I’m an 8th grader trying to figure out if repeating 9th grade at another school and then applying to Phillips Exeter is realistic for someone in my situation. My 7th–8th grade grades were completely bad, I had zero extracurriculars, and I honestly did the bare minimum, so I know I’m nowhere near competitive right now. I’ve seen people say repeating helps with boarding school admissions, but the only thing I’ve found is one source about repeating at Lawrenceville, St. Paul’s, Kent, and Andover—not Exeter. I know some families repeat for college reasons, but I’m trying to understand whether students also repeat because they were academically behind, and whether Exeter actually accepts people like that in any real numbers. There are almost no solid sources on this—just a few scattered Reddit posts from people claiming they did it, but nothing close to proof. I’m willing to do anything to improve: aiming for 90+ averages from February onward, fully locking in during 9th grade and shaping my schedule however needed, and targeting around the 90th percentile on the SSAT. I’d really appreciate honest experiences from parents or students about whether anyone with this kind of starting point has actually gotten into Exeter after repeating.
If anyone needs more details to give accurate advice, feel free to ask. I wrote the post myself and used ai to polish it.
Also if you all can find any up to date or reliable sources on this topic, please let me know because there are almost none out there.
Why don’t you find a school that will love you just the way you are? What do your parents think about your repeating scheme?
My parents don’t really support or oppose the idea they’re not pushing me in either direction. They’ve told me they’re fine with whatever path I choose as long as I end up at a good school where I can actually grow. They’re okay with my plan to repeat if it gives me a better academic foundation, but they’re also fine if I decide not to. I’m just trying to understand whether this route is realistic before I commit to anything.
Are you saying that you would finish 8th grade where you are, do 9th grade somewhere else, and simultaneously apply in your ninth grade for ninth grade at Exeter? Or doing 9th grade at your current school, 9th grade somewhere else and then applying to Exeter for 10th?
I do not understand why you would want to do this.
If you look at undergraduate students at a highly ranked university, then you will find that they come from a huge range of high schools. A few will have come from highly ranked private high schools. A few will have come from highly ranked specialized public high schools. A lot of them will have come from relatively normal public high schools.
If you look at students at highly ranked private high schools, a lot of them will have been very strong students throughout all of their years of school. These are not going to be easy students to compete against for top grades.
And the point of life is not to maximize your time in middle school or high school.
This to me looks like the thing to fix. You can do this. Trying to do as well as you possibly can at your current school makes sense to me. I have seen students who became strong students somewhere in high school (whether at the beginning, or part way through, or sort of at the end). They have in most cases ended up doing very well.
I might be missing something. I do not get it.
I mean finishing 8th where I am now, doing 9th grade at another school, and then applying to Exeter again for 9th grade while I’m in that repeat year. So it would be one 8th grade and then two 9th grades, not applying for 10th.
I get what you’re saying. I’m not trying to repeat 9th just to chase a name or maximize time in school. My situation is that I did the bare minimum in 7th–8th, and I’m academically behind compared to the level Exeter expects. Repeating 9th at a stronger school would give me a chance to rebuild my foundation, take harder classes, and show real improvement before applying. I know students can succeed from all kinds of high schools my goal isn’t prestige but it’s putting myself in an environment where I can grow and be pushed. I’m just trying to understand whether repeating for academic reasons is something Exeter actually considers, or if they only take repeats who were already strong students.
Seems like a tough slog. Exeter is hard enough to get accepted to as it is. It will be hard to do from a new school that you will have transition issues to deal with and will be less able to speak to your worthiness because you don’t have a historical relationship there.
The story is important and would be helpful in helping you. For example, what happened in 7th and the beginning of 8th grade? Why do you think that you will become an Exeter-worthy candidate academically? Why do you even want to go to Exeter?
Not much here to make a case for getting in, but perhaps say more.
