<p>Does anyone know if the acceptance rate differs for day students vs. boarding? Maybe it varies by school.</p>
<p>It does vary. For example, Milton is 50/50 day/boarders.</p>
<p>At most schools the acceptance rate for day students is slightly lower than that for boarders.</p>
<p>Day acceptance rate feels more than “slightly lower” to me. If you are on the border line and really want to get in, apply as a boarder.</p>
<p>Ugh. I was afraid of that! My #1 choice is cutting back on day students too. Blah! Oh well, two more days…</p>
<p>^^I know many families that have used this tactic. Others who have started out as day applicants have gotten a call asking if their child would be willing to board. Some who have agreed to switch from a day applicant to a boarding applicant have been admitted, some have gotten rejection/waitlist letters.</p>
<p>The thing is, you then have to be willing to send your child as a boarder. You can’t switch later unless you have an extremely compelling change in circumstances.</p>
<p>I applied to three boarding schools as a day student. For two of the schools, I had the option to choose to apply as a boarder or day student. At my interview for one of these schools my interviewer said that the acceptance rate for day students may be lower, but drew my attention to the obvious fact that day students are only competing with students from a localized area instead of students from all over the world. With this in mind, it kind of makes sense to apply as a day student since logically it appears like there would be less competition. </p>
<p>He was strongly encouraging for someone in my specific situation to apply as a day student, but it may just have something to do with that one school or my situation. (Note: I applied as a 10th grader and it was mentioned that most of the day students typically apply for 9th grade) Also, since I’m applying for FA I thought it would make more sense to apply as a day student since it may be harder to get significant FA as a boarding student versus significant aid as a day student with the ~$10,000 difference in tuition.</p>