Hi everyone! I’m from Brazil and I’ll be entering junior year in high school. Right now, I’m in the process of choosing a boarding school in the U.S., and I’m deciding between Cushing, northfield mount Hermon and Cheshire
I’d love to hear from people who know these schools or have experience with them. What are the main differences in terms of academics, student life, boarding experience, and college counseling? I’m especially interested in STEM and business, and I want to make sure I choose a school that will really prepare me for competitive universities
They all have very similar values, and I can afford them. I was researching, and it seems that NMH has a more rigorous academic program. However, the student reviews I found are worse than those of Cushing and Cheshire. I wanted to know what the reputation of these schools is in the boarding schools circle.
Niche is probably the main public site for reviews, and the issue is that of “respondent bias”. A group of kids get kicked out for selling drugs? They decide to post negative things about the school in retaliation. Or a couple of kids who are having a great experience post, but how do you know if those 5 kids are representative of the 600 there, and more particularly, the cohort you represent.
You will have better access to more students when you go back for revisits at the schools where you have been accepted, but that doesn’t help as much in figuring out where to apply. To try to get some of that flavor, peruse the website carefully and thoughtfully, especially news. Look for themes. Try to get copies of the school publications produced by students. Follow their social media. Go to sporting events and theater/music productions and watch how people behave toward teammates, as spectators, etc. Some of this is harder when you’re far away, but it can inform the questions you ask. You can also ask admissions if they can connect you with students from your country, who play your sport, etc. (They may do that only after M10, but it’s worth asking.) Put simply, you need to be a very keen observer and investigator and to get as many data points as you can. But I’m guessing that if you do this, you will be better informed than you currently think possible.
If you’re using a consultant (which most people don’t, so don’t worry if you’re not), ask if they have placed any students there that you could talk with.
i am definitely going to apply to all of those, but im curious to know more about each of them, if the environment is more welcoming or hostile, how strong is the academic side, is the community mostly American or international, and are there a lot of stories about drinking and smoking? I’d also like to know how strict the school is with rules, like if students usually follow them or tend to ignore them. and how liberal it is when it comes to traveling off campus.
well if you’ve already checked their full report card and reviews on niche a great next step is to define your dream school which ones best fist check every corner of their website which one can you imagine yourself at and truly feel a sense of belong if thet have peerpal its one of the best things you can use cause your asking actually students
I'm really in doubt, because in terms of location, Cheshire seems better, but I have the feeling that academically, Cushing is better.That's why I'm trying to get feedback from Americans who are in the boarding school scene, to see if I can figure out which one suits me best.