Applying to:
Andover, Exeter, Choate, Hotchkiss, Lawrenceville, Deerfield, Loomis, Taft, The Hill School, Kent
- Asian-American second gen immigrant, spent my first years in China but was born in NYC
- Attending public middle school in suburban Connecticut. Applying for FA.
- 99th Percentile SSAT (2370) - 99% for reading & verbal, 96% on quant
- 7 Times first honors, 1 time second honors; GPA ~3.9; taking Geometry at my local high school.
- In NJHS and was elected as Secretary for my school’s chapter
- In Jazz Band; I play clarinet, and participated in the CMEA Southern Regionals Band in Spring 2023; have also played piano for 8 years, won the WCMTA Select Student’s Competition in 2018, 2019, and 2023.
- I represented my school at Cross Country Middle School State Finals in Nov; and I play baseball at the intermediate 50/70 level, and my team won our league’s championship in the Springs of 2021 & 2022. Planning to do track (100m) in high school - I’m the fastest sprinter in my school of ~800.
- I think my main distinguishing factor is a project I have called model government. I’ve always loved history & politics, and in 2021, I started model government, an online text-based roleplay where a real, three-branched government is simulated online. It’s modeled after the American constitution and I’ve dedicated hours every day to it for three years. It reached a record of 127 members, from over a dozen countries and many U.S. states. I brought it up in every interview, and it’s included in some of my essays. I have varying interests, but I really see myself as a humanities student above all. I’ve read all 85 of the federalist papers, took an online constitutional law from UPenn, have a major interest in presidential history, read both of Locke’s treatsies of government and other enlightenment philosophy, etc.
- My essays cross a variety of topics, but several of my long essays speak about spending my early years in China, and how the sharp cultural transition here opened my mind to the fact that different things can be better at a very young age; and how that shaped my influence in the humanities, because at its core, the humanities explore different people, cultures, ideas, and systems, from all over the world, and then I speak about the model government above and its impact. Other essays I have speak about how entering my first romantic commitments have taught me about myself, the qualities that I have, and shaped me; some essays mention my view that the value of your life is determined by how different the world would be without you, inspiring me to make change; etc.
- I think I have fairly strong recommendation letters - my math and LA teacher both likely, and when possible, I also solicited additional recommendations from my social studies teacher and my “life coach” that I’ve worked with for years and knows me from the inside out.
- My interviewers generally liked me very much. For several schools, we went over the allocated time slot because the interviewer enjoyed our conversation so much (paraphrased from what they actually said). Most interviewers then delivered a sales pitch to my parents talking about why their school would be a good fit for me, but idk if that’s just standard protocol or if it indicates something.
I’ve done two of these chance me posts back in September, but a lot’s changed since then and I really want to hear feedback with both my updated situation and essay topics.
Thank you!