@Edmond8 great insight & advice!
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The thing I think that it falls back on is the size of the net. Everyone says they cast a wide net, but many really didn’t. Just because you apply to 11 schools doesn’t mean your net is wide…it could just be incredibly deep. There are several schools still accepting applications that have great academics. If you truly want what boarding school has to offer, then you still have opportunities for the coming school year. I believe there was a parent last year that immediately sought after some of these schools for her DD after M10 and she was accepted. So, if this is what you want, you can still make it happen. Go ahead and cast that wide net.
@Andoverguy For the last time, it’s not about “being the top student in that school,” that gets you into top colleges. It’s about having a hook. You can be the very top student and NOT get into HYPS, or you can be somewhere much lower ranked in the class AND get into HYPS. Don’t agree with me please. We aren’t seeing it the same way. thanks.
@skieurope Re #19 We can agree to disagree.
@preppedparent Sorry to muscle in but I was starting to become confused. Reading from other threads it seems like some people are discouraging getting into schools like Andover and Exeter because that lowers your chance of getting into an Ivy if you are not the top of that class. However, you and I both agree that being the top of your class in a competitive school does not matter when admissions are choosing students to go to their universities?
It seems like a lot of people are saying that by being in a prep school and not coming out top, you are disadvantaging yourself and I think that that is confusing to some.
How one smart girl got into an Ivy and stood out from the pack by “blowing her own horn”. A girl we know was a strong student at a well known prep school - She was not at the top of her class, but a strong math kid and band/orchestra member. She researched the different orchestra’s and bands at several Ivy colleges to determine which “chairs” where going to be empty the following year. She discovered that two of the schools were graduating horn players - In particular, the 2 top choice schools were going to need a flugelhorn player. Luckily, she played trumpet - but decided to up the chances by also learning during her Senior year at prep school by learning to play the flugelhorn. It worked!
I don’t know about that @Golfgr8 I’ve heard those “oboe” stories before, and it seems more urban legend than legit. “She discovered that two of the schools were graduating horn players.” She may have been able to discover that on her own, but it seems unlikely she could get to the orchestra head and ask and s/he would tell the student who was graduating, then to put in the 10,000 hours necessary to become accomplished at that particular instrument. It just doesn’t happen that way. Kids who have played the flugelhorn all of their albeit short lives would have the advantage. Don’t know what to do with stories like that.
@missinghome21 I think you and I agree for the most part. Some would argue that your student is better off (and will fare better in elite college admissions) being top dog at a LPS rather than middle of the pack at an elite prep school That may be true, but in our experience being top student at a top bs did not guarantee admission to the top echelon of colleges either. If you want to get into HYPS, it still helps to have a hook, and a pretty good one at that. Top grades, and scores and ECs are not enough. She also was a 4 year Varsity athlete, though not recruited due to injuries, had won national titles in Econ competitions and had contributed a lot to her school community.
Fair enough.
The confusion comes from different definitions of “top”.
When people say that only the top kids go Ivy, they don’t mean those at the top in terms of class rank and grades. They mean the top applicants, based on all of the achievements and hooks that make them stand out: The nationally-ranked athlete, the kid who sold their company for millions of dollars junior year, the kid who took a semester off to star in a Hollywood film, the one whose family has sent men to that college for six generations.
There are more of those kids at a large boarding school with competitive admissions than there would be at the typical public school…and most of them have proven they can handle college-level work by the time they apply because of the boarding school’s academic rigor.
Yes@Preppedparent - she really was able to get that information. BTW, after playing trumpet for 10 years it was not too difficult for her to learn flugelhorn. She was versatile. The members of the orchestra and jazz band were listed at the school by graduating year. BTW, many kids do that research for team positions to determine who may have a need. We also know another horn player from prep school who just received acceptance to colleges with marching bands. For these students, they did their own research and found the need - beyond info from college advising. We know boys in soccer who keep track of positions at different boarding schools. BTW, the goalie we know was courted heavily.
