<p>Yes, the private colleges know the good NE preps well. Having a full scholarship at a good one is impressive, especially if it's merit based as opposed to need based.</p>
<p>I went to Andover and while we didn't work on a 4 point scale, the equiv. of a 3.5 is good. There aren't that many schools that only take 25%, so I'm assuming you're considered to have done well at your school.</p>
<p>Schools in CA you may want to look at not on your list are Claremont McKenna, Occidental and Harvey Mudd (if they have a major you want), they are ranked considerably higher than most of your privates. If money matters and you're looking for merit scholarships also look at Pitzer.</p>