How competitive it is matters less than whether it is a reach school for us or not. And it is.
There’s no way to know what you outlined without joining the school. You know what you know because you have been there before. I’m coming from the perspective of someone that hasn’t. I have to set a boundary somewhere otherwise I’d be considering everything which have neither time nor inclination to do.
In the end my criteria only needs to make sense to me and more importantly my daughter so its okay if it makes doesn’t make sense to you.
I’m looking more for information and considerations about schools already on our list, vs alternate methodologies of how to arrive at a list.
There’s a wide berth between cutthroat and slack. We are hoping to avoid extremes not challenge. That said St Paul’s is now off our list. Loomis remains a favorite.
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I’m also from the dallas area, but I think that the North East BS are better than schools like St. Marks Texas, Greenhill, Hockaday, and etc.
Where did your daughter end up applying?
Her final list was interesting but is a great fit for her.
Loomis, Peddie, Mercersburg, NMH, Kent and Berkshire. Of course her current private day school is and remains a contender.
Six schools total, so far she seems most connected to Loomis and NMH with Mercersburg a close third. She is slightly more keen on Berkshire over Kent, but still likes Kent for the sports opportunities and the couple of friends she already has there (a couple of kids she knows from summer camps). I would place her current school right in the middle of the pack but behind Peddie, so if her choices end up being between her current school and say, Berkshire, her current school may win out.
I’m just glad we are pens down now, and that we have a somewhat clear path; either she gets to decide among some great choices or we stay where we are, which is also a great (albeit less than others) choice.
Big sigh of relief unless we end up with multiple acceptances at her top choices and we are right back at the hand wringing exercise, but that would be a good problem to have.
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Oh for sure. Its almost not a fair comparison.
Our schools can compete academically but NE schools win out in just about every way. To be fair they have had the advantage of time and location - but yeah, not close.
That sounds like a great list–I hope that she ends up with some good alternative options, but it sounds like her current school is also a good fit. Sometimes just seeing other schools can help to confirm the decision to stay hope. Best of luck with it all!
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I hope she got some good results today, would love to hear an update! My daughter was waitlisted last year at Loomis, which had been her top choice, ended up at Kent and is truly thriving and loving it.
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Hello all,
Sorry for the late update, its been a whirlwind of a couple of weeks with M10 results right on top of spring break travel but I thought I’d do an update on how we made out this year and where we think we are going.
Rejections: Loomis, Kent
Waitlist: NMH, Berkshire
Accepted: Mercersburg, Peddie
We opened our rejection/ waitlist results first so our morning on M10 started out heavy but quickly turned around when we heard from M’burg and Peddie.
Deciding between these two has been an interesting exercise and we have decided to do revists on both and make the decision that way. Both schools are incredibly good fits for her and she has already declared that for her the decision is between those two schools and we can pretty much put in notice at her day school which was such a relief.
In all honesty it may come down to which swim/ Theatre program combination she connects with the most. As a swimmer she couldn’t be more excited about her options. Peddie’s advantage is the presence of a rowing program and more robust athletic options with easier logistics, and M’burg’s are its theatre program, generous aid and smaller class sizes.
We are ready for those decisions now. I’m surprised at how quickly she got over the Loomis rejection given how much she had pinned her hopes on them but I think the reality of being able to upgrade her current high school experience especially on either of these schools’ sports teams helped immensely.
Hope everyone got some good results and are excited for their next chapters as well.
Thank you all for the advice over the last two seasons, it was truly invaluable to our decision making.
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Congratulations!!! Whatta ride!!!
Your daughter was the rare kid willing to slow their roll to get it right. Some risks pay off, and it looks as if this one did. Very pleased for her. Can’t go wrong with two good fits.
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Those are two really nice choices, both with kind communities. It’s great that you’re looking hard at both. The good news is that you can’t make a bad choice!
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Congrats on two great options!! If you have any questions about Peddie, especially the theatre program, please feel free to reach out. My DD is very much involved and it was the main reason she chose Peddie over Mburg. Vibe is everything so I’m sure revisits will help!
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[quote=“Armoni_400, post:68, topic:3675904”]
“The athletics department, which underwent a leadership change two years ago, is now focused on creating top-tier teams.”
This is excellent news particularly with regard to Kent football. Kent once produced outstanding teams year after year.
Some schools like Hotchkiss and Trinity Pawling seem to have given up on football. Andover just hired Ernie Adams, long time New England Patriots Research Director, as an interim football coach which should help that school turn its moribund football program around. Lawrenceville is getting very serious about football and now posts winning seasons.
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Happy to help if you have any Mercersburg questions! I have a recent grad and a current student!
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