Welcome to 2018…the student athletes we know applying to BS this year did research on the sports teams at target schools…the serious kids we know studied MaxPreps, studied schedules of games, reviewed game videos on YouTube, and looked at last year’s and this year’s team rosters. Kiddo made a spread sheet on which schools had graduating players in specific positions. Having a coach tell your kid bluntly “you are no use to us” is a harsh reality, but it was a wake up call to our kiddo. This info was great to have when connecting with coaches. Many kids do this - parents, coaches and AO’s will tell you that for sports, the sophistication of applicants has become greater over the past few years.
@Golfgr8 I’m impressed! We didn’t get up to speed on this for BS applications, but it’s certainly what we’re doing for college. While still a tad early, already there are a couple schools we’ve identified that would be otherwise wonderful but they look to be all set in my kid’s position for the next few years. On the other hand, there are a few schools that would seem otherwise out of reach but may have a need my kid can help fill in a couple years. In any case, early crushes on schools/coaches/teams is being strongly discouraged!
And I can also say that the process of researching and applying to BS has already paid off as a valuable experience for the college search process.
@preppedparent @CaliMex Thank you! I understand the concept much better now 
Hello, I am new to this board and I hope to get some insight. I am trying to understand what the admission committee looks for in a candidate. My child applied to 2 BS. ISEEscore=99 %, A+ student, speaks 5 languages, plays 2 instruments, plays 3 sports, 1 in a league and the 2 others recreationally, great teacher recommendations. Both interviews went well and yet both schools rejected the application. But his classmates with an ISEE score below 90, B+ grade average and no EC, which seems baffling. Anyone have an idea as too why?
@KC2022 I’m sorry to hear that. Unfortunately, if you need FA that can lower your chances, particularly if your kid is an international student. Maybe the schools were concerned about fit, or maybe it had to do with the mysterious inner workings of the admissions committees. Hugs, and good luck if you decide to reapply!
@Ravenclaw3 this is what makes it more strange. We needed FA and so did the kid who was accepted. Our child is a usa citizen. I don’ t see any purpose in reapplying. It is lengthy, intensive and in the end the selection seems more arbitrary than merit based.
@KC2022 Best of luck next year for wherever your DS ends up going to school!
It’s easy to focus on the tangible, measurable things. But they are also looking for kids who can handle all aspects of life pretty independently in their environment. Maybe your D seemed less capable of that? Young? Maybe less a fit for their environment? Too invested in school work and not enough in what the rest of her days would be? It’s really impossible to know, especially at the super selective schools. But it’s not “merit” in terms of take the highest scores.
The scores only let them know who can do the work, not who will thrive and contribute to the environment. If you do this again, apply to more schools. If you look at the decisions thresd, you’ll see plenty of kids with way more than 2 rejections. All you need is one acceptance.
@KC2022 The other student probably had a hook, something the school needs to check a box. More and more, this drives the bus. Looking at my daughter’s elite LAC college admission this weekend, by the time each subgroup of kids they were looking for were filled: URM, first gen, recruited athlete, legacy, diversity incuding geo–there were few seats left just for kids who had sterling grades and ECs. Give it some thought. See if your student has a hook. If not, you’ll need very compelling application with catchy and heartfelt essays.
@KC2022: This is why, for so many years (when I had more time/energy for this sort of thing!) I preached the gospel of the wide net. 2 schools is really not enough…and even more so if the schools are among the most selective (the so-called “HADES” type schools).
I think you may have also been distracted by your son’s 99% scores. The most selective schools turn away dozens of 99%-ile scoring kids every year. It is no guarantee of admission or even standing in an applicant pool.
I think your final sentence of post #35 above is key: “in the end the selection seems more arbitrary than merit based”. If, given more similarly qualified applicants than you have slots for, some of the decisions will definitely seem arbitrary to those outside of the selection committee. As noted by others above, you have no idea what the kid who got admitted brought to the table that your kid didn’t.
IMO, it’s only worth mulling over possible reasons for rejection if you are going to use any insight to help sharpen your son’s application for next year. If going to a BS is important to your kid…then widen the net to include more schools. And if you were focusing only on super-selective schools this year, be sure to include a few less selective schools where your kid will be a real “catch” and not just another well-qualified candidate…