I’ve been a lurker in this section and the other prep school sections on College Confidential for a while, and I’ve witnessed the Chances forum constantly inundated by applicants. And to you, (probably) a fellow applicant, I just wanted to say that being reassured by fellow CCers will get you absolutely nowhere.
Now, I know that many of the people on College Confidential know this. But I’ve seen many hopeful applicants constantly post about their chances and ask other people to give them feedback. Take into account that the people who are giving feedback are some parents and mostly 14 to 17-year-olds. We can’t actually guarantee you a spot at your top boarding school just because “we said so.” The only people that can truly give you an authoritative answer are the AOs.
The focus of this little rant isn’t entirely to burst bubbles. It’s to prove a point, which is that the chances forum on this thread has no merit. I know many qualified applicants who have been rejected by all of the boarding schools they wanted to go to (one was a Jack Kent Cooke scholar). Having your confidence inflated by the people of CC most likely will have a negative affect. It really just depends on if the school needs you that year.
So, the reasonable thing to do is study for the SSATs if you haven’t taken it, get all the application materials you need, and stay the heck out of the Chances forum.