Or where can I find one?
I am looking for someone to help me, mainly, with my essays. But overall someone who knows more about prep school admissions than I do, that could help me all around. Maybe even give me a few pointers on the interview! The thing is, next year will be my last year applying, and I want more than anything to get in.
Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
Are you looking for someone to help you identify good schools for you or just to polish your app?
@gardenstategal Polish my application and help me get accepted.
I believe if you go to some of the main practice test providers such as Kaplan, Princeton, they have some resources there. For essays you can consult an English teacher you know or trust ? If you don’t have a parent who can help I would tell you just write in your own voice and use the essay answers as a guide to show who you are and what kind of student you would be by giving a story of an event that would demonstrate your characteristics. Your interview is very important so know how to speak with confidence, maturity, and humility, to an adult and be genuine.
The few I know work with students to find a good fit then usually work the process from there. Not sure how they are coming in at the end…
Sounds like you need more of a person who can edit your essays and help polish your interview skills. You/your parents might know someone like that already. Is there a teacher or parent who can help? Ideally, it should be someone who can tell you truthfully what is strong about you and what you need to work on. If you do it over the Summer there might be a couple of people who can practice interviewing you can give you feedback.
Before writing ANY essays, read HUNDREDS of essay samples online (from college applications - you won’t find any for prep school). You’ll have a good idea of what your essay should look like.
I cannot stress this enough: apply to safeties.Schools with high acceptance rates and average SSATs lower than yours. From now, take an SSAT practice test and see your current percentile - it’s going to be different as a 9th grader. Start studying for the SSATs at least four months before taking it, if the score that you got on the practice test wasn’t desirable.
Send in your recommendation requests early, start your applications even earlier.
And for your interviews - do not do a shred of preparation or it will be too unnatural. BUT, you need to find out everything about the school or you’ll seem uninterested. Ask at least five questions, and smile a lot (but don’t make it seem forced!)
That’s it, basically.
@Albertjones1 Not really about English teacher or anything like that. I interview pretty well, so that isn’t as big of an issue. I just some times dont know exactly what we should talk about, and I feel as if I could make better use of our time. Overall though, I am extremely mature for my age and fairly well spoken. So they usually like me in that sense. I am also pretty interesting. Only draw back is that I talk, a lot, and quickly. However, for an interview, that may not necessarily be a bad thing. Thanks for the feedback!
@gardenstategal Okay, no worries, thanks for the help though!
@Happytimes2001 I drive this entire process by myself. My mother is extremely uneducated about the prep school world, and didn’t even know why I wanted to go in the first place. But, she trusts me and plays along. In fact, the only time my mother ever spoke directly with anyone at the school was at the interview/tour. I even booked it all by myself. (Not sure that is so impressive, but I know that it gives you points) However, from this past year of admission season, I have accumulated a good amount of contacts that I’m sure I can send essays to and they will give me feedback. I just want a good, solid resource, where I can see what these essays should be like. They are very lose, and I think they purposely do that to see where you will take it. Inevidebly though, there is probably a direction that is preferable. I look forward to hearing what you have to say!
@brassarrow That’s a great idea! Where can I find said essays? And how do I know that the kids who wrote them even got accepted? About safeties, my safety would be to stay at my current prep school. (Assuming everything goes according to plan, that is) My reccomendations are a bit more complex. Next year will be my first year at the new private school that I am already planning to leave, before I even get there. Given I am only applying to my 2 dream schools, Exeter and Taft, it isn’t like I’m dire to leave. I feel as if given the connections I have there, I am already going to have people liking me upon arrival. But I don’t want to be rude and ask the minute I get there. Plus, I want to give them a chance to get to know me. My story is long and complex. If you’re interested, I’d be happy to tell you more. Simply DM me! Moving on, I already know crazy amounts of information about Taft and Exeter, and I brush up on the school’s history before hand. I am extremely passsionate and personable, they will defiantly know I am interested. Furthermore, I do just review a little list of my accomplishments on the notes app on my phone before the interview to give me a few talking points fresh in my mind. Also, question: I heard people talking about having examples of lets just say, photography, on their phone ahead of time and that they show the interviewer during the interview. To me this seemed rude, and forced. (What if they dont want to see it? It also wastes time) But maybe I’m wrong. (Pasted below for more to see) Any feedback from anyone would be great on that. Thanks so much for the advice though!! I look forward to hearing from you again.
Question for everyone: Is it true that if you pay some of these coaches enough that let’s just say you get waitlisted… they can “make a call” and make sure your the first one off that waitlist?
Also question for all: I heard people talking about having examples of lets just say, photography, on their phone ahead of time and that they show the interviewer during the interview. To me this seemed rude, and forced. (What if they dont want to see it? It also wastes time) But maybe I’m wrong.
Didn’t have time to proof read, so sorry for any errors!
I hope that was a typo about paying coaches. That would be unethical. I give you tons of credit for doing this on your own and that is what you should stress about yourself in your essays. That Is the sort of “grit” they look for. That alone should get you admitted. Don’t read other essays just be genuine be who YOU are. The essays are short (250-500 words). Make sure you type them in word to check the word count and spell check! Then copy to your application. The AO will lead the interview on topics you don’t need to worry about that. My son went in cold and did great because he was relaxed.
@coppii:Sounds like you’ve been through the process once already? And I’m guess no acceptances?
I think what gardenstategal may have been getting at is that, it’s not just about “polishing your app”…as she, among others, have hinted at…getting accepted is just as much a factor of picking the right schools to apply to. Lose sight of that and you may end up up in the same place you are now.
