<p>So I'm applying to the following boarding schools:</p>
<p>-Interlochen Arts Academy
-Phillips Academy Andover
-Walnut Hill School for the Arts
-Choate Rosemary Hall
-Loomis Chaffee</p>
<p>I know they're a lot different in terms of what type of school, but I love to write and that would be my major at Interlochen or Walnut Hill. The other three seem to just be great overall, with a lot of opportunities.</p>
<p>So, does anyone have any experience/information about any of these schools? Can you tell me how you feel about them, or which you like better? Anything is appreciated... What are the kids and teachers like? The campus? Also, if you have any other schools you think I should look into, please do. What is boarding school like in general? Do you end up missing your family and friends and everything you give up?</p>
<p>Our daughter is a new junior Theatre major at Interlochen. Interlochen is very different from Andover, Choate or Loomis Chaffee. It is a performing arts high school, and every student there is passionate about the arts in some kind of meaningful way. (Walnut Hill is also a school focused on the performing arts, but I know very little about it.) In addition to the "regular’ application process (grades, test scores, essays, recommendations, etc), every prospective Interlochen student must audition or submit a portfolio, and is accepted into a specific arts major: Music (instrumental, vocal performance, singer-songwriter), Dance, Motion Picture Arts, Creative Writing, Visual Arts, Theatre, or Comparative Arts (which is a specialized program combining two or more artistic disciplines).</p>
<p>The creative writing program at Interlochen is absolutely top-notch (the following info is from the Interlochen website):</p>
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<p>Interlochen regularly brings noteworthy, award-winning writers to campus to work directly with the creative writing students. In October, both Tony Kushner and Carolyn Forche spent most of a week on campus during a campus-wide event called the Arts Symposium, which brought in noted artists from all artistic disciplines.</p>
<p>Here’s a link to a very recent article about the Creative Writing program at Interlochen, written by the director of the program, Mika Perrine:</p>
<p>Thank you, mountainhiker! My sister is a senior theatre arts major, so I know a good amount about the school. It does seem like a good program, and I’m actually visiting later this month. Once again, thanks for the info!!</p>
<p>Here’s a link to an official interlochen academy group that was recently created to be the central gathering space for people who are entering the Virginia B. Ball Writing Competition ($30,000 scholarship!) or are interested in learning more about Interlochen’s creative writing program:</p>
<p>Hey there! I’m a music major (viola) junior at Interlochen. The academic courseload is really variable, depending on how many academic classes you want to take as opposed to arts-based classes. Almost every single one of the teachers is top-notch - some of them have esoteric teaching styles you may not like, and some of them have personalities you may not like, but you’re bound to find one or two you can click with. At Interlochen, you live in a room with one other person (or by yourself, if you never get a roommate), and in TJ (a girl’s dorm) and DeRoy (the MPA dorm) you share a bathroom with another room, and they call all four of you “suitemates”. The campus is BEAUTIFUL. Until winter.
Michigan snow is frankly depressing. Last year it wasn’t so rough, but this year it’s predicted to snow very heavily. It’s cold even now in November, and it’ll stay cold till around February or March. It’s much more beautiful in the summer.
It turns out that I don’t really miss my family. You get to be very close to people here, owing to the fact that you live on campus with them.</p>
<p>Hey mountainhiker and average violist… Sorry for not responding! My account was acting weird… thanks for the info! I visited a month ago and loved it!! My first choice!!</p>