Does BS make your kid feel bad about themselves because they can do so well and yet legacies, athletes and URM get admitted to better schools?
I read the wall street journal article on Henry Park and Groton exmissions and it perturbed me greatly.
I’m tooting my own horn here:
You have to be mature about this. The reality is that connections help, and there are always people who will do better.
can you post a link to the article?
online.wsj.com/public/.../golden1.htm
Don’t know if link works but if not, just enter Google Wall Street journal and henry park. It’s the first result.
This is a really old article, which I know I’ve read before, but just skimmed it again. Here’s the part that jumped out at me… (Mrs. Park is his mother)
despite the fact that…
How in the world can his mother say he failed?!
In some countries/ cultures, top test scores guarantee admission to the (perceived) top schools. I would imagine that it is hard for someone coming from one of those cultures to understand why other factors should be considered, especially when her child had top scores. However, I prefer our muddled and imperfect system, and I speak as someone with top scores who has seen much more talent and intelligence than her own in people whose standardized test scores were probably far lower. 
He sounded like a well rounded student in addition to his tests scores being excellent.
I do think the article speaks, in part, to the importance of “fit”. It describes him as feeling isolated, being one of only 2 male Asian students in his class. First, I suspect that ratio has has changed dramatically since 1998. (While the article was written in 2003, Henry was in Groton’s class of 98.) Second, I suspect it’s even harder today to get into the Ivies than it was then, and though I’m sure there’s still some advantage to legacies, it ain’t what it used to be.
But, back to the point about fit. When considering any school (boarding or otherwise), it is important to consider how well the student will fit in the community. I would not want my daughters in a school where they feel isolated, for whatever reason.
This wsj article is one of the reasons I advise families to send child to BS for the education & personal development, and not for ivy league admissions.