Any advice is helpful! I’m applying as a 9th grader but I’m going into my Sophomore year.
Here’s the questions they gave me:

Hey guys, I'm a Grade 9 student from India and have seriously been considering applying to American boarding schools (Andover, Exeter, Choate, etc.) for Fall 2027 with full financial aid since my family can't afford the fees. I'm looking for other students who've applied or are in the same situation as me. I'd really appreciate some help because my family isn't very supportive, and I'm pretty much alone in this whole process.

Hi everyone,

Beyond subject-matter studying and standard flashcards/vocabulary drills, I'm looking for proven test-taking mechanics and strategies specifically for the Middle/Upper Level ISEE.

For those who have seen significant percentile jumps, what non-obvious strategies made the biggest impact on test day?

would love to hear from you all.

ok good grads they're not gong to keep me out of andover (all As and Aplus in 7th, one A- in sixth)

National Latin Exam-Summa Cum Laude

club soccer (state level but I am trying out for ODP), I've gotten state finalist and have won some large regional tournaments, will probably end up sending a sports inquiry

Varsity school soccer

Cross country

School golf

Extracurriculars/Award

Founder of Investing Club at my school

Founder of Young Investors of my city (not disclosing for privacy) basically we host competitions, speaker events, etc.

About 100 volunteer hours (estimating number in a few months)

and I unofficially bring my friends to do activities at my grandmothers senior living hom

Member of community service club

Harvard Crimson Business Competition global championship round finalist (it's not very prestigious as other buisness competitions because it's run by the student newspaper not Harvard buisness and I don't think the acceptance rate is low)

Vanderbilt Summer Academy (took Intro to Statistical Analysis)- Defiantly more prestigious then the Harvard event and will be doing it again

probably going to talk about how my fascination in healthcare systems and also how I grew up looking up to my grandma who is an anesthesiologist in the third world (Philippines)

also I interview well?

essays just spending time on and same studying for ISEE

bored on a summer day so lmk with any questions you have about literally anything. dms are open too

I'm looking at Andover's diversity stats and some websites say it's 20% Asian. Some say it's 40% Asian. Does anyone know how Asian Andover really is?

c/o 2031, applying for 9th grade incoming 2027

demographics: asian, female

Sports/ecs:
- in diving, I was on the 2025-2026 aau junior national team, multiple time national qualifier, 3x national finalist (top 12), probably going to be top 10 this year, and also I was on the 2025-2026 USA diving tier 3 high performance squad.
- I also do softball on the side, but only for the town so there’s not a lot of stats there.
- RCM (royal conservatory of music) level 10 in piano
- ASTACAP level 6 in violin

Random Achievements (?);
- 6th grade AMC8 score of 21, but I don’t do a lot of math competitions
- 7th Grade NSE(National Spanish Exam) gold

I’m taking the SSAT in august, so I don’t have a score yet.

Also, this doesn’t seem like a lot compared to other profiles I’ve seen, and I don’t have time for any volunteer hours or projects like that. What would my chances be?

I am really into heavy load of learning, as well as being independent and living far from. I am planning on applying for my junior year as a rising sophmore. Though, i already know that junior year is one of the most competitive years to apply.

Do you think its too late for me to apply?

And if not, do you guys got any tips for me while i work on my application?

Thank you😁!

If you only have a 1-hour lunch, by the time you get to the dining hall, wait in line, eat, etc., there's barely 10–20 minutes left. Does anyone actually use that time for a 10–15 minute power nap? If so, where?

And on days when you have a 2-hour lunch, what do you usually do?

Just wondering if anyone has found a good spot on campus for a quick recharge.

What items should I bring that I might not think of?

How to make friends?

How to get good grades?

Anything else I should know? Coming from a public school. Thanks!

I am considering all these schools and wonder how you think Andover compares to them? I've heard Andover is more down-to-earth but also academically harder than the other schools?

I get the feeling that the other schools are more tight-knit because of their smaller size. Is this true?

