<p>Just to give you another viewpoint, our home is about 2,000 miles from the East Coast where my children went to school (my youngest is still attending–I can tell you, the empty house this go 'round is harder to take). To me the distance was a big negative but in light of all the fabulous positives, it did not stand a chance.</p>
<p>I do not recall seeing a single younger sibling when we toured and interviewed. Of course that is just my one-person sample. However, if I had a younger child nearing BS age and interested in BS, I would not hesitate to take them along. That’s assuming they are mature enough to maintain their demeanor. It could get quite boring for them and it wouldn’t do to slouch lazily in the waiting room, yawn, etc.</p>
<p>As far as politics, I can’t help you much there except to say, learn to read between the lines of websites, reviews, brochures, etc. Look at the list of student organizations. Look at what student awards and recognitions are featured in the school newspaper, magazine, and website.</p>
<p>I think GMTplus7’s comments about full pay vs. FA being related to political leanings are valid. I’m going to guess that stricter dress code, frequency of formal dinners, and required religious services may be correlated with political leanings, but I’m just throwing that out as a shortcut to doing a first sort, say at boarding school review.com.</p>