@One1ofeach can you be more specific in regards to “BRUTAL”? DC was planning to accept Groton’s offer, and I stumbled on CC in my research. Reading through many past threads you seem very unhappy with the school. Is your DS going back? Do you have any pros you can share? DC is in communication with virtual student guides, but they are very positive in that sports and classes are challenging but manageable. Would really appreciate if you can give me more specifics since your experience seems so different. Do you think it would be less brutal without the 2 outside club sports or if DS boarded? We’re new to the BS world and I’m nervous for my DC. I don’t even know where to begin with questions for any parent ambassadors. You can PM me if you would like. I’m new to CC, so can’t reach out.
@mondaydevil thanks for the link, the thread was very helpful!
@mommysmalls
I PM’d you.
For others. I don’t dislike Groton, I think there are pluses and minuses to every school and unlike many parents I don’t just tout my kids’ schools as the best of the best. I see the good and the bad!
I do think the most name recognized schools, Andover, Exeter, etc get a lot of love with very little downside on the board. There are a lot of downside and it takes a special kid to excel at these schools. Not every kid who gets accepted is that special kid and as seasoned posters have pointed out, every school has 49% of kids who are “below” the average
Happy to share our results here for 9th grade admission.
ACCEPTED: Roxbury Latin, one “top” boarding school;
WAITLIST: None;
REJECTED: None
Attending: Roxbury Latin
Please take this with a grain of salt, since I’m no expert whatsoever and have limited experience with applying to boarding schools:
But what if some overqualified candidates (that, IMO, should have been accepted) got rejected/WL because they were exactly that: overqualified?
This is just a personal opinion, but I think boarding schools are looking for students that are very focused/passionate about a few unique subjects. I was scrolling through the stats and noticed how many people had some sort of science/math awards listed, along with many math comps, etc. But what I noticed on their applications was that they committed their time to solely one or two academic subjects and not other activities as well. I’m not saying mine are better than anyone’s, in fact my ECs are far worse. I just think that trying to do something that other people have NOT done (not just sports or academics) will boost your app status.
Another thing is that with every school you have an interview with, you have to make it look like your favorite. They may not accept you because they’re afraid you’d go to some more prestigious school in the end.
Finally, PLEASE don’t take this personally or 100% seriously. I’d love to hear some other opinions or feedback, though.
Feel free to criticize 
@petrich0r
I think it’s really hard to tell what schools want. The one thing I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt is that they don’t care as much as kids think they do about SSAT!
Once you have seen several rounds of acceptances I think you can actually start to get a feel for the kind of kid who gets in and who doesn’t. There are often kids who have a slightly arrogant “tone” on CC who come up disappointed and I suspect that that tone is present in real life as well.
Top BS are clearly looking for accomplished kids. Being passionate about something and being able to convey that in a humble way is really important. Winning a bunch of math competitions is less important.
Well, maybe with the exception of an IMO medal. 
@petrich0r “Acting” like a school is your favorite in an interview is a bad strategy unless 1) it’s actually your favorite, or 2) you’re great at acting. Most of us aren’t great actors, and experienced AOs know the difference.
How about, only apply to schools you love, so there’s no acting involved?
Some of these “great” candidates may come across like real duds in person.
(Actually, there’s a couple that come across that way on CC… and M10 rewarded them accordingly.)
What might sound great accomplishments from your perspective might actually be just fluff from an AO’s perspective when the details are shown.
For example, let’s look at a Girl Scout Silver Award. I’ve seen some amazing girls who have earned the Silver Award, developing their own project and putting well over the required 80 hours into it. There are other girls who just sort of stammer when I ask them what they did for their Silver Award project - they bought food for animals with cookie money or something, they aren’t sure because their parents did it all the paperwork for them?
But here, both girls could list among their accomplishments: GS Silver Award.
Without knowing the details, each looks equally accomplished. Knowing the details makes the difference.
Additionally, essays matter. What you think might be compelling to a reader, might actually be at best annoying from AO’s experienced POV, or at worst, boring.
@one1ofeach
That makes a lot of sense! I also agree with the SSAT explanation- schools care more about GPA than that, I think, because GPA is a long term commitment and work, while the SSAT is one day, which could have gone really well or really badly.
Sorry, my theory was a bit unclear, haha. The girl scout medal example you suggested is definitely valuable and shows true character.
Also, out of the handful of schools I applied to, I had a favorite…and I think we can all say we had favorites in the application process. When it came to applying to two name schools, one of which I liked more, (but both are still awesome!) I just had to make sure to express my enthusiasm.
The essays do seem to have a lot of weight. I’d like to know what people see as “good” or “well-written” essays or essay topics.
@petrich0r Well, I thought the best example of a well-written essay was an essay that accomplished two things - a. display at least a few different positive traits you have that might not come across otherwise and b. were highly specific, and therefore highly interesting.
