Interesting. My kid hasn’t found that to be the case (his school is around 20% intl) but I guess I could see that happening.
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Just some thoughts to add - I think that many students do better academically at boarding schools due to the structure and study hall (at least for the not super rigorous ones.)
I think Hill is a great option based on your criteria. Close to Philly. We really liked the school - both my boys applied there.
I dont know if they have crew but we also very much liked Governor’s Academy which is just north of Boston. My son thought it had a great vibe.
I’ve heard great things about Episcopal which is right outside DC. 100% boarding. My friends daughter is there and loves it.
I hear good things about Mercersberg but that’s not near a major airport. I think it would be tough.
There are a number of schools in the greater Hartford area (besides Loomis) that might be worth looking into.
As far as boarders go, I don’t think most of them know other kids when they arrive on campus. (The day students obviously are more likely to.). I don’t think coming from farther away matters - except that it’s harder to go home. Most kids end up making friends with kids who live closer and get invitations there for the weekend. If she’s comfortable with being a flight away, that’s what matters most.
Good luck!
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NMH is obviously pretty close to Loomis (they are rivals) , although if you are looking for something like Kent in terms of dress code, it wouldn’t be the place. Crocs and sweatpants abound.
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@SFTahoedad My daughter is a crocs and sweatpants kind of girl so that’s right up her alley. I wore uniforms and formal dress my whole school life so I’m okay with dress up. We’ve agreed to pick schools based on other criteria because we’ll never quite agree on this one, 
. We’ll take a closer look at NMH, maybe add it to our wildcard list- it’s been mentioned a couple of times.
@NYMom139 Mburg is a bit remote for our needs which is why we have it on our wild card list. We are already a plane ride away we’d prefer if there wasn’t a lot of travel needed to get to that plane. I agree that most kids esp those in the middle tend to do better academically in BS from the increased focus and structure, especially if they are okay with boarding and pick a good fit school. Kids at the top excel anywhere and those at the bottom likely need more parental support.
I suspect by week end there’ll be some movement in my list overall as we have began scheduling interviews for the additional schools.
This forum has been extremely helpful. Next time I’ll start here.
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I’ll give an even bigger plug for NMH. It was one of our son’s other choices, and it was the one I would have preferred had I been the student choosing. You can read my thoughts about NMH here.
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First time seeing that. You’ll appreciate this: My kid didn’t have nmh at the top of the list until re-visit day and was blown away by the school, especially the presentation ceremony.
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Hi: There are a lot of amazing schools. It is about finding the right fit for your child. I would definitely say Lawrenceville is not cutthroat, but it is highly competitive as is Choate. Spending time at the schools and casting a wider net will certainly help her chances unless you are just rolling the dice and ready to stay at her current school (as you mentioned).
There are lots of students from TX that attend BS. Most have national and international students. That is one of the many amazing experiences about BS. Except for some day students, most go from not knowing anyone and leaving with friends for life.
While personally not a fan of Loomis, it does have a thriving campus with students from all over. Almost all the BS have some skeletons. Know your child. If you want to avoid the pressure cooker look to more of the schools that others have suggested as your original focus is on those types of schools, but that is ok as the process is about finding the right fit. Sometimes being on campus really tells the story best.
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NMH is a great school for someone with this student’s profile (athletic w/ reasonable academics).
But it’s really not practical for someone concerned about travel. The nearest airport is outside of Hartford, and that’s still a pretty long drive. Not sure what connections it offers to/from Texas. If the student had to fly Boston instead, the drive would be extremely long.
It seems that NMH’s financial aid program could use some development as well.
This is true. We fly in and out of Boston.
We don’t find it a hassle at all, but it is a couple of hours.
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Remembered when considering travel that most students arrive and depart around the same time. Schools often facilitate this with vans, buses, and shared rides to airports.
DS attended a school that had easy access to both EWR and PHL, but there were always vans headed to JFK as well.
My recommendation is to leave the school on your list if you like it and to ask about this in your interview.
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We are insanely far away. Getting to the airport is just the start. Choose the best possible school fit. There will always be a way to sort transit, and many have paved this path before.
I’m hoping my child gets a few nice invitations for shorter breaks. If not, I might fly to there for a short break. For longer, he might need to stay overnight at a friend’s near JFK (NYC sends lots of kids, yes?) to time correctly the one flight each day that heads our way.
