<p>Hi everyone.</p>
<p>My daughter had the following results from all her applications:</p>
<p>IN at: Nobles, BB&N, Concord Academy, Rivers and DAna Hall
WL at: Phillips, Middlesex, and Groton (applied as a day student)</p>
<p>What should we do? What school do you think is the best of the ones she got in?</p>
<p>Thanks for your advice!</p>
<p>First off-- well done, her!</p>
<p>Let’s look at the acceptances since WL are always --esp in the bs arena–problematic at best.</p>
<p>They are very different-- single sex, coed, mixed b/d, all day–some big and some rather small. Not sure how your family came up with the list other than most of the fine schools around Boston --west of the city I notice.</p>
<p>So the homework of what do you want out of a secondary school that usually takes place before application needs to take place now. It is not a matter of THIS school is great and THAT school isn’t. Schools have to fit and the difficult work is in determining for YOUR daughter (and more importantly, for her to determine for herself) what she wants from a school–and who she is-- then which school matches best.</p>
<p>Sorry that I am being cryptic-- but without knowing her very well, it is impossible to say anything specific.</p>
<p>What I can say is that she has some wonderful options and will get a fine education.</p>
<p>I vote Dana Hall!</p>
<p>Pick the two that stand out the most in a positive way and go to revisit days. A full day on campus will give you a better flavor of a school than the brief tours and interviews during the application phase. If possible, do more than two - but I know that means a lot of time off from school. So if you can - narrow it down to the two favorites and visit.</p>
<p>If not visit is possible, then I encourage scouring Youtube, etc. for student videos of their campus lives. That way you can get a glimpse of the school personality unfiltered by the “sales” job the schools do with a viewbook.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>This is our first child and we really didn’t know what to expect. She is a straight A, 95% SSAT, Math-soccer girl. She is a little on the quiet side. We basically wanted a day school but some of the closer boarding schools were hard to resist applying to.</p>
<p>She is in an all girls school now and I think she would like to have boys in her class so we ruled out Dana Hall. So that leaves us with BBN,Nobles, CA and Rivers. </p>
<p>We think BBN & Nobles are similar. Which do you think is better overall?</p>
<p>CA is not sports oriented so she could be a superstar there. Rivers seems good too.</p>
<p>We will attend all revisit days…</p>
<p>Any further insights?</p>
<p>THX!</p>
<p>Thanks EXIEMITALUM</p>
<p>We will look on utube today and attend all revisits except probably Dana Hall.</p>
<p>let us know if you think of anything else…</p>
<p>Good luck. I am sorry to hear Dana has been ruled out. It is a terrific school where being a girls strong in sports or math is valued. But it is definitely all-girls so if your daughter has had enough of that environment, then it has to go!</p>
<p>I hear terrific things about Concord. BBN is good but depending on where you live, could be a tough school run every morning… </p>
<p>Good luck to you and how fabulous you have choices! Exciting times.</p>
<p>BB&N has more of a feel of a very well endowed public high school–much like Weston High. Nobles is much more the traditional NE private school-- for years its has been the “hottest” day school in the area not sure if that is still the case. It has a very strong sports program.</p>
<p>Rivers isn’t in the same league academically as the other two. It has a conservatory program that brings quite talented musicians to the student body and it has always had good athletic team. </p>
<p>Concord-- well two of us posters significantly disagree-- so I will just say check it out for yourself and see if there is a fit.</p>
<p>NOT knowing your child aside from the rough impression you give she could be happy at most of these school-- I wonder if BB&N may be too big for her given her temperament.</p>
<p>Thanks London203— after 4 years of all girls, I can see how she may want to learn to work with boys so we are supporting her on her choice. I went to an all girl high school and had a wonderful experience! She has done well in the past 4 years with all girls but I can see how she may want a change… thanks for your support!!! : )</p>
<p>Hi etondad.</p>
<p>Agree that Rivers is not in the same league academically-- so then I think can she be a superstar there??? She is #1 in her current class…she is a very good athlete…</p>
<p>BBN-- is large… and the campus didn’t feel like a community to us on our visit…</p>
<p>CA= we live near there and the culture seems a bit different than the other places…more artsy where my daughter is more sporty… so commute would be great but not sure it will be best fit…</p>
<p>Noble—felt “right” to daughter from the start… spent a long time in interviews with sports coach and admissions person… nice connection… nice feel to the place. I was disappointed at the Groton WL but if she got in there she would be a day student living a boarding life which I am not sure is that easy…</p>
<p>Thoughts? THX!</p>
<p>I am a big fan of “feel”. Maybe focus most evaluation on re-visits where the “fit” seems best?</p>
<p>HI london203</p>
<p>I think that is good advice… I will sign up for all the revist days and see what SHE thinks!</p>
<p>Thx again!</p>
<p>Start with Nobles. You can’t underestimate the validity of a positive gut reaction in gauging “fit” and “compatibility”. </p>
<p>My daughter had an instant reaction to her current school. I noticed she spent the longest time on campus with her tour guide and with her interviewer compared to other schools, then the school invited the music teacher to meet her. That ended up being where she enrolled. And she’s really been happy there - which is important - because not everything at a boarding school is smooth and when there are disappointments (a low grade, not getting a particular spot in a sport) you still have to know in your heart that it was the right place. By Thanksgiving of her first year she slipped and called it “home.” :)</p>
<p>So start with Nobles and let that be the benchmark as you figure out if other schools measure up during revisit days. Also, revisits are important because the “feel” of a school during recruiting phases may be different when you’re on campus all day and visiting classes.</p>
<p>But either way - Congratulations! So many good choices, you probably can’t go wrong. :)</p>
<p>Would she be a day student at Nobles, or would she be in the 5-day boarding program? If the latter, one thing to keep in mind is that it is a very small program. There would be only about 5 other girls in her grade, I believe, so if she does not happen to “click” with that small group, it might not make for the best of experiences. And because the boarding program is so small, the student body is less diverse than at schools with a larger boarding population. But you are right, it is very “sporty” - Both athletics and academics are considered very strong.</p>
<p>I think Sue22 knows a lot about Nobles, and might have something to say about the boarding program, and how well the boarding students integrate with the day population.</p>
<p>ceomom, I have a student athlete at CA. Feel free to pm me with any questions.</p>
<p>Hi</p>
<p>She would be a day student…THere seems to be great college placement and we are excited to see how she feels on revisit day…</p>
<p>flatstanley: I have some questions for you and just PM’s you.</p>
<p>coemom: Yes, matriculation stats for Nobles are very impressive. Great school, especially for day students. Good luck on revisit day!</p>
<p>Thanks… will let you know how it goes!!!</p>
<p>honoraryamom: Just answered all your questions and tried to pm you back but cc won’t allow me to – apparently I don’t have enough posts? Has anyone else experienced this?</p>
<p>flatstanley: Oh, I should have noticed you didn’t have enough posts yet for PM’s. I believe you need to have at least 15 public posts. Will it let you send me an email? If not, would you be willing to post answers publicly, if I ask them on one of the CA threads?</p>