We started looking into prep schools for my son when I learned that some schools cater more towards academic remediation. Meaning, his public school is very large, and his grades are mostly B, C, and Ds and he is a little lost in the system. He also plays ice hockey, not at an “elite” level but is a solid player. We learned the players with similar backgrounds as him had been accepted to schools and given substantial financial aid, so we started looking into lower tier schools in the new england area (criteria was small schools ~300, acceptance greater than 50%, hockey teams in the lower half of rankings). He applied and was accepted to 3 schools, but 2 offered no aid. The third school offered ~62% of the tuition and spot on varsity team. This leaves me with an amount that is very difficult for us to come up with, but not impossible.
My question is, when looking at a school like this compared to the cost…is it worth it? I don’t see much info about the schools we looked at on here, although I did see 2 on the hidden gem list. We are mostly looking to have him be better prepared for college (improve grades and coursework). Hockey-wise, he loves to play and it’s a motivating factor. I think even division 3 NCAA would be a stretch goal, but I am hoping that developing both his grades and hockey will give him an edge. Does going to a lower tier school give you a benefit over a public school?
When you say he is a solid layer but not elite, what do you mean? what level has he been playing at? Except for the very bottom of the prep school standings, its pretty good hockey. Take that into consideration when determining whether it is worth it. Whether it is worth it to your son and family is a question only you can answer.
I think the benefit to your son would be the primarily from an academic point of view. A very small percentage of prep hockey players end up playing NCAA hockey at the D-1 or D-3 levels. What the type of school you’ve described can do is give your son the academic assistance that he is not currently receiving in his public school. The real benefit of sending him to one of these schools will be the chance to hone his writing, math and thinking skills with teachers who can focus on him and how he learns and will be far more advantageous to him than playing low level hockey in getting into the college that is right for him. Unless your son is a star–which from what you’ve said, he’s not–then don’t think that him playing hockey will help get him into college.
As an aside, IMO this type of situation–where a kid is struggling in school and there is the possibility of attending a school that specifically caters to his learning issues–is one of the best reasons for sending your child to prep school. So many kids (and their parents…) think that prep school is going to get them into the Ivy League when, for the most part, they’d probably have a better chance of getting in from their public. That’s because when you go to one of the top academic schools you’ve jumped into a very vicious pond of kids in the top 5% of their public schools–and only the top 10-15% (and that’s high for all except the really tip-top schools) of their prep school classmates will be accepted into an Ivy (and a very high percentage of that number will be athletes, legacies,…etc), while if they had stayed at home and finished in the top 5% they would have had a pretty good chance anyhow.
I agree with above@Hiro but you may want to look at Shattuck-St Mary’s in MN. They are a well known boarding school in the Midwest known for hockey programs & academic programs for students with a variety of learning styles. There is an Academic support program that may be what you’re looking for. Many good athletes attend the school. Best wishes & let us know what you find out
Stattuck has the best hockey program in the country. Sydney Crosby played there. He needs to be somewhere he will play or he will hate it and it will be all for naught. Which is why I asked what level he is currently playing at. If hockey is his motivation for success, then he needs a school that matches his skill level.
Shattuck is only for the best of the best if you are going for hockey. It is the Harvard of hockey prep schools. Only extremely talented players get on their teams.
Clearly the OP has a realistic assessment of her son’s abilities both academic and athletic. If he was offered a spot on varsity that is as good as it gets. He will get to play and feel good about himself. Further he will be at a school that can help him succeed academically. It sounds like he needs and wants both.
He plays AA, so the hockey will be a step up from where he is now. The school does ok in their conference, but it’s not a school pumping out division 1 players and probably not tons of division 3. In thr my hockey rankings they are probably in bottom 10-15 for new England prep. I guess I am more asking are these type of schools typically better than your above average public school in term. From the responses so far it seems like even the lower tier schools do give him an academic advantage. When I factor out what I am paying for hockey now with fees, tournament and hotels, meals on the road plus feeding him at home I figure I am looking at a tuition of 10k out of pocket for a private school.
You said that his public school is very large and he’s a bit lost in the system. That’s just about all I needed to hear. Going to a smaller prep school could be absolutely great for your son. Whatever the school, I guarantee that he won’t be lost in the system – the school will know him, his strengths and weaknesses, and who he is as a person very quickly. They’ll be experienced at helping him build on those strengths and bringing up the areas of weaknesses. I’ve seen so many kids just flourish once they had some more individualized attention and realized that they could actually be good at academics.
He’s in AA hockey. His team’s MHR ranking is irrelevant. Its not that good. Unless he is totally out of place on his team (i.e., he is the clear star of the team) then there is no reason for the OP to be concerned with how good the hockey is at his school. There are lots of lower level prep teams that would be happy to have a solid player and it sounds like the OP has found one. She should be happy about that. It doesn’t sound like playing hockey is the most important thing in her son’s life so sending him somewhere that he has to fight for playing time would be ridiculous.
The “issue” to be addressed in this thread is whether the additional academic attention that her son can receive from a prep school is “worth it”. That is the question most of us have wrestled with in our prep school decision-making process. Whether or not he can play hockey there should be secondary, as there are other, cheaper and IMO better options than sending your kid to prep school if hockey is the only reason you would be doing so. Does her son have some need that the right school can help him with? Sounds like it does and being able to play hockey at the school is a nice added benefit.
@hiro protagonist you are missing my point entirely, maybe you don’t understand the differences between leagues and levels. The MHR ranking is very relevant. There are AA teams that are as good or better than half the AAA teams in the country, and there are AA teams that blow chunks. My question isn’t geared toward whether he will be too good for the team, but whether he will make the team, or be able to contribute, regardless of what the coach said. Coaches at the bottom of the rankings are going to say anything because they are desperate for players. Prep school hockey could be a much, much higher level than where he is playing right now. If he doesn’t make the team, or doesn’t play, then he wont be happy no matter how good the school is for him.
AA is tier 2 in most of the country. In Massachusetts it could actually be tier 3! She said her son is not great but solid. The coach offered him a spot on the varsity. Beyond that, whether he gets to play is up to him. OP has not said whether playing hockey is of vital importance. My earlier answers presumed that it wasn’t because she was looking for a lower level team that her son would be able to make. There are many really BAD prep hockey programs–some literally have kids who can’t skate backwards. If he’s truly a solid player, he shouldn’t have any problem getting ice time.
if he’s a solid player - which is why I asked for a MHR number of his current team. A solid player on a 91 MHR power ranking team is a lot different than a 75. And as a AA, whether its Tier 2 or Tier 3, it could be either of those, or anywhere in between. we dont know what state they are from - the best AA teams from certain parts of the country are beyond terrible. If he’s like most kids, he would rather die than end up not playing hockey.
@HiroProtagonist I don’t have enough facts to answer the question, because for this kid it will depend on his ability to be a contributing member of the team.
@offsides That response makes me wonder what the real purpose of your original post was?? Are you concerned about whether he’ll get the academic help he needs or whether he’ll be a star on the hockey team? Cuz no matter what @Korab1 says, upper 80’s in the MHR Tier 2 rankings (or even upper 80’s in MHR’s Tier 1 rankings for that matter) is not strong hockey–and if he isn’t a star at that level, he won’t be in prep either. So if you’re more concerned about him needing personal academic instruction designed to get him back on track academically, then my answer is an unequivocal yes to prep school. If whether he goes has anything to do with how much ice time he gets, then you are making a mistake if you send him away.
