<p>Afan, i think it would be better for all of us to define what "merit" is. Realize that just going to these schools gives you connections w/ research labs, colleges, etc, just because they know your school's track record.</p>
<p>At my son's prep, honors is considered 80% or above
His school sends 30-40% every year to Ivies, Stanford or MIT</p>
<p>The reason to go to a top boarding school is to have access to classes and facilities you could not find other places. Yes, top preps send 35% plus to very top colleges, but the fact is that you need to be ivy calibre to even get in to a top prep. If you have the opportunity, check out the schools. You'll have classes with under 10 kids, you'll choose from electives usually only available at colleges, great coaching, foreign study opportunities and so much more. While maybe more would get into HYP if they went to their local publuic school, the fact is that just about everyone goes to a top college while having had an amazing high school experience.</p>
<p>My d bs school has honors at 84%. Our local high school, considered a top school in newsweek, year after year has numerous validictorians. The averages are so off the chart I gotta wonder if they just give away A's.</p>