<p>My top 7:
1. Exeter
2. SPS
3. Andover
4. Deerfield
5. Groton
6. Hotchkiss
7. Milton</p>
<p>I am applying as a junior, but I have to eliminate 2 schools.</p>
<p>Which do you recommend? </p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Well what are you looking for in a school?</p>
<p>I am looking for a challenge, competition, more extra-curricular and co-curricular activities, open classroom settings, and lots of diverse course offerings.</p>
<p>What are your stats? (ssat score, gpa, leadership positions, extracurriculars, teacher recs)</p>
<p>Will you be happy staying where you are if you don't get into one of the schools you apply to? (if not -- you will need more matches and low-reaches than high-reaches like exeter and andover)</p>
<p>most of the top 50 boarding schools will challenge you and provide additional opportunities -- do you have any special interests or talents? art, drama, dance, etc? community service? a certain sport you are looking for? If you can give us some more specifics, it will help. For instance, if you are interested in modern dance, a politically active school body, higher level math classes and crew, you don't want a school that challenges you academically but doesn't offer those things.</p>
<p>SSAT score= 92% , GPA= 4.1</p>
<p>Couses taking this year (10th): Honors World Literature, Spanish III, AP Art History, Personal Finance/Sociology (Semester), AP European History, Physics, and Honors Algebra II.</p>
<p>Extracurriculars: Student Government (Sophomore Class Treasurer), member of Eagle Ambassadors (leadership club that works with the head of the school), Habitat for Humanity, MUN (Model United Nations), Ski Club, Rotary Interact (a club that works with charities), and I also volunteer at the local Children's Hospital, nursing home, and soup kitchen.</p>
<p>Talents: I have been playing the piano/violin for 9/4 years; (was in school orchestra past 4 years, but not this year), I know how to ski very well, I play the keyboard for my church's praise team, I play field hockey on a rec team, and I believe that I would succeed in Crew if a school had that sport. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that I will be entering as a junior, and need to recieve financial aid b/c my family's annual income is around 40,000. </p>
<p>Also, I think that I would not be satisfied at the school I am currently attending, especially after seeing that there are much better schools out there. (My school is a public high school).</p>
<p>Matches: Deerfield, Hotchkiss, and Groton.</p>
<p>High-Reaches: Exeter, SPS, and Andover.</p>
<p>-> I decided to eliminate Milton.</p>
<p>your stats are impressive however all the schools you've listed are reaches, especially for a junior needing full FA. That being said, go for it!</p>
<p>
[quote]
I am looking for a challenge, competition, more extra-curricular and co-curricular activities, open classroom settings, and lots of diverse course offerings.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>It sounds to me like you want one of the larger boarding schools based on wanting more activities and diverse course offerings. Consider whether or not you would get that at Groton. </p>
<p>I cannot predict what your chances are. However, all your schools are reaches. If you do not want to find yourself at your public school for Jr. year, you might consider adding some schools that are not as competitive to your list. The majority of applicants to the most competitive schools will have high SSATs, great GPAs, and wonderful ec's. This is hard to imagine when you are used to being on top. I'm not implying that you don't have chances; I am suggesting that the nature of the competition is probably very different from the competition you have now.</p>
<p>"Deerfield" "Hotchkiss" and "Groton" are not matches. You'll be lucky if you get into any of them.</p>
<p>Most of these schools have acceptance rates under 25%. They should be considered reaches and high reaches for almost everyone. There are LOTS more schools out there that could challenge you and make you happy. Doing some research can help find those schools.</p>
<p>Why not look into some schools that are only grades 11 and 12? Something like the united world colleges (it's high school).</p>
<p>what would be a good match school for me, then?</p>
<p>I do not know if I will be able to find an amazing school that will give me the f.a. and experience I need and am looking for.</p>
<p>Would Exeter and those other schools be THAT much of a stretch for me?
