I have been accepted into quite a few schools and I am very confused about what school is my best option as a hopeful Harvard attendee.
Accepted:
Deerfield Academy
Hotchkiss School
Choate Rosemary Hall
Milton Academy
Loomis Chaffee School
Waitlisted: (I don’t mind waiting for a school I really like.)
Taft School
Middlesex School
Phillips Andover Academy
I come from a school of about five hundred, so I am not sure if I should go to a larger school, but I am not closed to the idea.
My main interests are economics, politics, and I just love social sciences in general.
I am hoping to become a lawyer or a politician.
Campus is quite important to me as I would like a really strong campus with nice dorms.
Debate is my favorite activity as I am currently ranked in the top 100 within Texas and I would like to go a school in which the debate program is very strong.
I would like to take Latin going in as a Junior who has never taken Latin I would like a school that would be open to that idea.
Other Interests:
Politics (I would love any political clubs)
Model United Nations
I am in a few finance clubs
As far as sports I’ve never been big on them, but as most of these school requires sports I would like to do something along the lines of sailing, golf, or American Football.
I want the opportunity to take lots of courses and explore myself a bit.
Although I like to be challenged I don’t want to go to a school where academics dominate every aspect of my life and I am not able to succeed. Currently my GPA is 95/4.0 at a local private school and I would like to remain in that range.
These schools you got in are quite similar in terms of what you are looking for as you laid out in your post. And they are all pretty much at the same level in academics, so the “academic challenges” you get in one school is probably pretty similar as in another (Loomis could be a tad bit less competitive). You should revisit as many as possible but don’t expect one or two campus visits would be a guarantee of happiness for 4 years either. Otherwise make a choice based on location, logistics and the small difference in size. The last resort? Flip a coin! They are all great schools. Congratulations!
If your primary goal is to go to Harvard, you may be better off staying home than attending any of these. You are likely to have a higher GPA, higher class rank, and would stand out more as one of a relative handful of Texas boys than just another Ivy applicant from a well-known New England boarding school.
It may seem counter-intuitive looking only at admission stats. Harvard may have admitted 5%, or less, of applicants from your current school, but admits, let’s say 25% of applicants from one of these schools. However, you will never be able to know how many of those 25% will be admitted because their last names are Gates, Buffett or Rockefeller, or they are exceptional athletes, or have other hooks that got them into the BS in the first place and worked again to get them into Harvard.
It will be harder to get into the top 25% academically at any of these schools than at home because your fellow students are going to to be smarter, harder working, more focused on grades, etc. You may find yourself a small fish in that pond.
Now there are many reasons to go to boarding school (college preparedness, expanded world view, independence, life experience, etc.). You would be very well advised to go for any of those reasons.
But, if your primary goal in life is Harvard, and your family does not have the ability to donate a building, and you are not word-class at some specific skill that Harvard wants, and you are just another very smart, hardworking kid, you should know that your chances may not be helped by going to any of these boarding schools.
I didn’t even see this sentence the first round. The answer is they are equally good. Like I said, flip a coin, which will also tell you your chance of getting in Harvard a few years down the road!
"Like I said, flip a coin, which will also tell you your chance of getting in Harvard a few years down the road! "
Not even. Getting in to Harvard is not a 50/50 chance, even from the best boarding school. Pick a high school for the education - both in and out of the classroom - and where you’ll feel the most comfortable. And expand your college horizons beyond Harvard.
If you want to go to Harvard, stay where you are. If you’re willing to be more open-minded and want the boarding school experience, go to re-visits and check out what each school has to offer. For example, I know that Hotchkiss has an excellent Debate team. The question about starting Latin in 11th grade is a good one - ask this at each school. Good luck & congratulations on your acceptances!
Although going to Harvard is my end goal, I obviously have many other reasons for attending a prep school. I wanted to go to a school with a strong debate team, due to the fact that I feel as if I’ve outgrown mine, more classes, as my school does not offer Latin at all and I’ve already exhausted the social sciences, and more. I just want the best school for myself.
