<p>Pulsar, are you a parent or a student? You seem to have two “voices.”</p>
<p>Rush hour traffic is difficult. If you are driving against the flow, it may not be a problem. Driving away from Boston in the morning, and toward Boston in the evening, is usually fine. Traffic moves very slowly by Waltham at rush hour. </p>
<p>Living in Milton and attending school in Cambridge would be challenging. People probably do it, but you’d be in the thick of rush hour. Sometimes, parents or schools arrange for bus service from certain towns. You should call the admissions office of schools which interest you for more information. Some day students use the MBTA commuter rail or subway to reach schools in Boston. </p>
<p>Andover limits day student enrollment to certain nearby towns. Cambridge is not on the list.
<p>Pulsar, I just left a comment on the thread about math competitions. If you are considering moving to the greater Boston area, I and other parents have pointed out that day school admission is extremely competitive. You should consider the Lexington Public Schools as well.</p>
<p>Do the day students at boarding schools get the same privileges for courses, electives etc. as boarding students? I read on some boards that day student experience may not be great at boarding schools.</p>
<p>Pulsar: Will you be living in Milton? I can tell you from experience that travel during rush hour can be extremely difficult and taxing. We live 35+ miles from our kids’ school and battling Rte. 128 (which is Rte. 93, really- very confusing to “outsiders”, actually Rte. 1 is part of the same stretch - don’t ask :)) every day is really tough, especially for our now driving 16 year old. Most experienced adult drivers avoid 128 during rush hour and here we are sending our inexperienced teen out there. It’s tough. Throw in social activies at night and we’re totally stressed which is why we are now in the process of selling our home and moving closer. It’s worth the effort and sacrifice but something to consider, particularly in the snowy/icy weather.</p>
<p>Cambridge would probably be a tough commute from Milton unless you travelled back roads but still difficult during rush hour. Milton to Andover just doesn’t seem to be practical for every day commuting - it’s doable but most people who attend Andover area schools probably live a little more north or west. That’s just my opinion. Believe me, nobody’s going to want to drive their child to your house on weekends or after school. We’ve been there. Have you considered Thayer, Nobles, St. Sebastians? Stick along the 128 corridor if possible. BC High, maybe? Milton is tricky and it depends on where in Milton you’re going to live. Closer to Boston/Mattapan or more on the Braintree side?</p>
<p>isl league, thank you. We are also thinking the same to live close to the schools to minimize driving in traffic/wintry weather. We’ll probably pick schools in Milton or Cambridge to minimize commute.</p>
<p>We have looked at Boston Magazine and other rankings for Milton and BB&N which are a little confusing. How do you rate (1 to 5) these schools for academic rigor, math/science, sports, HYPMS placements? What the cultural differences of the student body at these two schools? As these are K-12 schools, how do new high school students assimilate with the existing students that are already networked? Current/recent parent/student opinions are highly appreciated.</p>
<p>As to HYPMS placements, I think I’ve already answered that one for you. You do have to look at two different pages and compare the numbers yourself, though.
[Boarding</a> School Stats : Matriculation Stats](<a href=“matriculationstats.org”>matriculationstats.org)
[Day</a> Schools Outside of NYC : Matriculation Stats](<a href=“matriculationstats.org”>matriculationstats.org)</p>
<p>BB&N vs. Milton. Your input on academic rigor, math/science programs, quality and helpfulness of faculty, sports, school culture (cliquey?) is greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Please just ignore the Boston Magazine piece. It is sloppy and inaccurate, as it attempts to do the impossible.
Commuting - rush hour (and you will be driving to school during rush hour and often back during it as well) is pretty bad in many areas. Just getting across Cambridge can take a while. Cambridge/Andover would be very slow (and as noted, you cannot be a day student from Cambridge) Cambridge/Milton will be time-consuming as well.
Milton is not really so much of a k-12 school as a k-8 and a 9-12 that happen to be together. A lot of kids come in at 9th so I think fitting in then is not a problem.
BB&N increases size a good bit at 9th and does a lot to help kids fit in.
As for cultural differences - look at the webpages and visit the schools. Nobody here will be able to give you a very strong sense of the personalities of the schools in a short posting.
Do consider that you should move into a town that has good public schools. Admissions to private day schools is very tough. (Public schools here are town-based, not county or state.)
And again, it all depends on what you want. There is no “Best school”.</p>
<p>For many drivers, a yellow light means, “speed up to beat the red.”
A red light means, “you should think about stopping.”</p>
<p>Be very careful at intersections. It is common for drivers to try to “beat the light.” The only reason we don’t have many terrible accidents is that most drivers know of this un-endearing habit of Boston area drivers. Check for oncoming traffic before driving into an intersection. However, don’t assume that the driver behind you is paying attention to your slowing car at red lights. </p>
<p>Be very careful in rotaries. Many Boston area drivers blithely ignore the right-of-way in rotaries. Drivers chatting on cell phones are prone to this.</p>
<p>Rte. 128 is also Rte.s 93 and 95. Often concurrently. </p>
<p>Buy a navigation system. </p>
<p>Keep track of the Red Sox home game schedule. Keep track of the Celtics home game schedule. Traffic in Boston will be difficult at best when there’s a home game.</p>
<p>Don’t try to drive in Boston when the President visits. When the Pope visits. During the Boston Marathon.</p>
<p>I remember noticing those driver habits during my visit to Boston. Are the drivers this way in the city or they drive the same way in suburbs also? Unfortunately, the area where I live the drivers are only marginally better. Too many gadget and other distractions… Most people don’t seem to know how dangerous these distractions are. Hmm… May be I’ll invent a personal mobile plane to avoid these drivers. :)</p>
<p>It varies by town. Rush hour is paradoxically safer, because the traffic moves more slowly. There are also customs observed at certain corners or highway merges at rush hour. When traffic is crawling, it is courteous to allow cars on side roads to enter the roadway. Not too many, however! or the cars behind you will honk. One is fine.</p>
<p>I hate driving in Cambridge. It’s the only town I know in which mothers will push their baby carriages into oncoming traffic without looking. There are also bike lanes, and the bicyclists vary in how seriously they take the rules of the road. </p>
<p>You can turn right at red lights, unless there is a sign forbidding right on red. </p>
<p>Stop for pedestrians in crosswalks. Crosswalks are usually well marked. If the pedestrian crosswalk has a “stop/walk” light for pedestrians, though, obey the traffic lights.</p>
<p>If a state policeman has pulled over a car on the highway, slow down and move left, if possible.</p>
<p>Children must be in car booster seats until the age of 8.</p>
You do have to look at two different pages and compare the numbers yourself, though.
Too many gadget and other distractions… Most people don’t seem to know how dangerous these distractions are. Hmm… May be I’ll invent a personal mobile plane to avoid these drivers. :)</p>