For obvious reasons, this wasn’t a topic I have ever discussed in depth with him, his father or grandfather. My impression was that he wasn’t enough of an academic star, he wasn’t an athletic recruit, and he wasn’t a development case for that university, and his boarding school had plenty of each of those categories. It may well have been nothing more than educated realism – this school being one of the top feeders to the target university for generations. They may have calculated that he had no chance, given his in-class competition, and they may have been right about that. Or they may have been performing a screening function for the university, in order to enhance the prospects of those kids who were allowed to apply. It hardly matters.
Lesson learned the hard way: Going to a feeder school does not help unless you are the right kind of fodder. Lesson two: It doesn’t matter. If you are rich and privileged, you can go to a “lesser” college and still learn a lot and enjoy yourself. And when you graduate – indeed, well before – your wealth and privilege will go to work for you plenty.