What could I have done differently to get into Phillips Exeter?

Prep School Admissions Prep School Chances
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<p>I didn’t get accepted into Phillips Exeter Academy this year. I was wondering what I could do next year to help me get a better chance of being accepted.</p>

<p>My Applicant Information:
SSAT scores
Math-90%
Reading- 85%
Vocab-75%
Overall-86%</p>

<p>School: Straight A’s. I’m homeschooled by my mother. We also have a special science teacher and a writing teacher. I have to really work hard to achieve good grades, please don’t think I have it easy because I’m homeschooled. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
Essays: Very good. I love writing, it is one of my two strongest subjects.
Recommendations: Great!
Interview: Went VERY well. We mostly talked about my schooling, not really me as a person but nevertheless it was great. My interviewer was from Maine also, and I even met someone in the Admissions office who knew some of my friends!
Competitive Sports:</p>

<p>Soccer-8 years. Team Captain. We went undefeated and won the Travel Soccer Girls U14 State Championship.</p>

<p>Cross Country Running- 1 year. Team captain. Took 5th in State meet.</p>

<p>Track & Field- 3 years. 5th in states or 1500m and 6th in states for 800m</p>

<p>I am trying Lacrosse this year.</p>

<p>Recreational Sports:</p>

<p>Skiing- 10 years. Not competitive just for fun.
Tennis- 3 years. </p>

<p>Music:</p>

<p>Violin- I’ve taken private lessons for 9 years. I am part of a group called Capital Strings. It is a group you must audition for and is challenging to get into. </p>

<p>Fiddle- Along with violin I do traditional Maine fiddling. My fiddle group has published 2 C.D.s and we’ve toured in Turkmenistan, Cape Breton, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, and even IRELAND!!</p>

<p>Community Service: about 4 hours a month. I play my violin with a chamber group in the Cancer Center, nursing homes, and sometimes the hospital. Last year we raised $1,000 for the Haiti Relief Fund by hosting a 1 hour concert. Every year I partake in a Benefit Concert, which is a concert that gives $10,000 to help musical programs in the state of Maine.</p>

<p>Foreign Languages:
Latin- 3 years
French-10 years (I used to go to a French Immersion School up to 2nd grade. I took a National Test and placed 3rd overall)
Latin & Greek Roots-2 years</p>

<p>Extra Subjects I do:
Logic
Public Speaking- I had to do a 6 minute persuasive essay.
Geology</p>

<p>Since I’m homeschooled I cannot win many awards but when I attended public school in elementary school I was in all high advanced classes and even had my own spelling program. I won a math contest in 4th grade, it was for the 4th and 5th grade for four different schools in my district. I also used to do theater and I was the evil stepmother in the play Cinderella. ( I didn’t tell the admissions office these things.)</p>

<p>I was wondering what I could do to improve my chances of getting into Phillips Exeter next year? What should I do differently?
Sorry if this was really long to read…
Thanks :)</p>

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<p>I forgot to mention that I have played with the Portland, Augusta, Lewiston, Bangor, and Androscoggin Community Orchestras. (You might know them if you live in Maine.)</p>

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<p>Also, did everyone who applied get an email from the Head of the Admissions Office saying you would be a strong applicant for their summer program?? Do they send this out to everyone or just a few people?</p>

<p>Thanks to anyone who reads this (:</p>

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<p>I got an email from the Head of the Admissions Office saying that I would be a strong applicant for their summer program too :)</p>

<p>I made a thread on the main forum asking if other people who applied got the email as well. I’m curious</p>

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<p>It’s just a sales pitch…</p>

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<p>@PrepintheSouth, yes I was also thinking that this was some sort of advertisement for Exeter…however, on my new thread about the email, there were 2 people that responded saying they didn’t receive this email.</p>

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<p>You guys got one too? Do you think you will go? Does exeter send everyone them?? or just a few people… :)</p>

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<p>To the original question, I’d suggest moving to Azerbaijan or perhaps Alabama. I think the BS are obsessed by geographic diversity. It makes it extremely difficult on kids who are applying from the traditional NE drawing areas.</p>

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<p>Agree with K above, or get some legacy parents, otherwise, you are a stupendous applicant.</p>

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<p>You look like an incredible applicant, im surprised they didn’t accept you. But, these schools look for kids from different cultures, countries, etc. Theres a difference (for the admissions office) between a student that lives in Maine such as yourself than a student that lives in lets say Central America or Africa or Asia, because these schools love diversity. Im not saying that Maine is a bad state, its a very pretty state actually, but remember a lot of qualified applicants get rejected. Feel free to correct me if am wrong.</p>

