One benefit to Pi day is MIT applicants find out a good week or 2 earlier than applicants to other top tier schools. And pie, pie tastes good. What I don’t get is folks who memorize Pi out to x decimal place. 
So happy - We too have choices! DS has admits to 5 matches/safeties so far, all very good schools. On pins and needles re: scholarships & news from the reach schools. The next 2 weeks will be crazy!
S1 just received another admit
Luckily we had an EA admission in the fall, because the rest of the schools are taking their sweet time letting us know.
So far 4/4, 1 LAC, 1 private research 1, 2 state research 1s. Lots more to roll in soon, but at least the “matches” were indeed matches!
Congrats to GMTSon, Sudsie’s kiddo, and PelicanKid!
Fearing senior spring - my Ds expectation for enjoyment seem very high, academic motivation seems very low. I wonder if the huge workload over 4 yrs at BS contributes to this desire to “have a fling in the senior spring”?
Nah, kids in high school everywhere get senioritis. My kids thought senior spring didn’t live up to their expectations. There was still plenty of work to do. Tell her to work hard in the first half of the term then maybe she can coast a little more, when the weather is nicer and the snow is melted, at the end of the term.
Here’s what Choate has to say about senioritis. Just got this in the mail the other day addressed to the “Dear Parents of Sixth Formers.” Yikes!
Obviously, Choate sees a need to remind parents of the underdeveloped frontal lobes of their children at this critical stage in their lives.
PLEASE SENIORS (at all boarding schools):DON’T DO ANYTHING TO JEOPARDIZE ALL THAT YOU’VE WORKED SO HARD FOR! (And if you are planning on sabotaging yourselves, please stay away from ChoatieKid. Please.)
ChoatieKid: Call your mom. I have a few things to say to you. Now!
Ehhhh. I think this is a pretty standard letter this time of year; don’t fail classes and don’t commit a major infraction.
My school feels the need to send out a reminder prior to graduation that the drinking age is 21, and not to bring bottles of champagne to graduation. Presumably, my parents’ frontal lobes are as developed as they are going to be. 
Cracking up, @skieurope. =))
I think it’s funny that at my Ds school, having tobacco or an ecig is a major infraction, yet the minute they graduate, the faculty hands them all cigars.
Really, neato? Does anyone actually smoke them?
Yup. Right on the lawn.
A short video about the admissions rat race
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2015-03-18/does-it-really-matter-where-you-go-to-college-
Andover sent a similar letter to Choate that I will cut paste below. I second @ChoatieMom comment about not blowing what you have worked so hard to achieve. The schools are not bluffing. One of DS best friends and a 4 year senior at Andover was expelled just before spring break.
Here is the text of the letter:
Welcome to senior spring term, 10 weeks that will undoubtedly offer you a heady mixture of joy, anticipation and a little anxiety as you wrap up your Phillips Academy career and move on to college and new challenges.
You have grown, worked hard and achieved much to have come so far, and we are proud of you. Congratulations! We hope this last term at Andover will be filled with memorable course work and discussions and that there will be ample opportunities for you to enjoy the company of close friends and the counsel of favorite teachers.
Enclosed is a form outlining procedures for making college visits. Cluster deans will meet with seniors on Friday, March 27during advising period to expand on this information and to answer any questions about the college visiting process. At this meeting, the deans will also remind you that many of you still possess a significant collection of Phillips Academy property from team uniforms to library books. Please be sure that you make plans to return all Phillips Academy property by the end of classes on Friday, May 29, but certainly before you make any plans to leave campus.
Enjoy and celebrate your final term, but please don’t lose focus in these last crucial weeks and wind up in a situation that might prevent you from participating in commencement ceremonies with your classmates or, worse, from receiving your diploma. The same high standards of academic achievement and behavior that you have attained throughout your PA career are expected of you now, more than ever. We count on seniors to take good care of themselves and to set the tone for younger students for the end of the academic year. Please take note of these special senior spring term requirements:
First, you must pass all spring term courses to receive a diploma. If you fail a spring term course — even if you pass the course for the year — you may be allowed to participate in commencement, but you will receive a certificate of attendance, not a diploma. Your diploma will be awarded after commencement when all course work is completed as determined by the dean of studies.
Second, all rules and expectations outlined in The Blue Book continue to apply right up to the day of commencement. Specifically:
• If you commit a major offense on or after Friday, May 1 and are placed on Warning, you may be required to forgo prom and commencement and to leave campus immediately after your last academic commitment. Your diploma will be mailed to you after graduation.
• If you commit a major offense on or after Friday, May 1 and are placed on Probation, you will be required to leave campus immediately after your last academic commitment and will not be allowed to attend prom or any school activities thereafter, including commencement. A diploma will be awarded to you at the discretion of and at a time determined by the head of school. You will likely also be required to report the disciplinary action to your college, depending on the college’s rules. If you have already been on Probation and commit a probationary offense, you will be dismissed.
Third, despite bouts of spring fever, you must achieve satisfactory attendance in courses, in sports commitments, in work-duty assignments, at all-school meetings and in any other school obligation that requires attendance. Excessive unexcused absences could result in the following consequences:
• If you have 16 or more unexcused absences during spring term, you will be required to leave campus after your last assessment, not allowed to attend prom or commencement, and you will receive a delayed diploma. If you have 10 to 15 unexcused absences during spring term, you will be permitted to attend commencement provided that work-duty hours are completed, but the receipt of your diploma will be delayed. Five to nine unexcused absences during spring term will earn you work-duty assignments that must be completed prior to commencement.
• If you have a history of unexcused absences and accumulate 5 or more unexcused absences during spring term, the response may range from assigned work-duty hours to exclusion from commencement and a delayed diploma.
Please note, if you have already been warned by your cluster dean of possible dismissal or other disciplinary consequences for past unexcused absences or behavior, the conditions set forth by your dean will apply during spring term. Check your attendance record regularly to make sure that you are fully aware of the number of unexcused absences you have accrued.
If you have questions about any part of this letter, please contact any one of us. Have a great spring term, and we’ll see you all in the circle on the Great Lawn, Sunday, June 7.
It’s a BS tradition to smoke cigars at graduation (one I dislike BTW) but it shocks me that faculty would actually provide them! Typically, the students buy them themselves right before graduation.
I’m not 100% sure who provides the cigars. The kids are generally of age. Nothing illegal, just really really stinky.
Fond memories of staying up late (outdoors) with the entire senior class the night before our BS graduation singing the song " Lawyers, Guns and Money " at the top of our lungs…
Send Lawyers, guns and money… Dad get me out of this!
Let’s just say boarding schools were a little more lenient back then and leave it there.
I’ve seen a framed photo of an acquaintance’s kid post BS graduation (on campus, with a few friends) with a cigar AND a glass (maybe a bottle?) of champagne!