DD applied to both Fay and North Country schools too. They both seemed great. She was also accepted by North Country school and had seriously considered it.
But later she had chance to meet North Country alumni at Grier, and told me that she was very lucky to choose Grier for 9th grade than North Country for 8th. North Country looked like a dreamy experience, but farm life isn’t always as it seems when you actually live one. Some kids might not love to wake up early everyday to feed animals before breakfast and clean kitchen after, although nearly all parents would love that.
“English ssat scores are good (around 90th) and her math scores are mediocre (around 70th)”
DD also got around 70 on her first SSAT math, but 35 on her ACT math 3 1/2 years later. Good English skill is likely to affect on math performance eventually. Someone with 70% SSAT might not win a math competition or take post-calculus math in highs school, but good standard test scores and performance in high school stem classes can be achieved. At least it shouldn’t be a deciding factor on choosing boarding school.
Here is my review on Grier 2 written years ago.