<p>Wow. Just…wow.</p>
<p>Yeah. I’m scratching my head over that Andover post too. </p>
<p>To answer the original question - yes - we do a great disservice to the many other boarding schools that do a great job educating students in the country by focusing only on HADES and GLADCHEMMS. In fact - I think this board often that creates illusion that everyone is obsessed. Most people outside aren’t thinking that way. Many of the world’s best scientists, authors, engineers, artists, etc. graduated from schools that were not HADES, etc.</p>
<p>We leave students and parents feeling desperate to be accepted, and dejected when they fail to achieve that goal. We make them feel like failures if they decide to go somewhere else by choice.</p>
<p>The reality goes back to fit. An elite school with its crowded admissions process and limited slots might not be a good fit for a student who would do better at a different BS. Many go on to do great things in the world. And many schools with high percentages of acceptance may be in that position because potential candidates are so focused on the so-called “top ten” they don’t bother to apply to schools that would embrace and nurture them. That doesn’t mean the school is “lesser” tier. It just means their overlooked by people looking for the “status” to attach to their resume. </p>
<p>Really - get out into some parts of the country and people could care less where you went - only what you accomplished while you were there.</p>
<p>Many BS alum often send their students to other schools because we’re smart enough to know the school that served our needs may not be the right one for our kids (and yes - we still send alumni donations to our alma maters.)</p>
<p>^Everyone talks to vague, while providing no support or concrete examples of these other schools, and to say someone is successful in a regular school, whether private, public or boarding doesn’t say much, because those people will excel regardless of their school, you can downplay this entire section and claim that BS is just a nuance to the already available free public school education, which by the same arguments my predecessors make is that successful engineers, scientists and other professionals are from all backgrounds and not just elite. Feel free to bash me, but first please please please please please please give some concrete examples of good BS’s that are comparable to Andover or any of the other top “HADES”, with same F/A and such. </p>
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<p>^This claim here, is saying that another school will have better physics program, despite fact that andover had HALF of the entire US international representation, and one can argue that Olympiad isn’t everything, but then please provide me with actual concrete examples. There’s much speculation but not proof to anything of what some people said, that said I am willing to listen and hear out other’s with an open mind, thank you,</p>
<p>Careful, Exie:</p>
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<p>Don’t paint with too broad a brush. Sometimes, (which is the point that a think shushugah may have, however inelegant the attempt, been trying to make), the elite school is the one the family thinks is the best choice, regardless of “status”. I mean, face it, all boarding schools have “status” attached to them, (unless they’re those in Colorado that kids get sent to. 
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<ol>
<li><p>Most schools will provide students who are highly qualified with the necessary funds if the financial need is present. You will never know what schools will give you unless you apply.</p></li>
<li><p>Many boarding schools have independent study programs that allow students to take advanced math classes beyond the curriculum that is offered at a school.</p></li>
<li><p>All boarding schools have some kind of standard for admission to their school based on academic requirements. </p></li>
<li><p>You said it youself, this is not a necessity.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I feel like MANY boarding schools would fit these three key factors. </p>
<p>Here is some advice from personal experience: As hard as it might be, try not to get too attached to Andover before the admission decisions are out. It can be devastating if you are waitlisted or denied after all of the time spent contemplating your future with a particular school in mind. </p>
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<p>Actually Phillips Exeter has the largest secondary library in the world not Andover.</p>
<p>Yes, Pulsar, McCallie still matriculates to the Ivies and top liberal arts colleges. </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.mccallie.org/ftpimages/309/download/School_Profile_10_WEB.pdf[/url]”>http://www.mccallie.org/ftpimages/309/download/School_Profile_10_WEB.pdf</a></p>
<p>eh, I was not too impressed, 4 students accepted to harvard in a 5 year period? And this is supposed to be elite? Nothing against the people that go there, but this is not that impressive, or comparable to say Andover’s 18 harvard students, from ONE year. Most of these colleges that the kids matriculated to are mediocre colleges, and I say this in the mildest sense. Many public schools have similar if not higher matriculations, and I don’t see what is the point of a BS (for academic reasons that is, there are other’s such as character development, etc…) if its matriculations offer little assurance of the quality.</p>
<p>They all say there are advanced independent programs, but I’d honestly prefer a classroom when i can. Having a likewise peer environment really helps, otherwise we all may as well forget about colleges, since many things could be done online alone, e.g. MIT Open CourseWare (I admit getting a diploma can be an issue, as far as getting hired for jobs and such)</p>
<p>Shush - sorry this thread wasn’t started to help you find a school. It was started to discuss a bigger picture issue among the CC community. </p>
<p>However, you do have a very good point about the money. So many students need aid and I would like to state that yes, while the top schools have the most money and many are need blind - many other schools offer generous packages as well. For example - a son of a friend of ours needed 75% aid to attend a bs. He was offered generous packages at Mercersburg, Christchurch, and McCallie. There is money out there outside of HADES. And no, I am not comparing those schools to Andover and not even suggesting that they are right for you.</p>
