<p>I'm applying to 7 boarding schools this year. Following some advice given to me, I chose 2 "reach" schools with acceptance rates under 20%, Deerfield and St. Paul's, three "comfortable" schools (under 30%, Lawrenceville, Choate, and Westminster, and 2 "safe" schools, Stevenson and Miss Porter's. What are any thoughts or experiences you have with any of these schools? Thanks in advance! Im new to the whole application process </p>
<p>I will also just be applying this year, so I can’t give you too much info. But, i will say that (although idk your stats) IMO Lawrenceville (20%)[color=blue]<em>[/color=blue], Choate (23%)[color=blue]</em>[/color=blue], and Westminster (25%)[color=blue]*[/color=blue] would not exactly be “comfortable” schools
regarding admission. Stevenson and Miss Porter’s are somewhat safer, but remember that [color=red][size=4]NOTHING IS GUARANTEED![/size=4][/color=red] A reason why Miss Porter’s has a higher acceptance rate is because it is all-girls, so it is drawing from an already smaller applicant pool.
On my list, I am considering Deerfield, SPS, and Choate reaches (not applying to Lville or Westminster).</p>
<p>Now, as far as the schools you mentioned go, all of them are great schools with terrific academics, amazing facilities, many choices, etc… </p>
<p>Now here is a little more about SPS and DA
-[color=red]SPS[/color=red]: 100% boarding, 2000 acre campus
-[color=green]Deerfield[/color=green]: the preppiest school of all, strict dress code, sit-down meals, mascot is a door</p>
<p>[color=blue]*[/color=blue]The acceptance rates I got were from boarding school review, so they might not be from this year…
And I encourage you to take a look at those schools on BSR (and of course the schools individual websites!)
LINKS
-Deefield <a href=“Deerfield Academy (2023 Profile) - Deerfield, MA”>Deerfield Academy (2023 Profile) - Deerfield, MA;
-SPS <a href=“St. Paul's School (2023 Profile) - Concord, NH”>St. Paul's School (2023 Profile) - Concord, NH;
-Lawrenceville <a href=“Lawrenceville School (2023 Profile) - Lawrenceville, NJ”>Lawrenceville School (2023 Profile) - Lawrenceville, NJ;
-Choate <a href=“Choate Rosemary Hall (2023 Profile) - Wallingford, CT”>Choate Rosemary Hall (2023 Profile) - Wallingford, CT;
-Westminster <a href=“Westminster School (2023 Profile) - Simsbury, CT”>Westminster School (2023 Profile) - Simsbury, CT;
-Stevenson <a href=“Stevenson School (2023 Profile) - Pebble Beach, CA”>Stevenson School (2023 Profile) - Pebble Beach, CA;
-Miss Porter’s <a href=“Miss Porter's School (2023 Profile) - Farmington, CT”>Miss Porter's School (2023 Profile) - Farmington, CT;
<p>Not to rain on your parade too hard, but (without knowing your stats) there is a chance that you could go 0 for 7 at the schools on your short list.</p>
<p>Additionally, just because a school is less selective (assuming your admit rates are even accurate) does not mean that any applicant has a better chance of getting in a given year. To wit: my older daughter was admitted to St. Paul’s and REJECTED from Choate.</p>
<p>Another encouraging tidbit: my younger daughter, a nationally ranked fencer, was REJECTED by Lawrenceville.</p>
<p>Both kids had great grades and good to near perfect standardized test scores.</p>
<p>I say this every year to prospective applicants and parents…do not underestimate the difficulty of getting admitted to any school mentioned on this board (not just the “top” 7 or so). Also, do not overestimate your profile in this hyper competitive applicant pool.</p>
<p>And with that, I bid you good night!</p>
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<p>Just FYI; Dartmouth goes ga-ga over women’s fencing. Remember to have her apply there.</p>
<p>Thanks! I’ve checked out all of them on boarding school review already, that’s how i got the acceptance stats as well. I see your point that they aren’t necessarily comfortable schools, but they are schools that i think i have a higher chance of getting accepted than SPS and Deerfield. I know that they will all be competitive to get into. Thanks again! Since you’re applying as well, message me sometime we can ask each other questions and stuff :)</p>
<p>In my experience, Boarding School Review has good but slightly dated information. Most of the acceptance rates I’ve found on there have been a good bit higher than they are now, and you can try to figure out whether the school’s page has been updated by comparing it to tuition prices and other comparable information. Lawrenceville, and I would think Choate, are now down under 20%. I would double check on that. Sometimes schools also release applicants who applied and applicants who were accepted for the last school year, so you can calculate an accurate rate based on that.</p>