<p>Guys, you can’t compare. There are pretty much no colleges more selective than Harvard, and pretty much no prep schools more selective than Andover. They’re the cream of the crop. </p>
<p>And, frankly, with the common app and so many more people taking the SAT/ACT than the SSAT, the boarding school application pool is, I’m willing to bet, way more competitive than the college application pool, in terms of applicants who are actually admissable to Andover vs. Harvard. (Completely off topic from the initial post, but with 7dad, I think the OP should be thankful for that one admit when so many applicants have none, mostly because they need FA. Count your blessings!)</p>
<p>I think its really important to remember what GMTplus7 said. These schools are so unpredictable, you could be an amazing candidate, and still get rejected because there was somebody else (with a little worse credentials than you) and they would get accepted because the music teacher came to the admission office and said “I need a flute player” and there happened to be an applicant that played the flute. The acceptances can be very random. The school will find what it needs.</p>
<p>@stargirl13 You’ve been so quiet but your photo of “pooch-with-head-resting-on-keyboard” speaks volumes.
I’m waggin’ my tail for you.</p>
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<p>Andover’s incredible but Groton and Deerfield consistently have lower admit rates and my understanding is that St. Paul’s was lower this year. Nevertheless, Andover is off the charts SSAT average, etc, all the more amazing since it is so large a student body.</p>
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<p>And yet, even with all this selectivity and brain power, the significant majority of the graduating class don’t get into ivy/Stanford/MIT. Check the matriculation stats.</p>
<p>Andover is not necessarily the cream of the crop. It’s the cream of legacies and a bunch of talented kids, but don’t fool yourself. They would like you to think that. I have had two students who were at the tippety top in grades, SSATs and national awards and sports, but they weren’t what Andover needed at the time–oboe player, x country athlete or whatever.
If you got in somewhere, you are also part of a recognizable talented group of students; if you are waitlisted or didn’t get in anywhere…guess what? you are too. The chips just didn’t fall your way this time…and no it’s not fair.
But look for your opportunity. There are plenty of successful people who didn’t go to a posh boarding school.
For those waitlisted or rejected, I know it is painful…but you are just as talented as those who did get into Andover. Please try NOT to make it more than it is. If you want to reapply, ask for feedback no matter how painful.
My daughter’s good friend got rejected twice before getting in on her third try to Nobles. Try again. Third time may be the charm.</p>
<p>Please, please, let’s not get into an argument about whether low acceptance rates make a school better. I know very well that Groton and others have slightly lower acceptance rates, and those are all the cream of the crop too. Humor me, please… will ya? :/</p>
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<p>Indeed, love the school that loves you.</p>
<p>I say this way too often: You do know that not all kids want Ivies, right?</p>
<p>@redbluegoldgreen Agreed!
My personal opinion is that Andover- despite its endearing reputation- might not necessarily be the right school for you/your child. First of all (and I am not trying to disparage anyone’s perception of Andover; I am simply trying to express the truths evident to me), its reputation was built upon its legacy and the history that has accumulated under its name. (By the way, numerous “less esteemed” schools have surpassed Andover in areas such as: SAT scores, number of Ivy school acceptances, etc, in case this type of thing matters to you.) What many fail to realize, unfortunately, is that attending a school that the Bushes graduated from may not necessarily guarantee you a stint in the presidency. Being an Andover grad may not necessarily grant you a spot at an Ivy, or even a happy future. It’s all about the BEST FIT.</p>
<p>Schools accept you based upon whether they believe you’re suitable for them or not. Sure, you might be the top tennis player in your state with a 99% SSAT score to boot- however (and often unfortunately), the impressiveness of those stats alone might not score you spots in these prestigious schools. They might choose a clarinetist with subpar academic scores over you if they lack clarinetists. Being waitlisted/rejected to any of these schools does NOT mean you are any lesser of a candidate than those who WERE accepted.</p>
<p>Returning to my point about the best fit, maybe going to a school as big as Andover might blight your potential. Maybe a smaller school would allow you to fulfill your dreams? Or maybe your true prowess might not be recognized in a school you were rejected at, but you would shine in a school you WERE accepted in? Don’t feel like it is the end of the world if you don’t get accepted by what you THOUGHT was “the school of your dreams”- because there’s a valid reason why you didn’t get accepted. …Maybe they didn’t appreciate you as much they did other candidates, so if you did attend you would just be lost in a school of more talented people; or maybe you needed full FA while they didn’t; or someone was a child of some famous politician and squeezed you out of an acceptance. My point is, don’t be sad about your waitlists/rejections. As @mrnephew stated earlier, LOVE THE SCHOOL THAT LOVES YOU.</p>
<p>(whew. My fingers are hurting. Hope this helps.)</p>