Ok! What do I need to do in terms of my gatewaytoprepschools? What should I put? and how should I say it? I already have an idea of what I might do, I’ll tell my journey. Any tips?
No, I don’t have any suggestions. I was just checking my messages when I saw your thread and decided to reach out. Plus, I have a very special place in my heart for PE threads for some reason . 
Anyway- here’s an old but very good thread ( with links for ease ) that will help with research. They’re all great schools. Most of them are actually more iconic than PA or PE and will give any student a world class education/ experience . Check them out!
Researching schools shouldn’t be daunting- have fun with it. You’ll know it when you see it, but you really need to branch out in order to find it. I’ve brought you to page 4, but the entire thread is worth reading. It’s one of my all-time favorites. If you need someone to yell at you during this process, please feel free to read any of my posts from 2012-2018. It’s all there- ad nauseam. All the best to you and good luck :
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Ok!
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Yes, I am working on backup schools. I am doing my research which I find fun!
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What do you mean by hustle life? Sorry, but i’ve never heard of that
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I am not dismissive, I totally get it. I like advice, advice never does hurt. Coming from my technical side I always throw out advice to people on technology. I see it all the time. Sometimes people don’t care, and some do :-bd. I like to learn from others, that is why I posted here
Thanks for the support, this definitely helps!!
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Here are some examples:
AI211: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
AI212: Artificial Intelligence and Robotic
AI213: Artificial Intelligence Seminar
EG483: Engineering Honors Seminar
EG591-3: Engineering Honors Capstone
SC211-3: Introductory Programming
SC221: Engineering Design
SC212: USFIRST Robotics Engineering Team
SC233: Engineering Projects
SC351-3: Computer Science Topic
SC322: Science on a Sphere: Media and Dataset Creation
You can view the entire course catalogue at: https://sps.myschoolapp.com/ftpimages/36/download/download_1023707.pdf
SPS is a good suggestion, but be aware that they are highly selective too (16% acceptance rate).
@PhotographerMom MAKING A COMEBACK?!?!?
Also: Remember that not all CS classes will have CS in the title. At Thacher, CS is central to the Astronomy work since they have to write the code to run the THacher observatory and analyze the data. (Last year, they were the only HS to send a team of researchers to present alongside universities at a major conference…)
(Didn’t mean to promote Thacher. I know you are dead set on Exeter, which is hard enough to get into… and THacher’s acceptance rate is even smaller. Just 9 percent for those requiring financial aid, 12 percent overall!)
Also remember most/all of these schools will allow a student to create his/her own class(es). This is particularly important if you want to go deeper into a field. Usually, a student will pass through the standard curriculum first then go into independent studies. Most make the students apply and have a certain GPA. Honestly, if you are at any of the top 50 BS in the US, you are likely to get the CS classes you need/want before college. The larger schools will have more classes but the smaller schools might be a better fit depending on who you are and what you would like to pursue. Also, look at see if the schools have internships. Some kids know what they are vaguely interested in and can pursue Summer internships in Junior/ Senior year. Don’t forget to think about the area where the school is located. Schools in areas with high tech/bio-tech and other tech fields will have the internship programs others will not. When looking at schools, my kiddo found 2/4 BS had internships. One was particularly good. It’s a long shot but something to consider.
Ready, my 2 sons are at SPS. They only applied to HADES schools (because we dind’t know any better, tbh). One of them was accepted to 8 top boarding schools and the other one was only accepted to SPS. The one that was only accepted to SPS also built a computer himself in elementary school, 99% on SSAT, etc. They are from KY, which is underrepresented in BS (I guess that’s their hook, so to speak). They are also both financial Aid.
Boarding school applications are alot of work - and much more complex than most college applications. I suggest you start here: https://www.gatewaytoprepschools.com/. And also learn about as many BSs as you can - through websites such as boardingschoolreview.com. I also suggest you work with someone who has experience interviewing for admissions - perhaps at a local college. I think how you answer questions is really important, and perhaps your mom and someone helping prep you for the interviews can help you figure out how to share (or whether to share) your experiences with being asked to leave a school. I work at a college and a couple of professors helped my kids prep for the interviews - which was really good for them.
