I would greatly appreciate help finding and applying to prep school(s) for my daughters. We live in the UK and feel there may be better opportunities for them in the US.
Our 14 year old loves music - plays guitar and piano and sings in the National Youth Choir of Great Britain. She’s in the average sets academically and completing her GCSES next year in June. She’ll be starting Y11 (10th grade) in September but we’re okay with her repeating 10th grade to allow her settle into the US system before going off to college.
We’re looking for day and boarding options for schools with really good music programs and academic support.
We tried speaking with a couple of educational consultants to build a list of schools but the fees are quite expensive so trying to see if we can build a list and hopefully come out to tour schools this summer.
Any suggestions at all in CT, MA, PA, TN, NC areas would be great. Thank you!
I have a hard time understanding what you are looking for. What does “good music program” mean to you? Same with “academic support” – do you mean a school very strong academically, or a school with a lot of “scaffolding”? Do you have more than one daughter? If yes, do you want both at one school? Preference as to size of school? Single sex ok? Location (Rural vs in a town)?
Thank you for your response @cinnamon1212
A good music program means a school with a high standard of instrumental music tuition and good links to a conservatoire if possible.
I gathered from a different thread here that there are schools that offer one to one or group academic support where students need additional help with academic work. So I guess that would mean scaffolding per your description.
I have two daughters - the other is 10 years old and not yet high school age. So our thinking is that we probably find a neighbouring private day middle school or a day school that offers grades 7 - 12 so both girls are in the same school.
Ideally, we want both girls close to each other but mindful older sib will want to board in grade 12 if she starts off as a day student.
They are both currently in a mid-size (for the UK) private school (about 800 students across elementary to high school).
We would prefer similar in terms of school size as want the benefit of small class sizes.
Location wise, we really aren’t decided yet. My husband is exploring a PhD at schools around CT/MA - so we could live and have the girls in the same or neighbouring day schools in these areas.
We have friends and relatives in PA, TN and NC. And we would consider having day/boarding options close to family given older sib definitely has to transfer next year after her GCSEs here. We could relocate with younger sib in Jan 2026 if necessary.
The plan is to relocate to the US as a family by Sept 2025.
If we’re able to move by then, we would want both girls in day schools.
But we want the boarding options in case older daughter has to transfer first or board later (grade 12) if she starts off as a day student.
Thanks for this @thumper1
We’ve always done private schools from elementary here in the UK for a number of reasons.
However, the fees in the UK are chump change compared to the US but it’s the only way to go for us for now, so we’re preparing for it.
Any financial aid would of course be appreciated but we believe we can make it work for both girls.
My advice is to try and reduce the number of variables you are trying to solve for.
Which in your case means ignoring the younger child for now. She will be living with you; you are likely to end up in a college town of sort-- the local public schools in these towns tend to be very, very good. So no need to contort yourself to figure out a plan which meets both kids needs AND has them in the same place AND can be/might be affordable, with music for the elder child and who knows what for the younger child…
Re: the older child- why the interest in boarding at all if you all end up in the US at the same time? I understand it as a fallback if your timing is delayed… but if you all end up in the same place and you find an easy and convenient day program for her- wouldn’t that be optimal?
I’m a little uncomfortable with the “we can make it work” strategy unless you actually HAVE the cash in hand for their education (and four years each of college- which is no joke financially). And I don’t know how an educational institute is going to factor in having a parent who is a full time doctoral student regarding aid.
My head is spinning. But the more information you give us the better we can advise you.
To start this discussion, take a look at George School. (Boarding school with day students). It’s grounds abut Newtown Friends School - day, K-8, and it is also in an excellent public district. There are a number of kids who are serious musicians who participate in school ensembles and many have teachers in Philadelphia (or NYC). Nice, kind, inclusive environment that would value the international experienceyour D would bring. There’s a learning center, but there are other schools that are stronger for kids who need more structure and/or supports. IB program is strong and a good option for students who want to go to college abroad. It’d be helpful to know what learning supports are needed as these vary enormously from school to school.
Any school near Boston will have good music options outside school. If you like George School’s schedule, look at Cambridge School of Weston. Tons of great public districts in the area.
Both of those two are a bit easier to get into, which may matter as you try to plan around so many moving parts.
Hotchkiss has an excellent music program and a more traditional curriculum/schedule. It’d be a bit harder to participate in non-school music activity from this school, but it’s top notch by all measures. It might be tougher for a kid with learning differences.
Walnut Hill specializes in performing arts.
It’s in a “school -rich” area so you wouldn’t have to choose it for both girls.
Why not look at these and let us know how these align and we can offer ideas from there.
Good suggestions! I did not mention Hotchkiss, despite it’s phenomenal music program, because in my opinion it is not the place for a kid that you know from the start might need more help. (I base my opinion on having a son who attended be diagnosed with ADHD while there). That said, if it is a good fit, there are some good private elementary/middle schools in the area (Indian Mountain, or Dutchess Day School). There are no great universities all that close. Depending on how you define “close” as I guess Yale is about 90 minutes away.
I would also take a look at Peddie and other schools in the Princeton area. Despite the quality of the public schools in the area, there are several excellent boarding and day schools around.
You should know that in areas with universities, there is almost always a nearby suburban option of excellent public schools, along with high level youth orchestras and choirs. Unless money is no object, you might consider figuring out where you will be going in the US first.
Hun and Pennington are both good for kids needing support for LD. But I didn’t mention any NJ schools based on the OP’s list of preferred states. I think these 2 might require a bit more work to access non-school high-level music opportunities ( simply because there are so many day students who can access them without school support), but I really don’t know that for a fact.
We really need to understand where there is flexibility in the goals and where this family is on decision making.
The expenses for boarding schools would be more than $70,000 for each of your kids every year. For day programs it would be around $55,000 a year. The stipends for PhD students range between $27,000 to $50,000 a year, and the visa issued to the spouses of most international students (F-2 visas) do not allow them (the spouse) to work. So that stipend will likely be the sole income for your family.
Unless your husband has been accepted to a PhD program, there is really no point in looking at schools for the kids. Depending on the field and the programs that you are looking at, acceptance rates to PhD programs vary between 20% and single digits. There is also a correlation between how challenging it is to be accepted, and the annual stipend. Universities and field that provide the highest stipends are also the ones that have the lowest admission rates.
Like PhD programs, boarding schools which would provide enough financial aid that you could afford the school on a PhD stipend have very low acceptance rates (generally 20% or lower). So there is absolutely no guarantee that either of your kids will be accepted to a private boarding/day school, much less that both will be accepted to the same school.
It just seems to me that your present plans have too many moving parts, and too many things that, if they don’t work out, result in the entire plan not being viable.
My advice to you would be to first determine if and where your husband will do his PhD, what his stipend will be, where you could afford to live on that stipend, and what the public schools in that area are like.