Any Milton students, parent out here?

[LeeLeeB]

Needing last bit of help (reassurance) with decision. Pretty sure Milton Academy will be where my son commits, but there is one other school really tugging at our heart.

When we toured Milton in the fall, everything was impressive in terms of new science building, the library, the courses offered. And they have a sport my son loves that is not offered everywhere, which is a big positive. It’s just…I never as a parent felt that “feeling” there. And the world, there’s a lot going on now. Son will be boarding, far from home.

Any stories of clubs you (or your child) loved, memorable experiences while attending, traditions, what makes Milton special/unique, things that make Milton feel like home for you, would be really appreciated.

We did do lots of research, we know it’s a good fit, I’d just appreciate some personal anecdotes. Any heartfelt insights into Milton?

[SkysTheLimit2007]

@LeeLeeB I don’t know how much help I’ll really be but my daughter is at Milton although she’s a seventh grader in the middle school. My daughter came from public school and entered Milton last year and I can tell you that for her, it’s been the best situation ever. As a parent, I simply LOVE this school and more importantly, I love the faculty members – they genuinely care about the kids and they are all well known to one another. We live close by but my kid is on campus often over the weekends simply to enjoy games, shows or to go and eat sometimes with the boarders. A number of my kids’ friends live on campus because their parents are faculty members, and it’s nice to see faculty interacting with both their boarder students and their own children often at the same time. There’s a comforting family feeling for sure. I can’t speak to upper school traditions because we’re not there yet but the entire school LOVES the Milton-Nobles rivalry and weekend of events in November, where all the sports teams compete against each other.

I guess it really depends on how much the other school is pulling at the heart strings. My kid was accepted to about four schools with Milton and another as the two top contenders – we had to sit and make a list of all the pros and cons to each because that’s how much we were torn. At the end of the day, Milton won by a mile and my goodness are we glad to have made that choice! The kids have been on spring break for two weeks and to log onto the computer and see so many warm wishes from the teachers with their parents, children and dogs was a beautiful thing as they embark on remote learning for a while. It’s a really specials place and I often tell people, “there’s a lot of magic that happens there!”

Good luck with your decision, please message me if you’d like to and I can try to help in any way possible!

[LeeLeeB]

Thanks, @SkysTheLimit2007 – we just committed to Milton this afternoon! I’m going to always wonder about the one school that grabbed my heart, but I am starting to get excited about Milton!

I made our decision before I checked back here to see your reply, but I am really glad that you provided info about the interactions with faculty and their families.

Maybe that is what we missed on our tour, now that I think about it. At the other schools we visited, we saw occasionally little kids, or a faculty mom on a bike ride with their little one in the kiddie bike seat behind her, or we saw some tricycles left out front of faculty housing. And to me, it is a huge benefit getting to live on campus with faculty’s families. We also saw at those other schools the actual students interacting with faculty in dining halls or in academic buildings’ hallways. But at Milton, I think just by weird coincidence or timing, I never glimpsed those moment of faculty with their own families, nor with their students. During our Milton tour, I just mostly saw student-student interactions.

But our child has always said he saw a warmth at our visit to Milton.

I really appreciate you SkysTheLimit2007 sharing your feelings about Milton. I just want the place my child goes to have a family feel. I love that you said there is a comforting feel to Milton. Thank you so much for sharing your take on Milton.

I wish you a good experience with the online/remote learning. I will for sure at some point take you up on the offer to PM you. Please stay healthy and safe.

[SkysTheLimit2007]

@LeeLeeB Hooray! I’m so glad you committed – now you have to put the other school out of your mind and all the focus on YOUR school! Your son will be known and loved at school and you should trust that he’ll be in good hands, it’s a great place to be!

Please stay in touch – stay safe also!

[Worrymommy]

Hello,
My son applies to MA this year. He is appling to 6th grade. He also comes from public schools. His ISEE score is 8,7,8,9. His report card has some A and some B.
I don’t know how well are his letter of recommendation because he spent a large amount of time learning remotely.
Do you think he has a chance to make in MA?
Thank you in advance.(

[SkysTheLimit2007]

@Worrymommy — The very easy answer is that yes, he has a chance but it’s more complex than test scores. I volunteered throughout middle school and gave tours to prospective families and know that the middle school admission team works really hard to gauge the right fit for the middle school. I spoke with many outstanding and accomplished students, but obviously there are only so many seats available. In any given year, most seats are already taken by the fifth graders who move up and there are also faculty kids to take into account. They want the kids they select to fit in with the class they already have and from what I’ve seen, they really do it well. All I can say is that a child could really shine during interview (mine did) and that could be what actually tips the scales, regardless of super high test scores.

Wishing your son good luck — it’s a great place to be!

[Worrymommy]

SkysTheLimit2007!
Thank you very much for your reply. It is too long to wait till March 10th.

[Worrymommy]

SkysTheLimit2007,
Do you happen to know if the number of applications to 6th grade this year?
How many percent of space they save for legacy and falcuty’s children?
Thank you again!
Worrymommy

[SkysTheLimit2007]

I don’t know how many applicants there were this year and I couldn’t do any of the tours either to meet them because of Covid. When my child joined in 6th grade though, there were about ten new kids added to the fifth grade class that moved up – they divide it equally between girls and boys. They add another similar batch in seventh grade.

[Worrymommy]

Thank you very much SkysTheLimit2007!