Hi, I’m applying to Phillips Academy and Exeter for 11th Grade (Boarding) from India. I just wanted to know my chances before getting my hopes too high.
I have A's in all subjects except French.
English: A1 (91)
Math: A2 (85)
Science: A2 (88)
Social Science (humanities): A2 (81)
French: B2 (68) [i messed up the exam pretty bad, but I got full in all my assignments!]
The exams in our school are pretty hard.
In SAT, i got 570 in English and 670 in Math.
I am a Google Science Fair Global Finalist (top 20 worldwide).
I have pretty good recommendation and really good essays (my teachers agree).
I have many achievements in Robotics (National level in 3 renowned competitions).
I got 95 in my last Trinity Piano Exam (Top of my state).
I don't know if it helps but my brother goes to Harvard University.
Please tell me if i have a decent chance. I think I do interviews pretty well.
Hard to assess your chances. Clearly, your strength is in science (Google Science Fair, but low grade in science) & robotics, while your weakness seems to be in leadership & athletics.
Since there are very few spots available for the 11th grade, would you consider entering as a repeat 10th grade student ?
No just Andover and Exeter. I missed A1 by 3 marks. I got full in all my assignments. I was down with fever during the exams…thus the 68/80 (20 marks for all the assignments). Also, i’m in my school Football (soccer) team.
Also, I have done some communities and was selected for math puzzles in my school…but I have no idea where to add them in my application. I have also won many small competitions but I don’t know if I should add them as they are very small and relatively unknown.
Don’t get your hopes high; your chances are slim, as they are for any applicant from India. Additionally, 11th grade is extremely difficult for anyone to gain admissions.
Also, someone with my grades typically always gets above 93 in the main exams (board exam/final exam). Our school makes the exams tougher so that we are prepared.
Admissions may not admit that they cap the number of accepted international students, but they do, certainly at schools like Andover and Exeter. And they receive many applicants from India (and China and Korea).
An bad interview can ruin an application. A great interview will rarely improve a weak application
I assumed.
I’m not saying don;t apply; I’m just saying it’s a longshot. The glaring issue is you SAT scores. Noetiher of these schools offers ESL support.The expectation is that the English skills are sufficient to acclimate immediately, and the 570 belies that.
Have you considered United World Colleges? They have boarding schools around the world, including the US, and the two-year program is specifically for 11th and 12th or 12th plus a post-grad year. It is a fantastic program. US universities love UWC graduates.
Not only do US colleges & universities like UW graduates, several top US schools have scholarships reserved for graduates of the United World Colleges.
My English scores are pretty good. I only messed up reading in SAT. I got really good in writing. Also I got one of the highest scores in my class in English, so I don’t need ESL support. My school’s primary language is English so that isn’t much of a problem.
Besides, the people from PA and PEA say that 550 (in each subject) is the cutoff for accepting students (yes, I messaged them because I was scared I messed up English real bad). So I don’t see how that is a major problem
Most of the competitions I have cleared are considered by MIT Admissions, so I think it’s a pretty big deal, because there’s a lot of applying in each event.