^^ We have found it helpful to give the kids a list of school names that may serve as a starting point, given our understanding of the individual kid and what might be a spectrum from reach to likely, which the student then can use for their own research agenda. As opposed to them shooting in the more or less dark, or perhaps too influenced by what peers are chattering about. Sometime later, the discussion with the school counselor revised the “working” list.
I am so pleased to read your posting. It is exactly what I tell my DS.
I guess I shared the following article by M. Mulligan, head of Thacher School, somewhere on the forum but in case people missed it…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-mulligan/advice-on-what-really-mat_b_8511810.html
love this
WHAT SOXMOM SAID.
Sad that I can’t both like that post and note is as helpful.
As of late, I have not had the heart to participate much in the prep school forum. S2 not performing as strongly as hoped-- not that he’s failing-- but the road would have been less rocky if he was in a less intense environment. He will be targeting a very different slate of colleges than S1.
Just praying that he hit it out of the park on the PSAT. Attaining NMSF might give him more confidence. 
@GMTplus7 Thanks for sharing. As you already know, 11th grade is a tough academic year. Hoping for good news for him on January 7th and the rest of the year.
MY DS became suddenly interested in some most competitive colleges. The problem in life is, in many cases, associated with the word ‘suddenly’. Ha Ha. But what can I do? I just cheered him up and ended our conversation by saying all he needed would be do his best and the result cannot then be too painful. We all know that endurance, patience and passion along with being a nice person, other than the top colleges, would make our lives happy and successful.
^^ For a viable candidate, nothing wrong with a couple “most competitive” targets on an otherwise balanced list.
Talk about “endurance, patience and passion”, just came home from seeing “The Big Short”. Fabulous film that needs to be seen. We should hope, and insist, that our children at boarding school embrace integrity, responsibility and empathy in their own lives and become agents for good. Unbridled greed is devastating to the common wealth. ~O)
@Charger78, Thanks. I will try to watch the film. Sounds like fun.
I think one of the many reasons for sending the kids to a (good) boarding school is help them learn integrity and values needed to become a good citizen. I am not saying they can’t learn them from public schools but I found boarding schools, if they are supposed to a ‘good’ one, education is much more focused on those. Integrity and honor code become a part of life there.
With a class of 2020 kid, I clearly don’t belong to a class of 2017 thread. Nevertheless, the last two posts by @Charger78 and @patronyork hit close to home, so I wanted to share my thoughts. My 14-year-old has been in a private school since 4 year old. What distinguishes her from her peers is precisely the personal integrity and honor code that have become an inherent part of who she is. I wish I could take credit for it but I can’t. It’s really the school that has shaped her into this ethical and empathetic human being. When we started on this über expensive private school journey 10 years ago, all I was concerned with was academic rigor and competitiveness. What I ended up appreciating most are those “intangibles.” Surely it’s nice that she can score in the 90s on any test, but that’s not what people see or even know for that matter. What they see - and what makes her stand out - is her integrity, values, and respect for everyone. I truly hope that these qualities will be nurtured and further enhanced in whichever BS she ends up going to. Anyhow, I really like your perspective, so thanks for the great posts!
Another 2017 parent here, already dreading the college process. Many of you have read my post about my son coming home after 2 years at BS. He is happier and healthier here. However, changing schools adds a huge obstacle to using any naviance system.
Question: have any of your children gotten summer enrichment program solicitations from Stanford and Harvard? My son has, and I wonder how they got his name. He did well on the SAT, but not truly amazing or anything. Could it be the PSAT? Or even his boarding school from last year? Anyway, just curious.
@Leafyseadragon It’s mostly from College Board: PSAT, SAT, AP exams, etc.
Our Local PS had all freshmen take PSAT so we’ve been used to getting buried deep in college junk mails. I bet most of $50K goes to producing and mailing these marketing material.
I wouldn’t read much into his PSAT scores from it; apparently College board did not release this year’s PSAT scores yet. In a few days we will know the PSAT scores but we still will not know about national merit status until fall since they are new PSATs.
I would read nothing into it. These programs are cash cows for the institutions
FWIW, PSAT scores are out.
Well, the scores are not there anymore. I guess it was viewable by accident briefly. Wait till tomorrow or 1/7.
S2 has a strong showing on the PSAT.
Now we wait & see…
[-O<
Great news GMTplus7.
With the higher cutoff of BS group, only kids with 222+ are sure bet at this point.
Although in low cut-off state, DS1 won’t study and takes tests cold, so we are hovering around Commend cut line, which looks like around 205/206 this year.
The NM Selection Indexes (SI) will look very different this year w the new PSAT which only has a max score of 1520. In past years, the max SI was 240. Starting this year, the max SI is only 228. Therefore, the cutoffs will look quite different., too.
Trying to educate myself about this PSAT business. It seems crazy! If the max is 228, @payn4ward you’re thinking 22 plus is NMSF?
Oops, 222.