Lawrenceville New Sophomore Taking Questions! :)

aaralyn · 10-11-2012, 09:27 PM

Hey there

Don't know if any of the old CC-ers remember me, but I'm now well into my second month and L'ville and thought I'd visit and take some questions? New CC-ers, I know what you're going through - I did it twice - I know it's time-consuming and horrible, but trust me, it IS worth it!

Just some background on me -
I'm from Shanghai, China, but I grew up in New Jersey and I'm a USA citizen - I honestly don't know if I'm an int'l student or not. I am bilingual (English & Mandarin) and I'm working on Spanish. I play violin (5 years) and piano (12 years) and sent in recordings with my application. I am not athletic at all, I wasn't recruited for any sport. I am a full pay student and I am a boarder.

My qualifications when I applied - high honor roll all through middle school, 3.8 GPA (unweighted, out of 4.0) first semester freshman year. I was one of the only freshmen on my school's varsity Model United Nations team, did community service every week, and was selected to be in the symphony orchestra. My recommendations were great and my essays I honestly can't judge by myself. I had a 99 percentile SSAT score, raw score of 2346 - 800 (99%) in math, 794 (99%) in reading, and 752 (89%) in verbal.

I applied to Exeter, Andover, Deerfield, Milton, Hotchkiss, Concord my eighth grade year and was waitlisted EVERYWHERE + denied at Andover. I was devastated but reapplied freshman year to a new set of schools - Deerfield, Milton, Hotchkiss, Choate, St. Paul's, Groton, and of course, Lawrenceville. I was accepted at Lawrenceville and waitlisted at Milton + Hotchkiss. I was later moved off of Milton's waitlist in late April but ultimately decided to attend Lawrenceville.

Here at Lawrenceville, I participate in Model United Nations, community orchestra (non-selective), collegium orchestra (selective), an a'capella group (selective), color the world (community service), Asian Students Organization, Mock Trial, Speech and Debate, and I take private music lessons for violin. I am starting a chapter of JSA (Junior Statesmen of America) here with a friend and will be starting a music honor society next year (deadline has passed for this year). I am doing dance as my fall 'sport', will try fencing for the first time in winter, and will do house soccer in the spring.

Okay, I think that's it! I'll be checking CC a bit more often now, so ask away!

I'm glad to be back and I've missed you guys!

MBVLoveless · 10-12-2012, 08:44 PM

I'm also a new soph at Lawrenceville. Ask away, guys!

ddffny12 · 10-12-2012, 09:40 PM

You're very kind! How many new sophomores are at your school each year?

MBVLoveless · 10-12-2012, 10:57 PM

I believe there are 90ish of us this year, which is an unusually high number.

CherryRose · 10-13-2012, 01:47 PM

Hey, aaralyn. Glad to hear you're doing well at Lville!

Socially, how hard would you say entering as a sophomore is?

MBVLoveless · 10-13-2012, 02:42 PM

We have the House system where sophomores and juniors live together in the same dorm. If you're a new sophomore, you will definitely find other students in the same boat as you. People are friendly and you will certainly find your own group of friends to hang out with.

pks4561 · 10-13-2012, 09:34 PM

Hi,

Which books did you use? If you used more than one which one worked best for you? Did you get any personal recommendations (Outside of English, Math, Extracurricular)?

Thanks.

rajriarup · 10-23-2012, 02:03 AM

我想请教:
1. 您有那么好的申请条件, 又是自费, 为啥9年级申请不理想?
2. 现在的学校有中文课吗?
3. 文中提到现在有私教学乐器. 请问私教是学校提供的吗? 是否需要另外付费? 还是自己从校外请的老师?

谢谢

Exeterlover · 10-24-2012, 05:55 PM

What did you get on your SSAT, and what did you write your essay on?

aaralyn · 10-28-2012, 01:34 PM

oh my gosh, sorry guys, i completely forgot to check CC! thanks to MBVLoveless for answering some of the questions, but i'll still go through and answer all of them too.

@ddffny12 -
the exact number is 82 new sophomores this year, which is abnormally high because the yield to lawrenceville was higher than expected. it's definitely going to be hard to enter as a new junior this year!

@CherryRose -
It actually was not as bad as I expected to integrate with the school community! Especially with the large group of new sophomores this year, it wasn't hard at all to find my niche in the school and everyone is super welcoming + willing to help you out. Just be yourself and don't worry 'bout it.

@pks4561 -
i'm sorry but i have no idea what you mean by 'which books' i used? books for what? and no, i think i only got the standard recs - math, english, science, counselor

@rajriarup -
1. 我9年级有申请，但是没有被录取，已看来这些学校有多么难进。
2. 有，但是不是特别高，我在学西班牙语和课外辅助学中文的学生。
3. 学校提供老师，但是需要自己付费。

@Exeterlover -
I believe the SSAT scores were posted in my original post - "I had a 99 percentile SSAT score, raw score of 2346 - 800 (99%) in math, 794 (99%) in reading, and 752 (89%) in verbal." And I wrote so many essays last winter, I honestly cannot remember specifically what I wrote about, sorry!

Hope my answers helped y'all out, I'll try to check CC more if you have any more!

InfoFinder · 11-16-2012, 06:22 PM

Hi
What is your take on Lawrenceville Math & Science departments?
From what I know, it isgood but school in general is inclined towards liberal arts?

It would be interesting to know your perspective

MBVLoveless · 11-17-2012, 08:34 PM

If you get 88+ on the SSATs, I wouldn't fret about it.

The Math and Science departments are great, in my opinion, at least in the higher levels. Once you have depleted the math resources at Lville, you can start taking lessons at Princeton U. I know several (genius) seniors who do this.

As for Science, we have this Hutchins Scholars Research Program, for which top students in Science classes are nominated to apply. Those fortunate enough to get admitted to the program are given the opportunity to do summer research on a scientific topic they are interested in. I was nominated and will be writing my application over this Thanksgiving break!
Hutchins Scholars Present Summer Research : The Lawrence

InfoFinder · 11-19-2012, 10:20 AM

That's Great! Congratulations on you success and good luck.
Thanks for the response. It really helped clarify a few questions.

aaralyn · 02-20-2013, 01:22 PM

Finally back on CC after a 3 month long hiatus but it seems like MBVLoveless answered your question already.

To be honest with you though, in my opinion, what you have heard is correct - our math and science departments are solid, but from my personal experiences the humanities are definitely stronger.

Anyone else with further questions that have come up even though the application deadline has passed, feel free to ask! Personally, I can't wait to have a shadow on re-visit day

PxAlaska · 02-20-2013, 01:35 PM

If you remember, did Lawrenceville send out confirmations of completed apps? I didn't receive a response from them after mailing in my recommendations. I'm worried they didn't get it