sandwindsun

I did not use a consultant, but I thought I would share a somewhat related experience...

My daughter's guidance counselor was not against the three schools my daughter applied to, but she did make me feel that I was a little out my league allowing my daughter to apply to one in particular, Lawrenceville. She kept telling me how it was very tough to get into, even though my daughter was a good student, etc. I was somewhat familiar with the prep school admission process, but she really felt the need to get me to understand her concerns.

My daughter applied and was accepted (received more money then we asked for to go to L'ville). Of course, once my daughter got into all of the school she applied to, her counselor’s attitude changed. My daughter became an obviously superb candidate for L’ville! The accolades and the support was finally there.

Ironically, my daughter ended up choosing to attend another BS (and is extremely happy) that was a better match for her. The fact that my daughter chose to turn down the L’ville offer was equally shocking for this woman, and I once again could sense her obvious concern for what she must have viewed as poor decision making.

In the end, we went with what made the most sense for my daughter. She is so happy. She is working harder then ever, getting good grades and enjoying her sport more than she ever has before. She has made good friends and she has joined some wonderful organizations. I am thrilled with adults in her life. She tells me she has no idea who is on scholarship and who is a full pay… and…according to my D, no one cares, anyway.

In the end, trust your gut. What do other people know—every adult I know brings personal baggage to all of this stuff! Good luck!

PAParent101

OK. I am going to "stir things up" a bit with a different perspective. I think "fit" is important but it is sometimes overrated. There might a "best" or "only one" out there for each child, but most of the time we don't get to find out because the schools a student can attend are limited (1, 2 or 3 high schools?), so when you choose one you have given up the chance of trying another one. I believe many kids would fit in a group of schools not just one. The fact that you have applied and the school accepted you indicates there is some basic "fit" between the school and the child. Making a choice from multiple offers is a difficult task, but from what I have heard some kids have stronger opinions of their own or are more "picky" while others just feel they can "make it work" wherever they end up with (within certain parameters of course). I have seen in both cases kids are happy where they are while others are not. My point is while looking for a fit is important, with most kids they will probably just do fine in one of many and with some they are not but not necessarily because they didn't find the "fit" but because they are just simply not "BS material".

Princess'Dad

I am going to give you both sides. D2 wanted to go to BS to get away from competition of older D. She did and did very well, but she missed her friends and other things such as driving, band, etc. She went back to PHS for soph year and has done extremely well. I think BS taught her especially how to write and express herself.
However, our local PHS has same number of S/H/Y/P admissions as most BSs, so you need to see what your community has.

ps she still visits many of her friends from BS and spent part of summer in China with her roommate

Princess'Dad

The Eagle Scout will serve your child an extreme plus for both college and medical school (having been on adcoms at both). I would assume the same for PS. It is THE ONLY teenage acheivement that has ever been shown to correlate to life success (also immediate promotion in military).

D did Mercersburg and loved it. PM if you wish.

PA-C

Interesting info about eagle scout Princess dad- my son's goal is to become an Eagle scout (just starting project process now) so I found it interesting that it correlates with life success (any data/articles I can read on that?) and also that the military recognizes it for something!

Princess'Dad

Here are a couple I googled for and found. I believe the reason is that these kids set a high goal and then achieve it. There also may be some things about which BSA teaches

During the 1950s, a social scientist studying achievers and nonachievers made some interesting discoveries about their backgrounds. The background factor having the highest correlation with the achievers was Eagle Scouts. The lowest correlation was between achievers and pipe smokers. There is a lesson here for anyone looking at an entrepreneur trying to raise money: Bet on high achievers. They have the spark that will light the fire. They want to win. They have achieved in the past and most likely will continue to achieve.

http://www.math.usma.edu/cdas/Presen...S%20Slides.pdf
the lower the p value, the better. Eagle scout p = 0.008
United States Military Academy
“A” Logistic Regression Model
Predictor p-value • Overall model p < 0.0001
Final Military Development average 0.015
Basic branch army (CA,CS, CSS, other) 0.039
Q3 – any honors or AP course in HS p = 0.044
• Misclassification rate (using
test set of 185): 36.82%
Q22 – student council president 0.025
Q35 – Eagle scout 0.008
Q46 – Strength exercises done 0.045
Q84 – USMAPS tactical officer 0.005
Q87 – 1st priority for college 0.005
Q94 – Decision at last moment 0.027
Q5 – 1st or 2nd in HS class 0.082