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<p>its based off what the school needs. Whether it be georgraphy, sports, and etc. I was accepted but did not get an email for their summer program</p>

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<p>Honestly, you sounds like a great candidate. Lots of years of dedication to the things you do, and a nice variety of ECs. I suspect that if you had not applied for financial aid, they would have accepted you. If you tell me that you were actually a full pay candidate, I will be very surprised. I agree that geographic diversity is a big plus for applicants, so New England kids will not get that bonus point.</p>

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<p>can people chance me.</p>

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<p>@Rellielou</p>

<p>I did not request for financial aid.</p>

<p>Do you think there is anything I could try to do for next year? (:</p>

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<p>Slaverdiere, sorry to jump to that conclusion about FA vs FP. This is interesting. You said your recs were “great”. How many did you supply? People are often reluctant to accept “Mommy grades” from homeschoolers, but it seems clear from your list of accomplishments and solid SSAT scores that those As were earned. Maybe a few extra letters of recommendation and an outside class or two (CTY online, Lukeion, etc) would be helpful. </p>

<p>Does anyone have info on how many homeschoolers are accepted at various BS? I know Andover recently published a FAQ that said they accepted 2 homeschooled applicants this year. I’m very curious to know about other schools.</p>

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<p>@OP - Please don’t assume that you did something wrong. Sometimes, there simply is no explanation. When so many kids are qualified, it seems kind of random.</p>

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<p>@Rellielou
I sent in the recs from the parents, and teachers (these were done by my mom since she’s my teacher for math and english) I also had my soccer coach fill out one, and my teacher from a couple years ago. My teacher, from two years ago, knew me very well.
My mom isn’t the only teacher who gives me grades… we have a science teacher come three times a week and we do labs and such. He’s a qualified teacher and was high school science lab partners with Stephen King, not important but I thought it was cool. I also have a writing teacher that comes once a week, and he grades my papers and such. I also have a different teacher for logic. My mom isn’t the only ones giving me grades.</p>

<p>There is such a wide range of homeschooling styles, so it’s hard for a school to know yours. Mine is pretty intense… I had to memorize all the islands of Oceania. Now I’m learning Asia countries and capitals… you don’t typically get this in public school or as a homeschooler.</p>

<p>I would like to know how many homeschooled applicants got into Exeter as well. Is it true that the Head of Admissions had his children homeschooled?</p>

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<p>Home schoolers DO get admitted- maybe taking some online classes through a Virtual School, and sumitting grades from by the program MIGHT help. It would serve as a reference to prove your grade reliability. Ultimately though, like stated before- sometimes there IS NO EXPLANATION. They just did not see you as a match for their school, or they had an overabundance of choices, or the AOs were in a bad mood that day etc etc.
Cast your net wider next time- putting all your eggs in that one school’s metaphorical egg basket makes it pretty tough!</p>

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<p>maybe try doig the summer school, if they see that you really are very strong academically, then they will be more likely to accept you. Also, some schools just don’t think that certain people would fit in their school, and maybe they are alreday over subscribed on the sports you do, instruments you play etc</p>

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<p>I’m the mom of a homeschooler who got into Exeter. Last year, the Admissions Office told us that they accept about the same percentage of homeschoolers as are in the general population. I don’t know how many were in last year’s class, but it was definitely more than two! Exeter was definitely the most homeschooling friendly school our son applied to.</p>

<p>I’ll try to give you some suggestions based on our experience, though it’s all guesswork, really, and this was a tougher admit year than usual.</p>

<p>I’d agree with the other posters that your geographical location probably made it tougher for you. Your sports and EC’s sound great. </p>

<p>Your SSAT score, while good, probably should be better. Because homeschooled kids get grades from parents, I’m pretty sure standardized tests play a more important role than they do for other kids. And schools like Exeter know that homeschooled kids can make studying for the SSAT part of their school day–so I’d get some review books and shoot for a score in the mid-90’s next time. </p>

<p>Did you have your current teachers (other than your mom) write recommendations–your science and logic teachers? We got recs. from both of my son’s outside teachers, as well as a coach. </p>

<p>Finally, how you present your curricula might make a difference too.</p>

<p>Hope that helps! Feel free to pm me if you have any specific questions.</p>