Not sure how these get started/pinned but here is last year:
there was also a stats/EC thread
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I don’t know if it’s the economy, but something sure has dried up the prep forum. This used to be a sizzling hot board when our son was going through the journey and the few years after. More recently, crickets. This board is a shadow of its former self. Are BS applicants using a different forum? And there are hardly any parents here at all. We used to keep this board hopping almost 24/7 (just look at the first few ages of this thread as an example).
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Interestingly, there was a big increase in interest in boarding schools at our smallish private K-8 this cycle. A lot of that appeared more student than parent driven. Of course in small schools, peer effects can cause some of what is sometimes described as a fish-schooling effect.
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Don’t have hard data, but the fact that some of these schools are offering ED is a piece of evidence that the competition for students has become more difficult.
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I’ve actually been meaning to say this for a while, so your comment finally pushed me to come out of “observer mode.” 
Thank you for the time and wisdom you (and the other OG parents here) have poured into this forum over the years. I’ve been a quiet parent observer, but I’ve learned an incredible amount from reading your posts and the discussions here. Your insights have been genuinely helpful as our family navigated this journey.
And yes, I’ve noticed the same thing. From reading older threads, it feels like this board used to be buzzing with activity. These days it does seem a lot quieter. I’ve wondered too whether applicants and parents have moved to other spaces.
For what it’s worth, the guidance shared here has still made a real difference for families like mine who are quietly reading along.
PS: Our DD was fortunate to be admitted to a few schools, but it’s looking like she’ll likely end up at Exeter.
Thanks again for everything you’ve contributed here.
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I’m guessing that folks have moved to other forums. My understanding is that yes, many schools - probably most - are working harder to get and yield applicants. Part of it is demographics, and part of it is also that there is less appeal for foreign students to be in the US. But there are still very meaningful numbers of kids applying, and the schools that interest folks here are fully enrolled. If they are online, it’s not here!
Imho, it’s a pity because most families go through this process - from applying to graduation - having all sorts of “OH, so that’s how that works?” moments, and it really helps to have others around who have lived through it. And for many of us, we lived through it ages ago, so new input helps.
I hope you’ll stick around, @1tree1 ! I hope your D is excited about the journey in front of her!
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I was wondering the same thing. Spent a decent amount of time reading through past threads and topics, and over the past couple of years, there has been a drastic decrease in posts, especially from parents.
I am new to the forum. My daughter is in the class of ‘29, and my son will be attending BS next year (‘30), at the same school. I stumbled upon this site at the beginning of this month, and it would have been so much more helpful if I had had this resource last year when we were going through the application and school-choosing process for the first time.
Hopefully, more incoming parents will also stumble upon them; there were some great past discussions, and I am sure new parents will have similar, if not new, questions to ask.
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We hope you’ll stick around to be a resource to new famillies, prospective students, etc. With 2, you will be a pro! And that this community might be the same for you should you need it.
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Thanks, yes, I hope/plan to!
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SevenDad Lives!
I guess my “One family’s BS search and application process — start to finish (and then some)” thread is locked again due to inactivity and I don’t want to ask an admin to unlock it for a final update. So here it goes…
Last month, 7Daughter1 (BS Class of 2015) finally got her PhD (in Bioengineering)…at my alma mater, no less. It was a long road…in part because of the disruption caused by the pandemic. She was focused on finishing her dissertation and organizing for her school’s nascent graduate student union, so no firm job yet. But she’s got a summer of travel planned first. We went to her dissertation defense and I understood like 25% of what she said…but was still very proud of her.
7Daughter2 (the Div1 fencer, BS Class of 2018) continues to work for a large sports marketing agency in NYC and live in Brooklyn. She’s spending this summer at one of her firm’s international offices (an arrangement she had lobbied for) and we’ll all meet up in Europe for a family vacation in a few weeks.
For some reason, even though we’ve been empty-nesters since our younger kid went to boarding school, it FINALLY feels like we’re into another phase of life/parenting. Not that we had anything to do with 7D1’s graduate school process (which was fully funded).
I’ve met a lot of great folks through this forum, some in real life, even. I wish you all — and your children — the very best!