<p>Shushugah, Andover is Exeter Wannabe at least for math and science. Number of Olympiad members is not an indication of the quality of the department. Many are recruited internationally and are in Olympiads/qualified for even before coming to BS.</p>
<p>I think a lot of kids are already pretty obsessed with HADES when they come here, and that is the primary reason why they use the site.</p>
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<p>I completely agree. My top choices are Andover and Exeter–don’t assume that I am picking my schools based entirely on prestige, though I see how it could look like that. (And I do have something of a weakness for “prestige”, I won’t lie.)</p>
<p>I love, love, LOVE the way they teach math at Exeter. I don’t think there are any other boarding schools that use Exeter’s math approach. I think I could really fit in at either school, social-wise. When flipping through the course of study for Andover, I was blown away by their philosophy courses. They all sound very unique, and I think I would really enjoy them. I wish I could combine the two schools into one and have the best math AND philosophy curriculum. </p>
<p>Also, I looked through the college matrix much less than I looked through the course of study, and did my best to limit my use of the college matrix to simply a window into the interests of the students (for example, do students tend to prefer technology-oriented and politics-oriented colleges?).</p>
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<p>While I don’t agree with the top portion of your post about college matriculation, I agree with this for the most part. I prefer a classroom setting, too.</p>
<p>@shushugah:</p>
<p>Its been said many times before but it is worth repeating:</p>
<p>Attending a school Andover, or any other “top” school will not guarantee yourself a spot at the Ivy League. If that is one of your main goals, then Andover may not be the right school for you. A student may be better off staying at their local public school in order to stand out from the other students and become valedictorian versus being in an environment where a large majority of the students are aiming for top colleges.</p>
<p>Shush, forget linear algebra and vector’s calculus - you need a basic writing course. Go back and read some of your posts - especially the first sentence in #23!! Just trying to help - really - I know Andover’s essays are not due for another week!!</p>
<p>@Madaket I have to agree ^_^; Your posts truly are intelligent but your writing does not reflect it.</p>
<p>@2010 Hopeful, indeed and agreed, listing ivies is simply the fastest and easiest way to index a high school’s index of intellectually stimulating courses, but I am sincerely interested in andover for their math and science courses, hopefully one day to teach in an academic setting (after failing and retaking English Grammer 101 ad infinitum times)</p>
<p>Shushugah-</p>
<p>Andover does indeed have a strong math program but it’s certainly not the only school to offer advanced courses.</p>
<p>For instance, read posts 17 and 25 here:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/880879-middlesex-school-2.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/880879-middlesex-school-2.html</a></p>
<p>Most of it is not your grammar, really. It’s your sentences; they meander quite a bit. Try to organize them more :)</p>
<p>Sue22, Middlesex is still a GLADCHEMMS school though</p>
<p>Thanks for starting the thread, Ops. I wholeheartedly agree that there is a need for more discussion about a larger number of schools on CC. To CC’s credit, much of the limited amount of information that I’ve found out about the lesser-mentioned schools (beyond viewbooks & boarding school review) has come from CC. I’d love to hear more…much more. Thanks to those posters who have already weighed in on behalf of McCallie and Asheville. For others who are very familiar with schools besides those constantly discussed on CC, please chime in about your school! When I first found CC, I was only vaguely aware of a few of the top tier names in the boarding school world, and was mostly looking ahead to colleges, figuring we’d never have a child at a boarding school anyway. Oh how things change! There are a lot of great schools out there that deserve a more thorough hearing here on CC. As great as A&E (and similar ilk) are, they are not for everyone, and it narrows CC unnecessarily to focus primarily on these schools.</p>
<p>^Lol!!! So any NON GLADCHEMMS of comparable status? I mean, people argue that some of the bottom Gladchem schools are comparable to some 2nd and 3rd tier schools, but do any really compete with andover or exeter (the counterargument of the biggest library was exeter, and exeter by far is the better school for mathematics with their Legendary Zuming Feng), and yes I see my sentences are unstructured and wishy washy, sigh oh well, :(</p>
<p>@heps1996</p>
<p>“Middlesex is still a GLADCHEMMS school though”</p>
<p>True dat. I was simply trying to respond to the argument that only Andover can satisfy Shushugah’s requirements. Frankly, I’m too lazy to look into the course listings of a whole bunch of schools, and in many cases the schools don’t list the most advanced courses a student can take.</p>
<p>Dear shush-
I really didn’t want to get involved here but your assertion that Andover (not GLAD CHEMMS or whatever that is) is the ONLY school that satisfies your needs was pretentious and annoying. Most PhysO kids are predetermined before attending Andover. I could argue that Deerfield is better because two years ago a DA grad won gold at world’s (I believe 3 times!) but guess what??? He was educated in Thailand and competed for their squad, he was not built by DA but the teachers there helped in every way that they could. Choate produces far more Intel winners/semi-finalists than Andover, they must be better then?? Exeter’s faculty PhD ratio is significantly higher than PA’s (as is Deerfield’s) and GASP! two of Andover’s physics faculty only have Bachelor’s degree’s and two have Master’s in teaching not science!!! I’m being very sarcastic in the previous statements, the Andover physics department is truly a wonderful one but it’s not the only great dept. out there. Listen, shush, you annoyed several people with your cavalier statements and demands for a list of schools. I’d be happy provide one but it seems a bit late, I wish you all the luck in your admission to PA just understand why you provoked some strong reaction.</p>