What Helps You Get Into Boarding Schools

Prep School Admissions
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I’m no expert on boarding schools by no means. Regardless, I understand a lot about admission boards and what can help. If you know anything that can help you get into boarding schools please respond below, but for now this is what I can do to help:

  1. When applying to boarding schools (or colleges) you have to find a school that you like. Chances are that if you apply to a school that you don't like that much you probably won't get in.
  2. You have to have good grades and good SSAT/ACT/SAT/etc. scores. This may seem like a given, but I can not stress how many times I see students who will have a few B's and mediocre scores on the SSAT and still think they will get into to highly elite schools like Exeter. While it is not impossible to get in these schools with B's you need to at least show improvement and an uphill trend not downhill.
  3. Extracurricular activities -- when you are in middle school you have time to experiment with these, but you need to be apart of them. Show your dedication to your studies and the aspects of you that make you... you! Schools get excited when they see you have passion for things outside of grades. Being apart of art clubs, year book, student council, etc. helps your chances tremendously!
  4. Sports -- while sports are extracurricular I want to stress the importance on having both clubs and sports. Top schools like Andover require you to be apart of sports. Put yourself out there and try something new even if you have never thrown a ball in your life or ran across a field.
  5. Mission statements -- a lot of boarding schools have mission statements that follow along the lines of Non Sibi (not for self). When applying to a school, study it. Know what you're getting yourself into. For example, with Non Sibi you should volunteer. Schools want students that fit their community.
  6. Study schools -- while I've briefly gone over this you should really keep in mind what you're needs are. If you need financial aid look up how much they give away a year and if they are need blind. This can really help you later on.
  7. Learn about boarding schools. Understand what you're getting yourself into before you apply. See if they are the right fit for you. Find people online to ask about boarding school (what you're doing on college confidential in the first place).

Those were just a few of my “tips” for getting yourself started on the boarding school process. :slight_smile:

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TBH I disagree with certain parts of this. Please don’t think I’m some cold-hearted judgemental teen but…

There are 150% kids every year who got B’s throughout middle school or who maybe got a sub-par SSAT and they still go to Exeter or Choate or DA or whatever school. There is no minimum grade or test score for getting into bs.

For the sports part: I am the most uncoordinated, awkward kid on earth. I can run ok. That is it. I can’t throw, catch, or anything else. I did cross country this year: every other year I’ve just opted for PE. I wasn’t even very good. Schools won’t swoon over your athletic activities unless you’re JV or winning awards or at the state/country level. You specifically cited Andover in this paragraph: I was waitlisted at Andover, and I don’t think I would’ve gotten if I had done soccer rather than PE for one semester.

For the mission statement part: don’t add on activities for the sake of being a better fit. If you have to change to be a fit, then why the heck do you think you’re a good fit?

I do like some of your advice. I do want to tell you something: there is no magic trick to getting into any bs. Please please please please (please) don’t do activities or ec’s that you think school’s will like, because every school is different. There is no magic formula, there is no “right” way to do it, and there is NEVER guaranteed acceptance. Something that really frustrates me is when people chance kids and say “You’re 100% in”. No. Just no. You can say “I think you have a good shot”, but that’s approaching the boundary. This should just be understood by all of the people who choose to wander into the chance section.

My advice for bs applications is simple: Please relax.

It is high school, kids. Boarding school is one of many many options, and quite frankly a public or day school education can be far more beneficial for some.
Enjoy yourself, you’re still young. Soon enough you’ll be on your own, paying taxes, rent, looking for a job in an increasingly competitive world… Do you really wanna look back on your youth and realize that you spent so much time worrying at home, rather than going out with your friends and having fun being a naive and reckless teenager?

If you get in, great! But don’t kill yourself trying to get in.

Be yourself. Do not change for any (and I mean any) school, including the “worshipped” Andover.

One more piece of advice: don’t only apply to Andover and Exeter. They’re just the two with the most students and the largest endowments. It’s. All. About. Fit. Furthermore, don’t apply only to GLADCHEMMS (Groton, Lawrenceville, Andover, Deerfield, Choate, Hotchkiss, Exeter, Milton, MX, SPS). There’s a little something called “hidden gems” and they’re wonderful! Although a GLADCHEMMS may be a better fit, don’t exclude a school based on acceptance rate or prestige.

Ok I’ve written way too much so I’ll stop now!!

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@Nico.campbell I disagree. Getting good grades and having good SSAT’s helps. It certainly doesn’t hurt. You are a tougher sell to an adcom with out those things. While not every student has those scores, they normally have a strong hook. When DS was applying to A/E this year both AO’s asked specifically about grades and scores. They like A’s. There have been students who get in with subpar grades and a lower score, but hey are NOT the norm.

I would also add, if you are on FA, cast a wide net! I can’t stress this enough. We had a very disappointing M10 one year and learned our lesson and shifted focus. Sometimes you need to put those HADES schools on your list. They were not on ours year one and we were waited listed for FA at all schools. Added them in year 2 and was accepted to both A/E and still not some of the Gladchemes or even most of the hidden gems he applied to.

For us, just going to public school wasn’t an option. It was BS or bust!

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Here’s my advice. It’s just high school, relax. Don’t spend your whole middle school career prepping for high school. Do what you like, make new friends, and have fun. Boarding schools are amazing schools but that’s all they are: schools. Check out @prepfessions on Twitter (just twitter’s website /prepfessions). Some of them are true, some aren’t. But they’ll open your eyes up to what prep school is like. Not trying to be Debbie Downer, I just don’t want people to make the same mistakes I did.

