I just had a long talk with a family whose son opted for Prep School this season. It was very interesting. They made their decision at the end of last season. The prospect of playing Tier I and missing dozens of days of school in their son's junior year just didn't work for them. Add to that, studying college testing and it was a "no-brainer" for them as they said "95% of all the kids playing hockey will wind up in the adult beer league when all is said and done so why sacrifice education now?" By allowing their son to go to prep school, he could still play a high level of hockey, not miss a single day of school, and keep most educational opportunities open. They also met with a lot of scouts from both college and juniors last season. Many scouts lamented that sadly, "80% of the kids attending these camps cannot qualify to get into our college because they sacrifice their grades" while the Tier III juniors were begging kids to come with promises of great things while being billeted with strange families and being exposed to much older players who indulge in alcohol and drugs. They key for them was that their son had to want to go to prep school or move down to Tier II AND they had to get financial aid to make the cost comparable to Tier I travel hockey. It is not cheap; around a $55K price tag. They spoke to one local family whose son virtually got a "free-ride" to Andover so they knew financial aid was out there. They said grades were EVERYTHING. Yes, tapes of their son playing got the coaches attention, along with talking to their kids coaches, but the first question asked was, "What is your son's GPA?" Although their son did not take the "mandatory" entrance exams, his PACT and his grade point average not only got him into the prep school but he got a scholarship as well so that costs were comparable to Tier I. Many of these schools have something called "rolling admissions" and they will take kids past the normal deadline if there is room. This family is well off financially, but if they weren't, the scholarship would have been for more. They learned prep school is much more affordable than one initially thinks, but the benefits are HUGE. These schools have huge endowments and want smart athletes to attend. This family and their son could not be happier. They are playing true high school hockey (similar to the Tier I teams in the Anaheim Ducks league" with big crowds attending and cheering them on. Three other kids CA hockey are going to this school (I forget the name...it is in New England somewhere), so their son already knew some kids and they have bumped into other former So. Cal. kids out there in games. They said their kid has "grown" so much in just a few months of dorm living and he will be so much more prepared for college and the education is rigorous, but very structured, giving their son less time to goof off with video games. Their son is now involved in a number of school activities; something they could not do here because hockey is all consuming of hours outside of school. The rink is on campus so no wasted time on our freeways, and most importantly, no cross country trips to interfere with studies. They scrimmage with a number of the big Tier I Elite teams across the country. They also love not playing the "coaches games" here...paying these coaches thousands of tax-free cash hoping their son will get playing time and make teams. The scouts back there said their is actually more development out there playing kids older and that there is a big downside to playing kids your own age all the time which is why they want kids to play a few years of juniors before playing college except for the real superstars. They have researched the numbers and saw just how many kids play college hockey...competing with kids from Canada and Europe as well and even fewer make the dream of the NHL. The numbers are not promising except for a very, very select few. And...even if your son is drafted, few make it passed juniors or the minors. I'll be looking into sending my son to prep school next season. I've seen so many families complain about So. Cal. hockey and it is all over these boards. I sure liked what I heard. Thanks for posting this thread!! Good luck with your decision.