Last year, the child of close friends of mine (private prep school until 9th grade, then BS from 10th-12th) ended up at his “first choice” college- one of the CTCL schools. He finished Freshman year with a bang; has found his niche intellectually, socially, athletically.
Only very close friends know that:
Kid is third generation Penn alum with generous (although not tens of millions of dollars generous) relatives;
Kid assumed until junior year that he’d be going to Penn;
Parents had a near meltdown to discover that the college counselor told the kid that Penn was off the table.
Sure, the BS could have taken the attitude of “you never know”. And I have no dog in this hunt- my kids didn’t go to BS, I have no relationship at Penn, etc. But to me- this seems like a success story in every possible way. Kid got redirected to a “first choice” college which he could fall in love with early enough in the process so that it didn’t feel like sloppy seconds after getting denied by Penn; kid is at a place where he is THRIVING by every measure and not on the verge of flunking out because by some miracle he got into a college where his stats put him at the very bottom of the class; kid honestly believes that this college was his first choice “forever” and that he’s forging his own path by NOT attending Penn where older sibling went, parents and grandparent went, etc.
Yes- it’s gatekeeping but I think that’s what you are getting at a BS. Happy ending all around, no? And one less kid for Penn to reject… EVEN a legacy who applies early. Still doesn’t make the kid a fit for Penn.