Chance me for Prep Boarding Schools Fall 2026 (Andover, SPS, Hotchkiss, Lawrenceville, etc.)

Prep School Admissions Prep School Chances
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Hi, I’m a 8th grader applying to 12 prep boarding schools for fall 2026. I’m a male and I’m Nigerian.

Schools I’m applying to: Blair, Brooks, Deerfield, Governor’s, Hotchkiss, Hun, Lawrenceville, Loomis Chaffee, Peddie, Andover, St. Paul’s, and Taft

I would say my top five (in no order) are St. Paul’s, Lawrenceville, Hotchkiss, Andover, and prob Brooks

About me: I have a brother that currently attends St. Paul’s and in his senior year (Legacy really helps for boarding schools). I’m applying for FA. I play 3 sports, basketball (5+ years, middle school team since 5th grade) and football and track each for a year, but no team. Instruments: piano and electric drums both for 5 years (both for my church) and guitar for a year. I also have been drawing for 5 years and I mainly sketch and draw portrait or anatomy. I also peer tutor for fourth grade once a week every Tuesday and I take John Hopkins (CTY) Honors Geometry. The past two summers, I attended this local basketball camp for Rutgers-Newark, and I have been preparing for the upcoming SSAT in December. I also have multiple including two academic excellence awards, principals list award (all A’s) and I have been getting this since 4th grade, 3 awards for the school basketball league I play in, not an award, but National Junior Honor Society, young artist award, and mathematics award, (I have more awards)

Rank and GPA: estimated rank: 1-2 out of 75 and estimated GPA according to chat gpt: 4.75/5

My School: I live in Northern New Jersey, won’t say city, but it’s a big city. I attend one of the top charter schools in my city and the best in terms of sending kids to top boarding schools. Last school year alone, we had one kid go to Andover, Exeter, and St. Paul’s, and two to brooks. I would consider my school to be a feeder to some of these schools.

SSAT: 55th percentile (took in late 7th/May) Verbal 41st, Q/Math 66th/Reading 55th

I’m not worried about my score as im retaking it on December 17th (I think) and hope for at least a 80+

I haven’t really been doing ssat prep but I have the official ssat book and the Princeton review ssat and Isee book. My ssat classes start next Saturday (Oct 18) and that’s when I’ll start ssat prep.

Interviews: I’ve done most of my interviews, except St. Paul’s, Deerfield, Andover, and governors, which are all scheduled. All of them were great, but I would say Lawrenceville was the best.

Haven’t started writing essays yet, but I’ll start in a week or two.

Any tips will help, but I believe I have a strong app

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Good luck.

Why are your Top Five your Top Five? Foundational for all of your essays. You have to be specific in communicating why you’re applying to each to have a chance. Especially if you have a sibling at one of them. The other schools will assume you’re inclined to go to SPS.

Good news for you is that each school is very different, so there’s plenty to differentiate them. I can understand St Paul’s for family familiarity and Lawrenceville for proximity, but Hotchkiss, Andover and Brooks aren’t as obvious. Of course you will tell Lawrenceville its because of Harkness, not because its nearby, and you will talk about the perspective you have gained through your brother at SPS.

But again, these schools are very different, and it seems an odd list to me. Look forward to better understanding how you came about it. In the meantime take your SSAT prep seriously, as you don’t want to give them a reason to ding and already solid application.

Outside of that, don’t try to be what you think they want to see. Don’t start a club or non-profit to check an EC box. Authenticity is everything in this process. As is kindness. You can do everything else right, but if they’re not comfortable that you’re kind, you’re chances are zero.

Good luck!

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Thank you for the feedback.

Thanks for bringing that up for my top 5. Most of my impressions on the schools were based off the interviews, and other than Lawrenceville, Brooks was probably my second best interview, which made may like Brooks as a school. I know that I want schools with great athletic facilities and athletics, good extracurriculars and club offerings, not too much students but a somewhat big campus, and good diversity and location.

Do you have any tips on researching schools to improve not just my top 5, but my whole top 12 solely based on what they have to offer, not just the interviews.

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Try this:

Or your school, which sounds like its quite experienced on this topic. And by that I mean research at your school, not ‘Who went where from the previous class?”

Andover is an outlier in your list if you don’t want a big school. It’s the biggest. But it also has an African Students Union, a Black Students Union and an Afro-Latino-American Society, preposterous facilities and sports, etc., on your list of requirements.

Spend some time figuring out what you really want. If your tests scores are good, you may have to do less than 12 applications. It also sounds like you’re in a pretty great school now, so less pressure.

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Thank you

I will be researching these schools using various websites, including the one you gave, and the school’s website (of course), and niche

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You’ve got a strong profile, no doubt about that.

Academically, you’re in a really good spot. Being ranked 1–2 out of 75, consistent all A’s, CTY Honors Geometry, and multiple academic awards — that’s impressive. The fact that your school regularly sends students to places like Andover, SPS, and Brooks definitely helps too. Admissions officers already know what your school produces.

