<p>I don’t know. Two years is not horrible. The toughest part is getting acclimated to the students and making friends when you start at Junior year. And adjusting to the grading system and maintaining high grades may be a jolt. But he’ll have a solid year of junior work at college application time which will form part of the basis of his recommendation letters. And colleges will look at the fact that he took a risk in a favorable way.</p>
<p>It is true - being “top” of the food chain at a local school is helpful. But it’s not guaranteed if you go over to the college side of CC and look at how many “top of the food chain” students are batting zero on colleges after having stayed put.</p>
<p>Colleges - as I’ve seen in my own child’s case - are looking holistically at the applications and several confirm they simply combine the grades to develop a total gpa. </p>
<p>The OP should not focus on boarding school as a path to college possibilities (again - go peruse the college side to see what I mean about brutal season this year for talented students from any source) and look at Andover as a possibility to experience a different academic and cultural climate that adds additional flavor and tools to his personal portfolio. If it’s worth it in its own right - then it’s a good match. If he’s looking for a college matriculation guarantee then - its a coin flip as to how colleges will view him if he stays home. Some of my D’s local friends are getting into name brand colleges - others are not. Likewise - some of my D’s BS friends are getting into name brand colleges and some are not. All talented. Just a lot of competition. And staying in a local school to be the Valecdictorian is no longer the enhancement most people think it is - especially if the school is perceived as less rigorous (and even if it is not).</p>