Chance Me - Exeter, Lawrenceville, Choate, Loomis

Prep School Admissions Prep School Chances
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Hey everyone! I’m currently a freshman thinking about applying to Exeter, Lawrenceville, Choate, Loomis, and maybe a couple of other schools for sophomore year (Fall 2027). I’m a little stressed about admissions, especially essays and interviews, so I’d really appreciate some honest feedback!

Background

  • Applying for 10th-grade

  • Dad graduated from Phillips Academy Andover; mom graduated from Milton Academy

  • Both parents went to boarding schools and have encouraged me to look into similar environments

  • U.S. applicant; not pursuing athletic recruitment (not like i’m getting recruited anyways)

Academics

My current school has a pretty intense curriculum, and some courses are adapted from Exeter’s curriculum. Grades have definitely been an adjustment, and not many students maintain averages above a B. We also don’t give out A+'s.

  • History Course #1: A

  • English: B (teacher hates my writing style)

  • [] Studio Art: A

  • Geometry: B (I genuinely had to fight for this B)

  • French: B+ (college-level course)

  • History Course #2: A

  • [] Science: B

  • Random Tech Course: A

  • Grade 9 Seminar: A (basically a free A, though)

I know my grades aren’t exactly amazing for these schools, so I’m wondering how much they’ll hurt me, especially with the rest of my profile. I did take the SSAT, though, and received a 99th percentile. Will that outweigh my grades?

Extracurriculars

1. Debate & Competitive Speech

  • 6–7 years of competitive debate experience

  • Ranked #10 nationally in my primary debate format and currently the highest-ranked freshman

  • Qualified for the Tournament of Champions (TOC)

  • Reached elimination rounds at multiple major national-circuit tournaments

  • Semifinalist at a major national invitational

  • Won multiple first-place speaker awards at regional and national-circuit tournaments

  • Invited to be a demonstration debater at statewide events

  • Judge novice, varsity, and open divisions

  • Compete independently, prep cases, and mentor younger debaters

  • Founded a free summer debate institute for middle schoolers from under-resourced communities (over 200 attendees!)

2. Athletics

Swimming

  • Varsity swimmer

  • Qualified for state championships in four individual events

  • Previously competed on a highly competitive club team

  • Won multiple regional meet medals

  • Training to become a certified swim official

  • Certified lifeguard (not sure if this belongs here, but including it anyway)

Soccer

  • Varsity soccer

  • Helped take a historically struggling team to an undefeated regular season and state qualification

  • Received a coaches’ award for leadership and contribution to team culture

Track & Field

  • Varsity track and field

  • Qualified for state championships in two events

  • Regional medalist in one event

Other

  • Volunteer assistant coach for a local youth sports program

  • Planning to try crew this spring

3. Founder & Executive Director, International Nonprofit

  • Founded an international, youth-led nonprofit focused on education and access to opportunities

  • Expanded outreach and programming to 25+ countries

  • Educational campaigns reached 600,000+ people

  • Built an online community of 5,000+ followers

  • Organized fundraising campaigns that raised $20,000+ for partner organizations

  • Established partnerships with community organizations across multiple countries

  • Recruited and managed an international executive team

  • Created a free educational resource library used by students internationally

  • Launched a youth ambassador program with local chapters

4. Public Speaking & Debate Education

  • Teach four public-speaking and debate courses every week

  • Have taught 100+ students

  • Designed original lesson plans and practice materials

  • Founded a free summer debate workshop for middle school students

  • Mentored novice debaters who later competed at regional tournaments

  • Invited to lead workshops at youth leadership events

5. Public Policy Research

  • Co-authored a research paper on youth civic engagement with a Yale university-affiliated mentor

  • Presented findings at a regional academic research symposium

  • Research interests include youth representation, education policy, and civic participation

  • National finalist in a student policy-essay competition

  • Selected for a competitive summer institute focused on public policy and leadership

  • Published an article on youth civic participation in a student research publication

6. Writing & Publishing

  • Received a Harvard-affiliated writing award for an essay exploring an original philosophical theory about ethics, society, and political decision-making

  • Published a book developing the theory further

  • Have continued writing about philosophy, politics, and questions about how society should be organized

  • I’m not all that boring though, I also wrote and published a dystopian novel (it became a #1 bestseller in its Amazon category)

7. Nonprofit Marketing & Civic Engagement

  • Director of Marketing at a major state-level nonprofit

  • Lead social media strategy, outreach campaigns, and communications

  • Event coordinator for a large student-led civic engagement organization

  • Helped coordinate a statewide youth civic engagement summit

  • Work with student organizers and community partners to increase participation in youth-led initiatives

