<p>I am looking for a boarding school for my daughter (now in the 8th grade).
We are an American family living in Germany.
The school should offer German, have a good orchestra (violin), and be academically
demanding in Math and Sciences.
We are only interested in co-ed schools (east or west coast).
Which schools can be recommended?
Do any prep schools offer exchange programs (with Germany)?</p>
<p>My daughter attends St. Mark’s School, in Southborough, Massachusetts. Given your requirements, you should look at St. Mark’s. The school offers German, has a good orchestra, and is academically demanding in Math and Science. Chemistry seems to be particularly popular. St. Mark’s freshmen (“third formers”) begin with Physics.</p>
<p>The head of St. Mark’s Math Department won the Raytheon MathMovesU Math Hero Award [St</a>. Mark’s School: News » News Detail](<a href=“http://www.stmarksschool.org/news/detail.aspx?linkid=1652&moduleid=253]St”>http://www.stmarksschool.org/news/detail.aspx?linkid=1652&moduleid=253)</p>
<p>St. Mark’s does offer exchange programs with Germany. [St</a>. Mark’s School: Academics » International Studies](<a href=“http://www.stmarksschool.org/academics/international-studies/index.aspx]St”>http://www.stmarksschool.org/academics/international-studies/index.aspx)</p>
<p>Other boarding schools in our immediate area which offer German: The Governor’s Academy, Concord Academy, St. Paul’s School, Phillips Andover Academy, Phillips Exeter Academy, and The Hotchkiss School.</p>
<p>St. Paul’s has exchange Programs. Son just graduated. Took German for four year’s. Loved it. Spent two summers in Germany in Goethe Programs, went with his class for 2 weeks in Leipzig, went to Munich with me and was toured by a German classmate of mine (I went there too), and then went back to Munich/Vienna this summer to reconnect with 14 friends from Goethe.</p>
<p>The first thing to consider is your daughter, and what type of student she is. If she is a top student, who works independently, and is intellectually curious, then the schools mentioned above—St Mark’s, St Paul’s, etc, might be good fits.</p>
<p>If your daughter is a average student, who needs reminders from her parents to do homework, or if she needs to be inspired, needs a nurturing environment in order to do well—then schools like Gunnery might be better. If she has some learning issues or is not working to potential, then it would be a whole different list of schools.</p>
<p>And once you have the academic match made, then you move to the school culture: do you want a traditional school with a religious background, or a liberal, casual dress code school? Structured or more independence? mostly boarders or a mix of day/boarding? there are lots of things to consider!</p>
<p>You can also hire a consultant who will help you to find the right schools for your daughter, and will help you through the process. You can find one at [Educational</a> Consultants | Home](<a href=“http://www.iecaonline.com%5DEducational”>http://www.iecaonline.com) and search under schools, or ask me for a recommendation. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you for your informative reply.
All the factors to be considered are a bit overwhelming.
My daughter is a top student with exceptional talent in music (violin, piano) and in math.
She is also excellent in all other subjects, learns independently, has leadership qualities, and looks good too. It has taken all our resources to provide the appropriate challenges for her up to now.
I am only just beginning with the necessary research to find the right school for her and I did come across offers for educational advisors. It is hard to know if these offers are serious and if they would really be helpful. What is your experience?
Perhaps you could give a few more pointers:
The school should have an excellent stringed instrument program (violin).
A focus on sports is not important to us.
Lucy would probably do better at a less structured school, our family structure is very democratic and liberal. We are not religious.
I don’t know what the advantages/disadvantages of a boarding only vs. mixed school are.</p>
<p>I would recommend Exeter or Andover. Both have amazing music programs. Exeter is known to be more of a math and science school, and Andover is a little more artsy, but I don’t really know of much of a difference. Both are very strong schools. Both these sports do not require a focus in sports. Exeter is very liberal. If you have no classes, you are free to do as you wish. Almost like college. I <3 it!</p>
<p>You should contact the school’s music and math departments to get a better feel for what they have to offer your child. Dr. Feng at Exeter is very open to potential students and parents contacting him. He is head of the math team at Exeter. But the teachers and department heads at all the schools are very open to speaking to potential parents and it is a great way to find out more about the school and the specific areas of interest your daughter has.</p>
<p>Wieniawski, as I am not in any position to recommend a boarding school, there are a number of ways to search for schools that suit your daughter’s needs. There are search tools on a number of websites that can help you narrow down options and schools as well as boarding school fairs.</p>
<p>Since you are an American family living abroad, I’d recommend using a search tool on a website that is available to you. There are also some [Virtual</a> Boarding School Expos](<a href=“http://www.boardingschoolexpos.com%5DVirtual”>http://www.boardingschoolexpos.com) being held very soon where you can visit with over 80 schools and see what may be a fit for your daughter and family.</p>
<p>You might want to look at Hotchkiss. My son is in the German program there. Before he enrolled at THS last fall, he had taken one year of German but couldn’t speak a sentence of the language. After one year at Hotchkiss, he became pretty much fluent in German, achieved very high marks on national German exams and, in turn, received scholarship offers to study German abroad. Fairly incredible. </p>
<p>As for music, Hotchkiss has a remarkable program and unquestionably the finest auditorium of any BS. Elfers Hall is breathtaking.</p>