@Albertjones1 My Exeter interview was based off of a sheet I gave them about myself, that went really well! My Taft interview was much more difficult, but I realized that the director of admissions and I had a close mutual friend and she called me in after my interview to chat with me, and it went very well. Also, @SevenDad the same director I am still in contact with now, and she is giving me advice as a friend about what to do next year. And yes, I was rejected everywhere. (But I STILL have not heard back from Choate. They said to wait until mid April even though my application was submitted on time. I thought I was supposed to be “gaurenteed a march 10 decision” but I guess not. I dind’t know that paying coaches was so wrong… I thought it was a quite typical thing to do. I had to pay mine, its just that I think she could have done more and given me more essay advice/guidance.
About grit just getting me accepted, no offense, but I doubt that. However, this rejection really tore me down, and I think it DOES say a lot about my grit that I am reapplying even stronger this time. (I hope)
I understand what you are saying about picking the right schools. But, I wont leave somewhere for something that I am not dying to go to. I need to be 110% on board, all the way through. Not to sound condescending, but some of these schools simply didn’t feel like a place that I could confidently call home.
I disagree with you dismissing “grit”. I also am still troubled by the paying a coach comment. Paying them for what? What sort of coach takes money from a kid and at what school? Why did Taft turn you down did they say?
Do you mean a prep school coach vs an athletic coach?
Is the OP trying to refer to an educational consultant?
AHH yes @coppii paying for an education coach. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Thought you were referring to athletics.
A tip for the essay - use Grammerly, the free version can help prevent many errors, but the paid version is relatively cheap and can help with a lot more things. (Also, it may help with school papers too so it’s an investment 
)
About the essays: if you have absolutely no idea what they should look like, then, yes, read some samples. But personally, I think it’s probably more important to have your essays be authentic and memorable than it is to have them be “following the rules” (as it were) too closely. After all, the AO reads thousands of essays, and if yours are a lot like many of the others, it won’t help you stand out. There’s some more advice about this in this thread:
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-chances/1968462-its-time-to-stop-chancing-each-other-and-give-back-to-future-applicants.html#latest
I’m not sure how much hiring a consultant would really help. With my essays, I talked to my mom (although since it doesn’t sound like your parents are particularly involved, you might want to go with a trusted teacher) and two of my more literary-minded friends, one of whom had applied and been accepted to prep school the previous year. I suspect that the AOs can tell who has been “coached” through the admissions process and who has been doing it mainly on their own, and I would guess that they are much happier with applicants who go the latter route; it sounds like you know what you’re doing at this point, and I would suggest seeking help only when you need it rather than having someone taking you all the way through the process.
Best of luck!
Why do we think the essay was the culprit?
Anyone can avoid the cost of hiring an EC by applying common sense and solid research . Plus, ECs don’t have that kind of pull or power… all they do is guide, keep the families on task prior to deadlines and troubleshoot if things go South on M10 … Which usually means Hail Mary apps to different schools! It sounds like you’d like to take another whack at Taft and Exeter but maybe ( just maybe ) Taft and Exeter didn’t think you were a good fit for them. Your Stats need work and I just read that you had to withdraw from another school… I don’t know how to spin this but those two things sunk your ship. I appreciate and applaud your enthusiasm and efforts but… I have nothing to offer if you’re unwilling to explore different schools… I wish I did.
No words for Choate … I’m completely mystified how they could blow that … and it was very unfair to you . That said… even though everyone will have their fingers crossed … your odds are not very good for Choate on A10 either.
Here’s the simple truth, Kiddo: If you regroup for next year and would be willing to switch up your list of schools - while improving your stats and getting your head on straight … we ( the CC community ) can probably help guide you ( and we’re free! ) , but right now- your current school list along with your stats, backstory and need for a full ride is absolutely impossible to work with. It’s a nonstarter. I’m sorry but your results had nothing to do with your essays.
You’re a rower… right? There are plenty of other wonderful schools that can give you a world class education plus an amazing rowing experience . The schools on your current list don’t have a lock on those things and there are many other schools in the position to offer everything you wish plus the full ride.
It’s your choice. You can move forward or stay where you are. IMHO- these schools were folly from the start and I sincerely question the guidance you’ve received to date .
You sound like a great kid who has endured some tough knocks. You don’t need to read or find inspiration in someone else’s essay… It’s all right there and now it’s up to you to figure out how to frame it.
All the best and if you’d like to reboot with different schools for next year… please feel free to reach out.
I understand what you mean about writing essays in your own voice. What I meant by rreading admissions essays is not trying to copy another person’s voice, but rather knowing what a successful essay looks like and what is concentrates on.
“Also question for all: I heard people talking about having examples of lets just say, photography, on their phone ahead of time and that they show the interviewer during the interview. To me this seemed rude, and forced. (What if they dont want to see it? It also wastes time) But maybe I’m wrong.” ~ @coppii
I draw (a lot). I didn’t show anything to my interviewers except for that one interviewer who asked me to. If you want to show your interviewer anything, wait until the topic comes up, like:
“What hobbies are you interested in?” [interviewer]
“…etc. etc. etc. Photography. I could show you a few examples, if you like.” [interviewee]
You get what I mean?
Anyway, if you want to see some essay examples, a quick Google search would do it. I’ve read a lot, but they were all scattered; not on one website.
Typically educational consultants have established relationships with certain boarding schools. I would look for a consultant based in one of the New England states. They can make a significant difference.