boo x

first of all, thank you all so much. i've been following these posts for a bit and you've all been extrememly helpful. after seeing some of your 'chances' threads, i wont lie, i'm a bit intimidated . so i was wondering what you thought my chances were.

umm i'll be applying for boarding school next year as a freshmen. i don't need any FA at all.

i'm an american citizen living in china. i've been living here for about 10 years of my life. i'm ethnically chinese-white. i go to a pretty pretegious american private school.

i'm taking
world religion,
peer counsoler (must be selected by peers and teachers for having good character),
algebra 1 (more advanced of 2 offered math courses),
social studies,
(just finished) biology,
chemistry,
language arts/english,
and
mandarin.
i have gotten grades in the-mostly As-with-a-couple-Bs range. but last semester i got mostly Bs with a couple As. i was entirely capeable of doing the work, i just got lazy. it wasn't challenging enough so i wasnt engaged. but i plan on working harder and getting straight As this semester. in my application/interview i was to make those Bs a good thing by talking about how it was a learning experience.

i've won math awards the past two years for ranking in the top something% in my school/in the us. i've been selected for a workshop with a visiting author 3 years in a row (only 2% of my grade or something is selected). i've gotten honor roll 2 years in a row. i won a leadership award recently.

i think i'll get pretty good recs. i know i will get 2 very good ones but i'm not sure about the 3rd.

ecs...
soccer: i've played all my life but competetively one year because our school didn't have a team in the league until this year. can i explain that on my application?
field hockey: played 2 years, on middle school varsity. i might be captain this year.
service club: 1 year.
many community service projects.
trying to start a save darfur coalition in my school/city.
starting girls rugby next season. never played before.
swimming: 5 years. not swimming this season though, will start again next.

in the summer i go to a horseback riding camp (this past summer was my 5th year there). i spend time with my family in the us i dont see during the year.

my favorite subject is english, as (i've been told) i'm a strong writer (haha although it's not exactly demonstrated here). i'm not a math person. the harkness or whatever kind of disscussion system really interests me as i learn best through disscussion and debate. i'm somewhat artistic but the art program at my school is weak.

generally i interview well, but its hard to tell because all interviewers act like youre their best friend.

i'm taking my first ssat this weekend so i dont know scores. i take the stanford 10s (SAT 10) at my school and generally score in the upper 80-upper 90th percentile in both my school and the us.

i'm a legacy at hotchkiss, loomis-chaffee, lawrenceville and st marks.

i have an education consultant, i know thats an issue with international students, but i'm looking for a second opinion.

thanks for reading, and if you have any comments on where you think i would fit/get into please add. if all this information was a waste of time...sorry. basically add any insights if you have them.

Burb Parent

Which schools did the educational consultant recommend for you? There are so many schools that would probably be a match for the information you provided that it is hard to make suggestions. Please keep in mind that one of the benefits many independent schools offer is small classes. Smaller classes lend themselves to discussion and debate. Often humanities classes are held seminar style with desks arranged in a rectangle or around a table. Harkness teaching goes a step further in that all teaching is the result of discussion, if I've got that right.

How do you define legacy? Often legacy means that your parents graduated from a particular school, or that your extended family has a tradition of sending offspring to a particular school.

I am not aware of rugby being offered as a sport at any boarding schools. There might be some, but I just don't know. However, you can point out how you like to try new things and look forward to trying new sports at boarding school (if this is true). This is a positive trait.

Sorry, but I cannot respond with specific suggestions because there are so many. You might want to list which sports or academic subjects are most important to you. Some schools are especially strong in certain sports or academic subjects, and this should help narrow down the possibilities. You hinted that certain things are important (like English and a better arts program), but didn't just come out and say it.

It would also be helpful if you included the schools your educational consultant suggested. S/he has met with you, and presumably made recommendations that should be good matches.

Most of the people on this board are friendly. Welcome!

D'yer Maker

Browsing through the "I'm Always Learning" Dept., this item came up: Why are educational consultants an issue with international students?

boo x

he recommended all competetive boarding schools:

'core list'
choate
hotchkiss
taft
deerfield
lawrenceville.

others he recommended to look at:
exeter
st paul
the hill.

i might be second guessing his choices because i'm nervous about applying generally. i dont think i'll get in because my grades are not so spectacular and i dont have many long term ECs.

smaller class size and some general seminar form are important to me in a boarding school. with increasing demand from expats and their companies to get into my school, they've been struggling to keep class size down. typically i have 20-25 students in a class.

i left out emma willard, which is where my mom went (but i'd rather not go to an all girls school anyway...)
i have several generations of family at st marks, and a family member have been on the board, etc.
loomis-chaffee i barely have a legacy, i admit. one person went there and was on the board there a couple generations back.
a cousin gradu

boo x

i think this website hates me. the two posts i've made, both of them have only displayed half. i'll continue...

a cousin of mine graduated from lawrenceville so i guess that doesn't count really.
also, another cousin of mine graduated from groton.
my aunts and uncles went to berkshire, madeira, dana hall and somewhere else.

academics...generally a seminar system is important. but, yes a good all around english program is important to me. also, the interdisciplinary sciences are really interesting to me. exeter's enviornmental biology is like my dream course (: a strong mandarin program is very important to my family. as for the arts, just a DECENT arts program is fine. i'm interested in trying photography, and re-starting drama (i used to love drama...). i know that rugby is a very non-american sport and that its not going to be in schools in the states, but yes, i do like trying new things. on that note, i would like a school to have non-competetive sports as well as competetive ones because i would like to continue playing soccer and field hockey and probably swimming interscholastically but i'd love to try new sports without the pressure of amazing profomance. also, i'd like a medium-large school, probably on the large side.

