My middle school daughter is in an opportunity program that pretty much guarantees her acceptance to either Brearley or Horace Mann. We are beyond grateful for this. Since both schools are equally academically excellent, we are trying to determine which is the best fit in terms of student culture and course offerings. On the one hand, my daughter loves the whole “girl power” vibe associated with Brearley. On the other, she has many artistic interests, where Horace Mann might provide more opportunity because of its extensive course catalog.
Without in-person visits this year, it’s hard to get a sense of these schools’ different vibes. My concern about an all-girls school is that it may be a tad “cliquey”- my daughter is so not the “gossip girl” type. However, during the virtual tour and interview at Brearley, we did not get this impression- it felt like a genuinely friendly and supportive community that values and nurtures girls’ individuality. Also, both schools have an admirable commitment to promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion. That said, I know at this age, no school will be completely free of social pressures, especially for a child of color from a middle-class background.
I was wondering if anyone familiar with these schools could offer their insight. Also, transportation is not an issue as we will be looking to relocate.
I think it depends on what grade your daughter will start. If she is going from 8th to 9th, the girl vs coed may not make a difference since the focus is more on getting ready to college.
However, if it’s going from 6th to 7th, then it will be a lot of years in girl school and it could be something to think about.
First of all, congratulations! Those are great schools and you really can’t go wrong with either. I think that you should definitely consider the academic environment as Brearley has a little more of a traditional teaching style than Horace Mann does. You should also probably consider the school campus. Horace Mann has a much larger more college like campus, while Brearly’s is much more of a refined and up-to-date city building. One more possible consideration is the student (and teacher) diversity. Best of luck!
Brearley’s is much more of a refined and up-to-date city building.
I’ve never heard 590 (where a middle- or highschooler would attend) referred to as “refined and up-to-date”. 610 (the lower school) maybe (at least the up-to-date part), but 590 not so much.
FWIW, my impression from tours is that Horace Mann has a more materialistic vibe (based on how students and admin’s dressed), but you’ll obviously find crazy money at both schools.
Thank you, everyone, for responding. It may not seem like much, but your feedback helped my daughter choose the school she’s been in love with from the beginning. Any decision involves compromises, and any opportunity also brings challenges. But she’ll be in a better place to accept these, knowing she made an informed decision.
I’m late to this thread, but I agree with your daughter’s choice and that if it were my daughter, I’d send her to Brearley over HM. I had to remind my husband of a recent issue the college counseling dept had a couple of years ago where a senior wrote to a college that a classmate was applying to to sabotage that student’s application. Not a student body that I’d like my child to grow with (it’s google-able if you want the gory details).
Is your daughter coming from SOH or Prep? As an middle class girl of color at HM, I can attest to the fact that it is a truly wonderful environment. HM does have a very large campus with extensive options (even during COVID) and they do everything they can to support students. In response to what was said by other posters, 1) you will find materialistic students at NYC private school, just because the richest of the rich go here. 2) that college story was almost a decade ago, and not representative of the entire student body. HMers are some of the kindest, most empathetic kids you will ever see. You will see happy students chatting with teachers and friends alike everywhere you turn. I’m obviously very biased, but HM is a wonderful school and we would be super honored to have your daughter in our community
I want to thank everyone who responded to my post. My daughter received her acceptance to Brearley two weeks ago (Prep students receive decisions in March). We are over the moon!
Your feedback gave my daughter the confidence to act on her gut feeling that Brearley was the right choice. She is so glad she did.
Heyothere22- Even though my daughter didn’t make HM her first choice, your post made the waiting so much easier- she felt she would be happy at both schools. It was touching how lovingly you described the community at HM, even while acknowledging no place is perfect.
