<p>Apparently those now running that ancient academy are more closely linked to the adolescents attending the school than one would have thought.</p>
<p>The idea that the school's name, being the butt of adolescent jokes, must be changed says more about the administration's inability to rise above such pedestrian antics than it does about the actual necessity of changing the name. It is also a disservice to the founders of the school and to the man after whom it was named. Besides, anybody who can spell (sadly, that number seems to be diminishing) would not confuse 'dumber' for 'Dummer'.</p>
<p>If the school's image at large is suffering do they really think it is because of its name?! Surely there are others factors that, I am guessing, are holding it back from reaching whatever level of quality it aspires to. Those factors are what need addressing, but to make a name change --- such a trivial thing in the makeup of an entire school --- is short-sighted, laughable and (I cannot resist) DUMB (note the spelling)!!! Their action may do more to perpetuate the school's perceived image than it does to alleviate it.</p>
<p>I have no problem with their changing the name, personally. It doesn't change my opinion of the school.</p>
<p>I used to work with a man whose real name was Ronald McDonald (he was born before the famous fast food chain was founded). Nobody would have griefed him about changing his name.</p>
<p>BTW, I don't think that "dumber" is a proper word as being "dumb" in the purest sense is not being able to speak. That, I don't believe, comes in gradients - you are either dumb (completely without the ability to speak) or you are not dumb. </p>
<p>The person who thinks that somebody who cannot speak (there are a few medical conditions that cause this) is of inferior intellegence is a poor juge of intellegence, just as those who discount a school by its name, IMHO.</p>
<p>IIRC, Sam Houston State University (in Texas), used to be know as Sam Houston Institute of Technology until a few years ago and changed its name for a similar reason to Governer Dummer Academy. I think you can all see why they did that.</p>
<p>Gov dummer is part of the ISL, when my d school competes with them they refer to them as GDA. They do not make fun of the name. However, IMHO, when I see the name, I can't help think DUMB....no matter how it's spelled. I do know that if I was a grad of GDA no way would I want them to change the name. A little historical review of the name should clear things up.</p>
<p>Thanks very much for the added thoughts re: St. Paul's.</p>
<p>Have been thinking all about it today (what I've read here and other factors..). Just can't bear the idea of son being 6 hrs away. If he had a bad day/week that would be just too far for him to come home spur of the moment or for us to drive up (I'm not a fan of navigating through NYC/Boston). </p>
<p>We've have at least 5-6 schools that are 90 mins or so from our house (closest, an hour) that are nationally highly regarded. Am thinking I'll just stick w/them.</p>
<p>My only reservation--what if St. Paul is the only one to offer sufficient financial aid? [head still spinning]</p>
<p>Thanks again for listening as I trying to wrestle this one through... :-)</p>
<p>Why are you submitting your need to have your son close as a reason to not follow through with the application? I am not in agreement. Firstly you have more than one year lead time before you son would be away. Secondly, you haven't seen or spoken in person with anyone at these schools so your opines are speculative. As to distance.......6 hours by many families standards is close. Students come from the opposite side of the globe, other side of US and many places over a thousand miles. If you truncate the application process you are making your decision, alone, today. I encourage you to at least follow through and evaluate again when you have offers of acceptance and FA. You also must remember that tuition remission insurance is available and should your son go......find that it isn't working for him, you just bring him back home. I think you are worrying in advance of when you son would actually be making his journey away. This is Dec and you would have nearly a year......</p>
<p>Jolynne Smyth, Why not jsut take the trip and get a feel for the place, then apply and go from ther. Even if he does get in you can change your mind. The hardest part is letting go, boy tell me about it....... We are 2000 miles from our d, it can be a juggling act, but it's doable. Parents suffer more IMHO. Got a call from d this morning, her computer died. Now we have to deal with this long distance. Jolynne, if you think you will not be able to let go, I promise you will probably be miserable, but, go for it! Remember, he does not have to go, and by your visiting, you may find that this is doable for you and s.
