Can anyone give me any info on this school? How does it compare in culture to a Choate or Cate? Any info would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Choate Rosemary Hall (East Coast), Cate School (West Coast), & Cranbrook (Midwest) make an interesting group of schools with different cultures.
If I recall correctly, Cranbrook has a lot of day students, while Choate is often portrayed as East Coast preppy, and Cate is California laidback surf with a lot of wealth.
Hopefully this will get the discussion rolling.
P.S. With respect to Cranbrook School, I have only dealt with the folks who run the school. Seemed to be very kind, curious, & intelligent. Open minded. Great reputation, but college placement was skewed a bit due to in-state rates for many students at one of the greatest public institutions in the world–the University of Michigan.
Depends upon your goal as to which school may be most appropriate. All offer tremendous educational opportunities. Cate does it with a lot of personal attention, Choate deals with a lot of competition, while Cranbrook is the star of the Midwest.
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The only insight I have into Cranbrook was from our Cate revisit day 3 years ago. There was a dad I sat with at lunch who had just come from a Cranbrook revisit day with his daughter. It was his front runner.
Sure it was cold, but he loved the academics and the community. I was really intrigued, and he was surprised more people didn’t know of it. I had heard of it, but we never really explored it, for no good reason. If I were to go through the bs search again, I would.
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I attended Cranbrook many years ago and my daughters are considering it this year. We’re East Coast so also applied locally. I’ll try not to let my own (positive) experiences color my thoughts.
As mentioned, it has a lower percentage of boarding students (about 1/3) with roughly 25% boarding on the girls side and 50% on the boys side. Since there’s such a large percentage of day students, the talent spread is broader … there are plenty of extremely high achievers but it doesn’t make up as large a percentage of the student body as some other schools. You can spin that as good or bad but I tend to see it as a positive. The percentage of boarding students gives it a small school feel at night and on weekends and allows easier access to faculty after hours.
Campus is, hands down, in the very top percentile with the exception of a performing arts space which is still in a converted gymnasium. The architecture, sculpture, textiles, and grounds are superb with the Saarinen family having had a free hand in its design. Boys and girls are in separate dorms that are widely separated (legacy of single sex education) and come together for classes on both campuses. There are world class learning spaces with the art and science museums being an important part of the educational community and the school is at the top of its game in STEM.
Culturally it has a midwest vibe–friendly, not as cosmopolitan as the New England schools–with a healthy international population. Most students will come from a public or parochial school environment rather than private (though quite a few day students will have attended Cranbrook’s elementary and middle school programs).
Sadly, the school did not put its best foot forward doing virtual open houses and campus tours this year. The polish and depth that some of the New England schools demonstrated wasn’t there but maybe that’s reflective of the overall culture … high quality without pretensions.
As for college placement, University of Michigan is such a stellar school for so many programs, and a bargain at in-state tuition prices (for which all domestic Cranbrook graduates would qualify), that it’s unsurprising so many students make it their choice. Having said that, plenty of students matriculate at Ivies and high quality LACs.
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Thanks everyone. It was not on my radar but a friend mentioned it to me. I had just never heard of it.
Is anyone attending Cranbrook next year?