I was wondering what people think is the percentage of boarding school applicants that are rejected or waitlisted at all the schools they applied to? From those that I know who have applied in the past it seems that no one was frozen out of all schools.
Not sure anyone can really answer that very accurately. The self-reporting on this forum is not representative of the universe of bs application results. In our anectodactal sample of the 4 kids from our school who applied last cycle (that was a HUGE year for our school!), the results were 50%–2 got admitted, including DC, and the 2 others were not.
Thanks. I go to a prep school that sends almost all kids to boarding schools and it seems like all get into at least one of the schools that they really wanted to go to.
I imagine the students at your school get good guidance during the application process and are encouraged to apply to schools where they would be a good fit. Lucky you!
Last year almost all of my older friends at school got into a top 10 school. The weird part is that a lot just got into one school out of say 8 they applied to. Not sure if the AO’s talk to each other but it seems weird. I am hoping to get into at least one myself so I I have told the school and our GC which one is my first choice (that was the advice my older friends told me and it worked for them).
Private K-8 schools treat boarding/prep high school admissions the way competitive boarding schools treat college admissions: that’s their only job. They encourage the kids to apply to a range of schools, including safety type schools, and then use whatever leverage they have to get the best outcomes for as many of their kids as possible. They most assuredly do not encourage or in most cases even allow the ‘A & E or St.P & G or nothing’ strategy.
The results thread is there for all to see. Recall though that CC is just a speck of the total students. I want to say that last year it seems as though it was an all or nothing. Some kids got into many of the schools for which they applied and some had no success at all. IMHO it somewhat underscores that schools know the type of student who will be most successful.
Every year, we hear stories from users who were frozen out of all schools. So not every students will get accepted to at least one. However, as mentioned above, nobody knows the percentage.
There is no reliable data set (as mentioned above) to compute any kind of percentage without data bias.
Last year, I was summarily waitlisted/rejected from the five BS I applied to … I know of a couple other people who did not get ito BS either… And based on the acceptance rates of all the tops schools I think we can safely assume that, yes, there are a number of applicants that are not accepted…
However, if you really want to see some statistic… You could look at the acceptance rate of a school and find the wait list+rejection percent… Some schools have the number of applicants/applications they got (or an average number) posted… Then just multiply and voilà there is a rough number of applicants rejected/waitlisted…
Which only tells you the info for that school. Doing the exercise for a multitude of schools will not answer a question as to how many were accepted by all or by none.
There’s an unknown percentage of applicants who only apply to one or a few BS on purpose because they have great local options and opt not to go to BS if they can’t get in one of the selected few. And there are the ones who “desperately” want to attend a BS but don’t cast a net wide enough to land an offer on M10. I would guess the percentage you are looking for would be greater than its counterpart in college admission because everyone who applies to college arguably needs to go to a college while not everyone who applies to BS necessarily needs to go to a BS.
True. Many applicants live in areas where the LPS is competitive and a good alternative. Many also apply to day schools (I applied to several and got into some) and choose to attend those if BS acceptances don’t come through…
In the end, just relax. Try something new (or expand on something you already know). M10 is still 20 days away… No point in stressing over stats or acceptances/rejections… What is going to happen will happen…
There is also an unknown percentage only apply to schools at that level which may be beyond the reach of the applicant. If your list does not have a plan B school, you are increasing your risk of a strike out.
Hi. I got a call yesterday from my AO at my first choice BS and asked if there was a reason I received a B in Spanish one term last year (usually I get A’s or A-'s). I explained that it was the term that I was very committed to the sport I excel in (Hockey) and that I was a bit overwhelmed with school work and sports. She seemed to think was a reasonable answer. Is it odd for an AO to call and ask this type of question? Noone else in my school has gotten one of these calls and some of my friends thinks it is a great sign and some thing it is a bad sign.
It is very much a factor of where you apply. If you apply to a range of schools, including a few where your scores are well above the average admit, you will have a good chance. It is, however, hard to define since so many apply to only the top 5 schools. The most active posters on this board do not often discuss the top 50 schools. It is hard to know how broad an applicant list was. As has been said MANY times before, if your goal is to go to boarding school (ANY boarding school), then you need to have a varied list. If you have a good option at home then, by all means, feel free to limit yourself to the top 5. Every year there are kids who are shocked to find that they were rejected from all schools. Do your research, be open-minded and you might have good news.
@Wannaboard I would say this is a good sign!
@Wannaboard
Don’t look into anything too much. I know there is a tendency to overanalyze any communication from AO’s… but no one knows what was going on in the AO’s mind when she called you nor the actions she took after hearing your reply.
M10 is 15 days away. You’ll get your answer then 
I wouldn’t know the share, but it certainly happens. A teacher friend told me about her student who was WL at 10+ BS. I assume WL is a joke since my child was WL at a school at which we abandoned the application midstream, without even interviewing.
Unfortunately, we all know kids who were qualified who didn’t get it in. Hooks are extremely important, geodiversity and recruited athletes and URMs. The best chance is to cast a wide net, not just apply to a bunch of elite schools. For those who don’t get admitted, the good news is for most students, you can reapply. Have the student try to get feedback on their apps, and plan ahead. Nothing wrong with reapplying for 9th grade or 10 or 11 grade admissions.
Let’s just hope that we’re not a part of the group of people who do indeed get rejected by all schools.