<p>D'yer Maker -- I had no idea that Delbarton ever had boarders, but then again why should I? That's pretty far north from bucolic Mercer County.</p>
<p>In the 70's we played schools from all over NJ and PA - Delby, Rutger's Prep, Wardlaw, Montclair Academy, Pingry, Solebury, George, Episcopal, New Church etc. Pretty sure some of those schools have new names now.</p>
<p>FWIW, my old man was a five day boarder at Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh in the 1930's. He was lucky to have an aunt in town for the weekends. SSA dropped boarding in the 70's.</p>
<p>@ liv&learn: My sister went to the Villa. For a while we rode on the same bus. We could see the bus on the mountain (these are New Jersey-sized mountains I'm referring to) in the distance as it left the Villa Walsh campus to come over to pick us up, about 10 minutes away. There was also St. Elizabeth's in Convent Station. And St. John the Baptist in Mendham. But Kent Place, for some reason, was the place desperate, socially inept guys like me could find that last minute prom date.</p>
<p>Oh, and when you point out that Delbarton is extremely difficult to get into now, are you implying something?!?!</p>
<p>Lawrence sounds kind of like NMH with the mix of artsy and and strong athletic teams. Lots of kids go to Brown as well. I think it was the top Ivy choice the year my son graduated. I'm wondering if the "artsiness" will still be as evident since they consolidated to one campus.</p>
<p>All-girl Ethel Walker's in Simsbury, Connecticut has a beautiful campus and an excellent competitive riding program. A celebrity grad is actress Sigourney Weaver.</p>
<p>ahaahaahahh D'yer, you are so funny! I'm sorry to post this so late, but I missed reading your post after mine and just found it. I would never mean to imply that the competition when you attended wasn't as great as it is now. I just am reacting to how difficult it is on the whole to get in. Sorry to not have clarified this better! There are very few openings at Delbarton. A familiar theme on here with many schools. It's THE place for boys to get into in NJ apparently. It must have always been that popular -- I just never knew it! Sounds like you had a fun experience and that's a lot of what it's all about.</p>
<p>Well, you would have been correct. It wasn't terribly difficult for kids to get admitted. One day my parents drove me to campus, I took a test, talked to a priest for a few minutes and got a letter in the mail a few weeks later saying I was admitted. No test prep. I'm sure I understood why I was going there, but there was no stress. It seemed more like a formality to me. Back in my day we had quite a few derelicts and Neanderthals roaming the halls. Tuition and fees came to right about 5 grand. We had sons of cops and traveling salesmen. It was much more blue collar than, say, Newark Academy. But much more refined that St. Benedict's (which was still in Newark). I lived 45 minutes away by car and if a practice was canceled or I didn't have an after school appointment, I wouldn't wait the extra 90 minutes for the bus to come and take another 90 minutes to get to my house. I'd hitch rides all the way. One time, a buddy and I went to mid-day audition for a play at St. Elizabeth's and we hitched there and back. In downtown Morristown the AP English teacher saw us...and gave us a ride all the way back! Not even a frown or admonishment. It's a different world. Now you'd get in big trouble and run a big risk for hitching rides like that...but that's okay, because you don't need to do that if you're driving a BMW.</p>
<p>How interesting! I'll bet the academics were still very good though. It's a very serious school and academically very challenging as well. You're absolutely correct that it's a different world now. And I watch out for those BMW's. LOL</p>
<p>Delbarton is a great school with outstanding academics, a beautiful campus, an impressive college matriculation list and first rate sports. My only criticism is that it plays in a nondescript public school athletic conference and has no natural rivals in most sports, the only exception being its non-conference hockey rivalry with Seton Hall Prep, which is one of the great rivalries in NJ high school sports.</p>
<p>Fun is Fun. All of your rivals are still around. The only changes being that Wardlaw has merged with Hartridge and Montclair has merged with Kimberley. BTW, SSA still has 5-day boarding.</p>
<p>Westminster is a very nice traditional boarding school. It's on the preppy side. My son couldn't see himself there, but I liked it. As a smaller school, I hear that the faculty does a good job getting to know the students and watching over them.</p>
<p>Of course, Blair is our favorite. I agree that the MAPL schools are quality possibilities.</p>
<p>MAPLPARENT -- Thanks for the info -- I was there for my father's 50th in 1982 (he's still with us!) and was under the impression that the boarding program had ended.</p>
<p>We had thought about Lawrence for my daughter but there were a lot
of anecdotal reports that this is a JOCK school and they seem to admit a
lot of kids that seem to me not much better than very average...i may be misinformed on this...looking at the colleges kids
get into I got into better colleges than their list from a public NY H.S.