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So great to hear from you, and with good news no less!
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Hurray, @SevenDad! Thanks for the update, great to hear. Nice to see this thread pop-up again and by its originator. 
(Hard to believe some of us are still here more than a decade later.)
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thanks @SevenDad for the update! isn’t it funny how even years later, I knew exactly who your kids were? and hello to the many many other parents I’ve gotten to know over the past 7 years I’ve been here!
I actually “hid” my profile the past couple of years because as my four daughters were in their college search, I didn’t want to be quite so readily identifiable as I asked questions. But now that everyone completed their searches, perhaps I will find out how to un-do the hiding so people can more readily search on our many, many discussions over the BS and college searching.
Quick fact pattern if it’s helpful to anyone: 3 of my 4 daughters went to Mercersburg, one of whom after transferring after freshman year at Andover. I’m still friendly with some people we met at Andover – great school for the right profile kid. But Mercersburg just really met my three kids in very different ways that were perfect for each one. One business-y kid (Andover transfer), one super STEM-y kid (the open heart surgery daughter some might remember from pandemic days who originally was sure she wanted an all-girl school), and one very humanities/linguistics/anthropology kid (who originally wanted to stay home for high school, and then decided after freshman year to follow her twin to MB, and got to study abroad in France her junior year while at Mercersburg).
Where they are now: one is a junior at USC (Southern California) studying business and industrial systems engineering. one is a sophomore at USC studying aerospace engineering. one is a sophomore (twin) doing a dual degree program with Sciences Po (in France) and UC Berkeley (she spends two years in France and two years in Berkeley and will have two degrees). Honestly, all three have landed exactly at the right places for them!
4th daughter didn’t do BS at all, as she was in a ballet company out of state so did online classes at night from her apartment when she was in high school. She pivoted to musical theatre and just got her BFA MT from UNCG. And she was just cast in an upcoming show which is still under embargo so she can’t share publicly, but the good news is: she is employed doing the thing she LOVES! She came to NYC for a month development workshop and stayed with me there and she just loves her new life as a professional dancer/actor/singer. Oh and in this whole mess of a million children going to BS and college, I went back to school to get an MFA at Columbia in NYC. We are from California so it was a big change to be in NYC, which I loved. So I just graduated a few weeks ago (a week after my DD) after three years of being a (“mature”) student surrounded by young people in their late 20’s. Highly recommend. :).
Anyway, always happy to answer questions if my experience is helpful or relevant. I’m not on the boards very often, but will always do my best to answer DMs if that can be helpful. Happy summer all!!
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Congratulations on your new degree!! And thanks for the update. So fun to hear how well everyone is doing!
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Congratulations to your daughters, @Calliemomofgirls, but especially to you. What an amazing ride, and thanks so much for circling back here to share. I wish more of the old avatars would. I love that @cinnamon1212 has hung around and now champions this forum.
I’ve pretty much shared most of ChoatieCPT’s story here through the years. I posted his latest on the bragging thread. He’ll be separating from the Army in December and rejoining the civilian world after 11 years of service. He and his wife will remain in the DC area which keeps them a day’s drive to our cabin in Maine – at least we’re on the same coast part of the year. We sure miss him. They do grow up, don’t they?
Not sure how to refer to him going forward. ChoatieCiv just doesn’t sound right. 
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My first post on this thread was November, 2013, two years after our son started his boarding school journey in 2011. This will probably be my last here as our son walked out of Ft. Meade in uniform today for the last time, the end of his 11-year military journey. He starts his new job 11/1, a civilian once again. I hope his hair grows back.
Congratulations to all our boarding school kids and families, those who’ve come and gone here, those just starting, and those yet to come. And a big thank you to all who’ve posted here over the years for your generous support and laughs during the ups and downs of the shared BS ride. There were so many days when this thread was just what the doctor ordered. May it continue to lie in wait for those who need to a place to ramble.
Cheers!
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Congrats to all on a wonderful journey.
Hoping you will come back to CC as you see fit.
I’m not leaving CC, just saying goodbye to this thread/forum that was such a lifeline over the years. I’ll still be causing trouble in the Parent Cafe. 
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