<p>Inspiration08, thought a new thread would be better. Tell us about Maderia?!?!</p>
<p>sure thing. what all do you want to know? i can tell you just about anything if i know where to start!</p>
<p>oops, just read the post in the old thread about your daughter.</p>
<p>a lot of girls decide not to go there because it is an all girls school, which makes me pretty sad. i can understand where they’re coming from though. </p>
<p>yeah, the internship program (its called co-curriculum) is really amazing. freshman stay on campus and take classes and do outdoor activities as well as take field trips, mostly to bond as a class. sophomores do community service. my sophomore placement, i worked with one of my best friends, and we pretty much just pushed people around in wheelchairs all day. it was so much fun to be behind the scenes in a hospital. however, halfway through the year, we got switched to a womens clinic, where we basically watched dawsons creek reruns on tv in the staff room while pretending to do paperwork. thats not what the school wants me to tell you, im sure! haha. junior year is a lot better, because you work on capital hill. i know girls who worked with barack obama, as well as a good friend of mine who once hit john kerry with her purse! many of my friends have gotten in trouble for leaving for lunch though. i think its bad not to allow it, because with DC right there, its very tempting. senior year, you can do pretty much whatever you want, and its really what you make of it.</p>
<p>The postings on all girls schools all focus on Westover, Miss Porters and Emma Willard. Every now and then someone will ask about Maderia. When we looked at Maderia, I was worried that the campus emptied out on weekends. My daughter would not have been able to go home every weekend. I wasn’t sure if most girls stayed on campus on weekends or went home.
Academically, is the school strong? How are the college acceptances?
Basically, is Maderia in the same league as the other very strong girls schools?</p>
<p>I might apply to Madeira, instead of Foxcroft. I live in central VA, about 3 hours away from D.C. Do you think that being at an all-girls school would be a better experience than being at a co-ed school?</p>
<p>There are many great benefits to single gender education.
I came across this web site a while ago that you might be interested in:
[NASSPE:</a> Home > Introduction](<a href=“http://www.singlesexschools.org/home-introduction.htm]NASSPE:”>http://www.singlesexschools.org/home-introduction.htm)</p>
<p>Thanks. I can now see the benefits of attending a single gender school!</p>
<p>Great link, Linda. Thanks.</p>
<p>the campus emptying out on weekends is, in fact, a problem. im from far away, and at first i didnt like the deserted feel. but, there are plenty of girls who are from too far away to go home, and you sort of build your own little weekend community. not to mention, you will make friends who live close or are day students, and you will most likely want to go home with them on weekends, especially once you are an upperclassman and your friends have cars. also, the school sponsors trips to different places on the weekends, and you can round up your boarder friends to go places with you. it all worked out for me.</p>
<p>academically, the school is VERY strong. i know some schools where you pretty much just sign up to take AP’s, but Mad AP classes are very competitive, and you might not get in. the conference periods built into every day will be touted as times to get help. these are very useful if you mange to take advantage of them, but honestly, i just take naps…haha. </p>
<p>college acceptances are incredibly strong as well. students get into TOP schools- however, girls are not biased by name brands. example: a girl in the class above me was accepted to Harvard and chose to attend Mount Holyoke instead. she knew what was right for her and she valued a single sex education. Madeira sends a LOT of girls to Wellesley (last years class of less than 100 sent 8 girls there) and to UVA. </p>
<p>Madeira is, in my opinion, the BEST all girls school that is primarily boarding in the country, perhaps on par with Dana Hall, but they have fewer boarders. It is overlooked a lot of the time because so many people are not aware of its high caliber. </p>
<p>sarah12- YES! apply to madeira instead of foxcroft! haha there is an intense mad/foxcroft rivalry, and even though im biased, i can honestly say that madeira is the better school for boarding. i have a friend whose little sister goes to foxcroft as a day student, and she is very happy there, but the boarding life is not the best unless you are super committed to riding horses. </p>
<p>i am a firm believer in single sex education and i think you would have a much better experience at an all girls school than a coed one. its such a different environment, in the classroom and everywhere else. i can think of many examples, such as when the headmistress made an announcement that leaving sports bras on the floor of the student center was not acceptable, or when a girl asked to go to the bathroom during english class and on her way out the door said “oh, wait- does anyone have a tampon?” i wear sweatpants every single day and its amazing to just pull my hair into a ponytail instead of getting up early to prepare my appearance. all entering students take modern world history, and the class discussions are unbelievable.</p>
<p>i have a lot of work to finish tonight, but keep those questions coming and i will go into more detail about everything soon! im sure i can think of some awesome stories to tell all you prospies.</p>
<p>I found that site interesting because it details the benefits for both girls and boys and also because of how there is a movement among **public **schools to seperate classrooms by gender. </p>
<p>I can see the reasons clear in my own daughter as she comes home (co-ed school) and is bothered by the boys - they will make fun of her (or she thinks they will) if she does this or that. Very boy-like things. It is nice to hear from a current student about it too. Thanks inspiration08</p>
<p>bump!</p>
<p>any other girls looking at mad?</p>
<p>i looked at Madiera but they only have a riding program for hunters so I’m applying to foxcroft, garrison forest, and oldfields who have eventing programs</p>
<p>It seems nice, but too far away for me.</p>
<p>garrison does not have much of a boarding community at all. i know a senior who just got kicked out of garrison as well. they do have an EXCELLENT riding program, though. </p>
<p>agsaabs, what area are you from?</p>
<p>I’m from NJ. I do have some relatives in Baltimore, though. So, in hindsight, I wish I had applied, but now it’s too late.</p>
<p>I know and it is a little discouraging but… inspiration do you know what kind of academic program garrison has I new to this whole boarding school thing and don’t have a very good feel for what is “good”. sry if i am straying from the thread subject</p>