Hello, everyone. I am applying to Hotchkiss, Deerfield, Andover, Exeter, Westminster, Concord, Middlesex, and Hill School. Here are some facts about me.
I am a 14 year old girl in the 8th grade, from NYC
Im black (idk if thats important.)
I got a 77th percentile on the SSAT
I had GREAT interviews with all of the schools.
I play high school lacrosse (club). Ive called all the lacrosse coaches for these schools.s. I have not dropped below an 85 since the start of 6th grade. In thee seventh grade, I averaged a 4.0, and so far I`ve averaged a 3.95 in the eighth.
I do a lot of volunteer work with my church and at school.
I have all A
I write short stories and I even entered a competition.
What are your thoughts? Will I be a good candidate? I will also need financial aid, which I know will hinder my chances of getting in. Thanks!
Have you applied already ?
The academics at Andover & Exeter might be a bit overwhelming–based on your SSAT score.
If you have already applied, then you need to attend revisit days if accepted.
Hotchkiss has a lot of very wealthy students. It is a great school, as are all of these schools, but fit is the issue.
77% is very low for most of these schools. I am sure you know that being black helps or you wouldn’t have mentioned it. I don’t know if it helps enough to offset your scores.
Ive talked to many schools and they always put on this “we don’t see color” type of thing, but then I come here and people say that it helps. That’s why I don’t really know. My mom has also put the mentality that they’d favor someone who was white over me. Ofc I don’t fully agree with her, which is another reason I didn’t know it helped. Idk ig I shouldn’t have brought race into it
Yes, I’ve finished everything. I just need to hear back.
Don’t*
You seem like an excellent applicant for many schools: your mother is being ridiculous or possibly trying to set you with low expectations so as to cushion your disappointment if you aren’t successful or as successful as you would like to be. The fact is that a qualified black applicant will beat the same white applicant all day long because there are far fewer non white and non asian applicants to these schools. Schools want balanced student bodies and many schools have a hard time bringing in qualified hispanic and black students. Your scores would be a red flag that despite your grades, you might struggle at the most rigorous schools. That may or may not be the case but the scores generally matter for a reason. You may get in anyway. I would caution you that you may indeed struggle because your scores are a metric that measures your acquired knowledge and most students accepted to Exeter, Andover and maybe Hotchkiss have scores well over 90. Nonetheless… Good luck.
Thanks! You really cleared stuff up.
I think the schools you applied to are very difficult for everyone to get into. Grades and EC’s are very important but prep schools also use the grades in conjunction with SSAT scores to see how high the level is. For example, at some schools it would be very very rare for someone to get all A’s in middle school. At others there are 20% of kids getting A’s. You don’t want to end up in a school that is too rigorous or too easy. I think it is easier to get in if a student is first gen, a minority, or offers something unusual. But if you were my kiddo, I’d want you to find the best fit. A place where you would be happy and be challenged but not overwhelmed. As a family we looked at what the fit of each school was. The idea of people competing just for the sake of competing was a turnoff and affected applications for my kiddo.
I wish you all of the best. No one really knows how much each factor counts. It depends on how many others apply.
This thread raises the question as to whether or not elite boarding schools pool minority applicants’ applications or otherwise give a substantial admissions boost to URMs (under-represented minorities).
Regardless, you certainly are a strong applicant for the Hill School. I suspect, but have not checked, that your SSAT score is in line with Westminster’s averages.
Concord Academy & Middlesex School report to Boarding School Review that their average SSAT scores are 86.
Exeter & Andover report average SSAT scores as 94.
Hotchkiss & Deerfield should average about 85.
It appears that your SSAT score of 77 is reasonable for all of your targeted schools except Andover & Exeter.
It is no secret that Deerfield Academy likes athletes with substantial brainpower & a strong work ethic.
I cannot assess your chances for admission at any of these schools simply because I think that you need an URM boost at most of them & I do not know how significant of a boost each school offers, if any. The reason that I think that you need an URM boost is that you do not have any exceptional skill or accomplishment. Your grades are excellent & your community service is commendable, but you are competing against the best & the brightest & some of the most accomplished young students in the country and beyond.
Also, it is important to put an SSAT score of 77 in perspective. This is not like getting a 77 on a regular test in school; rather this score was achieved by competing against an exceptionally intelligent group of highly motivated students whose families place a great deal of value on education.
One who achieves a score of 77 on an SSAT test is certainly capable of graduate school work & of becoming a doctor, lawyer, engineer or almost any other profession.
Please let us know of your results. I hope that you get admitted to every school that is of interest to you. But, please be aware that Exeter & Andover are pressure cooker schools; the gifted students tend to push themselves as hard as do the teachers.
If you can get into Andover or Exeter, I’d say go. When I was in middle school, I didn’t quite now how to study for standardized tests, like the SSAT. I don’t remember how I did on standardized tests in middle school, but I would say it ranged from 88%-low 90s. Now, as a high school senior, I score in the 99% for the ACT.
Standardized tests have always been a weak point for me, but with hard work and a matured method of studying (which you’ll be able to develop through out high school), I’m sure you’ll be able to succeed as well!
Andover and Exeter send kids to amazing schools, as do many other schools, however, I would say high achieving students at these schools get into top-tier school a little easier than other high achieving students.
With regards to your SSAT score - it’s a good score, and I think you have a very reasonable chance for some of the schools mentioned in your post.
Others in this thread have posted eloquently. You are a good candidate for these schools in terms of credentials and the diversity they are seeking. As for being a good candidate in terms of fit, it’s so personal, some additional time spent on campus may help you decide.
(Side note with respect to SSATs: St. Paul’s released their SSAT score range this year. Their average SSAT score is around 89%, their 25th-75th percentile range appears to be approximately 77%-94%, so we can use this to extrapolate an estimate for one of the schools on your list, Deerfield).
Given Deerfield’s average SSAT score of 85%, their 25th-75th SSAT percentile range is likely to be 73%-91%, and you are probably in the 30th-40th percentile range for DA.
Also, you are spot on the average SSAT score for Hill School.
(When it comes to the “chance” threads on CC, it seems some view a school’s average SSAT score as a minimum requirement. No. Half the kids admitted to a particular school will get in with SSAT scores below the school’s average. Furthermore, the range can be quite large, with about 25% of all applicants having scores 10-12% OR MORE below the school’s SSAT average. Do athletes and legacies fall disproportionately in this <25% percentile bucket? Athletes, probably yes. Legacies, probably no (the legacy applicants I am familiar with usually have extremely good grades, test scores and ECs)).
Do you think being a legacy would help me when it comes to college admissions? My older sister attends Duke.
^Yes, but not much. The times where it will matter would be if your whole family has been attending for generations and donated frequently and generously.
Oh, alright. Thanks!
@brassarrow if college admissions are anything like BS ones, I think somewhere I read that Deerfield’s sibling acceptance rate was 54% (can’t remember where I read this though, so don’t take it too much to heart)
@altablue That’s interesting… I do wish a family member had attended BS, though.
altablue have you heard back from other schools you got wait listed like Exeter, Andover, Deerfield, Choate & Hotchkiss? Just checking. Are you moving forward with Milton by April 10th?
@altablue Siblings aren’t that much of a guarantee for a lot of schools, though; I know several people who had older siblings attending Exeter and were rejected or waitlisted. (One of the waitlisted ones reapplied and was accepted this year though 
)