<p>randi
Thats very interesting. That is the idea I had earlier, I' m not sure why. I have heard a similar story regarding St. Pauls.
Exeter is a great school, no doubt about it. Congratulations!</p>
<p>I must put in a biased plug for Andover. Saw some really great student art on display during our Spring Visit. They also have a renowned art Museum on Campus (which unfortunately is about to close for renovation for 1.5 years) :( [I am not sure what the plans are to relocate art and staff during the renovations]. Andover also has wonderful music ensembles as well. And as for financial aid, they gave our family a very generous package. Not only was there no gap for the EFC, they gave us more than we expected.</p>
<p>Kent is another school that has an equestrian program. </p>
<p>Also, some of the school's web sites have an "Ask a Current Student" section, so that might be another useful perspective.</p>
<p>Good luck with your search. You are doing the smart thing by starting early!</p>
<p>Interlochen is probably the best pre-professional arts school in the country.</p>
<p>"just my personal experience, but i dont think choate is too generous with FA. i applied this year, am going to exeter next year, and i got rejected from choate saying i needed to much fa, and if i didnt need it, i would be accepted. so thats just my experience, and my guess if i was absolutely amazing, i wouldve gotten the fa. but still, not too generous."</p>
<p>This doesn't mean Choate isn't generous. There could have been many students needing the same as you and they chose a specific few who they thought would enjoy the school the most. I would rather be told the truth than waitlisted for FA that was unavailable. I don't think it is fair to say that they are not generous with FA, simply because they didn't have enough.</p>
<p>Brooklyn guy-
yes Kent is a great school, and has riding. No way is a kid on FA going to ride there however, at least thats the strong impression I got.
We should probably look at Andover, since we are looking at Exeter. (Used to have quite the party rep, back in the dinosaur days.)
Interlochen I am sure is great, but its too far ( we prefer New England, and I am leaning towards a school that is not specifically fine arts - although we are looking at Walnut Hill- it is close- and I don't expect my daughter would get FA there, but might as well turn over the rock). She may be a stellar musician some day, or famous painter, but she may also want to become a lawyer, an architect, a fashion designer, an editorialist, or a musician. (Those are her words)</p>
<p>Xox cookie - you make a good point. These schools all have an agenda. They may make room for a student with a particular kind of profile one year and not the next. Still....</p>
<p>wish the admissions costs were less. I'd have her apply to them all!</p>
<p>Just out of curiosity, could a student who is somewhat lacking in grades "make up" for that with really good artistic ability?</p>
<p>(Sorry to intrude on your thread...I just thought it fit well in here.)</p>
<p>Sadie, Did you attend NMH (you said NMHS)? I believe they have an excellent arts program and are planning the grand opening of their state of the art Rhodes Arts Center for next fall. You could request a tour of the center now. They recently moved the 55-bell carillon from Sage Chapel on the Northfield Campus to the bell tower in the arts center.</p>
<p>keylyme
yes I meant Northfield Mt. Hermon School. I went there back in the seventies. Was shocked to hear that the Northfield campus is no longer part of the school. I lived at Gould Hall. What an experience!
Plan on taking D there....don't know what chances she would have of FA. They threw me out....too much of a free spirit :)</p>
<p>They are quite generous with FA. Consolidating the campuses has really helped them financially and has made also given them the ability to be much more selective.</p>
<p>and believe me, back then the arts program looked good but I never had a chance to experience it, due to the work load. Many nights stayed up until 1pm doing homework. Some kids were doing the same with the help of amphetamines. Wonder how much has changed?</p>
<p>yes, so I understand. It will be a walk down memory lane when we visit.</p>
<p>Hey, a window popped up telling me I have a pm , does anyone know how I get it?</p>
<p>Go to the upper right corner of this page. You'll see a welcome box. There should be a blue link that says "Private Messages". Click that and you'll be in your mailbox.</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>Sadie: Re St. Paul's .... Incredible dance & theater program. My nephew won all the arts awards at graduation (even if he did attend barefoot!). I do not think he ever felt left out of anything. His skills were as a painter, his friends knew it, he knew it and the faculty knew it. It was accepted, recognized and rewarded. Now I have a son there. Not into arts, well maybe theater. He defines himself with Humanities. Everyone’s skills are different. Good luck. Look at a variety. One will fit for you.</p>
<p>Will she consider an all girls school? I don't know that they exclude riding for their FA students. But there is Stoneleigh-Burnham (SBS) (you may remember it from your NMH days, not far away) and also Ethel Walker School in Simsbury, CT. I was just there this week and it's a beautiful campus with a renewed focus on their development program (meaning increased FA).</p>
<p>I'm more familiar with SBS - it has a great dance and art program as well. They have a new science building, but it's certainly not it's flagship program.</p>
<p>And, yes, I beleive you can fit in a places like Deerfield and the others without being a math/science person. Deerfield has some amazing performing arts groups as well and the chair of their English dept is amazing.</p>
<p>Thanks Winterset and Linda. </p>
<p>St. Pauls seems truly wonderful, and we are going to visit soon, but I have to say it scares me because I hear the kids often stay up way too late. I know the repercussions that can cause! </p>
<p>I do remember Stoneleigh Burnham from NMH days! The music department seems very interesting. And they have a great riding program. Also we went to Walker's open house - I plan on talking again to the riding coach. (My daughter may even have a hook at Walker's.) All girls schools are a definite draw....looked at Dana Hall as well. </p>
<p>I wonder how those schools rate against the so called "top tier" schools, of which there is no question a superior education is possible!</p>
<p>Sadie: My son at SPS complained about the late nights the first term there. After a while he admitted that he was staying up chatting, oh and his roommate was playing video games and he was drinking tea AT 10, AND …... Very soon that changed. He had one friend who went to bed every single night at 10PM or earlier. That is unusual but possible if you are HIGHLY disciplined about time management. That means looking ahead at you work in the coming week and getting some done in advance. My son started emulating that, and by last spring he was certainly in bed by 11 most nights. But he planned, and set that as a goal. This year his roommate is a bit easier on his efforts to sleep and combine that with varsity sports and somehow, he has found extra time to sleep. </p>
<p>These problems are true of all teenagers. AND they will tell you that a teen needs at least 9 hours sleep! So do the math. You cannot go to bed at midnight and sleep 9 hours.</p>
<p>Winterset - It's good to hear your son's story and see his success in adjusting his own behavior. I think this is what the SPS "freedom with responsibility" is all about. I'm sure it's not true 100% of the time but I think many kids will initially adopt behavior that isn't ideal and, once faced with the challenges and consequences (lack of sleep, less than stellar grades, etc.), will start to adjust their behavior. This may happen of their own doing or they may be prompted by discussions with advisors, but I have heard stories of other students at SPS learning the same lessons your son did. </p>
<p>It is my child's first year and I've seen signs of this as the year has progressed and hope it continues. I'd rather my child learned this now then during college.</p>
<p>About the 9 hours of sleep - I think very few top performing teens - those involved in rigorous academics combined with music or sports or other activities - receives that much sleep whether they board or not, public or private.</p>