<p>We will be touring in January and I am interested in hearing about what area people recommend staying over "the weekend" when my d does not have interviews.</p>
<p>Choices... area close to Deerfield, area close to St. Paul's School, area close to or in the relative proximity of Choate, Loomis, Taft, and Hotchkiss.</p>
<p>What are we looking for? My d would love to ski. My wife and I are not skiiers, but enjoy being in the beautiful scenery. Typically when we go skiing it is Colorado, Tahoe, Jackson Hole Wyoming, etc. I assume the NE boarding school areas don't have the resorts/facilities as those you would find in Colorado, etc. Since we are hopeful my d will have the opportunity to attend one of these schools, it'd be great to spend a weekend in the close proximity of one of the schools to get a feel for what will be around her. </p>
<p>Recommendations on something close to one of these schools. Something that will give us a feel for what they area will be like for my d everyday in the wintertime if she chooses that school, and if any of the three are just absolutely breathtaking or just are a must see or do, I'm all ears. We are from the south, so it's not everyday we get to enjoy beautiful scenery, snow, mountains, skking, ice-skating, etc.</p>
<p>Before I spend any time thinking of recommendations, I need to sort out in my head how the same person who asks about application waivers also manages to enjoy skiing in Colorado, Tahoe, Jackson Hole Wyoming, etc.</p>
<p>I am not sure that, given the winter thus far, you can count on any snow in NE! I can, however, recommend The Centennial Hotel in Concord, NH near St. Paul’s. It is only about 2 miles from campus, and is a lovely small hotel in an old Victorian mansion. We are not B&Brs, but this was anything but. A great restaurant downstairs, and an unexpected surprise.</p>
<p>I’ve never said I’m poor. I just assumed that if they give FA to people that make $200k, $300k+ that perhaps it is the norm for people that make $100k-$150k to ask for waivers. Airfare for 3, 2 hotel rooms/night for a week, meals on the road for a week, rental car for a week, gas, applications for many schools, it adds up. The airfare, hotels, and application fees total right at $3,000 by themself. I never said I was going to ask for waivers I simply asked what schools perception of someone is when they ask for them and who they are meant for. Afterall, if they are meant for anyone who makes less than $150,000/yr then yes, I might consider asking for one. If they are not, then I wouldn’t. Without asking, how would I know?</p>
<p>Waivers are not for middle to upper middle class families, IMO. Also, I hope you understand that SOME families making 200-300K get some FA but that is not the norm.</p>
<p>Phrased another way, it’s the same as FA. Most don’t consider Private Schools at all because they assume they cannot afford them. Someone who makes $150,000/yr would have a very difficult time paying $50,000/yr to attend a boarding school. Most people at that point just deem it too expensive. That being said, “Is it ok, for someone who makes $150,000/yr to ask for FA?” The answer is, “of course it is ok if they feel they cannot afford the tuition.” The same premise goes regarding waivers. Is is ok for someone who makes $150,000/yr to ask for a waiver?" How would one know without asking? Thus the reason I asked here. Perhaps boarding schools are thrilled to give out waivers because they want as many qualified candidates applying as possible. In total, I assume we will spend $4,500-$5,000 that I would not be spending if my child was not applying to boarding school. That is money that I don’t necessarily have sitting around. If waivers are the norm, I simply wanted to know it.</p>
<p>Also, given your distance coming from the south, in person visits, though ideal, are not a requirement, nor is all 3 of you coming (one parent could go), nor is 2 hotel rooms. Especially, 2 hotel rooms.</p>
<p>Median income in the US is around $50,000- economists generally define middle class as anyone who makes half to double that amount- $25,000:lower middle class $100,000: upper middle class. Anyone making over $150,000 is in the top 5% and anyone making over $250,000 is in the top 1%.</p>
<p>Yeah, but everyone’s situation is a little different. Unfortunately, it must be “party of 3” thus 2 hotel rooms. Not going to explain. </p>
<p>I was joking regarding the middle class, after all these fiscal cliff talks and “who is middle class, etc.” I think $250,000 was the agreed upon number that invokes someone as middle class.</p>
<p>Our family has an income considerably less than that and we would not have considered asking for a fee waiver. Fee waivers are for people who are unemployed or for the working poor–people for whom it would truly be a hardship to pay (like it’s pay the fee or the electric bill, not pay the fee and forgo a lift ticket). </p>
<p>Honestly, I think asking for the fee waiver will put you in a negative light. If I were the AO, I’d suggest you send just one parent–one flight and one hotel room saved. My husband and I have–with the exception of the first parent’s week-end–never both flown to visit our kid at the same time. We take turns to save money. We also limited our son’s application to schools we could visit over a 2 day span, again, mostly because we were watching the costs.</p>
<p>My point is simply that there are lots of ways for parents to budget without asking schools to foot the bill–and, frankly, schools expect that our contribution to the cause will hurt a bit.</p>
<p>If you become a BS family, it will be expected every year that you do have money “sitting around” to contribute to the Annual Fund, no matter what your income level and no matter whether you receive FA or not.</p>
<p>To put the fee waiver v FA aid issue in perspective: most families earning 150k can afford a $50 expense, but they can’t afford a $50,000 expense </p>
<p>Most schools will waive the on-campus interview for families that live past a certain driving radius. If the travel costs are that significant a financial burden, then consider skype/alumni interviews. Then travel only to the admitted schools on Revisit Day to make the final decision.</p>
<p>The question was about “Beautiful places to enjoy the scenery and ski” to enjoy our time while we are up there. Fortunately, a very kind member PM’d me with a recommendation. I also appreciate the other poster in this thread who made a recommendation as well.</p>
<p>Wow, this is a complete shocker! I should never judge a thread by its title. Wait, let me take this back… never judge a post by its first two paragraphs! At first, I thought OP might be considering visiting colleges like Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, etc. Who knew what’s coming next?</p>
<p>I’m not sure why but somehow after reading the OP, I kind of felt insulted. I should have never opened this thread. Sorry that I couldn’t be helpful. Good luck to you and your DC. Have a great day!</p>
<p>Yeah…I got off track from the OP’s original post, but I also felt offended. The budget stretching has thinned my skin I suppose. I’m usually a “It never hurts to ask” consumer, but boarding school just isn’t the same as buying a new car. And I was genuinely trying to be helpful in suggesting that you not ask for that fee waiver. While I’m sure that AO’s have seen it before, I really don’t think it will cast your child’s application in the best light. Admissions offices are small places.</p>
When I stop and consider it, I can definitely think of scenarios where that is necessary.</p>