@AKmath Don’t worry about it. You have enough to stress out about. I do not think anyone is digging up your true identity. A single possibly misunderstood statement is fine, just wanted to make sure it didn’t (seem to) become a pattern. I get what you meant but just wanted to give you my 2 cents on how it might come across to others.
I’ve just scheduled my interview for mid-January for Exeter and Andover. Any tips for them? What are the sorts of questions they ask?
What is the dress code like for the interview? Is a suit appropriate or is a clean neat sweater and tie better? I have heard it is more casual, but I’m not exactly sure what that means.
Hi @AKmath
At my interview, I didn’t see too many boys wearing suits. Most wore a dress shirt or something of that sort with slacks. Of course, wear something that’s comfortable and warm (it was FREEZING when I went so I ditched all my plans and wore like 2 jackets and a big coat over it).
Thanks @eekeek
Any tips for it? Were there any question that caught you by surprise or caught you off-guard?
Wait a minute…
Why do Lawrenceville and Exeter (not to mention Cornell) have the same name for their athletics programs - Big Red. And Andover is Big Blue?! How is it that Exeter and Lawrenceville have the same name? Is there a story behind why so many private high schools have sports teams named "Big ‘insert color here’ names?
@AKmath As for tips, definitely be yourself. Talk about what you like to do and personal traits that are salient to you, and the majority of the interview will be centered around that. Also, I’d say to turn responses into stories. For example if the interviewer asks, “What makes you a good collaborator?”, don’t just say “I’m good at communicating”. This makes for a dry interview. Instead, tell about a time you communicated well with classmates or something like that.
Also, your tour guide will be a great resource. I tour guide at my school and the tour will get boring if you’re extremely nervous and don’t want to talk. During the tour, relax, conversate and get to know about the school from a current student. For example, there’s a science class where the teacher brings her dog into class! Information like this seems irrelevant, but it revealed a lot about the school’s culture and gave me more insight.
The interviews were pretty chill, and I enjoyed both of mine very much. I think it’s important be calm and natural. Most of the questions I was asked weren’t generic, so I expected pretty much none of them. But, they were also pretty simple, and I liked them that way. It gave me space to elaborate and tell stories. I’d say all of my questions were very answerable. Some of them required more or less thinking, but none were unanswerable. (PM me for question specifics)
Good luck!
Hey guys! Big news! JK not really. I went against your guy’s advice and took the SSAT a third time. On the third attempt, I got a drumroll, please… a 96.
So I mean I didn’t improve as much as I had hoped, but I still improved (by 1 percentile) and that’s all that matters. It’s not like an increase will hurt my chances.
I’m very happy now since I’m very clear of Exeter and a little over Andover’s average SSAT score of accepted students.
My score: 96
Exeter: 91
Andover: 94
I do have to say now I probably have better chances of getting into Exeter now, which isn’t a problem mat all since Exeter’s (1) ranked higher than Andover (3) (I do know in actuality they’re really the same). Exeter has a higher acceptance rate than Andover, has a lower average SSAT score, and isn’t need-blind. I had my recommendation letters come and my LA teacher wrote a very good one. Things are certainly looking up. My interview for both is in two weeks. Wish me good luck!
Anyone?
You’re full pay, so you have a decent chance, assuming your essays and recommendations are stellar. Those are MUCH more important than SSAT scores, btw.
The top schools reject kids with scores in the 99th percentile every single year. SSAT scores are meant only as an indicator that you can handle academic rigor. They’ll take a superstar with a score in the 85th percentile over a mediocre student or arrogant kid with a score in the 99th percentile.
@CaliMex
Thanks a lot. I did think my essays were good and my LA teacher does really like me. My math teacher wrote a good one to but not as amazingly stellar as my LA teacher. Thanks.
What do you guys think.
? not .
I understand that you are really excited but nothing has changed since everyone replied before. Upping your ssat from 95% to 96% doesn’t change/improve your chances. I totally understand that as a kid you don’t really get that/want to think you’ve increased your chances. What we all wrote before still applies.
What do you guys think?
Btw, just wondering, is the fact that I’m from NJ a good thing? I’ve there are quite a few people from NJ, but it’s still out of state. Is it good, bad, or neutral? My parents are saying more of a neutral that won’t have much effect on my application overall. What about Indian-American male?
I think that nobody should ever post their essays on a public forum; people steal essays.
Being from NJ is not helpful at all. Neither is being indian american. What’s helpful is getting good grades, writing good essays, having good recommendations, good interviews. The things you can control.
I think you should get essay help from someone you know, not from strangers!
No, I’ve already submitted the essays, I just want you guys to know if you guys think they’re good.
Ahhhh. I don’t think the grownups are going to comment since you’ve submitted them - as you can’t do anything!
Also, speaking for myself, as an adult I can’t tell if they’re “good” because they are kid writing and I don’t have enough to compare. I don’t know anymore what’s good for 8th grade. Does that make sense?