<p>My sister and BIL moved recently to NYC and are considering Dalton for their daughter next year. They don’t know anyone personally who goes there, so naturally I thought of approaching this group for advice. Where else can you find a bunch of intelligent, well informed people who are eager to voice their opinions on schools?
They are middle class by NYC standards, but their D is extremely gifted and BIL’s workplace will provide generous tuition assistance if she is accepted. They have toured the school, and were impressed, but would like some other points of view before they make the decision. Their D is not what most people consider a typical prep school kid (if there is such a thing!). She’s very into the music scene and dresses the part. Objective or subjective responses would be most appreciated!</p>
<p>Several girls my daughter used to go to camp with went to Dalton and all seemed very bright and down to earth, but that may have been a function of the camp they went to. As I recall at least one was on scholarship. I imagine getting in is extremely difficult, but I suppose it is worth a try, though isn’t it late in the year for applications? Or is it next year that they plan to apply? </p>
<p>If they are aiming that high I would also suggest they look at Brearley, which in my limited experience produces outstanding and very nice young women. Do they have a plan B, though, of either a good public school or aslightly less exalted private one? Chances of admission may not be that good at these supercompetitive schools even for the brightest applicants.</p>
<p>mattmom- Thanks for the quick reply! Yes, she will be applying next year for the '07-'08 school year. They knew BIL was being transferred but the date kept getting changed and they ended up actually moving last month after the application date had passed. They had gone up for various events last spring and had been impressed with a number of schools, but Dalton seemed to be the one their D got the most excited about. I don’t know about Brearley but I’ll ask my sister if they have considered them. And yes, they have a plan B, she’s researching all the options right now. D will be a freshman next year, and I know they wish she could attend one school throughout HS, but right now she said she would be willing to transfer after freshman year.
I’m shocked at how competitive the private schools are there. It’s akin to applying to an Ivy.</p>
<p>luckysmom: We lived in Manhattan for a few years; pm me if you want to know more about some of these schools. Dalton has an excellent reputation; we have friends whose kids go there. Brearley, and some of the other girls schools do as well, though the atmosphere at Brearley is very different from that of Dalton. Trinity, on the upper west side, is also excellent. All these schools mentioned go through to 12th grade, which is nice. Some only go through 8th, and then you’re on to reapplying again–if you stay long enough.</p>
<p>Also check out
Chapin
Spence
Dwight
Fieldston
nightingale-bamford
friends seminary</p>
<p>i hope this helps</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.privateschoolreview.com/county_private_schools/stateid/NY/county/36061[/url]”>http://www.privateschoolreview.com/county_private_schools/stateid/NY/county/36061</a></p>
<p>Thanks sybbie! I’ll forward on the list. I know my sister is floundering right now about this almost as much as I did when S was applying to colleges!</p>
<p>Jack, I pm’d you.</p>
<p>luckysmom: Got it, and I answered you. Let me know if you have any other questions. Happy to help.</p>
<p>Dalton and Trinity are very very difficult to get into–with or without brains, talent and tuition assistance. </p>
<p>There are a couple of public schools that cater to the top 1/2%. Hunter is one…PS 124 is another…again, the competition to get in is something terrible.</p>
<p>Horace Mann is another private school option.</p>
<p>Kids have to take a bus to get up to Fieldston in Riverdale, but it’s a good option and slightly less competitive.</p>
<p>Heres’ another website:<a href=“http://www.insideschools.org/nv/NV_gifted_update_sep05.php[/url]”>http://www.insideschools.org/nv/NV_gifted_update_sep05.php</a></p>
<p>Kids would have to take a bus to Horace Mann as well, unless the school has moved.</p>
<p>Applying to private day school is a lot like doing colleges- you need to aplly to several, and you need to take a safety/match/reach attitude. They also need to look at what public schools would be an acceptable fallback, they are probably exam schools and they will need to apply.</p>
<p>I live in NY and Dalton is excellent, as are the other schools mentioned.
The girls schools send to have a lot of high school openings since a lot of girls at them go to boarding schools. Some kids even go to boarding schools from the co-ed schools, though fewer. The point of what I’m telling you is that some schools will have openings in the spring they are not expecting - families don’t say they are leaving until after their acceptances.
Even the best schools also sometimes have openings in the summer as many of the students’ fathers work in finance and get transferred at the end of the school year, to London, etc. So if their daughter is really talented she has a good chance of egtting into a good private school even though the “deadline” for admissions has passed. ALL of the schools mentioned are excellent.</p>
<p>luckysmom: I forgot to add that they should make an appt, too, to talk to someone at the Parents League of NY <a href=“http://www.parentsleague.org/[/url]”>Home;
It really is a terrific resource.</p>
<p>For a list in one place:
Private Co-ed Schools:
Dalton
Trinity
Fieldston
Horace Mann
Riverdale Country Day
Girls Schools:
Brearley
Chapin
Nightingale-Bamford
That is only a partial list of the many excellent private schools in NY.
There is a book every Manhattan Bookstore has on Manhattan Private Schools.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for their input. I’ve sent it all on to my sister. She is very grateful, and so am I. This site, and the generosity of the people on it just blows me away.</p>
<p>If she is not a “typical prep school kid”, I would strongly consider fieldston. It is as competitive in terms of admission and college success as the other private schools, with a more progressive and liberal atmosphere and student body. What does this mean? An emphasis on community service, ethics, social awareness, but without AP courses (although there are advanced courses). The student body is less competitive with each other than they are at other schools. But it is still very academically rigorous, with many great choices of classes and incredible teachers. It attracts a more diverse student body than these other schools due to the large amount of financial aid it gives out (more than any independent school in the country, I think). PM me if you have any questions.</p>
<p>Dalton is supposed to be a great school too, though. Brearley is thought to be the best of the all-girls schools, but is extremely intense and serious.</p>
<p>Dalton= school where Mariel Hemingway character went in “Manhattan”</p>
<p>These are all great schools. Daughter was at Riverdale for a while. Less preppy than some, but not as artsy as Fieldston. If the child has a choice o schools, great, if not, she can go to Harvard from any of these schools (with the grades, of course).
Sports is another factor. Check that out if she has a big sport. Some offer more than others. We moved and my kids are in public schools (good suburban one) but no question the private school had better facilitiies, smaller classes, and most important they really kept on top of every student, you HAD to meet with your teachers outside class for tutoring, their was a whole college admssions department (non existant in our PS), etc. If you have 20,000 plus a year to spend per child, the education is excellent. PS Boarding schoolas are a great option since they don’t cost that much more than Manhattan day schools, but I didn’t want mine to go away for HS.</p>
<p>out of the new york schools, the “hill schools” (riverdale, horace mann, and fieldston) offer more sports because they have fields on campus. And agreed fieldston has more of an “artsy” reputation, which may be good for your niece</p>
<p>Take a look at the website for the Association of Independent Schools for a full listing.</p>