<p>Exie,</p>
<p>It was I (not a “student”) who penned GLADCHEMMS, and it was meant to be more inclusive of the numerous schools in the ‘first tier’, as inexact as that is, than HADES is. There is probably another dozen or so schools that could be included under that acronym but it would cumbersome to stretch it out any longer, after all, GLADCHEMMS is a mouthful at only ten letters. ;)</p>
<p>But all this ranking business aside, the benefit of a boarding school experience (almost ANY boarding school) is something that those who have attended can share mutual feelings, whether for or against the experience, that no other form of schooling can duplicate. It doesn’t matter what anyone says or thinks, having gone to boarding school does set one apart. How can it not? It happens during the still formative and impressionable teen years, and it is all-encompassing – like a second home.</p>
<p>I just wish that more of the applicants to these schools appreciated that aspect over the inane obessession with tiers and rankings…</p>