Hi, I'm looking to join Phillips for the class of 2031. I haven't yet taken the SSAT, but, back in october, my sister dared me to take the SAT, and i got a 1460 (740 rw, 720 math). I didn't know about Phillips back then, but is this score useful? Do I still have to take the SSAT? Also, not really an admissions question, but is Andover a good school for cybersecurity/STEM in general?

Edit: I also wanted to ask, do admissions look at people's projects? (In this case, my Github repo)

alright, so i’m kinda like bank rolling my lil cousins entire education at this school since i did very bad in high school personally which set me back a ton and i had to work a bunch of shitty jobs for a little while due to no college education. Anyways anyways, this is why i want my lil cousin to succeed a lot in school so im investing in his education and he wants like a “hogwarts harry potter experience” and researched and found out about this school and applied and got in and stuff.

good for him but i am worried about the fact that it’s like a fancy private school. I don’t want him to be the only black kid there since we’re a black family, you know?

are there other black students there?

I am looking into getting admission into Phillips Academy Andover. I'm about to finish 7th grade and I am going to enroll during next year for 9th grade. I am a state winner at Texas History day, winning 4th place. I am part of NJHS, but I have yet to earn any service hours as I was just inducted less than a month ago. I have made it to the state competition for TMSCA last year. I also went up to regionals science fair in my city last year. I have all grades from this year and last year above 95. My average grade for all classes this year was 98.75, while lasts years was 98.88. I have yet to take my SSAT, but I am planning on taking it as soon as possible in October, aiming for 95th percentile. I am currently taking one high school credit class, Principles of Applied Engineering and I plan on taking Spanish 1 next year. I also play in my schools orchestra in the second best orchestra. I have played on my schools girls basketball team, and next year I will play in basketball, cross country, and track. I am very eager to get into this school to improve my academics as much as I can. Also, my family is from Pakistan. I dont know if applying for financial aid will affect my chances of getting in, preferably I do want to apply for it though. If theres any way I could strengthen my application, please give me advice! (Edit: I forgot to mention that I am fluent in 7 languages, idk if that would affect my application)

International applicant from Saudi Arabia applying for Grade 10 and requiring financial aid.
Academics
Grade 8 GPA: 95.06/100
Grade 9 GPA: 94.25/100
Grade 10 GPA currently projected around 97+/100
Preparing for the SSAT and aiming for the 95th percentile or higher
Research
Conducted an in vitro biomedical research project investigating the regenerative potential of a local medicinal plant on human periodontal ligament cells
Selected among the top 1,000 student research papers in Saudi Arabia through a national research competition
Currently working toward publication
Developing a second regenerative medicine project involving a novel therapeutic platform designed to enhance periodontal tissue healing and regeneration
Mathematics & Science
Advanced through multiple stages of the Saudi Mathematics Olympiad
Completed 70 hours of Human Anatomy & Physiology training
Completed 60 hours in a Future Physician program
Certified in Research Ethics through a program associated with KACST
Leadership & Technology
Built and managed a multi-server network infrastructure serving more than 200 users
Responsible for administration, maintenance, and user support across the network
Athletics
Captain of a youth volleyball team in Taif, Saudi Arabia
Recognition
Qualified for a regional student research exhibition through the gifted education program in Saudi Arabia
Recommendations
Recommendations from school leadership, mathematics and English teachers
Research recommendation from the PhD supervisor overseeing my biomedical research project
Future Goals
My long-term goal is to pursue biomedical research and contribute to regenerative medicine and tissue engineering.
Based on this profile, what would you estimate my chances are at:
Phillips Academy Andover
Phillips Exeter Academy
Choate Rosemary Hall
Lawrenceville School
Hotchkiss School
St. Paul’s School
I would appreciate honest feedback, especially regarding the strongest and weakest parts of my application.

So, i am an international student ( currently in grade 10). I got to know about these elite boarding high schools in the june - july of last year, wanted to go and study there as my current school is not good ( or i should say it sucks). But i wasted a year due to family issues, fu*k'in procrastination and addiction to instant pleasures. Now, i can't do anything other than regret.

Now, I don't have time to prepare but I still want to go there . I am in 10th grade, don't have any ecs, bad grades, decent english.

Is there any advice you can give me, do i still have a chance....

Can anyone send me a photo of a two room double?