Apples to apples, from the unweighted charts above, if 93=4.0, 13 out of 224 Choate students fall in that bucket (5.8%) and 19 out of 176 Deerfield students are at or above that (10.8%), so I’m not sure where the heartburn is. It doesn’t matter whether a BS weights or not, colleges adjust for that.
Everyone, please understand that Deerfield students are not being compared to Choate students or Exeter students or any other BS students. Your student is being compared to his/her peers at that particular BS who are subject to the same grading rubric, so it doesn’t matter what that rubric is. The school could use the sparrow, bluebird, and eagle groups as delineators; it just doesn’t matter. All colleges are looking at is where your student falls in that school’s pile by decile, and they can determine that pretty easily. If the complaint is that it’s hard for a student to be in the top decile, welcome to BS – no one argues that at ANY BS no matter how each racks and stacks. Deerfield is not harder than Choate or any of its peers. If it’s difficult to get above a 91 at Deerfield, it’s equally difficult to get above whatever that top cutoff is at any BS.
@groel: All of the schools on your list are academically rigorous, and you will work hard for your grades. No matter what grading scale you end up under, you will not be hurt by it. You will get a great education and end up at a college that is a great fit for you. You have amazing choices. Let us know what you decide and how you came to your conclusion.