Millbrook, Northfield Mt Hermon, Others?

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>My DD is very interested in a career in animal science. So far, Millbrook and NMH seem to offer strong prep in that area. Are there any others that she should consider?</p>

<p>She’s an A/B student and I expect her SSATs to be around 60-70%ile. She plays two of the sports offered at Millbrook and four offered by NHM (she is at the elite level in one at both, competitive in a 2nd at NMH and more recreational in the others). She also has played an instrument for 6 years. Her volunteer work includes working with animals. She will likely have strong recommendations and her guidence counselor is willing to help her apply. </p>

<p>We have planned a May trip to the area and will visit Millbrook and NMH. Are there others we should visit? She will be a transfer student, applying for junior year. She will need significant financial aid (she’d qualify for the full ride at Exeter but would never get admitted). </p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>She will need significant financial aid (she’d qualify for the full ride at Exeter but would never get admitted).</p>

<p>Hmm, I think you should have more faith in your daughter. You’ll never know if she can be admitted or not. I’m not sure about the program she wants but I think Millbrook is a good option. Although, I wouldn’t discourage her of applying to Exeter as they are a strong math and science school. I’m sure there are others who have a strong science program, but I would think Millbrook would be a good choice with their on-campus zoo and all.</p>

3

<p>You might also want to consider some of the schools that offer riding and have their own on-campus stables. George School in Pennsylvania is one such option, but there are others. Millbrook still sounds like your best bet, though!</p>

<p>I have no idea how difficult it is to be admitted as a junior at either Millbrook or NMH. When you visit in the spring, that’s something you might want to discuss with them. If applying as an 11th grader limits your daughter’s options, she might want to consider applying as a repeat 10th grader.</p>

<p>One question, though . . . why are you waiting so long for her to apply? Her chances of both admission and getting a generous financial aid award increase significantly if she applies as a 9th grader. Even applying as a 10th grader would increase her chances . . . but there is still a significant difference between 9th and 10th grade admissions. </p>

<p>I understand that you must have your reasons for wanting to delay her transfer to boarding school . . . just be aware that it does impact her chances of admission.</p>

<p>I was going to suggest that she try applying for next fall, but, having read your prior posts, my guess is that you don’t want to do that. But I’d strongly suggest you contact Millbrook, speak to an admissions officer and talk to them about your plan. They might agree that waiting is best . . . or they might encourage you to have your daughter submit an application sooner. But please, at the very least, make the phone call. There is still plenty of time to apply for next fall if you decide you want to give it a try. </p>

<p>By the way, if cost is an issue, you can apply for waivers of the admissions fees, SSAT testing fee, and NAIS fee. (If you need help with this, send me a message and I’ll walk you through it.)</p>

<p>With regard to financial aid, by the way, many schools, if not most, have more or less the same financial aid guidelines as Exeter. If your family would qualify for full financial aid at Exeter, you’d probably qualify just about anywhere. The availability of funds is another issue altogether, but just because a school is smaller and has a smaller endowment does not mean it might not be willing to give your daughter full financial aid. Smaller schools often offer very generous financial aid packages. So aim for the schools you think your daughter can get into . . . if one of those schools thinks she would be an asset to their community, they will do everything they can to make it possible for her to attend!</p>

4

<p>We are delaying for a few reasons</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Right now, she has stated that she does not want to go “yet”. So we are trying to expose her to the schools and the process so that she will feel more comfortable. Two young women that were involved in her sports club both went late (one as a PG and one as a repeat junior) so that is what she thinks she should do. </p></li>
<li><p>Our local high school has a two year animal science program that she can complete first if she stays here. Next year, she will be old enough to work with the animals at the local zoo as a volunteer. I think both of those will give her a good basis for success at prep.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I know financial aid is always part luck and part filling a need that the school has. We are hoping that she is elite enough in her sport that a school would really want her. We don’t care if their team is elite as this is all about the education but if athletics can help her get there/get aid, we’ll be grateful.</p>

<p>Do schools still look for ‘underrepresented populations’? Will that help her with admissions/aid also?</p>

5

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<p>That should help. But, as you say, it’s all about luck. If your daughter happens to apply in the same year that the school had six other applicants from the same background . . . well, then all bets are off.</p>

<p>But she definitely shouldn’t go before she’s ready to go. So, you’ll just have to wait and see. (It wouldn’t hurt, in the meantime, to start buying lottery tickets! :))</p>

6

<p>Take a look at two more schools: Berkshire (NY) and Brewster (NH).</p>

7

<p>Also: Putney (vt) and Miss Porter’s (CT).</p>

8

<p>Consider Simon’s Rock - it’s an unusual program, combining the last two years of high school with a 2-year college program. Students may continue with traditional 4-year BA programs thereafter, through the relationship with Bard College. It’s in a beautiful part of the Berkshires.</p>

9

<p>Thanks for all of the suggestions. We’ve added Dana Hall to the list to visit and are still looking into a couple. </p>

<p>How long should we plan on each visit lasting? Would 3-4 hours be enough?</p>

10

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<p>3-4 hours is way more than you need for a standard tour/interview . . . but that’s not what you’re doing. I’d suggest that you or your daughter do lots of planning for the visit: find out what faculty members you’d be interested in meeting, contact them, introduce yourselves, and set up appointments for the day of your visit. Then allow a bit of time for meetings to run longer than expected, so you don’t have to run from one end of campus to another.</p>

<p>I’ve never been there, but I’d guess that at Millbrook, you’d also want to allow extra time for visiting the animals. :slight_smile: And at NMH, you definitely want to allow extra time to stop by the NMH farm store so you can stock up on (or at least taste) the farm’s homemade ice cream!</p>

11

<p>Thanks, that is my big concern – getting my daughter to leave the animals.</p>

<p>I spoke with my DH about the advice I got on here to not wait until junior year so we are hoping that this visit sparks her interest and she will get excited about going sooner.</p>

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<p>Oh, then forget what I said earlier. Skip the teacher meetings . . . just allow lots of time for animals and ice cream! :)</p>