<p>“Head of the Charles” (big crew competition in the spring) is possibly the worst. It’s been the same day as the PSATs for two years running (and thankfully, I don’t care any more)
It’s easy to avoid the Marathon route since it’s a holiday anyway.
I regularly see a guy in Cambridge riding a bike while pushing a baby carriage with one hand.</p>
<p>There are many outstanding K-8 options in the Boston burbs. Given that the majority are day schools, where your child goes will be largely be dependent on where you live. Our son attends an independent K-9 school on the north shore. His school consistently has high placements at your target schools, as well as many other outstanding independent day and boarding schools. Our son applied to 5 schools for 9th grade and was admitted to all, including Andover, Exeter and St Paul’s. Feel free to send me a private message if you would like more information.</p>
<p>Hi pulsar! To choose the best school for your child, you need to know both the school’s vibe/strengths/personality and your child’s. To address the former: </p>
<p>For “artsy” kids:
Commonwealth- the small school fosters close relationships between everyone as well as thoughtful intelectuall discussion. In fact, the location is quite convenient b/c the students ‘use’
Boston for arts, education, sports, community service, research, etc… If commuting is an issue for you, don’t worry b/c almost the entire school travels by train, some from out of state! I am a student at commonwealth so if you would like to know more just message me!
The school also has very very strong orograms in both math and English , though sports (minus fencing), leave something to be desired. This is really a school for some of Boston’s smartest kids. </p>
<p>For sporty types-
Nobles- has a VERY strong sports program and if you ever visit you will notice that sports dominate. However, this doesn’t mean that academics are a complete afterthought. Both English and math are good, but not great. Many students travel to top colleges on sports scholarships. </p>
<p>Milton- has both great academics (English and math) and great sports. The facillities at both Milton and Nobles are fantastic. And many students go on to ivy leagues.</p>
<p>For competative students-</p>
<p>Winsor and Roxbury Latin- I put these two together b/c they are so alike. Not only are they both situated in greater Boston, both are single sex (all-girls and all- boys, respectively) and both get a very large number of each class into the ivy league (harvard is the leading college at both). The facillities at RL are better than those of Winsor, however they are both great. Both have great English programs and RL has one of the best math programs around.</p>
<p>For a strictly math and science kid- BUA, no question. Their most popular club is the robotics club followed by nerdly games and hobbies. By now, you have a pretty good image of the school. The math program is obviously great and the english program is good but nothing compared to their math and science programs. This school along with Winsor and RL is a bit of a ‘sink-or-swim’ school. The facillities are great b/c the students have complete access to BU.</p>
<p>NewEnglandDad and gabbyf: Thank you. 
Gabbyf, great detail, you seem to know a lot about these schools! I nominate you as the WikiWiz on Boston area Schools on CC.</p>
<p>As a BUA parent, I’ll make some comments…
BUA is strongest in math and science, but no slouch for the liberal arts. Students interested in the classics, in particular, will find a great deal to like - they can start taking university Greek/Latin upper level classes as juniors. The strong foundation in the Western Canon from the first two years, gives kids a really solid base as well. Our kids all do a big senior thesis - and the math/science works account for only about 1/3 of of the topics.
Model UN and Theatre are very strong clubs as well.
Nerdly is a fun club - kids of all grades and all interests show up there.
There is a lot of support for kids, but the academic load is pretty intense. Everybody gets through a year of calculus, everybody does two years of Latin or Greek.</p>
<p>And, LOL, just got this update on a BUA alum…
"J. Courtney Sullivan (BUA ‘99, Smith ’03) is the published author of three books and editorial writer for the New York Times who began laying the foundation for her writing career while at BU Academy. Her novel debut Commencement, a story that takes place at Smith College, chronicles the enduring relationship of four friends who meet on campus.
…
Want to know more about Courtney or her books? Visit her at [J</a>. Courtney Sullivan](<a href=“http://jcourtneysullivan.com/]J”>http://jcourtneysullivan.com/) "</p>
<p>So, really, we aren’t just all about math and science!</p>
<p>To nemom: Maybe I shouldn’t say strictly. However, I do know that many of my friends who have attended BUA absolutely love their math and science programs. And I do agree that BUA has amazing humanities programs as well.</p>
<p>The OP also asked about strong K-8 schools. Our daughter is an *alumna *of Meadowbrook in Weston, which has terrific academics and a very constructive social environment.</p>
<p>When she was going into 6th grade, she also applied to Nashoba Brooks, Shady Hill, Beaver Country Day, Belmont Day but Meadowbrook wound up being her first choice and we have no complaints whatever about the decision, even though we liked a lot about the others, too. Of those other schools, Beaver starts at 6th and Nashoba starts, I think, at 3rd. The others are K-8.</p>
<p>At the time, she’d also looked at Winsor (they start at 5th) and BB&N but chose not to apply to either for 6th, even though she later did for 9th. Excellent schools also-- for the right kid.</p>
<p>Beaver, BB&N, and Winsor probably don’t make much effort in high school placements, since kids can continue on where they are. The others tend to send their grads to a range of good private schools or the better suburban public high schools.</p>
<p>Incidentally, I’d be careful of looking only at percentages of kids that go to Ivies or other specific blocs of destination schools. While it does indicate to some degree the level of students and the help they get, it can also really mess up a school’s culture. What gets measured gets done, and a school that is frantic to keep its Ivy % up can distort a lot of what makes it valuable in the first place. Think of accepting Ivy-type students only, skewing support to the top third of the class (i.e., the kids who will make the school look good in the Forbes Magazine pieces), pushing those kids into Ivy schools instead of equally good ones that may be more appropriate, and so on. There’s some really sick stuff going on out there and it doesn’t help the life of our children (or that of their schoolmates) to buy into it uncritically.</p>
<p>What is with people and the Ivy league? Honestly, if you/your kid is Ivy material, all of these presitigious secondary schools will give you/your son/daughter a plethora of oppurtunities to build upon his/her interests in ways unparralled to that of many public schools, furthermore shaping up their resume and helping in the college selection process. Getting to go a NE Prep/Boarding school is a privelige only 0.1 percent of US students recieve (based on R. Guztambide’s "The Best of the Best;life at an American Boarding School)</p>
<p>The school will not make the student, the student will use, and hopefully contribute, to their school in a way that they are develop their interests and find their promise. It is a collection of these students that make the school.</p>
<p>I won’t lie, I was just like most of you concerned about Ivy acceptance when I applied. But please, choose a school that is the right fit for you. For example,</p>
<p>Take Andover: 30% Ivy League Matriculation, large school, diverse, many students have devoted passions.</p>
<p>Take Middlesex: ~20% Ivy league matriculation, much smaller school, more community feel, Students more well-rounded people with a less defined primary interest</p>
<p>Take Governors:5% - Great School, doesn’t get enough rep here, but very athletically motivated. Very Social. Good Academics.</p>
<p>If you’re admitted to Govs, dont choose andover or mx because it has a better ivy rate. choose them because it where you honestly want to be. Every school has its own personality, make sure the one you attend is the closest match to a fit for you. </p>
<p>I hope this helps</p>