Your activities are solid as well. Long-term commitment to basketball and music stands out more than people think. Five years in piano and drums (especially tied to church) shows consistency. Peer tutoring and NJHS add to the picture that you’re involved and responsible. And yes, having a brother at St. Paul’s is absolutely a plus.

The one thing that really matters now is the SSAT. A 55th percentile is low for the top-tier schools like Andover, SPS, Lawrenceville, Hotchkiss, and Deerfield. Those schools often see scores in the high 80s or 90s. If you can bring yours up to 85%+ in December, that changes the conversation a lot.

In terms of chances:
The top five you listed are reaches for everyone, even very strong applicants. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t apply — just understand they’re extremely competitive. The rest of your list becomes much more realistic, especially with a stronger SSAT.

What will really make or break things now:
– Your December SSAT
– Your essays (this is huge)
– Teacher recommendations

Your background, leadership, church involvement, athletics, and academics can make a compelling story if you present it well. Just make sure your essays sound like you — not like what you think admissions wants to hear.

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I had great essays and recs, but i got 70th percentile on the december ssat. Not bad, but worse than what i was going for (80+)

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I’ll say it again. The schools will assume you’re goin to SPS unless you send a note or somehow otherwise indicate that you would go to their school if accepted despite the fact that you have a sibling at SPS and reinforce the reasons why.

With a 70% SSAT, you be fine off of this list. Let us know how it goes.

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If you are ranked 1-2, but you have a 70 ssat, that might be a problem

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Yea ik but im not really worried as people with mid to high 70s from my middle school have still gone on to attend andover, sps, deerfield, etc. Trust me if i could’ve retaken it i would but it was already january when i got it back so i thought i might as well submit it. The rest of my application is pretty good and since most schools do a hollistic review ssat wont be the determining factor

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Indy, do you think that SPS will generally take candidates with a 70th percentile score? Or just because this candidate is a sibling? How common is an acceptance with that score at the other schools mentioned? I thought it was less common, but you may have better data.

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I don’t have any detailed school reporting data (don’t know how much of this is made available) and obviously know they take a lot of kids with higher scores, but I don’t believe a 70th percentile is disqualifying on its own. I know kids who have gotten into these types of places with lower scores, but with awesome overall folders.

If the candidate has a profile like the OP (tops in their class with good ECs and awards), from a school with a profile like the OP’s (familiar to and relationships with the Boarding School Admissions folks), with likely enthusiastic school recommendations and good interviews and essays (probably helped by the fact that family has been through this before), they would stand in good stead even without the legacy sweetener.

Said differently, if the rest of the application is strong, the SSAT just serves as validation, particularly in the case where the BS knows what an “A” average means at the applicant’s school and how kids with “A” averages at that school perform at the BS. 70th percentile isn’t a red flag.

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Thanks Indy, yes your right, my essays were improved by the fact that I had a brother at SPS who had taken college writing courses and helped me to edit them after I wrote. Me school has an interview day where they invite AOs from different private day and boarding schools both in the area and not. About 6 of my schools were able to attend, and I had great interviews and were able to meet the AOs of some of these schools. This goes to say that my school has great relations with if not all of the schools I’m applying to. I feel like the SSAT is the worst part of my application, but its something that isn’t really a good or bad part. Other than that, I believe I made it up by having a great app other than the SSAT which isnt that bad either

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Update post M10: Got waitlisted from sps & 10 other schools, but accepted into Deerfield Academy and Governor’s Academy both on full rides. Will need to attend revisit days, but pretty sure I’m attending Deerfield!

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That is terrific news! Full boat at Deerfield? Sweet!

Scratching my head at the SPS bit, but….

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Amazing that you got accepted to DA. You should be really proud of that! It’s an excellent school and they’re lucky to have you.

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thanks! this year, according to my math they had about an 8-9% acceptance rate as there were about 2200 applicants and only 176 boarding student spots. Although I didn’t really have a choice, it was still great getting into one of my reaches after losing hope while opening decisions

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That’s not how to calculate acceptance rate. They accept more than 176 to get 176 to enroll.

Anyway, congratulations :tada:

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Thanks! Oh yeah mb, I forgot abt yield when calculating so instead it would be around 11-12% I think.

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Great news & huge congratulations!!!

The DA energy and community are the absolute best. It’s unlike any other place, and they clearly thought that you would contribute to it and thrive. A full ride at DA also covers international cultural travel, pre-season training trips, and a few other perks I won’t list. I hope you get to take advantage of all of them.

My kid loves the amazing food and gorgeous new dining hall. Best in class! You’ll need that fuel for the demands of the day—the academic work, exceptional teaching and sport will push you and support you at the same time. Our family had a high bar coming in, and we have nonetheless been blown away.

Get hyped for your revisit and enjoy the day. Go Big Green!!! :green_heart::green_heart::green_heart:

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