My husband (who until recently has been pretty relaxed about all of this) and I agreed last night that nothing approaches this level of angst except hockey tryout results…Yesterday I was a basket case, just seeing those pre-notification emails come in. Today, I am going to get my head back in the game at work and be much more productive…and try not to get pulled back to this board all day!
Berkshire’s freshman class is small… 60 Third Formers… pretty much equally split male/female. (There are about 40 that will enter the school as new IV Formers.)
^^ OK that 1200 number, for a small school, is scaring me…
The volume of strong applications, along with the depth of the applicant pool, has been increasing steadily each year. Berkshire is a fantastic school, and I have no doubt will keep becoming more selective as its resources and offerings continue to grow.
@jdewey and @AppleNotFar - BK is glad to be back. She is on loan from our kind and generous friend GMT. 
Middlesex apparently has the same stats…over 1100 applicants for less than 100 slots…try-not-to-freak-out…yeah, right. I’m freaking out. On the inside. My son, hopefully, is either not reading these emails or is truly able to have the ‘what will be, will be’ attitude. Either way, I’m doing my best to hide that it’s starting to wear on me! Come on, M10! And thanks to all of you who continue to show support in this anxiety-ridden time!
Middlesex sent out an email which said:
I guess the Berkshire AO are going to be extremely pleased about their stats…
Are these typical application numbers for the highly selective schools? what is the percentage of admits versus the size of the desired incoming class? If a school wants 100 students, how many acceptance letters will they send out?
I would think that it depends on the school. Some schools over enrolled last year. I’m sure that they will be much more cautious this year and waitlist more kids until they see the actual commits.
Application numbers are much higher for tippy-top schools. Most of the schools are excellent at figuring out and predicting their yield – but in some cases they do wind up over-enrolled.
I have a feeling it’s international applications driving most of the increases.
@cameo43, do the higher numbers reflect all comers taking a shot at admissions (I.e. B-C students with 70% SSAT) or are they strictly higher numbers of “overachievers” (A+ students with 95% SSATs)? Don’t know why it matters…what’s done is done, but eeek! Here comes the second guessing! (Trynottofreakout, trynottofreakout, trynottofreakout). X_X
@Atria - Berkshire has been almost like a closely guarded secret for many smart/ discerning families for a long, long time. It was only a matter of time… and I would say that as far as all important culture goes… Berkshire is definitely #1. The Berkshire AO does a fantastic job recruiting fantastic kids.
The stunning campus, rigorous academics, Pro Vita, college placement and overall vibe is beyond impressive. Their endowment is nothing to sneeze at either… I would choose Berkshire over any “Top” school- in a heartbeat .
Just wondering if we should get working on Plan B…sigh…really wanted this to work out.
@PhotographerMom
I absolutely had loved Berkshire as well!
Unfortunately, my parents had the final veto power and Berkshire, NHM, and Emma Willard were cut out 
…
I couldn’t convince them of the wisdom (or value) of a ‘wide’ net either… Sigh…
@sunnyschool
I have Plan B and Plan C is in progress
:-SS @-)
Hope you (and all of us here) won’t need it, @Atria !
Chip up @sunnyschool >:D< …
You’ll have plenty of time for Plan B later…
I am just a teensy bit of an obsessive planner (and last year’s M10 hasn’t helped)
@buuzn03: When the AOs reference the ‘impressive depth of the applicant pool’, they mean that there are a ton of highly qualified applicants, and choosing from among those amazingly talented kids just gets more difficult each year.
I guess a lot of our kids applied to Berkshire! I agree, we were awed by the facilities and program, and my son was actually excited to write the essays, as they were more interesting than any others. It definitely seems to be a cool place for an interesting (and fortunate) group of kids.
It would have been our school of choice, too, but that campus had been home to us, and D knew everyone there. She wanted to begin in a completely new environment for BS. (I totally got that… but Berkshire will always be my favorite school!)