I’m aiming for Exeter for several reasons: I want a real academic reset in 9th grade, a place that actually challenges me, a discussion‑based environment, stronger peers, and overall higher expectations than my current school. I know I have potential — the few times I studied seriously, I scored 95+ on state tests — but my actual grades have been inconsistent (anywhere from the 70s to 100 depending on effort), which is what I’m trying to fix. Repeating 9th at a stronger school and then applying to Exeter again for 9th would give me the chance to rebuild my foundation and show real growth. I’m not doing this for the name; I want the structure, rigor, and environment that match the kind of student I’m trying to become.
I think the latter.
Why are you thinking about one of the hardest schools to get into without a strong case to start? If its about Boarding, there are other Boarding Schools to consider.
In 7th and early 8th I barely tried, which is why my grades were all over the place. But when I actually studied, I scored 95+ on state tests, so I know I have the ability — I just didn’t have the habits. When I say I’m behind, I mean my grades ranged from the 70s up to 100 depending on effort. I want Exeter because I’m looking for a real reset in 9th grade, stronger peers, higher expectations, and a place that actually pushes me. Repeating 9th at a better school and then applying again for 9th is my way of rebuilding my foundation and showing consistent improvement.
If I’m able to prove real improvement with something like 90th percentile SSAT scores and consistent grades, I’m hoping that would at least show Exeter I’m capable of performing at their level. That’s really what I’m trying to figure out here.
If I’m able to prove real improvement with something like 90th‑percentile SSAT scores and consistent grades, I’m hoping that would at least show Exeter I’m capable of performing at their level. That’s really what I’m trying to figure out here.
Is this a situation other students have gone through and still gotten accepted, and are there people with a similar academic turnaround who ended up having a real chance?
thats really all I want to know
I am not sure about Exeter.
However, this is a scenario where some other students have turned things around, done well in high school, and gone on to very good college and universities. This is a scenario where students have ended up in some of the top graduate programs in the world. As one example I know someone who did badly through most of high school, went to a mediocre university, did really, really well there, transferred to a very good university, graduated at the top of his class for his major, went on to a PhD at a very good program, and ended up as a professor and then professor emeritus at a university that most likely he would not have been accepted to straight out of high school. As another example, one daughter had an acquaintance in high school who had one bad year of high school, three good years of high school, applied to something like 25 schools because this acquaintance had no idea where they would get in, and then was accepted to almost every college and university that they applied to (and then had to figure out where to go among something like 15 or 18 acceptances).
Ending up very successful starting with a scenario such as this is definitely possible, and I have seen it happen.
Whether Exeter will be part of the path to success is much more difficult to say. I do not think that I would repeat a year of school just in the hope of then getting accepted to Exeter.
If you excel at a very average high school then you can get accepted to very good universities. I have seen this happen (even at the MIT, Stanford, McGill level).
I would not say this plan enhances your chances at Exeter. Also, you will be applying next fall, so the new school (grades, recommendations) will probably have less impact than the grades etc at your current school.
Also, all the things you are looking for at Exeter are found at almost every boarding school. Will you be applying for financial aid?
My advice would be to work on the things you want to improve now; that way you will be in a much better place to do well next year, wherever you end up.
Many paths can get you where you want to go, well done for starting to think about the future and how you want to do things now.
First of all, I congratulate you on thinking about your future and reflecting on your academic journey so far. I have a few thoughts I would like to share with you. 1. Please don’t tie your success to any one school. There are a lot of great schools and different roads to success, and the smaller private schools sometimes have even more structure and support than the larger ones like Exeter. Second, students reclass for a number of reasons. Sometimes it’s for social reasons like they are more similar in brain development to another class. This can certainly help a student be more successful than they were previously. Last, you want to aim for consistency. 90s are a great goal, but maybe make more behavior-based goal(s) like taking notes in class, meeting with teachers, studying for tests 3 days prior, asking for teacher feedback for drafts, etc. Try to hone in on things you can do everyday to be a better student, and the better outcomes will follow.