do not mean to be rude but I welcome other opinions as we are
looking at second choices now for late admissions and need solid info..
waiting..</p>
<p>Going to bs is not necessarily about getting into the "best" colleges; I think there has been a lot of discussion here about how it might be easier to get into an elite college from a public hs because there is less competition. It is difficult to get the higher grades in most bs. I think most go for the growth experience, the diversity, and the opportunity to be with other students who are excited about a learning.</p>
<p>Waitlistman,
I think that you might have gotten some bad information--Lawrence at Groton definitely has strong athletics, but certainly isn't a 'jock school.' Perhaps that was its rep. several decades ago, but certainly not now... (I attended another ISL school, graduating in 2000.) If you look into it's programs, it's focused on experiential learning. (It has a state-of-the-art recording studio, two new theatres, etc. Also: an adventure term! For example, one year my friend Mike studied bats in the Amazon, and then the next, he earned a scuba diving license in Belize.) Mike went on to Harvard and graduated cum laude... As to college placement, Lawrence sends most of its kids to NECSAC schools, (Bates, Bowdoin, etc,) BC, NYU, etc. Not as many Ivies as the other ISLs, but then again--the student body at Lawrence seems less preppy, and somewhat more eclectic, (lots of RISD-type kids.)</p>
<p>Its current rep. is 'creative, hippie school.' Like Oberlin or Bates.</p>
<p>Also, I agree with keylyme. More than college placement, boarding school is about fostering a young person's growth--and Lawrence seems to be one of the best at this. </p>
<p>Regardless, it seems like you can get into any college from there... Check it out, if it sounds good to you.</p>
<p>Thanks Juju and keyleme....I am sure that you are both right...
the issue has never been one of what colleges to get into but if a school
seems to fare no better than a public overall that was my concern...information obtained from the general public is always suspect
and do not have a lot of BS friends or BS friends :))
The rep for Concord is similar to this although perhaps less experimental..
good to get feedback like this...</p>
<p>I would advise against attending any school w/ more than 10% day population. The dichotomy b/w day and boarding students is far greater than most students or parents imagine - - most significantly the fact that day students have parents who excuse therm from a host of academ, athletic and other obligations. </p>
<p>At D's school (30%day students) it was not uncommon for parents to write notes excusing their offspring from the mandatory 3 hr atheltic practices. So while D and the boarders were at practice, the day students were at studying. Or after having stayed up late to complete a major assignment, day students would skip first period to sleep-in - - again, courtesy of the parental excuse note. Boarders had no such luxury. This ultimately created a signif achievement gap b/c day students and boarders. Similar probems/issues arose regarding college counseling.</p>
<p>I would also be wary of attending a sch like Choate where boarders from NY (often w/ country homes in CT) desert the campus every weekend.</p>
<p>nyc- maybe it depends on how the school manages the day students. Blair has 25% day and there are none of the problems you mentioned. The day students have a "day students lounge" and are held to the same requirements as the boarders. It all works smoothly, but it could be because the area is pretty rural/small town and the day kids come from a pretty big surrounding area. More than 30% would be a deal-breaker for me, though. Our experience at a school with 30% BOARDING was a nightmare. The kids were running around the city all weekend (boarders would "go home" with day students for the weekend). Alcohol and drugs were very present on campus.</p>
<p>"I would advise against attending any school w/ more than 10% day population."</p>
<p>Good point, but in some areas thats just not going to happen. Even Mercersburg, which is in a pretty rural area of south-central Pennsylvania, has a 16% day student population. The day students mostly live in Mercersburg, Waynesboro, Greencastle and surrounding towns and villages, and often times they will choose to stay on campus with students if they have important things to do (rehearsals, exams, etc.). Additionally, all students, regardless of the location of their residences must live on campus during the senior year, which I think is great for building class unity. Everyone gets a taste of the boarding experience. A high proportion of local students are on financial aid or other scholarships, so the cost of boarding is mostly covered for them.</p>
<p>Waitlistman, what I have heard about LA (including from parents of students there) agrees with what you have heard. I am sure it is the perfect school for some kids, but I doubt it is for yours. I think all the flexibility is a marketing attempt to create a niche for a school not doing well. And it is in New England! </p>
<p>Perhaps it is like Concord Academy in some ways, such as having a significant artsy element and high % of day students. However, from Peterson's:</p>
<p>LA median 50% SAT: CR 510-610, M 510-650, W 510-630
(worse than our local public school)</p>