Hi, I’m an eighth grader who is looking into schools like Middlesex school, Groton, and Phillips Andover. I know that they want to accept students with good grade and good ssat scores and want to be active in the community. But for people who go to these schools what were your grades when you applied to independent high schools like Middlesex, Groton, Phillips, and etc.
The usual rule of thumb for schools like Andover and Groton is an SSAT score above the 90th percentile (85% for Middlesex), and definitely B’s and above (if you go to a challenging school- A’s are definitely preferential regardless). However, grades are not all of your application. I heard at an admissions event at Andover that “80% of our applicants are academically qualified.” Therefore, these schools are interested in not only if you’re “smart,” but also in your sports, extracurriculars, beliefs, and character (oh, and if you’re a legacy). As important as grades are, there is so much more than that to your application, and those other hooks will effectively be what gets you accepted.