Thank you so much—this is incredibly helpful! I’ll make sure to be really specific in each response and show how I genuinely connect with what each school values. I’ve been reading through their sites and watching their videos like you mentioned, and your examples make it much clearer how to approach things like Harkness for Exeter or ‘kindness’ for Andover. Thank you again
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You are an amazing applicant! I hope that you succeed in your application process!
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thank you so much!
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UPDATE:
Academics:
-All A s (our school doesn’t have A+)
-Only exception: B in Music and P.E. for 8th grade first semester
Testing:
-SSAT: waiting for the results
-Duolingo English Test: 135/160 (around TOEFL 104–108 equivalent, requirement for international students)
Extracurriculars & Awards:
-Figure skating (4–5 years as a hobby)
-Founder & president of a student-led science club
-Broadcasting club member (we produce school announcements & events)
-Former debate club member
-Appointed youth committee member of my town (by the mayor)
-Multiple essay, debate, and TOEFL competition awards
-School awards for reading, social studies, and model student recognition
Interviews:
-All completed — I think Hotchkiss and Andover went the best!
(…although I accidentally said “Andover” during my Exeter interview:( cried so hard after that..)
thank you all for the kind words and guidances!
That’s the universe telling you something 
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im also applying to all those schools for 9th grade rn!!good luck 
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Me too! Good luck to you guys!
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haha maybe!!
good luck to you too!!
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another UPDATE:
just got 85% on SSAT (Verbal 58%, Quantitative 99%, Reading 83%)
Also I think I forgot to mention previously, I ended up applying to Hotchkiss and Choate in addition to the previous 3 schools
I think I will take jan ssat one more time for a better score
Thanks!!
Feel free to take the test again, but doing better on the test won’t make a difference in the overall story. Your 85% is good enough to demonstrate academic readiness.
You’ll not get into these places because you got a 95th percentile vs. 85th. You’ll get in because of all of the other things in your package.
Choate is test optional anyway, right?
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Thank you so much! And yes, for Choate test is optional!
IIRC, do some schools have requirements of Duolingo scores higher than 140 (e.g., Taft)? Are Andover and Hotchkiss lower? If AO sees your Duolingo score right on the lower end of the acceptable range as well as a low verbal score on the SSAT, they might have questions about your ability to participate effectively in class. If it’s an option would re-take the SSAT (or Duolingo) to eliminate that potential concern.
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no for the schools i’m applying, the requirement for score is 135 (also I’m not applying to taft so i’m not familiar with their cutoff )
but thank you so much and yes i’m retaking ssat!
You got this, I wish you the best of luck, and I hope that I can see you in any of those schools
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thank you so much 
it means a lot to me
I’m also applying to boarding schools for fall 2026, including Hotchkiss and Andover and I need any tips you can give for the ssat. I’m taking it in two days and I’m afraid i wont get above 80, mostly because i got 55th percentile in 7th grade but that didn’t really reflect me as a student. I’ve been a straight a student in middle school and based on my recent practice tests, I have a estimated 88th percentile. Any tips you can give for each section will be helpful.
i don’t know if this would be helpful but in my case, my verbal scores were awfully low compared to math and reading so i made flashcards to help me memorize the words. i hope that this helps and wish you the best of luck!