The kid really wants this. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
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We actually have two kids staying with us over thanksgiving break, and that’s after half a semester of 9th grade. So invites definitely do happen.
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Perhaps look at Brentwood College School in Victoria, BC?
Esteemed rowing program, beautiful campus, excellent boarding school/academics/US college placement. Shorter transit from Vancouver to Asia/Oceania than from the NYC area.
Victoria is the hotbed for competitive/Olympic rowing in Canada.
Rowing
What started as an inclination for a boarding school situated at the ocean’s edge (both at the original Brentwood Bay campus of the 1920s, and again at our current location) grew to become a competitive strength and cultural mainstay over many years. Today, with 24 Olympians in the sport from among our alumni—four of those Olympic Gold Medalists—and an increasing number of younger rowers medalling at regional and national events, the table is set for an era of increasing strength and exciting opportunity for students to test their mettle and find a true sense of collaboration and camaraderie in this unique sport.
David Calder
Head of Rowing
OLY, B.A. (University of Washington)
Head Coach: As a member of the Brentwood class of 1996 (Privett House), David Calder is no stranger to our school. Mr. Calder went on after graduation to represent Canada, rowing internationally at four Olympic Games, and retiring from competition after the 2012 London Olympics. In his racing career, he won numerous World Cup medals in the 2- and 8+, the World Championships in the Jr 2- and the Sr 8+, and an Olympic Silver Medal in the 2- at the 2008 Beijing Olympics—with fellow Brentonian Scott Frandsen (‘98).
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Nice find, @SportyPrep!
However… the website says that they have 50 places for full fee paying international students. We need partial aid, and are not citizens. That said, I think many people search through old threads (I did), so you might have just found a great match for a different reader in future. I love that you found a school I had not seen. They look impressive. Thanks!
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Replying for this thread and for future CCers:
Brentwood College School website:
Are international students eligible to receive financial aid?
Yes. Like all students, international applicants must fill out the Apple Financial application referenced above.
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For those reasons you should add St.Mark’s school, MA too. 75% boarding students and 25% international students. They have so many weekend activities and have Saturday classes every other Saturday. Many day students stay at school a lot even on weekends. Crew is a seasonal sport, my daughter did it last spring and loved it. They have a very nice theater production too. The school culture is very good and that was what caught my attention when we visited the school. The kids are more relaxed than other schools we applied to. We are happy in this school and I wonder why it is not mentioned much on this site. I guess it is one of the hidden germs. The acceptance rate is 29%. We applied to 3 of the schools on your list or mentioned by others here and accepted but we chose this one.
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It used to be mentioned a lot because one family here (buuzn03) had a student there. That student graduated (2021). There’s a hole waiting to be filled!
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For Brentwood and the other Canadian schools - check the price, as historically significantly less vs the US with exchange rate. Both Brentwood and Shawnigan Lake in BC are strong schools plus great rowing programs.
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Hi!
Piping in a bit late. I am a parent of a ‘24 graduate and current student at Kent (both girls). I know the school likes Texas kids as my older daughter’s best friend was from Austin and my younger daughter’s roommate is from Houston!
Kent rowing is truly top notch. My younger daughter started this fall and I am not sure she will stick with it but I would say the top 6-8 girls each year are recruited for college rowing. The facilities are great and the location can’t be beat.
Academically, I think it’s a great fit for many kids. There are very challenging classes but there is also a diverse set of learners and I think many to most kids can find the right academic path-it’s not a one size fits all place and it’s also not cut throat or academically competitive. My daughters came from a competitive single sex day school and were/are much happier at Kent.
The community is extremely kind and there is a real warmth at the school. The location is great because of the town near by and access to Hartford, White Plains and NYC for travel. The stuff about drugs and alcohol and mental health is outdated-the school loaded up on mental health facilities and staff several years ago before many of the other schools did. I really like the head of school and I think the kids do too. It’s a fact of life that every boarding school has their share of kids doing stuff they’re not supposed to (as do day schools) but Kent is very on it.
Happy to answer any other questions you have and also have some admissions insight if you’re interested. Feel free to send me a message.
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Thank you so much for your insight as a Kent parent, it is very appreciated. Getting real time/ recent information about some of the less touted schools can be very challenging on this board.
We are in the weeds of the application process now and will start campus visits in a couple of weeks for some of the school’s on our list including Kent.
Thanks again!
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