Will I be able to get into boarding school?

Question

So I want to apply to Andover, Exeter, Deerfield, and Choate-Rosemary Hall for my freshman year of high school. Applications at most of these places are due Feb. 1. Right now I have around an 89 average from 7th Grade. If I work my butt off and get straight A's the first and second quarter of this year will I be able to get in? Also, I've been taking dance since I was 3, I've been playing tennis since I was 5, I played violin for 4 years and piano for 3 years, I have gotten extremely high scores on my state tests like 97th percentile(ELA, math assessment, etc), I take latin, I will be taking fashion design classes at Parsons this fall, and I take intensive hebrew at JTS in NYC. I plan on taking the SSAT in around October if I get my parents to allow me to apply What are my chances of getting into boarding school for my freshmen year?

Answer 1

As long as you have very good academic potential and you do one personal thing, like your instruments, you should be fine. If you are getting financial aid, you really need to keep your grades up! If not, I say **** you because I want to go to boarding school! LOL. JK JK.

Answer 2

Unfortunately, even though you obviously have a great extra curricular background, there are many others applying that do as well. So you have to look at it from the school's perspective. They have hundreds of people applying to a very limited number of openings, these candidates have near perfect grades (the high 90s), greater than 90% percentile on the SSAT, and amazing extra curricular activities. So it's a very difficult situation for them, probably more difficult than it is for the hundreds that are applying.

Andover has an acceptance rate of 20%. This is incredibly low. Most of its graduates end up at Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, Yale, Georgetown, and Columbia. Exeter has an acceptance rate of 21%, Deerfield 18%, and Loomis Chaffee 39%. Statistically, the chances of you entering these schools is pretty slim, even with your exceptional extra curricular background. So based on your grades and your extra curriculars I would say that the odds are against you. However, there are many ways to beat the odds. Identifying what sets you apart from all of the rest will be a good starting place. When you go for an interview at these schools or write an essay on the application you must ensure that the person reading it sees you as a unique candidate. This is of upmost importance. I got into a boarding school with an acceptance rate below 20%, which was quite surprising considering my previous grades. So basically, you can correct the 89 average by convincing them of your uniqueness. I was in competition with over 100 others for a single opening and I got it. Make sure they see you as somebody that would be a unique asset to their school. Best of luck.