<p>Yeah, I like Andover but I don’t like Exeter. lol.</p>
<p>Claudia, I would agree with your assessment of the “Chapel Program”. You may want to add a stellar writing program that integrates the social sciences and English. A new Science center (2-3 years old), Rigorous academics without the competitive feel of maybe a larger school. Academics centered around the “Socratic Method”. They aso do a ncie job with the sciences.</p>
<p>Claudia FYI</p>
<p>Dead Poet’s Society - St. Andrew’s School (Delaware)</p>
<p>School Ties - Middlesex School</p>
<p>Emperors Club - Yes, Emma Willard School</p>
<p>The Scent of a Woman - Yes again, Emma Willard School</p>
<p>Because you will be an international student, I think it would be good to consider how active the social life will be during the weekend. Along with the information you have compiled, you might want to look at the percent boarding, whether or not there are Saturday classes, and how many of the boarding students come from the surrounding area. I imagine that you would like a vibrant and active weekend social life. A school with a somewhat low percent boarding, no or infrequent Saturday classes and a large number of boarding students from the surrounding area might have only a small number around on some weekends. Many students can go home and will do that. </p>
<p>I already volunteered to host an international Blair student or a Blair student from far away for vacations. My son will start there in less than a month! I suspect that all boarding schools will have volunteer families eager to host students who are far from home, so I don’t think you have to worry about what you will do during vacations.</p>
<p>Prep Parent- yeah i hade looked at all the films that have featured these schools, i remember when i watched the emperors club, i adored the scenery, unaware that it was emma willard (i was 11 or 12 at the time, now 14 and 5 months)! Also thansk for the extra information on Middlesex, i though they had the Socratic method but i wasnt sure.
Burb Parent- Yeah, it hink the next step is to look into vacations, weekends etc. I dont mind saturday classes particularly. In that regard i am slightly
worried about Dana Hall since it has a slightly low % of boarding students compared to the others…hmm. cogradulations to your son BTW.</p>
<p>Thanks Claudia! What I was trying to say about Saturday classes is that if there are no Saturday classes, more students from the surrounding area might go home. Say you live 2 1/2 hours away. You could go home on a Friday night and get back later on Sunday. If you have to be at school for a half day on Saturday, you would be less likely to go home because you might only have 24 hours at home. It is possible for there to be few students over the weekend at a small school with a lower percent boarding and a high percent from the surrounding area. If this won’t bother you, then obviously it’s not a factor. Along with academics, it’s also a home away from home.</p>
<p>its something to think about isn’t it? hmm, well, as it is i am just looking to narrow doWn my list, start the admissions process and get my parents involved. I am really looking forward to the whole process as well, not with dread as i think some posters (in the archives etc) seemed to carry with them throughout.</p>
<p>I live near Dana Hall and my daughters have friends who attend. It is a lovely school in a wonderful community, near stores and nice suburbia. Close to Boston and also close to Wellesley College. I think this would be a great place to attend school, especially when you will be so far from home.</p>
<p>USCfinebyme- I am glad you think so! I really like the look of Dana Hall, and even though it is rarely mentioned in these forums doesn’t mean it doesn’t deserve to. I think this is the case for lots of schools.</p>
<p>no offense, jonathan k, but i don’t think you should be telling claudia which schools are her reaches, safeties, etc. i would be slightly dubious even if an experienced, expert prep-school-application-process-veteran like prepparent who has been here year after year made predictions. claudia is not a C student, nor is she a senator’s daughter. so we can’t say.</p>
<p>i remember last year, many people did make such predictions, and a great deal were wrong. some people told me i would definitely get into all of my schools, some said i had absolutely no chance whatsoever. </p>
<p>so you cant really judge, because you dont know every little thing about claudia, havent interviewed her, etc. even if you did, you dont know what these schools want. each school has personal tastes. of course not to discourage you or claudia.</p>
<p>Thanks for the kind words iluvAs!
