<p>As noted on previous posts, there are discrepancies between what Boardingschoolreview.com publishes compared to Petersons. The general thought is that Petersons is more accurate, however, that is not always the case.</p>
<p>Here is just a sampling of the discrepancies:</p>
<p>Choate:
BSR Admission Deadline: 1/10/2008
Petersons Admission Deadline: 1/15/2008
BSR Admission Rate: 28%
Peterson Admission Rate: 32%
BSR Endowment: 235 million
Petersons Endowment: 213 million</p>
<p>Canterbury:
BSR Admissions Deadline: 1/31/08
Petersons 1/20/08
BSR Admission Rate: 39%
Petersons 58%</p>
<p>Holderness
BSR SSAT Required: NO
Petersons SSAT Required: YES
BSR Admission Rate: 50%
Petersons : 59%</p>
<p>Lawrenceville
BSR Admission Rate: 29%
Petersons Admission: 21%</p>
<p>Culver:
BSR Admissions Rate: 49%
Petersons Admission: 20%</p>
<p>I just looked up some of the schools and found these errors. I am sure there are plenty more. Almost all of the schools I looked at had some variation in acceptance rates and endowment. With some schools, deadline dates also were incorrect (Choate 1/10 versus 1/15.) </p>
<p>I guess it pays to go directly to the website and call the school if you have additional questions.</p>
<p>How up-to-date the information is probably depends on whether the school is a paying member of that site. For instance, my school is a member of BSR but not of Peterson's. I update the BSR info so it is always up-to-date. Because we are not members of Peterson's (we found that people just weren't using it much for K-12 searches so it wasn't cost effective), they update the information and I would guess that non-paying schools are not a high priority for them. For instance, I see that although it says that our information was updated in September, the tuition figures are for last year.</p>
<p>You are definitely right that the school's own site is always going to be the most accurate source for information.</p>
<p>
[quote]
For instance, I see that although it says that our information was updated in September, the tuition figures are for last year.
[/quote]
That's what is confusing about both. When it says "updated in..." you would THINK they would have upated ALL the info. I guess BSR is probably the same.
Thanks for the insight!</p>
<p>What I've noticed for petersons is that they update for their hardcopy publication (a money-maker) which has a one-year shelf life. As a result, they are a year behind (or more). For example, if it is the 2008 Petersons Guide to Independent Schools (hardcopy publication has a name somewhat like that), I think the stats reflect the 2006-2007 school year. There is an attempt to update all the stats, so I think the probability that it is accurate is higher than for BSR, which is sometimes completely out-of-date, or has a mix of accurate and inaccurate information.</p>
<p>Comment on deadline dates: Sometimes applications dates are different for day vs. boarding. I don't know what Choate's deadline is for day, but it is possible that it is 1/15. </p>
<p>Of course, asking a school directly is the best source.</p>