<p>Any one know about those two schools ? Many of the posters here go to long distance for boarding school ? How do you deal with commute ? We went to George school. The students come from 28 states.</p>
<p>Avon Old Farms's Athletics program is very good. My son is not a Athletics at all right now.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>The only 2 things I know about AOF is that their campus is supposed to be beautiful and they are very strong in athletics. I know nothing about Christ School. </p>
<p>If you live in PA close to Philadelphia, you probably have a selection of boarding schools within a 2 or so hour commute. Because I live in the northeast, there were many school possibilities that would not involve such a long drive. We did not look beyond a certain drive time. Of course, many parents send their children long distances to go the right school for that child. The boarding school calendar is different from the public school calendar and independent day school calendar. There are a number of long weekends and longer breaks for Thanksgiving, Christmas and a very long March break. So you would not have your child home that often, but when he does come home it is for a longer period. I think most boarding schools arrange trips to airports for students who have to fly home. Some have buses that go to areas with strong representation like Fairfield County, CT and NYC.</p>
<p>I think it a slight admissions advantage to come from a distance precisely because all the schools like to show how many states are represented in their student body.</p>
<p>I visited George School two years ago with my daughter. We thought it was a very good second tier school, except we did not like their science sequence of courses at the time.</p>
<p>Avon Old Farms is strong in very good. My son is not a Athletics at all. I will do not know how he fits in.</p>
<p>I'm sure that there is much more to the school than their athletics program. If it look like a good match to you, why not visit?</p>
<p>My son is a Freshman at Christ School, he started last year as an 8th grader. I can't say enough about it! It is an excellent fit for him. He is very self motivated and they have provided excellent opportunities for him. The teachers are very energetic and involved. All of his teachers seem to know him very well. He was a boarder last year but is a day student this year because his older brother chose a very expensive college. He has never been particularly interested in sports but he has been playing and enjoying soccer in the fall and lacrosse in the spring. He is playing in a rock band for his winter activity. They try very hard to provide what students are interested. They also strive to serve students of varying academic abilities. It feels very personal. Our older son graduated from McCallie in Chattanooga. It is also an excellent school, bigger than Christ School. Feel free to email me if you have particular questions.</p>
<p>Thanks. They called me they just want the school in GA , NC, SC. They said it is more realistic. So I dropped the application.</p>
<p>Avon is one of the boys' schools in my prep school association. (I go to Westover). It's not that hard to get into; many of the guys there are from abroad. They love black guys, but not as much at Trinity Pawling.</p>
<p>I went to AOF today. I was very impressed by the facilities-new student center and athletic complex was recently completed in October of 2006. A 500 seat performing arts center would be finished soon.</p>
<p>Did your son like it? I heard that the campus is beautiful.</p>
<p>We like it and feel comfortable there, too. but a little concern about the academic life. I saw the college list for the students went ,too. It seem Ok for me. but ...</p>
<p>mentioned about avon old farm is average SATs over 1350or 1400 iljets10</p>
<p>they are famous for sport. do not know their academic performance.</p>
<p>You can request to talk to other parents or schedule a talk with the Dean of Academic Affairs to learn more about academics. If your son can be a top student, take challenging courses, and have opportunities to try new things and new ec's, then it might be a good place for him. If your son is not an athlete, you should also find out how non-athletes fare there. There are several other boarding schools in that area. Are you looking at any others like Suffield, Westminster, Loomis and Kent?</p>
<p>Thanks. Since I got my education oversea, I do not know that much colleges ranking or SSAT. I talked to the director of the admission, he said a lot of kids are athletics. Every kid has potiential. We went to a few day schools and a few boarding schools. We think AOF is the school we like. AOF outside is like Harry Potter school. Old outside but very new inside. smart board every where. Castle on the wood. very beautiful. I think my son will grow there.</p>
<p>Good luck there! Be sure to apply to more than one school because sometimes admission is tricky. If AOF is your son's #1 choice, be sure Admissions knows that.</p>
<p>iriseyes, *** are you talking about?</p>
<p>Re-read your post and make sure that's what you meant to say.</p>
<p>As a Westover alum, I believe Iriseyes is alluding to AOF's diverse student body, but has very little understanding of the admissions processes at other schools aside from what she see's during social's and away games at other schools.</p>
<p>Here is the orginal post in the link.</p>
<p>MomofaKnight
Junior Member</p>
<p>Join Date: Apr 2006
Threads:
Posts: 231 There are also boarding schools/prep schools with lowish average SAT scores(by the standards purported on this board)----Avon Old Farms, Winchendon, Williston-Northhamptom, Northfield Mt Hermon, Governor Dummer Academy</p>
<p>These are very good schools for the right student. Private schools are often about what environment is the best overall fit for a student, one that will help him/her acheive to his/her fullest potential in all realms--socially, academically, athletically, in the arts.</p>
<p>According to Peterson's, for the class entering fall 2005, 24% scored over 600 on the SAT verbal and 47% scored over 600 on SAT math. People forget that many schools accept a variety of academic abilities; it does not mean that everyone there has the average score. </p>
<p>Don't worry about people implying that a school is inferior just because there are other schools with better stats. What matters is whether or not AOF is the best fit for your son at this point in his life.</p>
<p>Your son will have the opportunity to be at the top of his class. This is a difficult distinction for many to achieve at more competitive schools. If your son loves the school, then it is probably the right fit for him. Be sure to go to revisit day (if accepted) to be sure you both still have such positive feelings.</p>