Why might I have been waitlisted?

drfrenzo
Sun, 16 Mar 2025 15:38:37 +0000

@mey I would disagree with the point about SSAT recommendations for international students being way higher. I’m from the UK and applied to 9 schools (Loomis, NMH, Hotchkiss, Williston Northampton, Suffield, Choate, Berkshire, Kingswood Oxford and Kent). My SSAT overall was 83rd percentile (Q72, V90, R83). I had great interviews and recommendations, and my extracurriculars are similar to yours with music. I sing with the National Youth Choir of Great Britain, and I have a couple of ABRSM grades in piano, guitar and voice, I’ve also got my bronze Duke of Edinburgh award.
I got into 7 schools of the 9 and was waitlisted at 2 (Hotchkiss and Choate).
I agree with @vwlizard—you only need to cast your net wider and apply to some less competitive schools. We toured many schools last autumn in the States, and I think the academic provision across most of these schools is, by and large, the same. Unless you’re interested in a particular music, STEM, or sports program, you’re not short-changed going to a non-GLAADCHEMS school.
If you’re reapplying next year, go for a mix of T1 and T2 schools and preferably test optional. Maybe do some ABRSM voice exams remotely, so you have some recognised qualifications for your musicianship. But you’re more than enough to get in and all the very best!