<p>My siblings all went to BS with a partial financial aid back in the 80s.
My parents were typical middle class and worried that the ‘return’ might not be the acceptance at Ivy colleges. My siblings all went on to the schools like Harvard, U-Penn and Wellesley. So my parents were very happy. </p>
<p>Some of them got a nice job, some not. But they all are leading a happy life. They claim that the single most important thing that influenced their lives was their boarding school experience, not Harvard or U-Penn. </p>
<p>Top boarding schools are academically so rigorous and they push students to an extreme. Good college matriculation is what they push kids for. But they also teach or students naturally learn that college is not the end. </p>
<p>They want students to be a good citizen and to help the society with what they will have achieved after good college. That is why they would also look at the ECs, leadership potential and community service, not just SSAT and GPA. I don’t think many public schools (and even some highly recognized private day schools) influence the students that way, to be honest.</p>
<p>Why 4 years earlier? They will have learned the things similar anyway later? It’s not going to be the same. What they acquire earlier can become a part of them.</p>