Hello! I have recently discovered the college confidential community and was curious if I could learn more about my accepted schools.
I am a rising 10th grader who has been accepted to cranbrook and mercersburg.
I am here to get more information on these schools, particularly the two that I was accepted to. In particular, I would like to know more about how well 10th graders are able to integrate into the community. Also, information on Cranbrook’s college matriculation would be helpful because they did not have much information on that. Right now I am leaning torwards mercersburg mainly because they are doing a good job in connecting with me through emails and virtual events.
I went to Cranbrook and Mercersburg campuses this year. I’d say Cranbrook hands-down for a kid seeking fine arts, hands-on engineering, and a chance for competions in EC. The Cranbrook Campus is fabulous on outside but some rooms need renovating.
I was there on a Sunday morning and the robotics team lab had 30 kids working on models—apparently the club has 200 members. The industrial knowledge of Detroit is outstanding IMO.
I was more concerned about the teaching credentials I saw at Cranbrook, from reading the school newspaper of recent hires. Also it’s a big day population that can hollow out the campus on weekends.
Happy to help!! Have had kids at Mercersburg since 2014. Mercersburg has kids entering at all 4 grades, with 9th and 10th being the biggest. Because kids are entering at each year, “new kid” is not really a thing - everyone integrates super quickly and are absorbed into the dorms, family style meal tables, clubs, teams, and are sought-after additions with our intra-school competition, Irving-Marshall. Mercersburg’s unique approach to orientation, with an outward-bound style program and focus on building the campus culture go a long way to make incoming students feel right away that they are part of our kind, inclusive community.
Our robotics team is top notch- having won many awards at the International RoboCup.
There are several of us Mburg parents on here, and any of us would be happy to answer additional questions. Good luck!!
Thanks for the page @DroidsLookingFor!
I’m on a cruise right now with kid4 so super limited wifi but didn’t want to leave you hanging!
As mentioned about by the awesome Maisy, mercersburg has a planned 10th grade entry point meaning the freshman class is intentionally grown by 50% sophomore year. And MB is very deliberate in community and culture creation so the “new” kids integrate very quickly into the community due to thoughtful infrastructure, not happenstance.
Regarding robotics discussion above, one of the things one of my daughters loved about MB is that building opportunities are robust and not just in robotics. MB was one of the few schools where we saw separate robotics labs and maker spaces, which my daughter loved. (Also MB has robust performing arts and there is a whole set-building space too — more building!)
I’ll DM you with some more info so you can reach out privately if you want!
Just be aware I might take a couple days to reply this week
I think it depends on what your kid is seeking. The industrial base in suburban Detroit gives that area of the country a massive edge in all industrial mechanics. If it’s a big area for your kid then Cranbrook is super strong in that area. And it shows in the robotics department which also attracts top students from Japan and Asia.
Same with fine arts, in that the historical campus with its co-located graduate program in fine arts just has a depth that no other boarding school can match.
I’d say if you want a more well-balanced program then Mercersburg might be the program for you.
Hello guys this is the op. My other account was rightfully deactivated because it was an alternate account. I made a new account because I had been previously inactive on this account, which used to make a thread last year on whether or not I should reapply to my waitlisted schools. Anyways, thank you very much for everyone’s informative comments! I am not very engineering/robotics oriented (but I have had robotics experience) and I am at the normal level for math. I probably should have mentioned that in my first post.
My main interest will probably be humanities with an emphasis on history… I am so sorry for not mentioning this, but everyone’s answers have been very helpful!
My MBurg kid and his roommate of two years both decided to room with new students and I think all kids involved are doing well. The SAC people at Mburg do a great job planning fun and inclusive events. I was impressed at all the things, both virtual and in person, they were able to put together during the pandemic so I’m not surprised that admissions has been very responsive since I think that is Mburg in general.
that’s awesome! the community/integration aspect of a school is very important to me. Do you have any information on how the humanities classes at Mercersburg are (teachers, pace, engagement rigor etc.)
The teachers at Mburg are pretty good from what I can tell. Over the course of four years, I think I only heard minor complaining about a couple of the teachers. Conversely, I heard a lot more praise for teachers, not just for teaching, but also as mentor, confidents and advisors. A couple of teachers are infamously rigorous, such as the Latin teacher. That teacher is also very kind and has a great sense of humor too.
One advantage of Mburg is that it has enough students to have different levels of classes (regular, Honors and AS) as well as a variety of classes, so you can select the level of rigor. I can only offer my long distance parental observations, so I would suggest asking the admissions office to put you in contact with a current student and they can probably answer your questions better.
There was another post, maybe last year, that asked to compare Mercersburg, St. Andrew’s and another school. Some of the chatter there might be helpful. Mercersburg has been great. The school has a lot of resources and I know they aim to be on the cutting edge of pedagogy from a webinar they had about their strategic plan - there was an explanation about neuroscience, how learning happens etc, so they certainly will only improve.
My Mburg kid went to a very rigorous private elementary/middle school and the toughest teacher there at the time, who taught English and History after teaching for decades at Taft, is a Mburg alum. He pulled my son aside when he found out about the acceptance and told my son “that place changed my life and it will change yours.” and this was reiterated by a parent at the school who was an alum. When alumni are generally that “up” on a school it really means something. Good luck!!
That’s wonderful! Congratulations!!! I just heard that the Latin teacher is retiring after 29 years so you won’t get to meet him, but I’m sure the new teacher will be great if you take Latin. I hope you have a wonderful time there.
Our child is an exceptional student academically at his current public high school, but when visiting a few boarding schools mentioned here we saw teacher ability, qualifications, and classroom atmosphere at were below what our child currently is experiencing in his current public honors and AP courses. He said all the classes he sat in on were behind where his school was in course progress, and it was very unstructured. He mentioned the AP selections are almost non-existent compared to what he can take at his public school. The sports and extracurriculars also were average and they don’t go to any championships really and pretty much anyone can do any sport they want. So I’m at a loss, is the main reason parents in an already stellar public school go boarding bc of the supposed relationships they have with colleges? We are at a top public school so maybe that matters bc I know not all public districts are as phenomenal as ours.
Most people weigh BS against whatever is available to them locally, whether day or public. I hope known plenty of kids who left fancy private schools in NYC for Stuy and Bronx Science. DS had a friend who left BS to return to his LPS because he really missed his friends (and his sister had graduated from the BS.)
Everyone makes decision that suit them.
Sounds like you are happy with your currently situation.