i've been going to a couple open houses and will be able to tour the schools in mid february. for the schools the consultant recommended, all but 2 or so i've been able to schedule interviews with admissions officers, but most boarding schools how alumni where i live, if its too late to interview when i visit.

about the educational consultant being an issue for internationals...thats based on what i've read here. someone said that its very hard for international students to get into a good bs without one, especially if the bs doesnt know your school well. but i didn't get one based on these discussions, my mom wanted to, because she's found them helpful for college admissions and heard they're good for boarding school too.

thanks all, i hope that clarifies.

Linda S

Mid-February is too late for interviews and applications for next fall. Most schools (all the ones on your list) have a January 15 or February 1 application deadline.

hsmomstef

you are only listing school in the northeast -- do you want to narrow your choices like that? I ask because it seems like it might be easier to travel between China and the US if you were heading to California --and Cate offers Chinese. I am not sure how strong their program is, but it is a top notch school and might be worth checking out.

How do your grades look in comparison to the rest of your peers? If you are at the top of your school with some B's, I wouldn't worry. If you are more towards the middle of your class, you may want to add a few more schools that are less selective.

jennycraig

Just did a quick search on boardingschoolreview.com for schools that offer rugby. There aren't many, and some are only boys. here they are:

Brentwood College School Co-ed 8-12 Mill Bay, Canada
Bridgton Academy All-boys 12-12, PG North Bridgton, ME
Georgetown Prep School All-boys 9-12 Bethesda, MD
Kimball Union Academy Co-ed 9-12, PG Meriden, NH
Massanutten Military Co-ed 7-12, PG Woodstock, VA
Rosseau Lake College Co-ed 7-12 Rosseau, Canada
St. Andrew's College All-boys 6-12, PG Aurora, ON, Canada
St. John's School Co-ed 9-12 Tumon, Guam
Sedbergh School Co-ed 7-12 Montebello, Quebec, Canada
Stanstead College Co-ed 7-12 Stanstead, Canada

Burb Parent

Do you have relatives in the northeast? Is St. Marks not on your list because they don't offer Chinese and are too small? You have a clear legacy there which might work to your advantage if you want to apply to the school. You come from a well-educated family, and it seems to me that some of your relatives with first-hand experience can advise you as well. Of course, they may just encourage you to attend the school they went to.

In my opinion, it is risky to only look at the most competitive schools. In recent years, boarding school admissions for the most competitive schools has become even more competitive. It seems to me that applicants who would have been accepted without question 5 years ago, might not have been accepted in the last 2 years. This coming admissions cycle might be as competitive, but I just don't know. You certainly have an impressive background, so you certainly should have a chance.

If you apply to a school that family members have attended, by all means, you should let the school know; I think they like the fact you have some familiarity. You just might not be classified as a legacy.

Most boarding schools will offer the chance to play sports on less competitive teams or intramural. You should investigate this at the schools you want. Did you know that Taft does not offer swimming? They are known for having a strong equestrian program.

Others on this board might not agree with me, but I think it is to your advantage to look for a few (2?) boarding schools you can love that are not as competitive as your core list of schools. Do you like The Hill? There are many more.

Good luck on the ssat! The score that boarding schools use is not the score that is nationally normed; it is the score that shows how well you did compared to other ssat test takers over the last 3 years.

Because you will have a few interviews after the Admissions deadline, be sure that these schools will include your application as part of the regular admissions cycle. I don't know if they make exceptions for International students, but here in the US, schools will not include an application as part of the regular cycle if all components (including the interview) are not completed by the deadline.

Good luck!

boo x

when i say i'm touring in february, i mean i'm only touring. all of my interviews should be done through visiting admissions officers and alumni by that time. i will try to see if they'll make an exception for international students though, because i've been told it's better to interview with an admissions person. if you interview with alumni, admissions only makes decision based on what they've heard, and they may not trust the alumni's judgement.

i'm open to looking at california schools, the ones i listed were just the ones recommended. i may not be able to visit them though, because i'm definetely going to be in the northeast, though i could try fitting them in on the way in or out of the us. i dont know much about cate...does anyone have any insights? i just know that its a beautiful school from the website.

compared to my classmates, i'm not a genius, but probably rank in the top 15% or something. we don't get rankings and i dont think most report cards show how we're doing compared to other students so i wouldn't know. but i do have hard working friends that get straight As, but usually the 'smart kids' get mostly As and 2-3 Bs.

thanks for doign the search on rugby. i don't think i'll be playing because there are only 2 coed schools in america that offer it. but thank you anyway.

yes, most of my relatives are in the northeast. i'm happy to apply st marks, and was actually looking into it. the schools on the list are just the ones given to me by a consultant. i am getting a lot of help from my family, which is great, but schools have changed a lot since some of them went so...

i definetely want to look at some non elite schools, but it may be hard because i haven't looked at many and there isn't much time left. once i get a list of a few schools, i'm going to look and see if they're coming to my city.

i did know about taft. i dont think that would really affect my decision to go, as i'm not as involved with swimming as i used to be.

thanks, all, again!