@preppedparent I’m not close enough to the issue since we are new to boarding school culture. But everyone I met at the BS cocktail party whose child was coming in for the 10th grade were coming from local private schools. Many were legacy at the BS and many seemed to have close connections. My thoughts were 10 th graders who are not repeats must be channeled in ( top of their 9th grade private school class?) and the repeaters were kids from non connected Privates or those who had something else going on ( many were sports recruits). All of it seemed strange to me.
As a parent, I wouldn’t have kiddo#2 wait and apply for 10th grade, for example. Too much risk of the pool being even smaller and the slots being already spoken for. Again, it likely depends on the school. Many schools have very few entrants for 10th grade. Given that many schools are about 100 kids total, there is room for less than 20 total coming in each year ( and in many cases even less). In any case, it seems like all spots for students in any grade are competitive.