I feel really bad for the people that applied last year and got rejected/wl at every school and re-applied this year and still didn’t get in anywhere.
You’re probably right. Hotchkiss has underestimated its yield in past years, so especially for 10th grade applicants this year was very tough.
Tbh, this entire process (and college too) is unfair in so many ways. Being FA (and especially for low-income), a racial minority, lacking legacy status, etc. are things nobody can control yet they have an impact on your decision. Having money impacts your application a lot more than just needing FA. Access to extracurriculars, test prep, and high-quality education all requires money. And the more money you have the better access you have. And therefore a better chance at admission. It’s really frustrating.
Not directed at you, just a rant
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Wow I didn’t even think about that
I agree. The FA/FP thing has an effect but the real issue is access and opportunity disparities.
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and i was a 10th grade applicant, idk if i would go if taken off the wl
Last year ,waitlist seemed to move to because of the covid spike and uncertainty with money and things like that and I’m wondering with the vaccine being out and application numbers going up due to people wanting their kids in person ,with schools opening up completely and the economy getting better and vaccines out basically erasing their concern with in person learning ,will waitlist move again ? this is probably a question for the wl thread but I wanted say it here first 
I honestly have no idea, but I wouldn’t rely on it
i feel like yield is either going to be extremely high, or low, because people didn’t know what they were getting themselves into.
i wonder why it was this year that most people chose to apply
online learning, and people decided they were sick of public school.
i was going to apply last year but it was too late when i found out abt boarding school(like december) so i applied this year
I totally agree ,I’m pretty sure i’ve touched on it before but their are certain things that I just don’t have access to.I play the cello and I play with my school and questions like what is your position in the orchestra like idk lol i just play with my school but yea money affects your application in so many ways.This isnt to say anyone fp is less deserving of their acceptance bc you definitely worked hard and you can’t control how much money your family makes
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sometimes i feel badly abt myself and that the only reason why i was accepted is bc i’m fp
i started applying late november last year, i didn’t know when to apply tbh
yea i was just wondering
I think it had to do with two main reasons: applications being much more accessible and COVID exposing the flaws of their current schools.
With standardized testing being optional and all information sessions/visits/interviews being virtual, literally anyone with at least a hundred dollars (or an application fee waiver) could apply. Before, you had to pay a lot of money to pay to take the test, then spend a lot of time and maybe money preparing as well. And then with all information sessions being virtual, people not in the area of the school didn’t have to drive or fly out to New England to learn more about the school. Which let anyone anywhere learn more about boarding schools!
And then obviously, remote learning and just how schools dealt with COVID in general probably revealed a lot of flaws in the administration. And maybe people felt trapped at home and wanted to get out?
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don’t be ,you’ve worked hard !
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I think lots of family’s wanted an option because there was a ton of uncertainty around public schools reopening with COVID and teacher labor disputes. Also because the application process was more streamlined this year. In past years I think most people had to have their interviews on the schools campus, so there is much less of a commitment to schedule an online interview then to actually travel somewhere.
Hahaha I didn’t read this until after posting my reply. Great minds think alike 