I think it depends on where in the country you are. Many families prefer to have their kid at BS no more than 2-3 hours from home so the parents can visit, attend games, etc and so getting home for a weekend, illness, special occasion is less cumbersome. Mercersberg has long been popular with families in Pittsburgh and DC. Less so traditionally for families from NYC and New England who have many closer options. Mercersberg’s large gift allowed them to be more generous with aid (and do a lot of other things), and that has helped them with their reach and publicity.
As for college acceptances, my favorite way to see them is as acceptances with those being attended in bold. Yes, if you have one stellar kid who gets accepted to all HYPS, the school shows all 4 acceptances which can seem “puffy’“. But you are also getting a chance to see that the school prepares strong students for acceptance at those schools. (The stellar student who gets into Williams ED doesn’t contribute to the puffery as they have to withdraw all other applications, so the whole process is moderated a bit by that.)
Within the BS world, it has always had a very good reputation and is known for having a kind culture and being nurturing to a wide range of learners.