https://www.boardingschools.com/mobile/school-profile/emma-willard-school recreational sports lists horseback riding
I’ve been off of this side of CC for a while because D got seriously cold feet and was leaning away from going the BS route, although it is back on the table now so I am refamiliarizing myself with the landscape.
@Calliemomofgirls there are some differences, but you seem to be describing my daughter really well. She would sink at schools like your #2 was considering, but your list for #3 is pretty similar to ours I think. She wants kind kids first and foremost. She wants to do well but if you want to try for Harvard or MIT even though that’s cool with her, she isn’t interested in hopping on that train with you. She wouldn’t do great if everyone surrounding her has that type A++ personality.
Also even though she will probably be a JV/3rds player no volleyball is a dealbreaker, which keeps a surprising number of schools off of the list. She kind of likes the thought of riding but it’s not a big deal to her, so that opens up a lot of schools for us that aren’t great for you.
Sorry I don’t have anything helpful to add, but wanted you to know that I am following this thread with interest. Who knows, maybe we can meet IRL at drop-off at one of these places in August!
ETA if you hear from FVS how hard the line is on the SSAT please let me know. The number asking for that is pretty short and we are seriously considering just crossing those schools off of the list.
So far, FVS hasn’t budged on the SSAT. That being said, their average isn’t extremely crazy competitive and it was pretty easy to take the SSAT at home.
Grier has a strong horseback riding program with lots of options… my daughter rode recreationally last year, and this year she’s on the team. She’s not very experienced, so I don’t know if she’s on the team because the smaller in-person enrollment (many kids are learning virtually this year) meant more room on the team, or if the team is willing to cast a wide net. I have also been VERY impressed with their science program. I wasn’t really expecting that, but my daughter is very strong in math and science and the school has been great at providing lots of opportunities, both academically and with club offerings… there is an astronomy club, and an adventure club run by one of the science teacher that seems to be mostly hiking places to do science.
@Nantar Thanks for the input. Grier fell off our list for a couple of reasons, but you are mentioning the reasons it was on our list in the first place.
Unrelated but for anyone following, FVS went “test-preferred.”
I feel your stress. I have 2 nieces who graduated from Loomis lately with great success. Their cousins went to Porter’s and were quite pleased as well. I hope this helps.