[Full Pay, Semi-Hooked, Legacy] Chance My DS for GLADCHEMMS + Peddie, Blair, and Mercersburg

Prep School Admissions Prep School Chances
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Hello good people,

As we begin our boarding search in earnest, after some strong conversations and test scores, we wanted to discuss our chances with you all. To add some context, I am an alum of one of these schools (not saying which one for privacy :wink: ), however its admissions rates have greatly decreased since I was a student there. We’re also uncomfortable with some of the new “DEI” programming installed, but that’s a minor issue just for my husband.

After a discussion with a few coaches, we’ve determined that DS will be a varsity impact athlete (will not disclose sport for privacy) within their first two years, so we decided to go with “Semi-Hooked” as a descriptor with most of these schools other than the HADES. Let us know what you think – we have tried to “widen the net” with targets like Peddie, Mercersburg, and a likely in Blair.

Demographics: Asian/White Male, Full Pay, Long Island, “Feeder” Middle School although not as impressive results post-COVID

Stats: 2320 SSAT (750 Math – yikes! , 800 Reading, 770 Verbal), Grades will be looking like all As in regular and accelerated/pre-honors classes. We tried experimenting with an AP-level course but DS was struggling with a B+ (AP Human Geography). Side Note – will this hurt DS’s chances at GLADCHEMMS, they have taken hardest courses elsewhere, and this was a special program specifically for high-achieving students.

Sports (Semi-Hooked):

  • Swimming (8 years), first place in Free Style in one meet, won the Team Player award in 7th grade, swam a 24s 50yd freestyle, this is why Mercersburg stood out to us as a target
  • Golf (3 years), rapidly improving, won two junior novice club tournaments, hit an 85 last weekend
  • Judo (2 years), Grit Award, is not a big focus, did it for self-discipline

Music:

  • Violin (7 years): Concert Master at last Orchestra, won school Musical Talent show, learned how to self-repair violin in 3 months

Leadership

  • Elected class representative in 7th grade, decorated or school dances and fundraised for FortNite tournament prize (DS pushed us to include this :sweat_smile:)

Other Extracurriculars:

  • Science Bowl (2 years), captain of B team, led practices when A Team was at competition every other saturday. Hopefully show DS’s passion for the STEM.
  • Stock Portfolio (4 years), with my husband’s support, beat the market by 3% annually, interested in crypto-currency and block chain solutions
  • Community Service (1 year), started volunteering at Soup Kitchen to help the needy.

Interviews

  • Haven’t started yet, but have submitted a few inquiry forms on DS’s behalf. DS is not the strongest communicator, we’re thinking of getting some support for this.

Essays:

  • Want to focus on leadership especially with Science Bowl and Class representative.
  • Have started the Blair essay (to get likely out of way) and started Gateway
  • Might get independently reviewed

Recommendations:

  • All our recommenders are very close with DS
  • English Teacher considered a “pleasure to have in class” according to recent report card and has repeatedly called for Student-Teacher meetings to get to know him more
  • Math Teacher, former Wall Street executive so he should have some pull, as a strong Algebra 2 student, DS was remarked as going “above and beyond”
  • Personal, DS’s coach (happens to be the husband’s golf buddy)
  • We are concerned about principal/guidance rec. Our guidance counselor has repeatedly notified us about her feelings on DS and his chances at some of these schools.

Last but not least, I am concerned about the parent statement. We want to talk about DS’s creativity and leadership, while also his genuine enjoyment of sport.

Thank you all for your feedback.

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It’s impossible to chance!!

What are your concerns about the guidance counselor? Is she saying your son has low odds of admission to some schools? Or something else?

As to the parent statement, in my opinion you should write about some aspect of your son that doesn’t appear elsewhere in the application; likely something intangible, so creativity etc is an excellent focus.

As you know, focusing on fit is the most important thing. If possible, have a school that’s as close to a “safety” as possible in the mix, unless staying at his current school is preferable.

Best of luck!

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OP- I think I know what school your son attends. If it’s the one I’m thinking of, I’m sure he will end up somewhere as you have great secondary school placement counselors.

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Seems like a great profile for Mercersburg! Have you seen their pool??? Its stunning! Its the nicest high school pool Ive ever seen. No wonder the swimming kids there are all some of the best! Good luck on March 10th! And maybe ill see you at revisit day at Mercersburg!!

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Seems like an EVEN greater profile for Peddie. Have you seen our pool?? Probably the nicest in the tristate area
No wonder the girls swimming is so good. Good luck on M10!! And maybe I’ll catch you at Be A Falcon day
ALA VIVA

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What school will you be attending?

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ACCEPTED: Andover, Blair, Choate, Deerfield, Groton, Lawrenceville, Mercersburg (full merit scholarship!), Milton, Middlesex, St. Paul’s
WAITLISTED: Hotchkiss, Exeter
REJECTED: Peddie
ATTENDING: Blair

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Congrats on your choice and for having had so much choice! I bet it would be helpful for future families if you’d share your decision-making process m, if you’re comfortable doing so


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