I am a French student, I am 14.
For next year, I want to get into an American prep school.
The only occasions I had to practice my oral English were when I went to London, my poor English classes and my TSAO meeting in December.
I took SSAT and TOEFL, thus logically my scores aren’t as amazing as the American students who get used of the American system;
Toefl 81, I’ll take it again to get a better score.
SEAT I expect between 65-75.
Unfortunately, these scores aren’t sufficient.
I applied to these eleven schools :
Berkshire School
Cheshire Academy
Deerfield Academy
Middlesex School
Milton Academy
Andover
Exeter
Hotchkiss
Loomis Chaffee
The Masters School
Someone who knows pretty well the prep schools told me that I’ll never get into those schools with this scores.
So I definitely need your help!
P-S: Because my teachers won’t fill out 2 recommendations -one is hard enough , the schools must use the Gateway !
Or accept the Gateway recommendations.
@tidalswag your’s situation is worse than me!
Okay. Can you tell us something about your ECA’s? ( Extracurricular activities). Because ECA’s plays a vital role in everyone’s application!
You said, you want to apply to 11 schools :o
Are you kidding me? Have you seen those school’s essay’s word limitation?
I’m applying to 6 schools! And these 6 school’s essays+interviews are just killing me!
So, remove Berksire+Chesire+Hotchkiss+Loomis Chaffe+The Masters School. And add “Choate Rosemary Hall”.
And, Retake those 2 tests! If you can’t afford them, just us for a fee waiver from any of those schools!
I just gave the SSAT test! Don’t know what I will do! But, I gave it with a fee waiver code!
So, take your time! Inshallah both of us will get result of our hard work
I disagree, unless the candidate has a hook. With a 65-75, the OP should certainly keep Loomis Chaffee and research the average SSAT at the others. Choate is probably mid-80s - why would OP add it at this point in the game?
The bigger issue, as I see it, is the TOEFL score. With an 81, the student should look at schools with ESL programs, which none of the schools on the list have.
Yeah applying to 11 schools is exhausting but that’s my only chance to get into one…
I have a lot of ECA, I am very sporty and I am great in music 2, programming, I am involved in society…
A lotta other things but I don’t have the time
That’s a bonus.
So suggest me any school where I could get into with my profile !
P-S: I would love to get into Choate (JFK and Ivanka) but my mother won’t let me go over there because of the recent scandal…
Choate is unlikely with your stats, but FYI, if you google almost any boarding school + “scandal,” something will pop up. Not that it will change your mother’s mind, but one should not exclude schools based upon past scandals, but should look to see how the school dealt with the scandal and the steps that they have take to protect current/future students.
You should look at Brewster, Suffield, Northfield Mount Hermon, Lawrence Academy, Williston
Brewster is awesome. Dedicated faculty and probably the most stunning campus on earth. I like schools that can be dialed up or down academically … and Brewster is one of those schools. They can accommodate a wide range of students and it may suit OP a bit better than many of the schools on his list. I like your other suggestions, too @skieurope . Maybe look at schools like Salisbury, Canterbury and Gunnery, too. They can be dialed way up or down, too - which I happen to think is a huge plus if you’re weighing academics and quality of life for a 14 year old boy .
I agree with @PhotographerMom. My son looked at Salisbury (all boys) and Gunnery (among others) and attends Salisbury, and there is definitely a range of academics at both as well as English language and other academic support (as well as a high percentage of overseas students). I haven’t been to Brewster, but Salisbury is pretty stunning as well, and not quite as far north We’re extremely pleased so far. Feel free to send me a PM with any questions.
FYI - there is an entire book about schools & scandals, published by Vanity Fair. Listen to @skieurope and don’t be totally dissuaded to apply because of past scandals…I bet there are scandals lurking in the historic halls of most prep schools. Not sure if you are a boy or girl, OP, but I knew a few students who were from France or were of French families at Masters. There is a nice community up there. Also, you may want to check out the single-sex schools, if not already on your list. Bon Chance! :-*
+100 @ChoatieMom ! Great point , plus- if I had a dime for every VI former who did something stupid in the home stretch leading up to Commencement and had to receive their diploma in their mailbox because they weren’t allowed to walk. Those numbers are HUGE and never discussed. And that happens at Every.Single.School.- Every.Single.Year. These kids have to leave campus immediately and have to forfeit any prize they were about to receive.
The other thing people tend to forget or just don’t know is when something happens at one school it happens to them all- no matter what it is . It’s not like these schools are islands… They’re very much connected and the Heads talk all the time so when something happens at one school, the other schools respond in the same way by implementing new rules relating to the incident and then they will usually address what happened at a morning meeting… so everyone feels it. That’s why all BS student handbooks are nearly identical.
@tidalswag - By all means roll the dice with the list above but I think what some of us are trying to tell you is your stats/needs don’t align with the schools you’re hoping for… and that might be a problem. You do have time to quickly regroup and scramble if you do it right now. Gateway or not- I’d add more schools ( at least two ) that make more sense. Maybe take closer look at Brewster and NMH. I think George, Lawrence and Williston were awesome suggestions, too. If you get your mother’s blessing- see if you can do a few Hail Mary Skype interviews and apply.
Are you applying to schools based on name recognition or did you do extensive research to determine fit?
Honestly- it doesn’t feel like the latter, kiddo, but we’re here to help… All the best and good luck.
Why remove The Masters School? A poster upthread mentioned that there are French students here, and it’s true. Admission overall is holistic and there are great music opportunities.
Wishing you luck, @tidalswag !