Yeha, it probably was a bad idea to even start this thread…but it did get me really thinking about what i want in a school etc. I just finished filling out the inquiry forms so should receive information very soon!</p>
<p>There is kind of off subject, but how long does it take to get the information when you fill out those forms? I filled mine out 2 1/2 weeks ago, and haven’t gotten anything…</p>
<p>I usually receive mine within a week.</p>
<p>They’re probably not sending them to you yet because a lot of schools are updating their viewbooks and applications, so they will probably wait until September or October to mail them out. (At least that’s what Deerfield and Andover said)</p>
<p>Thanks :)</p>
<p>I actually got a DVD from Exeter today, so at least I know the schools got my information… I hate trusting computers.</p>
<p>I checked out your present school on line. If you and your parents are happy with its spiritual climate, it would seem to me that St. Paul’s would be a very good fit. Although not as stunningly beautiful as St. Paul’s, I think you may also quite enjoy Peddie. The headmaster (John Green) and some of the humanities people (Catharine Rodrigues) currently at Peddie were instrumental in establishing the integrated programme at St. Paul’s. Peddie also has a very good FA programme. Another school I think may fit you is St. Andrew’s Sewanee on the campus of the University of the South. This place is visually stunning, the humanities are very good (at the VI level you will be doing Oxford type seminars at Sewanee which go way beyond AP or current A levels for that matter) Sewanee is a VERY good liberal Arts school, next to Davidson perhaps the best in the South.</p>
<p>While I think of it–Groton might also be a good fit for you. If I were you I’d worry more about an admission strategy for a particular cluster of schools than about multiplying possibilities. If humanities and music is indeed your strong interest, I would apply to their classical honours programmes in a heartbeat and tell them you can play double bass in their orchestra. ( double bass players are VERY thin on the ground). Talk to your parents. If they are as keen as you are to give you a first class education and can live with the idea of your being so far away, (check out web based phone tarrifs, phone every night, keep them in your life, you’ll be closer to them than if you stayed home, honest, I speak from experience. Just be sure that you have the money to come home at Christmas and for the spring vacation) Do check out St. Andrew’s Sewanee. It, like Simons Rock can give you a two years of college credit at a very good liberal arts college as part of your secondary school experience. Yes, you can still transfer to Harvard after that,</p>
<p>Dana Hall would be a safety school for most people, especialy international students/boarders… It has an amazing facility and a lot of amazing faculty. Dana though does not have a program as extensive as other schools you are consdering… Definetly take a look at it and you’ll probably get in!</p>
<p>Thankyou Paleozoic and rbupe your comments were really helpful.
I do like Peddie and groton but i am worried about adding too many more schools! Yeah, i do like the spiritual aspect, i think it is a good grounding, just today i had a school assembly and at the begining and end we pray, i find it clears my mind! I will also look at St. Andrews!
A thought, in terms of Groton, was the book Prep really based on that, i read it 8 or so months ago, enjoyed it as a book but didnt like the way it portrayed boarding schools (i have always liked them). What do others think?</p>
<p>Also, I REALLY like Dana Hall, and since i am interested in Womens Colleges later the all girls is fine for me! I am hounored you think i could get in rbupe.</p>
<p>Paleozoic- a question …when you say " If I were you I’d worry more about an admission strategy for a particular cluster of schools than about multiplying possibilities." would you be able to clarify, i am worried i have misunderstood. i <em>think</em> it means that i need to look at how to make myself more attractive to a group of schools than how many i have on my list? am i correct?
Thanks!</p>
<p>oh boy, just wait til you guys get the app. folders from the schools. i was rather intimidated by the size of them and i did procrastinate, i admit. </p>
<p>dont hesitate over ordering packets from any schools. go crazy if you want, go order twenty packets. after all, you havent started applying yet, and its careful to pick out the schools you really want to go to. go to boardingschoolreivew.com (i went on it like everyday while i was applying) and pick out any school that you think you have a vague possibility of being happy there and get info. you can always throw them away if you get disgusted with the school, lol.</p>