Choate has a really cool science and environmental program, and SPS has a really cool engineering program. Alot of the boarding schools teach using the harkness tables. Most BS classes are less than 15 kids in each class.
We ended up deciding that they would only apply to schools that were through gateway because the English and Math teachers (and others) only upload once and their recommendation goes to all of the schools.
Also, almost all of the schools will waive your application fee and you put the code into gateway. You just have to reach out to admissions and ask. A couple of schools will also give you a code for the SSAT test (I believe Deerfield).
Hope all of that is helpful. Best of luck.
Oh, and there are lots of faiths represented at all of these schools. 
And one more thing - and this is totally both mom advice as well as advice from someone who reviews resume’s regularly…make your email address boring. 
If it is ReadyPlayaOne@—.com, for example, some folks will see that and make a judgement that may not be all that positive and likely is not at all deserved.
A friends daughter weightlisted at Exeter last year with 91% SSAT. Just into beginning of school year was offered a slot but turned it down as already started elsewhere.
OP: There are some serious misconceptions about Harkness. It can sound quite appealing imagining a table of students and a teacher discussing literature or science. The reality is that many teachers sit back and let students talk… That includes dominating class, wasting time, and using the time to promote agendas. This is more an issue in humanities classes. If your fellow students eat all the class time and you have not reviewed/discussed important material then that means you have to spend extra time on your own – teaching yourself. Math has no textbooks: there are problem sets that are faculty developed. So math can be very tricky for many students. Humanities classes generally have no tests: papers or an occasional project. If a teacher doesnt like you or your ideas or your one paper isnt great then your grade can be really subjective. Further, Exeter really dislikes the focus on grades that their students have as their main concern. So going to a teacher because you are worried about your grade can backfire. According to older alum and faculty Harkness used to be more moderated–i.e more functional. Now you can have a great teacher one term and a terrible teacher the next. Exeter lets in kids that need to be willing to teach themselves and do for themselves–it is not for everyone. More students leave after a year or two than you might expect.
Hi @ReadyPlayaOne - have you been to NH yet? I suggest you go in November or December, maybe January - are you fond of winter? Are you applying to the name or actually to the school? It’s a huge change from Hawaii…just want you to be sincere in your reasoning and ultimately happy. Did you think about BS somewhere in California? There are any excellent schools that offer courses in your area of interest.
After sitting in on a revisit day class at Exeter, I can say that it is not the end all be all classroom experience. There were a couple of Harkness warriors that dominated the class and several students that appeared totally checked out and said absolutely nothing. Seminar style classes will be found at just about every single school.
Harkness is definitely not for everyone. You have to pick the school and type of teaching carefully. For someone who participates regularly and likes to engage all the time, it might be great. Others like to absorb their learning. My kiddo really likes Harkness but said it’s tough in some classes where teachers try to get the kids who don’t speak much to engage even though they might not be that interested. For sure, there is no room for anyone missing homework or working in class. The teacher will catch it quick in a group of 5-12 students. Can be a great way for kids to learn about college courses esp if they pursue a small liberal arts class.
Math and science classes are often not Harkness for obvious reasons. Math teacher told us, he let our kiddo put another solution on the board at the same time so the two results could be compared. I really liked that approach.
@Happytimes2001 @Golfgr8 @KentuckyMomma @Center @coppii
Thank you for all your support and all the time you put into helping me! I really appreciate all the passion and hard work that you all are putting forward!
-I have a interview in 2 hours so any essential advice?
Be positive, have a big smile, be enthusiastic and cherish your moment…you have a lot of people encouraging you. Let us know how it went :-bd
As an alumna and parent of a current student, I can assure @Center that there have been Harkness warriors and wallflowers ever since the the first wooden table was put into a classroom. Varying levels of participation and teachers having differing approaches to managing classroom discussion come down to these classrooms being filled with individuals, not automatons.