Is there an athletic recruit at 8th (i.e., Groton and Milton) and 9th grade? My daughter is a competitive swimmer (currently a 7th grader and is a top 6% nationally in multiple strokes in her age group). Mid-90% SSAT and very good grades. Plays a musical instrument well. But her strong suit is her swimming. She has been dedicated to her sport (swims 7 days a week). Also a very strong x-country runner.
Not sure about 8th grade, but for 9th grade theres athletic recruits.
For Groton from what I heard the 8th grade entree point is for faculty member kids (Not 100% completely sure about this but heard this from kids at Groton and some other people so if its not 100% factual my fault). Not sure about Milton.
thank you
Most schools start at 9th for boarders (with Groton being the exception with a small 8th grade contingent.)
Occasionally, there are openings for day students at schools that have a lower school for the lower grades. (Milton).
Athletics could factor in, but I don’t think they recruit for MS teams, and I don’t know if a MS student could swim on the HS team. Guessing not.
If these are the 2 schools that interest you, I’d reach out to the HS coach via email and ask if your D were a middle school student there if she could swim with the high school team or if she should stay with her club. Or both.
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Depending on how important swim is to your child look very carefully at the swim program at the schools you are interested in and whether there is sufficient supplemental support. DS attends one of the Eight Schools, he loves his school but doesn’t love the swim program. It’s been a thorn in his side for the past 4 years. He loves swimming. He religiously gets up at 6 a.m. to practice on his own or with a like minded teammate. At times, he has regretted turning down another Eight School that has a much stronger swim program. We believe he made the right choice but he harbors regrets. I think mostly because his teammates at a highly competitive USASwimming Club have out shined him because of their year round training. You can reach out privately if you want to discuss more. Good luck to your daughter.
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I don’t the answer to this important point but DS was just at Easterns this weekend and I noted an eighth grader swimming on one of the teams. Easterns is a big HS meet in Lancaster, PA.
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I can’t speak for Groton, but 8th grade is not an entry point at Milton. 7th or 9th. Which is not to say there’s not the rare exception for an extraordinary case. Regardless, they don’t recruit for middle school athletics and they don’t start boarding until 9th grade.
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Very few have an 8th grade entry point as that tends to be Jr. boarding school territory. I’d just wait til 9th. You’d have a much larger pool of schools to choose from and it’s all about finding the right fit, so a larger pool is a bonus. There is no admission advantage to applying in 8th for Groton. It’s actually a harder admission. We know kids that didn’t get in for 8, but got in for 9th. We also know kids who didn’t get in for 8th and went somewhere else for 9th and were happy that circumstances led to a better fit for them.
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Yes, there are junior boarding schools, which generally end in 8th or 9th. Then, I know of some K-12, 6-12 or 7-12 day/boarding schools where students can start boarding in middle school (usually 7th grade if they wish). Some of those offer full-time boarding but some have a really local population of 5 day boarders. So basically, kids attend as day students through elementary school, and at some point in middle or high school, some local kids begin to board and new students from further away join them.
But Groton is the only boarding school that I know that really has 8th grade as official entry year, and I tend to think of Groton’s competitors as other high schools like Choate, Exeter or St. Paul’s where most kids enter in 9, or 10. Milton has a lower school, but I am pretty sure boarding doesn’t start until 9th grade.
Thank you.
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I was told many BS students participated in this swim meet. Does that mean the BS provides support or do the kids have to get additional support from local parents, etc?
Which BSs typically have the best swim team and send kids to swim in college?
Peddie
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Thank you. Apart from Peddie, which are the next best BS for swimmers? Sounds like PA/PEA but these schools are super competitive. Can my daughter’s swimming help to get her in these schools (Peddie, PA, PEA)?
Andover.
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If you have Meet Mobile, check out the standings from last years NEPSSA Division I championships and the last two years of Easterns.
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The question becomes what is her goal? If it’s to swim in a D1 college, BS may not be the best option. Outside of Peddle, you’re looking at southern schools, e.g. Bolles, that have swimming year-round. Up north, the most competitive recruits are swimming for clubs, which is a challenge given logistics and given the obligations to the school.
If the goal is to swim in HS, PA/PEA have good teams, and very challenging academics. Being competitive will be a boost in admissions, assuming the rest of the application is strong.
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Bolles is a different beast.
I think the 8th graders were from Warwick - it was pretty funny and cute bc they were so little. Warwick is in Bermuda.
There are schools that allow kids to swim/play up, but usually it’s a day school.
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BS is an option, but Ski is correct. You are looking at Peddie or Mercersburg and then maybe Baylor and Bolles but the first two are more of your typical north east BS with very strong academic reputations.
The thing to be careful with is that schools try to tell you that it’s totally doable, the club team trains on campus, etc. but they don’t tell you that it means giving up school activities, you still have to do your school required sport the other seasons, club practice might conflict with dinner, etc… you really have to dig in to get the real story.
On the flip side, a swimmer at Peddie or Mercersburg who is effectively swimming club within school hours has a much better quality of life. There is no wasted travel time, you are done before 6pm. You roll out of bed at 5:45 for 6am practice. That’s a luxury for a swimmer.
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