@preppedparent had a similar experience at andover (was applying non legacy to prep schools). Only school I didn’t get into, which makes sense considering that my interviews were arguably the strongest piece of my applications and I got into 4 other elite schools.
I am a current student at Deerfield so if anyone has any questions you can PM me.
@AppleNotFar the waitlist has always been a weird thing but particularly recently. I see an incredible number of applications on the waitlists these days. Especially from the most elite schools, they love to waitlist kids. Weird. No good answer unless you are an admissions officer.
Nowadays, you’re gonna need a lot more than good grades and test score to get into top boarding schools. Sorry if this sounds insensitive, but there are people who have perfect scores, grades, who are also amazing athletes and do every extracurricular known to man and they still get rejected. It’s honestly ignorant to assume even a waitlist at any of these schools… not to say that you are ignorant, but you really don’t understand the level of competition in the applicant pool. Don’t feel dejected: you can always reapply, and they’ll probably look upon you more favorably as a reapplicant. Personality also plays a huge roll! I honestly can’t give you a personalized answer about why you were rejected unless you’re willing to provide more information.
I wish personality was a main factor. The bigger ones are DIVERSITY, legacy, geodiversity, recrited athlete, orchestra.
FWIW- My post from an April of last year thread So, You Didn’t Get Into BS… Please note the part about schools doing some WL/Rejected applicants a favor, and please don’t take it personally. It’s not meant to be unkind or harsh- just something to consider and maybe think about if you’re already gearing up for next year :
FYI- and this is just my two cents ( not directed at anyone ) : You can have mind-blowing stats and a BS can still think you’re not ready for this experience. Just sayin.
Maturity and readiness is more important than a fab SSAT score or an awesome EC. A lot of it has to do with how they see you fitting in… because YOUR comfort and well-being ( Thank God ) is paramount to everything else! I don’t want to be mean or hurt anyone’s feelings, but I’ve seen way too many people gloss over that part ( when they’re waitlisted or rejected ) and blame other things … … like a poor interview, not being athletic enough, etc. Oh, and my personal favorite: An unqualified legacy or athlete probably took my spot!!
Yeah, no- not even warm.
There are many tips for a new app cycle that I can give, but here’s just a quick one to think about now : Showing interest in things that WILL make you a little uncomfortable ( see taking risks- which is actually a BS requirement ). Maybe you’ve never played a team sport before but the school offers something you’d like to try- Now we’re talking! Could you imagine a BS campus with a bunch of people who only do what they’re good at? Yeah- they can’t either because there wouldn’t be growth opportunities for anyone and without growth opportunities- Why bother? IMHO- a key piece of a BS app ( which is often overlooked ) has more to do with what you haven’t done and what might scare the you know what out of you. It’s not about perfect stats, or a wonderful but boring list of accomplishments or about how you plan to continue these things in the future. YAWN. You and everyone else.
WHY do you want to go? Why BS? That’s the burning question. When my kids applied to BS, I encouraged them to look at what would challenge them the most and what would take them out of their comfort zone. AND- they also had to articulate WHY they chose the schools on their list… because if they couldn’t make their case to me ( I didn’t part with app fees easily )- how could they possibly make their case to admissions? Simply put: A successful BS app requires depth and a vision for the future. It doesn’t dwell on the past, and it has to make sense.
If you weren’t accepted this time around maybe this is a good time to do a little soul-searching before you apply again. Branch out! You’re older and a little bit more wiser now.
Two quick tips:
BS is a tough uphill slog every. single. day. even for incredibly motivated/ mature students with awesome survival skills. Choose the schools you apply to very carefully. One school does NOT fit all… so be very careful and do your research! Name recognition or prestige shouldn’t even factor into your decision. Period. Why? Because that’s really stupid and you’re not stupid. If you haven’t heard of Kent ( or any school in the Top 30-40 ) - that’s actually YOUR problem not theirs. It’s simply not enough to look at a school like Exeter ( as an example ) and say: Well, Mark Zuckerberg went here so it must be amazing ! Noooooo. It doesn’t work that way. That’s not a reason. Why is Exeter amazing for YOU and will your reasons for applying make sense to THEM? AND- How could you POSSIBLY KNOW IF YOU HAVE"NT COMPARED EXETER TO OTHER SCHOOLS??
Also- veering off a bit : Need Blind = Cattle Call. Ask yourself this question : Do you really love NB school ( for all the right reasons ) , or are you cattle ? Have you considered the real possibility that a NB school is highly selective because everyone and their pet hamster is applying? Being NB is truly an awesome thing, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best school for you or the best BS out there. My God- and don’t be so quick to swoon… thoroughly research each and every BS and make them EARN your application.
I’m going to catch some flak for that one, but I don’t care. 
Look- all BSs in the Top 30-40 are truly amazing and ALL of them are in a position to offer students full or very generous FA. And- for FP students they’re worth every. single. penny.
There is no secret sauce for BS ( or college ) admissions, but I will tell you this: The universe usually rewards people who go in with an open mind and do proper research. If you’re applying again… I’d get going.
If you want to understand why so many are being waitlisted, look at the acceptances. Many kids have several acceptances - they will be turning down all but 1 of these schools. As the slectivity ramps up, kids are applying to a larger number of schools just to ensure they have a good likelihood of 1 acceptance. Schools, on the other hand, know that their odds of “yielding” many students drops as the number of applications per kid rises. Their solution is to wait list a hefty amount of kids just in case their yield isn’t what they hoped. Come April 10, some schools will be scrambling to find enough beds while others will go to the waitlist but there is no way for any one, including the schools themselves, to predict which school will end up in which column at this point.
You bring up a good point.
It would be interesting to see the whole profile of some of the kids who made it into SEVERAL competitive schools.
@preppedparent I really wish that it was for most schools, too. I think that I got into my schools because I bring geodiversity. However, my Choate interviewer left a note in my acceptance package saying that right after our interview, he immediately made a note in his mind to advocate for my acceptance. I don’t think that this is necessarily common (having an AO really really care about how the interview went), but my Choate interview was honestly so much fun. The best and most genuine discussion I’ve ever had with a complete stranger for sure.