<p>ballerina22’s post was perfect!! I don’t mean to totally repeat what everyone else has been saying on here, but BE YOURSELF. Schools, especially the “top-tier” ones, see a bunch of candidates with the same old credentials and the same old essays. Be unique, do something different, take risks. I also would like to stress applying “safety” schools in case your top school doesn’t accept you, or you aren’t offered enough FA. Especially for you, hopeful2board, those four schools are really competitive. If you are sure about boarding school, than broaden your search. There are so many incredible schools that just aren’t posted about simply because they aren’t HADES. I had a friend last year who only applied to Taft, Hotchkiss, and Andover. She was rejected from all three, despite behaving straight A’s, 99% SSAT, being two years ahead in math and being in the gifted and talented program. Nobody is a guaranteed in, especially at completive schools. I applied to 9 schools, a mix of day schools to fall back on if I didn’t get enough FA, some more selective schools like Lawrenceville, Loomis, etc. and a couple BS’s that I felt fairly confidant that I could get into. I ended up getting enough FA from a couple schools, and now I’m in my freshman year boarding in MA, and I love it! I also know that, if I had had my way last year, I would probably be applying to Andover, Exeter, Choate, Hotchkiss, SPS, and maybe Deerfield, and there would be a much smaller chance of me being where I am today. So please, I urge you, don’t be confined to applying to just the schools that were featured in Forbes or come up first on a google search.</p>