<p>I’ve done this before many times but can anybody tell me the average student that attends andover, exeter, deerfield, sps, hotchkiss, etc.
ssat score, how many ec’s. and can anybody give me interview tips. I’ve got all the other stuff down. I just need to really nail applications and interviews.</p>
<p>Median Score at all those schools is upper 80’s - low 90’s.<br>
There are tons of threads with interview tips, search and I’m sure you’ll find them. But I think most will say, be yourself, don’t try to be something and someone you are not.</p>
<p>The problem is, no on CAN tell you that. Anyway, if you just start extracurriculars now, they probably won’t mean anything. You can’t change your extracurriculars much at this point, unless you start one tomorrow and become a famous prodigy in three months or so. That said, here:</p>
<p>For SSAT score, you should try to score between the 85th and 99th percentile. If you get in the 85th to 93rd pencentile, it will do nothing but keep you in the running; get higher, and it might draw some rather minor–key word minor–attention to you. </p>
<p>For extracurriculars, it’s okay not to have very many–two or three is enough–if you’re dedicated to them and show it well. Having more than six or so, if you’re an eighth grader, is kind of overkill–thirteen-year-olds just don’t have the much time and energy to be dedicated to and passionate about that many things, and they know that. So between two and six developed, passionate extracurriuclars. Preferably, you’ve been doing them for two years or more.</p>
<p>Interview tips: I know that saying things like ‘be yourself’ sound very stupid, but honestly, there’s something to it. Not because, as many would like to believe, that increases your chances, but because it’s just the simplest way. If you don’t act like yourself, how do you know that will be better? It could be worse. And besides, if you offer yourself to be someone to a school that you’re not, and they believe you, like it, and admit you, then what happens? You might wind up at a school that you’re wrong for, but the person you were pretending to be was right for. In other words, don’t wear black wool coats buttoned up to the top and quote Ulysses at interviews if you don’t normally do that, because you might end up at a school full of black wool coat-wearing, Ulysses-quoting kids that drive you insane. If you do normally do that, well, then, quote and button away. But if you don’t, don’t bother. It willl screw itself up in the long run. Or the short run, if you make up a quote and your interivewer happens to know something about Ulysses. </p>
<p>I think the basic rule for admissions: do what you love (before you apply), talk about what you love (interviews), show them and write to them about what you love (applications and essays), and score high (SSATs). If you do all that, it’s not a guarentee, but I think that it’s your best bet of getting into a top prep. If you do all that and still don’t get in, you might just not be right for them anyway.
Good luck.</p>