What do I need to do to ensure that I am qualified for these schools?</p>
<p>Don't get me wrong, its not that its a huge stretch. But its not a match/gimme for anybody. Don't go assuming your going to get into hotchkiss deerfield and groton, because they are very hard to get into. You could very well get into all of them and very well not get into any of them.</p>
<p>Exeter SPS and Andover are in the same league as deerfield groton and hotchkiss, there is no reach, match difference between them</p>
<p>This process is so frustrating...finding which schools that I am most likely to be accepted to!!</p>
<p>I looked into Lawrenceville and Middlesex, but are those schools also on the same plane as the ones that I really want to get into?</p>
<p>happyday -- it is a frustrating experience! those of us who have been on the board for a few years know how frustrating it can be -- but we also know how disappointing the results are for kids who only apply to a few of the very top schools.</p>
<p>You stats are solid -- which means that you have the basic qualifications to get into any of the schools (I am not sure what your actual unweighted GPA is -- but if you have any C's or more than 2 B's, no matter how hard the class it, it will hurt). </p>
<p>The problem is -- you list schools where virtually ALL of the kids have those same high stats. Many will have experience living internationally and speak more than one language fluently, some will be fantastic athletes already playing at the state and national level while a sophomore, some will be gifted artists/musicians/performers with semi-professional roles/awards/performances, some with be related to family members who have contributed millions to the school and have a legacy dating back generations, some with be under-represented minorities who have those stats even while helping to raise their 4 brothers and sisters in a single parent family and working part-time, etc. While your stats are excellent -- they do not necessarily distinguish you from the other candidates that are applying. </p>
<p>Everyone who applies, really wants to get into that school. They generally interview well, have excellent teacher recs and write good essays. One out of every 4 or 5 kids get that letter of admission -- so at those most competitive schools, the odds are against you getting that letter. I am not saying that you won't get accepted -- I am saying that you need to strategize, so that the odds are tipped a bit more in your favor.</p>
<p>One thing to keep in mind -- while having a huge number of classes to choose from sounds great, as an entering Junior your class choices will be very limited. You will have to take certain classes to meet the graduation requirements of the school -- and you may find that you can only choose a few electives. A school that offers 15 classes in History make sound like the perfect school, but you can only take 1 or 2 of those classes -- so maybe a school that offers 5 classes in History might suit you just as well. Delve into that curriculum catalog and read the course requirements for entering Juniors.</p>
<p>I am going to repost something I wrote for another thread -- think about what I wrote and how you can make that strategy work for you:</p>
<p>When applying to schools, if you don't want to be disappointed in March -- consider following this advice:</p>
<p>1 solid safety -- a school you know you are accepted to and will be able to attend and pay for. Might be the local public or private school or a BS where you are pretty much guaranteed to get in and you don't need $ to attend, might be a BS where you get an early acceptance (Conserve is one with early rolling admissions).</p>
<p>1-2 matches -- this is a school where you would be happy to attend. Maybe not your first or second choice, but you really like it much more than your safety. A match is a school with 50% or more acceptance rate and where your stats place you in the top 25%. Legacy, recruited athlete or URM can make a school a match even if your stats are in the top 50%. No school is a match if you need FA -- it would be a low-reach.</p>
<p>1 or more low-reach schools. These are schools you would rather attend than either your match schools or your safety school. If you like your match schools better than the low-reach schools, don't bother to apply. A low-reach school is one where your stats are in the top 25% and the acceptance rate is 40% or more OR your stats are in the top 50% and the acceptance rate is 50% or more. Again -- legacy, recruited athlete or URM can make a high-reach into a low-reach. If you need FA, a school is a low reach only if 35%+ kids are on FA AND your stats are in the top 25% AND the acceptance rate is 50% or higher.</p>
<p>1 or more high reach schools. These are the schools you really, really want to get into -- but admission is tough. Think Exeter, SPS, Andover, etc -- these are high reaches for everyone because the admissions rate is so low and most of the kids applying have excellent stats. FA doesn't really come into play -- most high reach schools offer good FA if they want you. A school is a high reach if the admissions rate is 30% or lower. Any school is a high reach if your stats place you into the bottom 50%, no matter what the admission rate.</p>
<p>Another factor to consider -- the better your interests and talents match the school, the better a match you are. If you are into greek and latin, but the school doesn't offer those classes it might move a low-reach into the high reach category. If you are a great hockey player with tons of community service and debate awards it might move a school from a high-reach to a low-reach if the school is big on hockey, community service and debate.</p>
<p>One caveat for international students -- if you need financial aid, every school is a high-reach.</p>
<p>Just looking at Boarding</a> School Review - College-Prep & Jr. Boarding Schools, you can search by several filters to find schools that are a low-reach school for a non-minority, solid stat student needing FA (looking for schools where 35%+ are on FA, stats are in the top 25%, acceptance rate is 50%+)</p>
<p>For you, I looked at these factors: schools with 35% + on FA, Acceptance rate of 50%+, boarding population of 68%+, Class size of 250+ (I did keep a few smaller schools on the list) Any of these schools could be considered a low-reach for you -- so see if any appeal to you:</p>
<p>Interlochen (arts focused school)
Conserve (small, but excellent)
idyllwild (art focus school)
Miss Halls (all-girls)
Tilton
Kiski
Northfield Mount Hermon
Westtown
Shattuck-St. Mary's
Emma Williard
Gould
Grier
Gunnery</p>
<p>Remember -- you aren't comparing these schools to Andover and Exeter, you are comparing them to your safety school (which, for you, is likely your current public high school). See if you think it is better.</p>
<p>I know very little about these schools -- so many might be terrible, but you can look them up and see what the course selection, class size, AP classes offered and college matriculation is like.</p>
<p>My personal recommendation is that you take a hard look at Northfield Mount Hermon, Emma Williard, Miss Porter's and Conserve.</p>
<p>I found these schools --</p>
<p>Does it help that I am Korean-American, and I speak fluent English, Korean, and Spanish? </p>
<p>Also, my UW GPA is a 3.985 currently...is that decent??</p>
<p>& my last question is: Do schools give prefrence to those who interview on-campus over those who cannot go to the school at all (like me)?</p>
<p>Thanks so much for your help!</p>
<p>ur from washington. COOL!!! me too. i live in renton. how are you a UW as a junior. r u in their transition school or something?</p>
<p>UW means unweighted, as in without the weighting of an honors or a.p. class....sorry to let you down :)</p>
<p>oh okayy. lol :)</p>