I didn’t know anything about BS, and had only heard of 4. So as of August, my list was
Andover
Exeter
Lville
Lville was my favorite school(did summer there) and they said Hill was a place for rejects(rivals) so I wasn’t interested.
Then I found CC. I found out about more BS’s. I liked the idea of a bigger school, so I added Choate.
I was told my chances of getting into BS were unlikely if I applied only to those 4 schools, so I added some more similar ones. List as of September:
Loomis
Choate
Lville
Exeter
Andover
I revisited the Hill situation and realize I was being silly and that it was actually a good school. So I added it to the list.
In October, I found Hotchkiss and fell in love. So I added Hotchkiss.
Come November, I was getting freaked out about not getting into BS so I added some hidden gems like MB, NMH, and Kent. I also added Tabor because I liked the idea of being by the ocean as I live on an island right now.
Long story short, I regretted not applying to Deerfield, Milton, and SPS
…but it all worked out for the best. And funnily enough, I’m going to Hill.
That’s a misunderstanding of students at Taft. They aren’t a representative sample of US teenagers, they are preselected and presorted by Taft, and are in the top 15% or so of all kids. They are smart, they are focused, they are achievement oriented, and they’ve had a first class education. They get lots of A’s because they do A work. And when they get to college, they will kill it!
Many schools consider “honors” as 90% or better average which is the equivalent of top ten % of class. The schools alone set their scales. My point was not the detract from the students but, it is setting up an unrealistic expectation.
Completely agree that acronyms / rankings do help new-comers to the scene.
While “fit” is important, “reputation” is also something real - real in the sense that “inter-subjectively” (among parents, students, BS themselves, probably some colleges) some schools are commonly considered “better” than others.
The common refrain of most parents and students who come back to post here is that they find college (any college) easier than their BS. Like most, our son fought for his grades at BS, but sailed through his engineering program in college. In fact, he validated every freshman course possible (calc, chem, physics, and CS) which enabled him to enter in an advanced curriculum stream and allowed room for an independent study. He was challenged in college, for sure, but extremely prepared. This is a very common story here. The students who are getting those As and Bs in BS are not at all shocked when they hit university. They’ve been doing real college-level work, managing their time, and living happily away from home for several years. They’re ready!
University grading can be different and that was my point. Some have guidelines where the class average must be within a range between 70-74. The shock factor is a grade of 78 in university might be exceptional and kids used to getting a 90 can be disappointed.
A couple of years ago, I came across this post from a well-known psychiatrist who works with a lot of young people. It has some good points about what our kids should be asking themselves…thought it was relevant to “Lessons Learned” and maybe it might resonate with some of you all out in CC land.
Just adding something I learned yesterday (rather confirmed what we are seeing). I spoke to my son’s guidance counselor to ask about what unique issues have come up in this years’ application process.
The biggest issue affecting student athletes applying to BS in US and Canada is post-graduate and “reclassification”. Each year, kids stay on for post-grad. HOWEVER, the pandemic has resulted in a record number of these case across the board. Student athletes have not been properly scouted in grades 11 or 12 due to the pandemic and are either electing to repeat the grade OR staying on past grade 12.
The schools are very sympathetic and supportive and allowed this to happen, not fully realizing the extent to which it would. The result is a troublesome bottleneck has been created ioverall. There is less room for new applicants or room on teams for younger athletes to move up to. Of course, this is why there is virually no WL list movement right now.
Many student athletes receive FA and their deposits for 2021-2022 are not as onerous where the don’t mind securing a spot…hopeful, the may find something in the spring and then move on creating space.
To sum it all up. This year’s enrolment and application process is unlike any others and there could be a lot of upheaval over the course of the months of April/May/June/July as the pandemic situation evolves.
This bottleneck has affected both applicants AND those currently enrolled and created some very “healthy debate” between admisions and athletic departments.
@Canuckdad - we discussed this earlier in the year on another thread. Yes, there seems to be fewer spots available on the bench for recruiting in certain sports. As a parent of a Junior, I have experienced it and have been on zoom calls with coaches discussing these issues.
In November, one Canadian prep told my son he expected 4 seniors to leave…and would have 3-4 spots open up…In February, he had the courtesy to say all 4 were returning as post grads. This is a school that values its hockey ranking above anything else so the coach was thrilled. My buddy’s son went to that school beginning in grade 9…now he is being told he might not make the sernior team next year in grade 12. Why? Because they were also suddenly accepting post-grads too!
Interesting, because my kiddo was originally going to apply as a senior, and asked about staying as a post grad and was told that they don’t let existing students stay as a post grad. So kiddo applied as repeat Junior to get 2 years. (not an athlete though)
I find your post so interesting, and how everything just trickles down to involve the younger athletes. Will your son remain on waitlists over the summer?
I think that parent is talking about Canadian schools. While some schools in the US are loosening rules because of Covid, I also thought that you were not able to PG at a school you already attended.
