<p>I was wondering if anyone might be able to offer me some advice/opinions on some strong academic/athletic boarding schools for my daughter who is applying for 2009 as a sophomore. She currently attends a very competitive private day school and plays field hockey and lacrosse. Her school has been State and ISL champs for both sports for the past several years. She loves playing at such a competitive level and would be seeking something somewhat similar at a boarding school. She also plays on a highly competitive club lacrosse team in a major metropolitan area. Most of the lax girls at her school and on her club team play DIV 1 in college. She is an A - B+ student with an incredible work ethic. She would be best suited in a school that is not going to beat her up academically but challenge her and guide her along the way. She is very social and fun loving. We are big believers in the "big fish little pond" theory. She has been at the same school since Kindergarten and is looking to do something different. She loves the idea of going away to school and living amongst her friends and teachers. She goes to camp every summer for 6 weeks and is ready to spread her wings and be more independent.</p>
<p>Currently we have interviews set with Brooks, Taft, and Middlesex. Pomfret and Episcopal have appealed to her as well. I was wondering if anyone might be able to offer any feedback on these schools or any ideas on other schools we should consider.</p>
<p>Thank you for your responses. I am so confused by all of the information that is out there and we are just trying to find a school that is the "right fit" for our Daughter. I was hoping to get some opinions of the schools we are looking at to balance with all of the info from the websites/view books.</p>
<p>Deerfield Academy is an outstanding boarding school for highly competitive athletics. The academics are demanding, but probably a bit easier than St. Paul's, Groton or Andover. Hotchkiss is quite demanding for academics. Unless your daughter needs more academic challenges or is dead set on competing with top tier Ivy League candidates, you may want to look at the next tier which are also academic powerhouse type schools. Lawrenceville in New Jersey has strong academics as well as athletics. The only reason that I think that Deerfield & Lawrenceville may be good options for your daughter is that, although both are academic powerhouses, they both accept PGs and may make academic accommodations for these pre-Division I collegiate athletes.</p>
<p>I agree Deerfield and Lawrenceville are excellent schools. I believe they may be too big for my daughter. I think she would have more success in a smaller school. A tight knit community is something we are both seeking. She also wants to be close to a city like Boston or DC. That is what interested her in Brooks ,Middlesex and Episcopal.</p>
<p>Episcopal, cannot get much more welcoming in my opinion. I have two friends that have gone there, and when I went for my SSAT testing everyon(except myself) planned on applying there. I keep asking and get the answer, "It is like the south". From what I understand it is cowboy boots and "Southern Style". Still very welcoming. I've seen videos of fun things in the common room from my friends. Little things like climbing the pillars and stacking up snapple bottles(Some sort of glass or plastic bottle) then knocking them down with little bouncy balls.</p>
<p>As far as I can tell the school has alot of fun. The fact you are near DC is priceless, both my friends are convinced that they will be working for a senator as an assisstant by their senior year. I think that is one of the programs similar to "a term abroad"... But this is a term abroad in DC politics.</p>
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Deerfield Academy is an outstanding boarding school for highly competitive athletics. The academics are demanding, but probably a bit easier than St. Paul's, Groton or Andover.
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Let's not go there, really, Deerfield's academics are not a "bit easier" that SPS, Groton or Andover. It is as academically strong as any of them. </p>
<p>Hotchkiss is aroudn the same size I believe - 600 and not close enough to a city I would say. </p>
<p>Deerfield is 600 and while I'd say there seems to be more to do than in Lakeville, it's still 2 hours from Boston.</p>
<p>My son was impressed with Episcopal when they came to his school to recruit last year, but I don't know much of anything about it. </p>
<p>Would she consider an all-girls school? </p>
<p>Blair? Burbparent has a child there, and might offer additional info.</p>
<p>honestly i think 400-500 is the cutoff point for a small school.
medium sized schools are 500-600
then beyond that schools are huge. i think choate is huge lol a/e are, too, obviously. and lawrenceville.</p>
<p>deerfield's the medium size :D
and no, it isn't "easier" than sps, groton, etc. they're all in the same group, and you can't judge a school by itself if it's already made it into the team.</p>
<p>Blair is a great school and meets your criteria in terms of community, academics and proximity to a city (in this case, both Philadelphia and NYC are weekend outings sometimes). However, their field hockey and lacrosse teams are not at championship levels. You can consider Blair if she decides that is not as important, or she wants to go to a school where she can have an immediate impact on a team. Some of Blair's athletic teams are amazing, but not for these 2 sports right now. </p>
<p>Is there a website that has prep rankings for these 2 sports? I don't know how their field hockey and lacrosse teams are, but you can look at the athletic websites of Westminster, Tabor and Berkshire (not close to a city).</p>
<p>Posts #12 & #13 should have read my entire post above before criticizing. I do, however, feel quite confident in everything posted above as both schools admit PGs & have to make academic accommodations for them. I am sorry if I struck a nerve as I am well aware of how emotional the prep school threads can be.</p>
<p>I probably overstated the case as Deerfield Acedemy is a very elite & prestigious school. PG admission is primarily for athletics & to better prepare the athlete academically for college. When examining college placement, Deerfield Academy places many PG athletes at Ivy League schools. Additionally, Deerfield Academy had an unusually remarkable ED admit rate at Ivy League Penn, which has changed with the sudden, unexpected resignation of Penn's longtime head of undergraduate admissions. Ivy League university placement for athletic recruits is on a different academic standard, than for non-athletes. College placement success is an important measure of academics among the elite, highly selective boarding schools. In short, my point is that schols like Roxbury Latin, Groton & St. Paul's lead the way for elite college placements based on academics.
The Lawrenceville School seems to have an amazing placement history at Princeton University. When I tried to verify the numbers & type of placements (athletic or academic) I was shut-out by both schools & referred to websites.</p>
<p>The primary reason for my posting indicating that Deerfield Academy might offer some less demanding options was that the OP wanted a top athletic program at an elite boarding school "that won't beat up my kid academically". Typically prep schools that accept a significant number of athletic PGs have a wider variety of academic options available, including more advanced courses. At Roxbury Latin, Groton & St. Paul's, all kids get beat up academically.</p>
<p>BROOKS! Hi Laxmom, Brooks has a terrific field hockey program under Coach Casey Bobo - sorry but i don't know all the statistics and college placement - As for the rest of the school, it really sounds like it might meet a lot of your criteria. It's one of the smaller ISL schools, with just over 350 kids. It looks like a traditional New England village, with white clapboard buildings, while also having a brand new science center, quite new athletic center (oops I almost said "gym") and a really lovely library. There are quite frequent bus trips to Boston, from there, it's really easy to take the T to Harvard Square etc. Academically, it's challenging without being a complete pressure-cooker. The school really appreciates kids as individuals - and truly encourages their growth!</p>