r/PhillipsAcademy

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?

So, um, I live in New England, and I'm looking at Andover, Exeter, Groton, Concord, Deerfield, Choate, Loomis Chaffee, Hotchkiss, Hill, Blair, Brewster, and Lawrenceville.

Any good school recs?(Strictly New England please!)

Bio:

• I'm a first-generation child of immigrant parents who both were born and raised in Romania
• I belong to a swim club and am ranked top 10 in 13-14 for breaststroke in the region
• I am fluent and can read and write in both Romanian and English
• I finished the first half of French 1 this year already
• I performed double bass for the prestigious AllState orchestra this year as the youngest bass player there
• I love to travel
• I belong to the 8th Grade Honors Class in the Russian School of Math in both Geometry and Algebra 2
• I was also invited to perform on their elite math competition team because I got a really good score on an honors challenge
• I am in Honors Math in school since that is the only honors class they offer:(
• I am an A student and finished the school year with an A+ average in all of my classes combined
• Finished with an A last year(6th Grade)
• I also was inducted into NJHS recently and am starting a community outreach club at my school
• I am also starting a Model UN Club at my school
• I am looking at being "debate" captain for Model UN
• I have been studying for SSATs for 2 months now and will take it late October
• I am aiming for 90th-98th percentile
• I am also going to start volunteering at a hospital every weekend beginning November
• I also do cross country and am looking at State Championships this year

Do you think I'm ready? I mean I'm honestly scared. Any schools with good swim teams? International programs(term abroad)?

Also, before anyone recommends to look into each school, don't worry, I have!!!

I'm not sure about Deerfield honestly... I don't like the dress code or that it's very sports-focused.

(Or so I've heard...)

Thank you so much and good luck to everyone else out there who is looking to apply!!!

😄

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?

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.

Female, half filipino, half white, no financial need, U.S applicant

Grades: Lowest grade in 7th was 96 and not great but lowest grade in sixth was 89 for one trimester and everything else was 95+ in 6th

I'm already studying for the ICEE (taking that because people from my school usually take it and it's the test that our courses align with the most)

ECs: NOTE: These might not seem connected but I will be writing about my fascination and passion to understand healthcare systems in the U.S and globally, and how my grandma owns hospitals in the third would-all of this will be mentioned in my essays

Founder and President of my schools investing club: I have a log of all of my lesson plans and basically me evaluating the success of each meeting.

Started an un-named passion project (name coming soon) of helping connect a senior living home to middle schoolers in order to improve seniors mood and activities.

Have multiple volunteer hours (estimated to be around 200 by the time applications are due) and projects (drives) related to healthcare.

Founder and Leader of Young Investors of my city (not disclosing for privacy) but it's starting this fall:
The mission of Young Investors of (my city) is to create curriculum, events, competition, and spread awareness about financial literacy and investing strategy to other middle schools in the greater Nashville area. Schools that are members must teach financial literacy covering these topics; Funds, Stocks, Investing calculations (ROI, market capitalization, price to earnings ratio), Correct terminology (revenue, shares, profit, margins, etc.), Ability to analyze stock charts, Supply and demand, Sources for market reports, Financial transactions, Credit score, and more. There are three aspects of Young Investors of Nashville. Section one: Competition. Section two: Events. Section 3: Awareness. 

 Awareness is our program that takes leaders from each membership, and those chosen leaders will go to different groups of kids who don’t have exposure to financial literacy or are underprivileged communities who maybe don't have as many financial resources and teach overall skills to be financially successful. These awareness events are extremely important because it not only promotes financial fluency, but it gives the opportunity for students to connect, and have real conversations about finance, specifically in a student to student setting.

 Note: In future years it’s a goal of ours to be able to start investing clubs at schools with no established financial literacy curriculum. Schools that accept this offer will be members of Young Investors of (my city) known as a “Guided Chapter”, and therefore the club will be provided curriculum.

SORRY I KNOW THAT WAS LONG

Sports: I play club soccer at the regional level (have been a state finalist in state cup and have one at large regional tournaments. I believe I have the skills to play at Andover as my club is medium sized so that oddly impacts our performance even if that is different then each players individual skills (we're a good team it's just how large clubs can sort of manipulate the system)

Varsity soccer

Varsity cross country and Run a (roughly) 14:10 for two mile? I think that's average so....

Varsity Golf....not too good but I've won awards at my school's recognition night

Awards/programs:

Attended Vanderbilt Summer Academy this year and studied Statistical Analysis, next year will probably do something healthcare related

Admitted to the Harvard Crimson Business Competition, I have the certificate but I couldn't attend

I think getting awards for my passion projects would be nice so if anyone has any that I can submit to

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?

I know my chances are low bc I have no awards and stuff but I’m gonna try
Please say what you think I could improve on
(10th Grade Applicant, Possibly Repeating 9th)
Demographics
Female
Black and Hispanic
Bilingual (English/Spanish)
Public school: Massachusetts
Academics
Honors Spanish
Honors Math
Honors History
Physics
Advanced Summer algebra 2
Significant grade improvement over time
Earlier middle school grades included some Bs and Cs
Freshman year grades stronger with an upward trend
Interested in STEM, neuroscience, economics, and public policy
Testing
PSAT: 1480…
Extracurriculars
5+ years of competitive and sideline cheerleading (Grand champ & national champ)
Volunteer mentor for students with disabilities
HOSA member
DECA involvement
Regular community service @ youth center & church (about 50 hours total)
Starting initiatives related to ADHD awareness and support for neurodivergent students
FOUNDED educational nonprofit focused on ADHD, executive functioning, and STEM access (10 students onboarded)
8-5 working as a part time teacher aide at Sci camp with 3-5 yr olds all summer
Leadership
Mentoring younger students
Nonprofit as mentioned before
Personal Background
Diagnosed with ADHD
Strong interest in educational equity and helping students with learning differences
Mixed-race background has shaped perspective on identity and belonging

Family Responsibilities
Regularly cook dinners and help prepare meals for family
Serve as a Spanish-English translator for grandmother and family members when navigating appointments, paperwork, and everyday communication
Assist with family responsibilities and household support
Worked at family business managing simple admin work and managing phone calls

I am looking into getting admission into Phillips Academy Andover and will also apply to several other elite private schools. 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)