<p>And therein lies the conundrum of boarding school and college matriculation.
I think you will find that the college counselling offices at the boarding schools can be a wealth of information on this topic. I have also found that they do not “sugar coat” the statistics.
My son is a senior this year at one of the top bs usually mentioned on this forum and his counsellor has been more than frank about his college selections, ranking them as safety, match, reach - but not at all discouraging him to go for the reaches (Ivy’s and top LACs). He has also seen many of his “unhooked” boarding school friends be accepted at top schools - much to their surprise in some cases.
In the end, I think the BS counsellors are very well connected and respected in the college world - they also are much more knowledgeable about schools out of their own backyard (as opposed to local public and private hs counsellors who really have little knowledge of schools beyond a 200 mile radius).They can open up a world of great schools for your child that you may never even have considered.
Certainly being the top dog at a public hs in Nowhere, USA; president of 4 clubs and chief fundraiser for a new hospital wing will get you noticed at an Ivy. So will being a top 25% student at a bs who has great ECs and great recs. Colleges know these schools and know the counsellors.</p>