Getting into a boarding school for 11th grade is pretty tough. Here are a couple of questions I have for you:
Why do you want to go to boarding school?
How many schools are you going to apply to?
What caused those low grades you have had?
Was it because of something out of your control, or was it because of you as a person (tough teacher does not count as an outside force mostly)? If it was because of an outside source, make sure to explain this in your application. If it was because of you, share how you have learned and grow from your past mistakes.
I’m no expert, but I think your extracurricular profile is good. You introduce your passions, and you clearly demonstrate how you have taken action on those passions. Schools love to see that. As regard to grades, if adcoms (admissions counselors) know about the school you go to and they have had past applicants from your school, they will know how tough the grading can be. Don’t mention the “self-plagiarism” unless you have to, it reflects negative qualities.
I’m going to recommend you visiting boardingschoolreview.com which is a GEM of a website for researching boarding schools. You can sort by criteria you have (I’m a big entrepreneur so I looked a lot for entrepreneurship clubs/programs). Once you identify schools you can compare them, look at their clubs, check their enrollment, read detailed past reviews, and more! Like I said…a gem of a website.
Remember to keep an open mind. Don’t pay attention to just rankings. Don’t discard a school because of one person’s opinion. Good luck with this crazy, wonderful, and stressful application process.
(note: calling @Calliemomofgirls)