Hello everyone!
I am a new student at Milton Academy and would love love love love to answer any questions you might have about Milton. I have seen lots of threads in this format for other GLADCHEMMS schools, but not for Milton, so I thought it would be a good idea to start this thread to chase off any question marks you might have about our school–especially since the 2018 app cycle is about to begin. I, myself, would be more than happy to help any of you, however as I am a new student and may not be able to answer all of your questions, I invite other students/alums/parents/friends to jump in as well.
NOTE: The 50/50 day to boarding student ratio seems to be a concern for most applicants and parents (it was for me too as a boarder when I was trying to decide on a school). I will tell you exactly what a student who graduated this year told me when I asked him about it: It is an issue only if you make it one. If you are outgoing and participate in afternoon programs etc., it is super easy to make day student friends. If your parents are okay with you leaving the campus to meet with your day student friends, getting permission to join them during the weekends won’t be much of an issue either.
I hope all of you have a very very productive year!!!
MODERATOR’S NOTE: Any student/alum/parent/friend can respond to the questions.
@StandardizedGirl I think it is an issue only for those that are aware of the differences. LOL Many parents do not want there kids leaving campus on weekends. The school can be very quiet during the weekends and evenings which can be a big plus but it depends on the student. It also feels like a day school. The campus is quite small and a bit of an island. There is really nowhere to walk to. Great school but a bit unique compared to other BSs
@Center I agree that the school can be pretty quiet during weekends, though I see that more as an advantage. However, Milton is pretty close to Boston -although it certainly isn’t walking distance- and has a few places to walk to. MOST boarding schools are even farther in distance to central areas, and have “nowhere to walk to”. That’s why boarding schools are often described as bubbles; though having that many day student friends, it should be even easier to get off campus at Milton.
Here’s what a few student reviews say:
-“We’re located near small but lively towns that are within walking distance, and we’re also only a thirty minute car ride from Boston. It’s more than easy to get away and spend some time off campus.”
-“The town is a suburban area. Tedeschi’s is a 10-minute walk away and East Milton Square is a 25-minute walk away. Students love going to the South Shore Mall or East Milton Square on the weekends via the school shuttles. Since Boston is only a 20-minute drive away without traffic, students also like going to Newbury Street for some shopping or Havard Square for dinner on the weekends.”
-“There is a Tedeschi’s nearby-- a 10 minutes walk. There is a huge mall called the Southshore mall which has everything you would possibly need; it is around a 15-minute drive away. There is also an outdoor strip mall called Legacy Place which has a Whole Foods; it is around a 20-minute drive away. Boston is also super close to Milton. Without traffic, it is only 25 minutes away by car. Milton has a super convenient location. It has its own peace and quiet since its in a town but is also pretty close to the city center.”
@StandardizedGirl Good points–I just think (like all schools) that a careful evaluation is required for a successful fit. Overall size, geography, school culture etc.
Hi @StandardizedGirl. Glad to see your enthusiasm for Milton as a new student. My daughter is starting as a new boarder in the fall. Silly minor question but we don’t have any info yet about schedule/dorm/roomate etc and we got a piece of mail about the laundry service. We assumed she’d just use machines in the dorm but are there so few that it is hard to manage without using the service?
And one more - how hard is it to get to the T? Do students often use that to access the city on weekends?
@alyssondra Hi! Sorry for the late response, I was out of town and couldn’t reach my computer for a while. A list of your daughter’s courses will be available on your myMilton account by the 28th, but I believe her exact schedule won’t be released until the end of August. Info about her dorm assignment, a letter from the dorm head, and the name of her advisor should be on the account right now (I’ll be in Hallowell, I would love to hear where she’s gonna be!), but I guess she won’t learn her roommate until school starts. I also think that the students more often use the school shuttles to directly access the city, but I’m not totally sure.
Hi @alyssondra, I am a recent graduate. it takes about 20 minutes to walk to the nearest T stop. People definitely use the T as well as cabs and day student drivers to access the city on weekends! There are also shuttles available but they run at set time frames which may be too restricting based on travel plans. There are definitely enough laundry machines in each dorm that the laundry service isn’t totally necessary; however, I might add that the laundry service will properly dry clean dress clothes and sweaters for no extra cost which is something I found really useful 
hope this helps!
Thank you!! We are excited for the new adventure…
Hi! Does Milton accept the SAO Application? On the website it states to use Gateway but I found out the Milton accepts SAO Applications for somehow.
Also, what is the typical number of accepted sophomores?
We’re looking at BS for our daughter and couldn’t figure out whether Milton was a K-12 or 9-12? Or is boarding only offered for 9-12. Even student size was different on a couple of popular sites. Can you please clarify these points - Thanks!
Even with a 50/50 day and boarding split there should be rougly 350 boarders over the weekends? Do most of them leave to visit family and day students. We live overseas and don’t have family in the NE area so our daughter would most likely remain in school over weekends…
@Lanco1465 Milton Academy is both! It’s a K-12 school but boarding begins only in the 9th grade.
Would it be difficult to “find your place” in the class if you started as a sophomore? How many students does Milton graduate a year?
Hello, @Bantisse ! I don’t think Milton accepts SAO, at least I applied using Gateway, but you might want to email the admissions office to make sure. Also, I’m not sure about the number of sophomores that are accepted each year, although there are usually 4-5 new sophomores each year in each dorm.
Hi @Lanco1465 ! It is a K-12 school, but only 9-12 is boarding. There actually aren’t that many students coming up from the middle school, and they tend to blend in really well with new students–I still don’t really know who is from the middle school and who isn’t. About the boarding community, people usually stay on campus and since there are activities each weekend, day students usually come back to join those as well. As an international student, I can say that I’ve never felt “bored” or “lonely” during weekends–there’s something to do every weekend. For example, this weekend as a dorm, we have a senior and freshmen dinner + movie night, and we will go off campus for that.
Hi @Empireapple ! It is definitely not difficult for anyone to “find his/her place”, especially as a sophomore. Since it is a pretty welcoming community in general, everyone blends in perfectly well–I can say that confidently since I have a few very close sophomore friends who are new to Milton, and they seem to be adjusting really well.
Thanks @StandardizedGirl for the colour. Good to know that upcoming students blend well with new 9th graders.
Hi! This is kind of an old thread, but if you’re still answering questions, about how many students are accepted into each grade? I know Milton doesn’t accept new students for Class I, but what about the other grades?
@SeattleDreamer I am applying to ninth grade ad want to know how many are accepted
The person who started this thread is a student, not a person who is in charge of or works in admissions, therefore she will not be able to know the answers to your questions. I can only recite what information I’ve been given, which is that in 2016-2017 admissions cycle, there were 1,725 applications in total, 14% of applicants were accepted, which means that about 242 applicants were accepted in total. Of those 242 accepted applicants, 126 enrolled.
Source: Milton Academy Upper School 2017-2018 admissions brochure, from the Milton Academy table at a boarding school admissions fair, therefore the information is correct.