Madeira. Our love for Madeira started with a fantastic “Capitol Hill Weekend” in the fall during which DD participated in a leadership conference, spent the night in the dorms where she genuinely connected with some amazing students, and toured Capitol Hill with Madeira interns while I met faculty, toured the gorgeous campus, and sat in on panels learning all about their amazing programs that include three internships for each student. Really unique, wonderful opportunities. Throughout the admissions process, they went above and beyond. Even before M10, they reached out to DD, who wrote one of her essays on the show, Madame Secretary, to set up a phone call between DD and a Madeira alumn who was a writer for the show! Post M10, we received the kindest calls from teachers, students, alumnae, the Board Chair, various program directors, etc. Their virtual revisit panels were excellent. I KNOW our daughter would have loved it there, and I literally cried when turning down Madeira’s offer.
Grier. My biggest regret probably is that we never got to visit Grier. They offer a really unique approach to “wellness” and physical activity that really appealed to us, and they have a huge arts emphasis, which we love. Lots of STEAM electives. The AOs were so wonderful and kind, and they connected us with faculty and parents and alumnae. Everything we were able to learn about Grier was wonderful, but we just couldn’t commit to a school we hadn’t seen.