<p>We were not shown the dorms on our tour of St. Mark's. That has moved it to the bottom of our list. I do not know if we'll finish the application, which is a shame, as on paper it seemed to offer many of the things we desired.</p>
<p>My D is a boarder at St. Mark's. Most of the boader students parents is far from the school and it is not easy for them to involve in the school activities. It is very natural for day students parents to involve in the school activities more than boarders parents. It is true in any BS. That does not necessarily mean that the day students parents are more influential. The days students percentage is a bit higher than 20%. If you look at Loomis, Milton, and Concord, their day students are about or higher than 50%. In those cases, day student parents may be more influential. However, St. Mark's day students are not many and the boarders are dominant. I do not see any issue from boarder's parents angle.</p>
<p>erkybk:
Have you seen the dorms for grade 11 and 12? Any comments?
Thx</p>
<p>No, I haven't.</p>
<p>There is no question about academics. Groton and St. Paul's are out of the others' league. Middlesex and Milton are also quite good academically. As to the rest...</p>
<p>by the way...
st. marks was an 82 %ile ssat and 27 % acceptance rate, while Groton was a 91 %ile ssat and a 19 % acceptance.
just think about that...</p>
<p>Saint mark's 82 %ile ssat and 27 % acceptance rate are very strong number. Choate acceptance rateis 24% and they do not relase SSAT average. Lawrencevill ssat average is 81 %ile and acceptance rate is 22%. Those numbers are very comparable.</p>
<p>Rivers v Nobles: my D got in to both and chose Rivers. It was, surprisingly, a no-brainer for all of us. Nobles has a bigger rep, but in looking at what was best for my D, she had no doubts. Nobles students didn't make eye contact and gave off a very privileged, cliquish feel. Their headmaster talked of what Nobles' student is like, while Rivers talked about the student at Rivers, if you follow that distinction. Rivers was hugely welcoming, the students engaging. We also had the perception that Rivers was hugely up and coming and way under-estimated in terms of quality of education. We all liked the slightly underdog feel.</p>
<p>Hey! St. George's is an ISL school. Any info about it? I am accepted there and want any info I can get. Mostly, how hard are the academics? What is student life really like? Do you have any free time? How's the food?</p>
<p>luvscuba: I am an a tenth grader accepted by SG. What grade do you attend?</p>
<p>BB&N is one of the top schools in the ISL. Boston Magazine consistently ranks it in the top 5 of all private schools in the Greater Boston area(including Andover, Milton etc). 30% + attend Ivies or NESCAC schools (also MIT, Stanford)
Football ,baseball and soccer are tops of the ISL consistently.
It is coed--which is a plus for my sons and it is known to offer excellent financial aid
It is one of the only high schools to offer Arabic
Just a few highlights---BB&N is really not the "butt of ISL jokes"</p>
<p>My son is accepted to Nobles, Belmont Hill and Fenn School. Which one should e choose? He is not strong in sports at all and a typical music student who plays piano and clarinet. Strong in math and language. We are seeking a school that is strong in academics and value teaching. Which one is a good fit for him? </p>
<p>Thanks very much for any comments, suggestions, opinions.</p>
<p>ISL League, Do you know anything about Tabor? I just received their acceptance letter but I don't really know anything about it. I am from Peru, so I was unable to visit any school. I hope you can answer some of my questions. Are academics as competitive as in HADES or often mentioned "first tier" schools? How are sports? And for instance, what differences could you see in a school like Tabor and a school like Hotchkiss?</p>
<p>Tabor is not in the ISL</p>
<p>Musica, they are all strong schools. Belmont Hill and Nobles are 7-12, while Fenn ends in 9th grade.</p>
<p>My son was accepted to Nobles, St. Sebs and waitlisted at Belmont hill. Cananyone give me more info on nobles and or the other schools</p>
<p>Campus: Nobles wins hands down--beautiful facilties, right on the Charles River. St Seb's pales in comparison.
Academics: Nobles is much stronger academically
Nobles is coed, St Sebs is not. Both are "jock schools" but Sebs would lean more that way.</p>
<p>MomofaKnight,</p>
<p>My daughter was just accepted to BB&N and it's a great school. We probably are going to send here there. However, can you please stop calling other ISL schools "Jock Schools". BB&N recruits just as much, if not more than the others.</p>
<p>Do you know anything about Tabor?</p>
<p>I only know Tabor from attending sporting events there and I know of one girl who attends and seems very happy. I think it has a strong jock culture (I can say that their fans are probably the most "energetic" - some may say obnoxious, some may say supportive - it's all a matter of which side of the bleachers you're on!). I believe they have PGs unlike the ISL schools, someone correct me if that's wrong. The campus is absolutely beautiful, right on the water and the facilities are really nice. Kids seem happy and full of school spirit. From what I've read on this board, the academics might be a smidge less competitive than some other local schools but it's still a wonderful school with a fine reputation and the kids go on to do great things. As always, the school that's best for YOU, is the best school.</p>
<p>musica: I'd lean towards Nobles, if only for the coed part. You can't go wrong either way, though. </p>
<p>I agree with Herb, BB&N is just as "jocky" (is that even a word?) as all the others. I think it has a brainier (again, where's that thesaurus?) reputation but most ISL schools take their sports teams seriously. Intense coaches, that's all I'll say. BB&N has a very distinct campus, that may or may not be your cup of tea. I find it vibrant and exciting and unlike any other school in it's class but others may long for a more traditional New England school with rolling hills and traditional buildings. Cambridge traffic and the parking that comes with it can be a bit hectic, but I supposed you'd get used to it quickly enough.</p>