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College Success
(Admitted to Baylor) |
"This message is not from Kate, but from Kate's Dad, the guy who was skeptical when it was suggested to use the EssayEdge Revision Service. I thought Kate's essay was already very good before we sent it to you. But, your revisions are very impressive. The essay read so well afer your work. And, it was still 'Kate.' I wanted to let you know we got in at Baylor! Thank you very much!!"
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Where
Should I Apply?
Knowing where to apply requires a realistic assessment of your skills. Here's a guide to finding your perfect fit.
The Six School Approach
Competition for private school admissions is getting steadily worse. In many schools, the application-to-accept ratio for the ninth grade is 4:1, while in other grades the ratio may be 15:1, with perhaps only a single opening. Given the inherent uncertainty of the admissions process, you should maximize your chances of admission by applying to a range of different schools.
We recommend that you apply to six schools along a spectrum of competitiveness: two "reach" schools, two "target" schools, and two "safety" schools. This strategy helps ensure that you will have a private school option at the end of the admissions process while simultaneously ensuring that you secure admission to the most competitive school possible.
Under this scheme, a "reach school" is defined as a school for which the hard data suggests that you only have an outside chance of being accepted. A "target school" is a school for which the hard data suggests that you have a fair chance of admission. A "safety school," is a school for which the hard data suggests that you would be a very strong candidate.
Estimating Your Chances of Admission
To figure out which schools are "reaches" and which are "safeties," you need to objectively evaluate your competitiveness. You should begin by looking at the hard data: your grades and test scores. How do these compare to the average scores and grades of students who have been accepted at each school? Next, you should consider how your teachers will describe you. Try to be objective and to remember what your teachers have said about your potential and performance before.
That hard data is usually considered first, but certainly you may have some attributes that can make you a stronger candidate. If you are a recognized leader, a star athlete, a promising artist, or one of those unusually mature children who has already discovered the joy of service to others, you will be of greater interest to an admissions committee.
Many schools publish the range of test scores of their accepted students as well as the number of applications and acceptances for each grade. If these statistics are not readily available in the literature, you should feel free to raise these questions on the phone with someone from the admissions office. Giving the admissions officer a brief snapshot of your academic profile, including your standardized test scores and grades, might make it possible for her to at least give you some sense of whether you belongs in the applicant pool or not and give you an idea of the kind of students with whom you would be competing.
Be sure to ask the admissions office for the application-to-accept ratios of the previous year. Admissions officers want you to like their school, but they also want you to have a realistic sense of the admissions picture.
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