PUBLICATION
Ellie C. thought she had done everything “right.”
She had straight A’s in 7th grade and fantastic test scores. Yet when her results came in this February for private school admissions, she was waitlisted at every school she applied to. None of the schools ended up moving her into an admissions status, and that’s when she contacted us for help.
We inventoried what had happened with Ellie’s case and found some critical information that we want to share with you about competitive private school admissions categorically.
What qualifies as “Competitive” Private School Admissions?
Competitive admissions, also known as selective admissions, occur when many qualified applicants apply for a limited number of seats. In the case of a few of the most selective schools in NYC, it has been reported to us that more than 500 applications were submitted during the fall of 2024 admissions season for just 50–60 seats, and for about half of those applicants, each was very qualified.
What Do Students Need to Do to Be Admitted?
Let’s answer this question with another question —
If everyone looks like me on paper, what makes the difference?
In the case of Ellie, if we go back to review her entire process, we learn that she was aligned to the prospective school admissions rubrics with her qualifications, meaning her grades were As and her test scores were high. However, as we dug in further, the way she was articulating her reason for applying to each school did not 100% match the way the schools qualified themselves. In addition, she had some vulnerabilities in her teacher’s comments on report cards, stating that she didn’t always pay attention in class and that her homework was sometimes late. She struggled on one major math exam.
During her application process, she didn’t learn the importance of matching her interview answers to the vocabulary that the school uses to qualify itself. For instance, if the school qualifies itself as one that provides rigor, then coming into the interview and saying that she wants a school with advanced classes may not be enough to match her precisely with that prospective school. Instead, she could have used the interview as an opportunity to discuss rigor specifically and how much she thrives in that approach.
In addition, neither her parents nor Ellie talked about the teacher’s comments and provided context about the math exam (it was an outlier, and Ellie was very sick during the noted difficult exam). These questions very well put her into the maybe/waitlist pile as the committee read her file.
Crafting the Message: Our 10‑Step Framework
Working through the initial four steps of our Ten‑Step Process (detailed in 10 Steps to Private School Admissions, new edition coming June 9, 2025), Ellie and her family:
Clarified Criteria to match her preferred school – Academic rigor + design‑thinking culture + collaborative community.
Mapped the Prospective School’s Messaging – Signature maker‑lab, capstone incubator, partnerships with local start‑ups.
Connected the Dots – Ellie’s 7th grade prototype project became the anchor for her essay, interview talking points, and artful teacher rec prompts.
By the time her interview rolled around, Ellie could say, “This School’s maker‑lab mirrors how I already learn: observe a problem, sketch possibilities, test, and iterate. I want four more years of that rhythm.” The admissions officer’s smile told her she had landed on something far deeper than a resume bullet.
Outcome
In late April, Ellie opened her portal to an off-cycle acceptance letter. She wasn’t the only straight‑A applicant, nor the only student with a high score; She was also one of the few who showed her prospective school exactly who she was in the context of her challenges and why they were the match for how she learns best.
Your Turn
If you—or your student—are staring at a daunting acceptance rate, remember: scores open the door, but a Transparent, Connected Message secures the seat.
Want help finding and articulating yours?
Schedule a complimentary call, and we’ll pair you with a best‑fit consultant who knows your target schools inside out.
Email Elian Seidel, Director of Consulting Programs, at Elian@evolveded.com to get started.
Let’s turn numbers into narratives—and narratives into admissions success.