i am an intl student that has been applying to bs for the past 3 years, starting back when i was a middle school student. till this day, i still remember my first time hearing abt bs, and thinking, yep, this is the right path for me, this is what i want. but over these years, ive received more than 12 decision letters on m10, a mix of wl’s and rejections, but never a single acceptance.
on every m10 over the past 3 years, i alwasy tend to find myself asking the same continuous question. why me? i have some of the best grades in my grade, strong ec’s and essays, and even what i thought were rlly good interviews? but y do i always not get in? y is it always my application that falls short?
heck, every year, ive always held onto the hope that maybe if i tried again, the results would be better. but as i open each decision letter and see the same exact results each year, i leave myself in dissapoiment. perhaps there are just some qualities that bs seek that i don’t possess. or maybe it’s just a matter of chance.
i mean, ig ill never truly understand because this is my last year applying, but this journey has been wonderful, and i am so grateful for this platform to share some of my most randomest thoughts.
and to the ones who were accepted. congratulations. u earned it. i mean it.
but this concludes my bs journey. maybe bs was just not meant for me.
I don’t know if you need financial aid, but that can make a difference.
I have lived long enough to know that many times things that seem to be disappointments are actually blessings in disguise. That is, they can lead to unexpected and great things.
Im so sorry for your negative experience. Tons of overqualified candidates are constantly being pushed away. I heard from a few people and apparently like what @cinnamon1212 said, financial aid plays are large role. If you’re still interested in trying again, maybe look at some Need - Blind schools.
mburg and kent were my safeties since my sat score was alr around the same level as the schools average. I was also acc waitlisted by mburg last year (without standardized testing), but i dont get how i got rejected this year with better stats, essays, and interviews.
Those aren’t really safeties. For every 100 students that apply, only roughly 28 get accepted. At least for mburg. Kent has a higher acceptance race of roughly 42 accepted for every 100 students, but that is still low. With these acceptance rates, you have way less than a 50/50 chance. I’m sure you are a very good student, and there is nothing wrong with you. M10 is hard for many people! Are you interested in applying to any rolling admissions schools with higher acceptance rates?
Those are not safeties for an international student if you are around the school’s average. Int’l studies need to be way above as there are so few spots. Think of some of the schools on the “hidden gems” post as safeties. Especially if you don’t need financial aid.
Yes, and I would guess at least 25 of those 42 are admitted athletes and legacy. That may leave only 17 spots for the remaining 75 students applying, of which there will also be institutional priorities in different categories.
For an unhooked applicant, I wouldn’t be surprised if Kent’s acceptance rate is less than 20%.
This is why so many parents on CC advise kids to load up on safeties and matches, because the matches are really reaches, and the safeties can be matches.
@awang124 You weren’t rejected as a student - you have excellent credentials. Cannot emphasize this enough.
I don’t have enough data to say how much harder it is, and it depends on the school. But it is definitely a lot harder for an International applicant from Asia, at both need-blind and need-aware schools. But not zero percent - schools still want to attract super talented kids from abroad, but the budget can be limited as is the number of spots.
Consider Amherst and Bowdoin. Both are need-blind, but they are geography aware, and they have a limited number of international students they will accept. Last year, Bowdoin had 6,500 domestic applicants and 3,500 international applicants (35% international applicants, but only 10% of students on campus are from abroad). That has jumped to 13,500 overall this year, with undoubtedly a lot of internationals applying for FA. Its regular decision acceptance rate will probably be 6%, and its RD rate for internationals could be 2%. Amherst has a similar admission profile.
Similarly, and I don’t know the figure, but I imagine a significant number of PA and PEA’s applications are coming from International kids hoping for FA because of the schools’ need-blind policy. International applicant acceptance rates could be less than half that of domestic students, not because of limited FA, but due to the sheer numbers of international applicants versus the number of international spots available.
Also 11th grade may be a much harder entry point. That could be the deciding factor. A repeat 10th grade could be much easier. This is not about you being better or worse.
Once you are in the right headspace, there is a really powerful tool waiting for you.
Instead of beating yourself up or drowning in sad thoughts- ask yourself, “What was it about BS that got me excited- and now that I know I’m not going, what can I do here, right where I live, to bring some of that into my life?”
For a lot of people, they don’t really and truly invest in where they are or what they are doing if they’ve got one foot out the door. That goes for romantic relationships, jobs, and yes, schoolwork and extra-curricular activities.
So what was it about the BS experience that resonated with you— and what can your next step be in your actual, current life? Are there people around you that you don’t know well-- and haven’t bothered developing friendships because you thought you were moving on? Are there mentors and teachers and adults in your orbit that you’ve always figured “nah, not him” or “she’s a lightweight” that you might want to reconsider? Are there activities you haven’t wanted to get involved in- not because they aren’t inherently interesting, but because you figured “I’m heading for bigger and better things”?
Now’s your chance. Despite what you may think, adult life is FILLED with disappointments of all kinds. The happy people you know (or read about) aren’t happy because everything goes their way and everything always works out the way they want it to. They are happy because they use every disappointment and rejection and fear “why is this happening to me” to figure out how to make their real life- today, tomorrow life, not year-- so much better.
It will work. Give yourself a couple of days to feel bad and then come back and tell us why you wanted BS and maybe we can help you capture some of that right where you are.
not all US boarding schools are full. Go to Boarding School Review, look at schools with rolling admissions, and email them to inquire if they still have openings.
There are numerous Canadian boarding schools worth looking at. Some have different admissions dates. All you have to do is email them to inquire. They are going to be full-pay, but generally cheaper than US schools.
Brentwood College School (BC)
St. George’s (Vancouver)
St. Michael’s (BC)
Shawnigan Lake (BC)
Stanstead College (Quebec)
Bishop’s College School (Quebec)
A bunch in Ontario (including Ridley, Appleby, Trinity, Lakefield, Ashbury, others)
My friends and family there (And even teachers) say Mburg has a lot of legacies this year so don’t feel defeated! I’m sure that it’s not the path for you but PLEASE don’t let that discourage you! You can do equally well and perhaps better as long as you put your mind to it.