For example, I attended a workshop during my application cycle where participants were asked to get in groups and pick an essay topic based only on the “positive trait” criterion. I picked one, and I proposed it to my group, and there were a ton of others who had it. I made it slightly more specific (added a setting detail) and only one other person stood up when I announced that one. Later on, in the larger workshop setting, I called it out and a few more stood up. I added another setting detail and tried again.
That became my most spectacular essay of the application process, I’d say. So I reiterate - write on something highly specific, and write it with intention to display 5 positive character traits of yours. I’d call that a good topic.
No clue about well-written, though 
Just received an email from Asheville School that they are pushing back “decision date” to May 10 from “normal” April date.
Don’t know if this is going to be a trend but wanted to share in the event other schools make this decision.
PSA:
Check your decision dates carefully – especially if you got a merit award or honor of any sort!
We had assumed they were all April 10th.
But we got a school package this weekend, and the letter in it said we had until March 17th (!) to accept the award (and admission).
So I checked all the other schools and found one that was due on April 7th!
So just a headsup.
Thanks for the info @D1swim2kidshoop
Does anyone know if boarding schools are planning to push the M10 decision date to after A10?
@DandSMom I think some are, as @D1swim2kidshoop mentioned above. George also moved – to May 1.
Frankly, though, unless all schools do it, moving a deadline doesn’t really help much. Having until May doesn’t buy us more decision time if deciding among schools that still use A10. I suppose it helps if you are deciding between staying home and BS though.
@Calliemomofgirls
Agree…in fact if some BS change their A10 date and others do not, it will really make it hard for students to decide and commit to any BS.
I suppose moving the date will help international students where travel restrictions are currently imposed (but it is not clear when these restrictions will be at this time).
BTW, I am new to CC and thanks for all your posts. There are some regulars here on CC and it is very helpful for me!
FWIW - and this isn’t directed at anyone at all…
I think different decision dates might’ve been implemented, moved up or staggered in some cases because families ( in the past ) were asking for unreasonable extensions ( well past A10 ) in order to decide between FA awards and schools and it started to become a very disruptive trend.
It’s probably going to be like this again this year regardless - especially with the virus thrown into the mix and with revisit days now an uncertainty or canceled. But I think it’s fair ( not that anyone said it wasn’t ) - especially if they have another family next in line waiting for a big FA award or just for planning purposes for next year.
@petrich0r another take regarding grades vs. SSATs.
I think if an applicant kid goes to a LPS which the boarding schools know very little about, then the SSATs might be a really helpful indication that the student is still well prepared.
So IMO SSAT scores might be a little more important if the applicant is coming from an unknown LPS (especially if in a struggling community); this could also count for unknown or low academic reputation private schools. I think in those cases an applicant’s fairly good to great SSAT score can reassure the admissions office that the current school must have been good enough to prepare the student for boarding school (otherwise the SSATs would be much lower). Note: I am not talking about such an applicant needing 97% or 99%, just strong enough to show they are smart and work hard. “Good” SSAT scores from the kind of applicant above might send a message: this applicant worked really hard to give themselves a good education, perhaps beyond what their school even offered. Either way, in that situation the SSAT scores really adds something to the picture.
Plus, some schools grade differently, so grades aren’t always a mark of the hardest level of work or extreme dedication.
I think for some kids, ECs, including sports, might show an applicants work ethic and dedication much more than grades do, either because the school’s classes are not to rigorous, or because the applicant has gifts in academics which make earning an “A” (even at a rigorous school) easy for that kid.
@LeeLeeB I’ll add in the category of importance of SSATs, or really any single data point in an application: If a student has a long, rich history of being a top student, being inquisitive, involved, caring, and committed to excellence, that will show in the application. Trust in that. Do the work to make sure the narrative is showing up, but trust the narrative of your life. This does not mean that everyone will be a fit at every school, but if you are sharing your narrative clearly, the right home will likely find you, if you cast the right-sized net.
Scrambling to manage one data point to make up for 13 years of life lived and choices made will not change the overall narrative, as told by recommenders, essays, interviews and activities.
We chose to trust schools to see the narrative.
We chose to trust that 13 years of life lived a certain way would not be undone by one test score.
The schools showed us without a doubt that they know how to see beyond a test score. DD was admitted to 8 amazing schools with an 80 SSAT, and has received scholarships at every single place that offered them.
I share this not to brag. In fact, I share hesitantly because some may feel she didn’t “deserve” to get into Andover or Deerfield or wherever.
I say it to offer hard evidence that one data point does NOT change a narrative, and the admissions people are smart enough to find the narrative. Really.
@Calliemomofgirls I could not agree with you more!!! ?
@RedLioness That’s interesting. Was it a workshop geared towards BS admissions or school (college, etc.) admissions in general?
@LeeLeeB and @Calliemomofgirls Both of your points of view make sense to me. I suppose it really does depend on the person and their background.