I wish you much luck!</p>
<p>I understand the torture that you are going through.</p>
<p>The closest prep school that has a goalie position to me is an 8 hour drive - not a distance that allows for frequent weekend visits. Most of them are 14+ hours. </p>
<p>Plus the last 2 seasons I have spent more weekends than not on long distance drives for hockey with my D. As much as it is punishing to drive weekend trips of 1600+ miles or day trips approaching 750, I will dearly miss this quality time.</p>
<p>Going up for a weekend to watch games is not an option that my DW would approve of.</p>
<p>I look at it this way, no matter where I send her, if all goes well, she will make friends, learn a lot, improve her game, have a great time, and not really miss me as much as I miss her. </p>
<p>Tough job, but I've just gotta let go. </p>
<p>If it turns out to be a great thing, she'll always know that I helped her get it. If not, she knows that I won't stand in the way of her dreams.</p>
<p>I recommend that when you go and see other families also looking....whom you will be able to engage in conversation.......it will ease your own fears and desires. You are currently not seeing families w/ kids away. You are hearing concerns and comments from families who don't understand. One of the great motivating factors parents and students have for going far from home is the opportunity and community of boarding school. When you see the great numbers of "lookers" and how happy the kids are on campus you will have a different view......it won't seem so "odd" to travel distances for great educational opportunity. I know one thing......if you don't go and eyeball at least one school you are missing out on a great experience. These schools are not cold, unsupervised dorm living as you would find at college......it is not like that. You see dogs, faculty children playing and laughing......great communities of all ages....it is like a town with all ages coming together for one purpose and the purpose is your child.</p>
<p>You expressed concerns that St. Paul's might be the only one to offer sufficient financial aid, with its large endowment and all.</p>
<p>I can tell you from experience that it does not necessarily work that way. My child was offered roughly the same amount of aid (2/3 tuition!) by three schools. One has an endowment of maybe 75 million; another has about 110 million; and the last has over 300 million. </p>
<p>Here's my story....... Originally when our d approached us. my wife and me were adamantly opposed to the idea of bs. She got to me first and I spent hours upon hours studying web sites and bs's in general. From this I loosened up a bit, however, my wife was not budging. Finally, I talked my wife into letting my d and I go to an open house at a bs in NJ. well let me tell you , that visit changed everything. The next step was to get my wife to the schools which we finally did and evrything changed. Needless to say we were not bs type people until we visited and researched and researched and talk to many people. So far we are very very pleased and willing to let my 2nd d have a chance at it.The key was the VISIT.......... Leanid is correct regarding the fa and endowement.
Go for it!</p>
<p>The reason I enjoy this thread is because as a parent who's been through the bs game, I feel like I can help. That's my goal. It's great to have current students, former students (hazmat et al) , current parents, past parents(paleo et al), prospective parents, prospective students, all with a common goal of getting our kids a wonderful education. Don't get me wrong, you can get a great education without bs, but imho bs education is tops. </p>
<p>Hazmat, I especially want to thank you for your insightful comments.
Paleo, for his wonderful info, even if he is biased toward SPS lol</p>
<p>I remember last year, people like golden, esa, privaleged, shelly14, tappingprep, jamismom, momofwildchild, avoco, and the many many others who were so instrumental in helping each other for one common goal.</p>
<p>I hope this years thread can help as many as last year</p>
<p>Thanks to you.....I hope to have been of some help. I know that it is hard for many people to overcome the stereotype of rich, spoiled and unguided. BS is not all about the money.....it is very much all about the opportunity.</p>
<p>prepparent- Our story is similar. When my D (now a junior at Rice) was a soph in high school and not happy, her voice teacher suggested that we look at sending her to Interlochen for junior year. I said, "Are you out of your mind? Like I would send my 16 year old to boarding school in northern Michigan?" Well-D and I went up there in April for a prospective student/parent weekend. We fell in love at first sight. She knew it was where she belonged. The school answered all concerns- I came away knowing she would be safe, would have the right medical care if the need arose, would be warm and well fed and would be going to school with some of the most gifted young artists in the country/world. A couple of months later the need arose for Wild Child to go away for 9th grade, due to an unexpected parting of the ways with his local prep school. I had no hesitation in seeking out a boarding environment for him. Unfortunately, we made a bad choice, although the first year went well. It isn't one of the schools any of you are considering (it is in Texas), so don't worry. As a result, we gained some experience with a couple more schools before the wild one settled happily last year into his current school, as a junior. One semester to go and he will be finished high school. I really think the boarding experience has been amazing and he is completely prepared for college- academically, athletically, socially and in maturity.</p>
<p>Jolynne I endorse the view that visiting the school is key. We live overseas and we sent our S to Deerfield at a very young age as a freshman. It was not an easy decision, we contemplated sending him to a more familiar environment in the South, which is also closer to home but changed our minds after the Deerfield visit. Also we met other students and faculty members who made him feel very welcome and comfortable.</p>
<p>Since he started he has had some challenges including being ill but they have excellent medical facilities and he has had such great support at school that he has no regrets. In addition to the distance, it is a lot colder than home but he is learning to cope. Above all he appreciates the multitude of opportunities available and the warm sense of community. Indeed the second day of his Thankgiving vacation, he complained of being so bored, he was dying to get back to school.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the kind advice and eloquent encouragement on the boarding school experience. I showed son some of the responses---"here, look, some people on your side!" lol :-)</p>
<p>I was supposed to call St. Paul's back today and schedule interview after looking over flights. I'll think about it tonight and decide tomorrow. </p>
<p>We are about 1 hour 10 mins from Peddie, the Hun, Pennington and about 1 and a half hours from the Hill School the George School and St. Andrews DE. Plus he could commute (long way) to St. Joseph's Prep or Episcopal Academy (but not a cent of merit aid from either of those). </p>
<p>It just seems so much <em>farther</em> up to New England. :-) Plus, if we had about $5k grand a year to play with (after bills, moderate college funding and saving a bit) -- I'd feel a lot more proactive on all this. But we don't.</p>
<p>(still pondering, but when I wrote out the list of more local schools, it looked pretty good---particularly when viewed in light of the earlier comment that size of endowment doesn't necessarily directly corrolate w/size of fin. aid). </p>
<p>Thanks again for <em>all</em> the great insights, tips and assistance!</p>