Hi! Sorry for my late reply, I was a bit busy)) iI want to tell u this: there id no ideal candidate! Going into the application process, my mind was set on the fact that in order to get into top schools, I have to have prerequisites just to be considered, like to have all As, excell in sports and have hundreds of ECs, but after march 9th, I realized that they’re trying to find the best in you, not trying to compare you to others. Is is also important to understand that not every school needs a mathematician every year, one year they might need a musician, so it’s not always that they don’t you but that they feel like you wouldn’t be a great fit, and that absolutely fine!
Regarding the interviews:
Firstly, ik u heard this many many times but BE URSELF! Don’t try to act like the person that u feel they would like, if they dont feel that YOU would be a great fit in their school, so be it, its better for u. Be as inquisitive as possible and try not to answer with just yes/no, expand and give as much detail as you can. But remembet, it is a conversation, not your monologue.
Also, what I honestly found to be the most important thing was: to ask as much questions (being specific to the school you’re ibterviewing with) and doing a lot of research! My advice is to: about an hour before the interview do some research on the school, look at their website and most importantly, what they pride themselves in. So whenever u answer a question, you can be school specific and the AOs love this, as you show dedication to the school and your interest. And have like 7 general questions prepared (I had a list that I asked every school) and 2-3 school specific ones that you base on your research. I liked to have about 3 yes/no generak answer questioks and the rest were firstly, for me to get to know the school better and secondly, again, show interest to the AOs (at the end of interviews, the AOs will always ask you if you have any questions, and they strongly rely on the fact thst you do, so it is very important that you have the prepared).
Some sample questions, for u to ask (general):
-do u offer internships or work experience for specific areas of interest
-do u offer travel programs
-how would my out of school commitments (ECs) and sport+academic requirements clash
-ask questions on your area of interest (which u mentioned with your application)
eg if I was to be interested in the STEM field I could adk questions on their research programs and math/science olympiads etc…
Now, typically, the AO will ask you 4-6 questions during the interview and u dont have to answer straight away, remember u are allowed some thinkign time as it is a conversation not a rehearsed speach.
Some sample interview questions:
-why did u choose our school?
-what area r u most interested in, how do u want to continue pursuing it in the future?
-how will you contribute to our school, why would u be a good addition?
-what r u hoping to get out of american boarding school in general?
If you’re international they can also ask u why u decided to apply to US boarding schools in general?
Regarding the application:
Firstly, remember u r trying to impress the schools, so mainly, dont hold anything back and dont be too humble, try to sell yourself to the schools as much ad possible(but dont act like you’re full of yourself) haha)) try to include as much ECs (be careful on which u add, some might be irrelevant, like gymanstics, as most schools might not offer specific ECs) and achivement that u have and what I found helpful was making approx. 1 minute long videos for some of my ECs (I did a video of me skiing, playing basketball and soccer, and playing the piano) and attached them to my application. But if you do like 5 sports, try to only mention 2-3, the ones that u have the most achievements and backgrounds in, if u mention to many ECs in one area, it might come off to the AOs that u are not dedicated to one thing and are all over the place (this isn’t necessarily good).
And most importantly: BASE YOUR WHOLE APPLICATION AROUND ONE AREA. This i found the most crucial and helpful, I based mine around the stem field. Of course I mentioned my other ECs here and there, but most of my essays and the things I talked about (including on the interviews) were around STEM. This shows the schools that you are passionate about one specific area as well as being well rounded!!
I hope this helps, I know that u might’ve heard about a lot of these before but hopefully it provides at lease a bit of help!
If u have any more questiond about anything, feel free to ask! I will now respond much wuicker as all of my finals r almost over.
Oh and also sorry for my spelling I am really tired hahaha)))