<p>-Ice Hockey (pretty good. been playing for 4 years. only girl on my team)
-Piano (playing for around 7 years. pretty decent)
-Violin (2 years. so-so...)
-Other sports like basketball, tennis, field hockey. I'm pretty decent.</p>
<p>I'm really worried that I won't get into any good schools. I've been considering Andover, Exeter, St. Paul, Deerfield, and Hotchkiss. I will work on my verbal and Reading Comp score. But could I get in? Is there a chance? And I was wondering the dress code and if its really strict there.</p>
<p>Since I’m sure you’re anxious for feedback, here goes…</p>
<ul>
<li><p>For starters, you have shared a bit too much information for what is supposed to be an anonymous forum. How many hockey playing korean girls attend Harvard-Westlake? You’d be pretty easy to ID if anyone felt like connecting the dots. This is a common error for many students when they being to post here.</p></li>
<li><p>“I’m really worried that I won’t get into any good schools.” You should be. The schools on your short list are the among the most selective in the entire country. Plenty of well-qualified kids get rejected every year. And please don’t become one of the many who think that the list of “good” boarding schools is limited to those that are contained in a 5 or 6 or 10 letter acronym.</p></li>
<li><p>Regarding your standardized scores…I’m sort of a hardliner on this and I know there are plenty of kids who get in without 99s, but in my opinion, if you can’t “walk” the SSAT or ISEE with little to no prep, you should probably expand your “schools to consider” list beyond those who reject 85 out of every 100 kids who apply.</p></li>
<li><p>Since you have disclosed that you attend “the #1 school in California”, I’m curious why you are looking at East Coast boarding schools? Do you think you’ll be getting a better education there? Do you think your college matriculation will be better from one of the schools you list?</p></li>
<li><p>Note that I was told, point blank, by an AO at one of the schools you list that “Asian girls” represent the most competitive pool of applicants — because so many of them are strong in so many areas (academics, music, sports, etc.)</p></li>
<li><p>Does the dress code really matter that much to you? Like, it would make you cross a school off your list? I wouldn’t let that stand in the way if everything else about the school is a good fit. Honestly, it seems like a very trivial point (though one that plenty of kids seem to care about here on CC).</p></li>
<li><p>Now that I’ve thoroughly rained on your parade, I think you have more unique things going for you:</p></li>
</ul>
<p>You are from a slightly under-represented state for New England schools. All schools try to diversify — and geography is just one of component of diversity. It would be better if you were from a state like Iowa or Oklahoma (very under-represented!), but I think that your home state is working in your favor.</p>
<p>Also, I do think the hockey is a good hook — especially for an Asian girl*— if the school has a girls hockey team.</p>
<hr>
<p>My advice to you would be this:
Really be clear about why you want to switch from one excellent school to another. About what you are looking for in a new school. And then research the hell out of every school on your list and at least 5 more. And then ask yourself which schools are truly right to apply to.</p>
<ul>
<li>Know that even with the strengths you bring, you (and any other applicant) can get rejected from any school (even a less selective one) for any number of reasons out of your control. My advice to EVERY kid who comes on here is to diversify your “app” list. Because just shooting for the BS equivalent of Harvard, Yale, and Princeton may end up disappointing you in the end…when you would have had an equally great education/experience/job prospect coming out of Williams, or UCLA for that matter.</li>
</ul>
<p>Best of luck.</p>
<p>BTW, there is “chance” subform…that’s where these sorts of posts usually go. ;-)</p>
<p>Oh sorry I forgot to mention it… My family’s moving to the east coast because my dad got this job offer in Washington D.C. so I have to leave in my 9th grade year.</p>
<p>just as a quick side note
is Harvard-Westlake really the best school in CA?
What about Harker? </p>
<p>also just make sure to work on extracurriculars to stand out
you’re gonna need to have a spectacular essay so they pay attention to your app
but good luck</p>
<p>From my experience, applying to/in prep school, sports are really the most helpful if you are a “recruit”. That said, if you’re serious about increasing your chances on admission (and you think your skills are there), then I would contact the coaches and send them videos of you playing.</p>