OK - Did you get course catalogues / graduation requirements in your acceptance packets? Or can you access them online? If I’m understanding your post correctly, you have been accepted as a new Junior, so course selection will be very important. You might want to schedule a meeting with the college office and the academic advising staff (or the equivalent) when you’re at revisits. Sit down and find out specifically which courses you can take and what requirements you may still have. This would be a good way to compare and possibly eliminate some schools. Again, as a Junior, you should try to get a feel for how difficult it might be to get on the debate team (or Model UN etc.) If that’s important to you, you should make sure that it will be an option.
DON’T take “Harvard” as the “end goal”. You are setting yourself up for disappointment because statistics here work against almost everyone NO MATTER where you go to school and what you do. Do get that. Meanwhile, be convinced that if you keep working hard and make the most of the opportunities your school offers, you will end up in a great college, which may or may not be Harvard. Good luck!
I agree with the statement above. Dont go to prep school with the goal of a certain college, and don’t treat it as a stepping stone to the Ivy League. Keep your mind open, and soak in the experiences as they may very well change your opinions. Hopefully you can get into Andover off the wait list! I spent my first two years at Andover doing everything I could to make myself a strong Ivy League candidate, only to do a total 180 and decide to try and epitomize the “non sibi” spirit instilled at Andover. I came into boarding school thinking that I would want to attend Yale or Columbia to be a doctor, but now I will instead be attending a U.S. Service Academy to become a military officer. You would be surprised how things will change, Just make sure you don’t get tunnel vision and let the whole unique experience pass by. Very few of us get the unique opportunity to attend a boarding school. After being in the prep school system for the last four years, I can assure you that the journey is just as important as the destination.
Congrats! All of the schools you’ve referenced are great. While it’s important to have goals, I think the prep school experience may be more important than where you go to college. The next few years will form what kind of person (and adult) you become. Try to identify where you think you’d be both challenged and feel most comfortable. Perspectives change over time. At your age I set my sights on Yale and was admitted. After taking the advice of a recent Loomis grad, I spent weekends at all of the colleges that I was admitted to and chose Dartmouth. No regrets. Keep an open mind on learning – and life!
Honestly, If you are looking purely at college admission rates, of the schools you are accepted at, Choate has the highest. Also, this comes at a big price because Choate, as one of the top schools in the country, also has some of the smartest minds in the country.
Boarding school is a big gamble whether Harvard is the end goal or not. I understand the wanting to expand schools as I am also hoping for similar boarding schools, and on the waitlist now. But, you have to understand that getting into Harvard from these schools are nearly impossible. You have to be in the top 5% of your class surrounded by the smartest minds in America. If you are hard working and independent at these schools however, who knows what you will accomplish.
@Boarding2016 There’s some misinfo in your post. Choate is a great school but it REALLY is in the same league as schools like Deerfield and Hotchkiss. And their college admission stats are on par as well.
If debate is your thing, wouldn’t Hotchkiss be the best fit? Of the schools we visited I believe their yearbook had the most kids going to the ivies. This may be a legacy impact but I was impressed.
Hotchkiss also has a sailing team. Personally, I was more blown away by Hotchkiss and Deerfield’s campuses than by Choate’s. Anyone would be lucky to have one of your choices let alone 5 especially as a junior!
@lmyhyder Congrats on all your admissions! It must be wonderful to get so many acceptances:) I’m probably biased because I go to Deerfield but I’d like to share some thoughts on entering Deerfield as a new junior (I applied last year).
I know for sure that Deerfield will allow you to take whatever language course you want. In fact, as a new junior they give you a bit more freedom in course selection - you don’t have the limitations that come with a 3-year or 4-year student. During my application process last year I had interviews at Hotchkiss and Choate but ended up not applying because I felt like Deerfield was a more inclusive community and would make the junior year transition easier - I think that’s something really important to consider besides the academics of the school as well. I don’t know too much about debate but I do know that we have a good MUN program, so that would suit you. I don’t know too much about the humanities side of things, but from what I know we have amazing faculty and a really strong humanities program. Another nice thing is that you’re not “required” to do sports - I’m planning to do a grand total of 0 terms of sport in my DA career so if you’d like to do an exemption that’s also entirely possible. That said we do have a football team and a golf team.
Feel free to message me with any more questions you have!
