Anonymous wrote:Instagram decision pages answer most of these questions anyway.

I assume this person is kidding, but general PSA: the accuracy of those is all over the place. At our school, they're student-run, sporadically updated, and only include about half the class (and there isn't a pattern to who posts and who doesn't).

Anonymous wrote:Instagram decision pages answer most of these questions anyway.

Instagram decisions for private schools leave out a very important factor - if your child is not hooked then they are not likely to be in the T10 (sometimes even T20) list - even if they have great stats (exception possibly Chicago ED). Don't look at these lists and think your unhooked kid who is (genuinely) very smart and does well in school will be among the top admits from the top private schools. Some get through - most don't.

Instagram decision pages answer most of these questions anyway.

To anyone actually applying to private HS, OP's questions will get you labeled as high maintenance and schools already have plenty of those parents and don't need any more. Do not ask those types of questions until after your student is accepted.

OP, We are sadly in the era of major over-achievement for top colleges. Even when your student thinks they're doing a lot, someone is doing more and doing it better. Such is life.

I do think the effort your child puts into academics is probably very well-preparing them for college academics. You are still quite early in the admission season, don't loose heart if an ED1 doesn't work out and tough as it is, ignore others' results. Admissions is wacky these days. My kid got into a top 15 for this fall, but was rejected at a couple top 50s. The rejections came before the admission so we were freaking out as my kid didn't love their liklies. On that note, don't blow off visiting liklies--try to find at least one to love (or at least like a lot). Good luck!!