<p>I have heard that eventually prep school apps and college apps will level off and even decline. Does anyone have stats as to when this scenario will begin?</p>
<p>If you look at this pdf file, you will see the projected numbers for high school graduates in the US: <a href="http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2002030%5B/url%5D">http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2002030</a> . The peak 3 years in order of size are: 2009, 2008 and 2010. After that, it starts to decline. However, keep in mind that the class of 2011 (2007 9th grade bs applicants) roughly compares with the class of 2007 (2003 9th grade bs applicants). It will be a few more years before relief is in sight from an applicant point of view. I heard that overall boarding school numbers have been flat for years. Of course, some very popular schools have experienced increasing applicants for years. Other schools have had to increase day students or face closure. Also, I am assuming that there is a strong correlation between high school graduates and boarding school applicants. Perhaps someone else on this board has numbers just for the most popular boarding schools. I think that many independent schools have had declining applications for lower school. High school applications are still very strong because of the echo boom.</p>
<p>Burb Parent, my observation is that the bs in the accept range of <30% have all increased somewhat or stayed the same in app numbers in the last 5 years or so. The only exception to this observation is Milton. For some reason their numbers dropped drastically over this five year period. I have also noticed that the higher accept group schools app numbers have overall decreased somewhat over the same period. What? the rich get richer?</p>
<p>The 2006 college app year seemed especially competitive number wise.</p>
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The only exception to this observation is Milton. For some reason their numbers dropped drastically over this five year period.
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<p>Do you know why?</p>
<p>saolcecseer, I have no idea. Don't quote me on exact numbers, but from one year to the next it went from~ 1300 to ~ 850 apps.</p>
<p>Sorry, I don't know about Milton. Yes, the rich are getting richer! I haven't been tracking this information for long so I don't know about the number of applications last round. I do know that % admits at Loomis Chaffee and Blair went down this last round. I think it went down in a number of schools too, like Deerfield. Someone on this board said that Exeter's % acceptance went down too. Much of the information on boardingschoolreview is out of date (just look at the the boarding fees!). This is why I suggest to the many wonderful and talented applicants on this board that it is a good idea to look for schools you like that are safeties, matches and reaches.</p>
<p>I think it is really bizarre that all of these AMAZING schools (Loomis, Milton, Exeter...never heard of Blair, sorry) have such a dramatic decrease in applications and acceptance rates...</p>
<p>hmmm</p>
<p>There was a nice article in NYT a while back about why bs admissions haven't been increasing hugely relative to say, college admissions, in recent years / decades... seemed to imply it was a changing generational shift in terms of parenting which was fond of keeping the kids closer to home.</p>
<p>er: most significantly, private bs v. private day schools.</p>
<p>Loomis-chaffee accept rate dropped dramatically(~36% ) over the previous year. There are a handful of NEBS that have for some time accepted <30% with a largest cluster ~ 22-28%. I read somewhere that SPS accepted less students this year in an effort to reduce the overall student body number. Has anyone else heard/read this about SPS. I also have either read or heard that as a whole, bs's were gearing their marketing toward an overall smaller applicant pool. If this is the case, the richer (<30% accept rate ) will most definitely get richer, while other schools will struggle.</p>
<p>Well, you can't be a very effective helicopter parent when your child is in boarding school -- although I'm sure some of us parents give it a try! What I was trying to say is that the percent of accepted applicants has decreased at some boarding schools which means that their yields have increased &/or the # of applicants has increased. Consistent with the NY Times article you mention, I have heard that overall the number of boarding applicants has been flat for a number of years -- I don't know how many years. PrepParent observed that the # of applicants at some schools has decreased. If anyone has more information, please post it. It is an interesting market dynamic. </p>
<p>On a side note, Blair is in NJ, and is part of the MAPL schools which include Mercersberg, Peddie, Lawrenceville and Hun (this one has a low % boarding). These schools are often overlooked in favor of New England --- another market dynamic.</p>
<p>saolcecseer, refresh my memory......are you currently at a bs? or will you be attending one this fall? where is it that you attend? I guess I'm always surprised when a student has never heard of a school such as Blair. Good Luck to you</p>
<p>Burb Parent, that's is good, lol "helicopter parent" lol That's a new one for me!</p>
<p>I'll be attending Milton in the Fall.</p>
<p>saolcecsor, great school! if you have lived in Texas your whole life, you will definitely have an adjustment period. you will soon learn how to dress in "layers".</p>
<p>Indeed I have lived in Texas my whole life. I hate the weather here though. It's WAY too hot for my taste. I'm actually looking forward to fall and spring. It's the winter I'm worried about.</p>
<p>SAO, definitely understandable....... Middlesex is ~ 18 or so miles west of Boston, so when I refer to Concord, Ma. I'm sure Boston is pretty much the same. The winters are long X 2, and you may not see the sun for awhile. Guaranteed you'll need a year under your belt and you'll be fine. The adjustment period is the real deal. As I recall, my d was begging for the sun/warm weather in April or so. I believe the more sun you're accustomed to the harder the transition. Just a guess.</p>
<p>...great. I'm accustomed to a lot of sun.</p>
<p>Re my last post: For all you Hill people out there -- I forgot to include the Hill in the MAPL schools. Sorry! I wish I could take credit for the clever name "helicopter parents" used to describe those who hover. I don't know who coined it originally, but there have been references in the media to describe our generation's very involved style of parenting.</p>
<p>So nobody found out why all of the numbers have gotten so low recently?
...besides that parents want their children closer to home.</p>
<p>We were looking for something a little more scientific, a little more line-by-line?
I'll put it on my muckraking to-do list.</p>