<p>Agreed, for some, the HADES schools are the right fit. But even within that narrow band of schools, there are vast differences. We got a very different vibe at Deerfield than at Exeter, for example. </p>
<p>Every internet board develops its own culture, and for whatever reason, the culture of this board is to stress about a dozen specific schools. Maybe some of this has to do with practicality. It isn’t that difficult to be identified/identifiable when you/your child is one of 400 students in a school.
I do wish people would be more realistic about this process overall. 45% admit rate are much better odds than 14%, but not something I’d take for granted. And the odds for one of the 14% admit rate prep schools are still way better than the odds of getting in to HYP etc.</p>