8. Model UN & Mock Trial

  • Chaired committees at two Model UN conferences

  • Received Outstanding Delegate at a regional conference, a couple other MUN awards

  • Selected for a conference secretariat team

  • Mock Trial competitor

9. Entrepreneurship & Finance

  • Founder of a student-led social entrepreneurship project

  • Finalist in a youth social innovation competition

  • Developed a proposal for a scalable educational initiative

  • Member of Stock Market Club and Entrepreneurship Club

  • Participated in a student investment challenge

10. School Leadership & Service

  • School admissions ambassador

  • Student mentor for incoming students

  • Organized peer workshops on public speaking and student leadership

  • Volunteer tutor for younger students

  • Helped coordinate school-wide community service initiatives

Personal & Family Context

  • Dad attended Andover; mom attended Milton

  • Have visited several boarding-school campuses and am familiar with the general residential-school environment

  • Looking for a school with strong humanities, competitive debate, rigorous academics, and opportunities for independent research

  • I know I have a lot of different interests, but most of them connect back to debate, writing and public policy

Questions

  1. How much would my parents’ Andover and Milton connections matter (if at all), especially at schools they didn’t attend?

  2. How concerning are my grades, considering my school’s rigor? I know many of my ec’s revolve around English, so it may be weird that my English grade is lower than many others.

  3. Does my extracurricular profile look too spread out, or is there a clear enough focus?

  4. How important are essays and interviews compared with grades and test scores?

  5. Are there major differences in 10th-grade admissions at Exeter, Lawrenceville, Choate, and Loomis?

  6. Is there anything else I should focus on before applying?

Thanks!! I’m trying to be realistic about my chances, so feel free to be honest

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Thoughtful post. I’m not one to answer. I believe @Publisher always jumps on these.

Just wanted to say good luck. You sound wonderful, like someone any school would be lucky to have.

Edit - I put the wrong person hopefully I got it right this time. If not, apologies @Publisher

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Your ECs look quite strong & varied. You have an estimated 3.5 on a 4.0 GPA scale. I think your SSAT percentile should provide you with a boost. I think you’ll get admitted to several boarding schools.

Why aren’t you also applying to Andover & Milton? I would think the legacy parental connections would matter for these schools. Are your parents major donors? Would you be a full-pay student or need to rely on need-based or merit scholarships?

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Not applying as a legacy, therefore throwing away one of the few advantages available at these kinds of schools?

Three sport varsity athlete and state qualifier as an eighth grader, but “I don’t think I’ll be recruitable?”

99th percentile SSAT score slipped in after the fact?

There seem to be a lot of these springing up of late.

I feel like someone’s having a laugh.

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Hi! Just to clarify, the only sport I qualified for states in during 8th grade was track. This fall, I’ve been doing both swimming and soccer at the same time. My school’s athletic programs aren’t particularly strong historically, and after looking into the level of athletes who get recruited (and actually talking to a couple of coaches), I don’t think I’m quite at that level yet. I also don’t think i’ll be continuing all 3 of my sports next year, since athletics are extremely time consuming.

I’m not applying to Milton for personal reasons, and Andover doesn’t appeal to me quite as much as the other schools. Its student body is pretty large, and I’d prefer a medium-sized school. Exeter is an exception, though, since I have a few connections there and have been talking to a couple of teachers and there are things there that really interest me. I might still apply to Andover, but it’s currently more of a “maybe” school for me.

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I haven’t completely ruled out Andover, but it’s more of a maybe for me right now. I’m looking for a medium-sized school, and Andover’s student body is a bit less appealing to me. Exeter is an exception because I already have a few connections there and have been talking to some teachers. I’m not applying to Milton for personal reasons, so I’d rather not get into too much detail about that.

As for legacy, I’m aware that my parents’ connections could be helpful, but I also want to choose schools based on fit. Regarding financial aid, my family would be full pay, and my parents are not major donors.

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What I am not sure about is if Andover & Exeter admissions are connected for the purpose of legacy advantage.

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I can answer that; they are not.

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Say more. What do you mean by connected?

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skieurope already clarified this in the previous post.

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You’ve written quite a bit about your background, but not as much about why you want to go to Boarding School and why you’d like to go to these schools beyond that you want a medium-sized school. How much thought have you give to this? AOs will ask you quite directly, so it’s important to have a thoughtful answer.

Why aren’t you applying to Milton? It’s a competitive medium-sixed school similar to Lawrenceville or Choate in many ways. I also think that if Exeter is in the mix then you should also consider Andover given your legacy status.

Based on your research, which schools have the best debate programs?

I also think that you have a shot at many of these schools, but don’t really understand the motivation yet.

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Already answered; no reason to push

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