<p>There are so many great kids, and so few spots available at every boarding school scenario.
What do you think helps to make your kid stand out to an admissions dept? All the great test scores, grades, ec’s start to blend together after awhile. What works?</p>
<p>Personality</p>
<p>Strong, self-revealing essays and comfortability conversing with adults.</p>
<p>Really, the essays and the interviews are the only two places applicants have to let their voices be heard. </p>
<p>I don’t know exactly what makes one applicant stand out among the thousand(s) other than their personalities.</p>
<p>I’ll contribute my cents.
At revisit day, After talking with teachers and before closing session. I walked around at hallway of scienece building. A lady saw my name tag and then said to me “you must be xxx’s daddy”. I was surprised that how someone know me. She is one of adcoms who read my daughter’s profile and simply recognized my last name and the state we came from. We had a pleasure chat for about 10 minutes. I was so surprised that she knew a lot of things and how she knew about my family and my daughter. Later on I realized it must be from my daughter’s interview or her essay. ( I did not see my daughter’s essay as she refused to show me. ) She asked me if my daughter is a good cookie maker now. I was…aghh…what…oh…science olympiad thing. She said she’s impressed that she need catch school bus at very early morning and spent more than 2+ hours round trip for bus transportation but still is able to handle school work and ECs. She also mentioned she remembered her music teacher’s rec and told me that was very good rec letter.</p>
<p>I guess essay, interviews and recommandation letters are the places that adcom can tell the differences among all outstanding academic students.</p>
<p>Thank you for such a great detailed response. Good to know!</p>
<p>This seems to be a good thread for this advice, which I found some time ago.
</p>
<p>[Admissions</a> Officers’ Pet Peeves](<a href=“http://www.nais.org/parents/index.cfm?ItemNumber=149852&sn.ItemNumber=149258&tn.ItemNumber=149869]Admissions”>http://www.nais.org/parents/index.cfm?ItemNumber=149852&sn.ItemNumber=149258&tn.ItemNumber=149869)</p>
<p>When our eldest applied to boarding schools, the application for St. Mark’s School had a blank page. The top of the page said something like, “This space is for you. Do whatever you want on it.” I don’t know if this year’s application has it, but my child took full advantage of the opportunity. It was the only application of the 8 we saw that year which offered such a thing.</p>
<p>I suppose you could send in supplementary portfolios. There are some threads on this site about sending in audition tapes, or portfolios. I would be cautious, though. Don’t send everything. Choose your best work.</p>
<p>this year the attribute most looked for in applicants/families was “self paying”</p>
<p>Lol cheechsdad. That’s a good one, but I got FA so maybe it wasn’t the only thing they were looking for.</p>
<p>When we applied, my parents were told not to go overboard, it looks like you are trying to put lipstick on a pig 
Regular application should be enough to show your strengths.</p>
<p>“Study” the school before you go to your interview. Present yourself in a way that is mature and represents YOU. The essays are also important in making a candidate pop out of the group.</p>