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You’ll notice my first piece of advice was to find a school you like and that was first for a reason. The mission statement thing is first find a school that fits you then fit that school the best way possible if you want a strong chance of getting in.

With sports, it is not a magic bullet, but it will help you a lot for schools like Andover and Exeter. Sure, they accept kids who do not play sports, but if you do they will like you more.

Also, good grades are really helpful. A couple B’s here and there are fine if you are at a rigorous program and/or are keeping up with all the other things I listed. If you are a student with B’s, mediocre SSAT scores, no clubs/sports/leadership positions/volunteer work you probably won’t get in.

I completely agree with the don’t kill yourself part and try to relax. That is not to say boarding schools are going to be a walk in the park. You need at least a little effort. You do not have to go as far as studying five hours every day for an upcoming SSAT or ACT, but try studying an hour a week.

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@Nico.campbell is correct. “There are 150% kids every year who got B’s throughout middle school or who maybe got a sub-par SSAT and they still go to Exeter or Choate or DA or whatever school. There is no minimum grade or test score for getting into bs.” This is 1000% correct. It goes for colleges too.

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@Center again, I completely agree. My point was that if you have mediocre SSAT scores and a few B’s and don’t participate in clubs/sports/volunteer work/etc… you’re chances are lower (I recognize there is no “magic bullet”). This is not to say that there isn’t students like that who don’t get into those places it’s just that there are more very involved students with good grades and SSAT scores. --if that makes sense?

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I feel like I’ve been misunderstood. Getting into bs with lowish scores and ok grades isn’t the norm, and I never said that it was. But it’s not like getting into Exeter or wherever with those stats is the equivalent of getting struck by lightning or winning the lottery. Do AOs like to see those scores? Yes. Do they need those scores to admit a kid? Nope. The whole thing is extremely fluid. There are no minimum requirements or anything like that, so if you’re lacking in one area, it doesn’t ruin your chances because you can at least try to make up for it in another area.

There are SO many components that they review in your application that one component will most likely never be the reason you didn’t get in. There’s also the less tangible part of the application where they try to figure out things like your capacity for kindness, ability to work well with others, natural curiosity, etc.

I’ve seen threads where kids are like “I know exactly why I didn’t get in” and it makes me laugh because it’s literally just a guess. Heck, I can’t figure out how I got into half of the schools that I did. They just saw something in me that I never saw in myself I guess. Don’t try to make some sort of master plan on how to get in, and don’t spend weeks obsessing over why you didn’t (because nearly everybody will get at least one WL/Rejection). Think about it: your application is reviewed by HUMANS who read your papers and discuss them. Literally sometimes your decision could be the out of one AO having their coffee from Starbucks or instead having an English tea…

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It’s kind of hard honestly to look at all the chance me posts who op have amazing stats and not want to improve your own mediocre stats…at least that’s how I feel.Besides I’m sure some applicants who go on cc have polished there ec’s a bit after reading a bit on here. I feel that doing more ec’s or other beneficial things is good as long as you will enjoy doing them.I’m paranoid of ao’s going on here and reading this so I’ll say no more…

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I look at grades and test scores more as reasons not to be disqualified rather than reasons to be admitted. If you have all A’s, your grades will not prevent you from being admitted. Same for test scores in the 90th percentile and up.

But even with those stats, you still have to give them a reason to admit you. AO’s are trying to determine what is special about each kid and then fit that kid into the overall class that they are trying to develop.

Talents (athlete, musician, mathematician, etc.) may contribute to what’s special but talent is only a small part of who you are. Personality, character, energy level, family and cultural background, personal history, etc. all contribute - which is why the interviews and essays are so important.

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Well said @HMom16.

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Other soft skills like leadership, independence, general kindness, level-headedness, integrity, initiative/being a self-starter and being willing to proactively seek out assistance when needed are some of the attributes that admissions counselors will try to suss out through interviews and recommendations.

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@HMom16 @doschicos totally agree, although sometimes not everybody’s reasons to be admitted are totally evident. I never really had anything that stuck out in my application, although I am a good interviewee and I think that my “soft skills” showed a lot.

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Reading your posts here, @“Nico.campbell”, I think you excel in those soft skills. I see a lot of wisdom and independence in your posts for your age.

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What stands out about you is going to be your essays and your interview, because even if you have good grades and a good SSAT score you could still be rejected. A constant personality has to be brought out (if that makes sense) which is what a lot of the people commenting on this are kind of saying. My personal goal when applying is to make your application good and to be yourself. It will really help in the long run.

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Don’t forget that you can have perfect grades & scores yet still not be successful in a boarding environment. I think that’s what AOs are looking at once they get past the quantitative data. Are you independent, willing to try new things and likely to be a positive member of the community? Have these qualities been consistently demonstrated through your recommendations, essays, and interviews? Are you able to articulate why, specifically, a certain school is a good fit for you?

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Is it true AOs like it if a kid has been to 4-7 week sleepaway camps, because it shows they can thrive away from home and parents? Long sleepaway camps are a rarity beyond the East Coast…

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I don’t know about 4-7 week sleep away camps, but I was definitely asked a couple times during interviews about independence and whether my kid had ever attended overnight camps in the past, so it is a consideration.

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We were asked about experiences away from him and independence as well.

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Not uncommon where I grew up. And yes, it did come up in interviews.