<p>I didn’t like Taft much, the only reason why I am still applying is because of the special interest that the Varsity hockey coach showed in me. </p>
<p>Salisbury was off my list. Felt cold, and very boring.</p>
<p>I hope you are kidding @NikDangles. With so many students applying that like Taft, why apply if you didn’t like it. That’s a long time to spend on a campus that doesn’t appeal to you, IMHO.</p>
<p>@ExieMITAlum I am applying to Taft because I really want to go to a top prep school, and Taft obviously is. I didn’t love it, but feel like I will be happy anywhere I go. Plus If I were to get in my to the school views on the school could change entirely after doing a revisit day, and getting to know the people, the campus, and the faculty better.</p>
<p>We only visited four boarding schools but after a visit to one NE boarding school I had an impression that many kids are repeats, and with my dc applying as a freshman and being somewhat undersized, it bothered me. (I later confirmed that a fair amount of kids repeat at that school.) I also saw quite a few kids “handing out” during the day so I questioned the rigor and the students’ seriousness. These were impressions that stuck with me, and something that I looked for during the remaining visits. We crossed this particular school off the list but then the AO wrote a handwritten note in a holiday card encouraging our dc to apply, we finished the app. Our dc was WL. (maybe that comment belongs to another thread:)</p>
<p>Something else to share, for those parents whose kids are sports minded. Ask the coaches to share their varsity rosters. What we found was that on some rosters many “new” players were transfers in, and not players who moved up the ranks. This was important to me because I wanted to make sure DC went to a school where DC could play the sport DC loves. We did not want to sacrifice academic rigor, but were fine to sacrifice the level, or standing, per se, of the team.</p>
<p>Any chance you can share the name of the school with many repeat kids? That is information that can be helpful to others searching for a school… Thanks!</p>
<p>When I began the boarding school process I went in with the expectation that like many I would apply to Exeter ,but when i went to Exeter I felt very uncomfortable during the interview. It felt as if the interviewer was forcing her smile and didn’t really want to be there. I didn’t feel welcomed like I did at other schools. I’m sure Exeter is a wonderful school for many,but like many on CC say you have to find your “fit” and Exeter wasn’t mine.</p>
<p>I second @confusedonhades. However, for me, the iffy feeling I got from Exeter happened the moment I realized that the campus was bigger than I had expected and that there were so many people. I have no sense of direction…and the place seemed so imtimidating for me. </p>
<p>I also wanted to see enthusiasm for the school, and sadly, I didn’t. My tour guide was shy and withdrawn. My interviewer was nice; however, the interviewer seemed very detatched to what I was saying. It was like talking to a brick wall-the stolid contenance irked me. I crossed off Exeter after that.</p>
<p>Confused…don’t be…Exeter is an AMAZING place for the right kid.
My son never made it past the Exeter tour. His reaction was “absolutely wrong for me.”</p>
<p>That’s why thoughtful, “unrushed” tours are so important. I don’t care how great a place (or person) looks on paper, until you meet, you just never know.</p>
<p>Agreed. Exeter is my alma mater and my daughter found the environment cold. But others on the boards call it amazing. That’s why it is so great to have choices. The right fit for the right student.</p>
<p>@ThacherParent that’s exactly how felt except for the fact that because of our circumstances that day I wasn’t able to go on a tour. I completely agree with ExieAlumMIT’s daughter. Seeing your name alerts me that of course, you are an Exeter alum and I’m sure Exeter is a fabulous school but I guess I just couldn’t see myself fitting in. However, I didn’t have the opportunity to see what the school was like with students there(interview was during the summer) so maybe that would’ve had an effect on my feelings.</p>
<p>@confused - maybe, maybe not. That’s why I gave the example of my own child - who attends a different boarding school along with the children of several of my classmates. Exeter (and all boarding schools) are what they are. Sometimes the timing and the tour guide will color things. But i really fervently believe in gut feeling. When I attended Exeter I was recruited. I thought they were all the same at the time. Now I know differently and it was clear from the moment my daughter set foot on the campus of her current school that they were smitten and so was she. Again - sometimes gut feel can be very accurate indicator of where you’ll be happy.</p>
<p>Some time in the past few months ago, I had my interview. I’m only applying to Exeter and Andover based on my parents’ closed minded view of “prestige.”
First was Exeter. My tour guide was skittish, very introverted, a freshman, and definitely just not the right person to guide a tour. She was probably a good student but not a very nice or outgoing tour. I ended up being the one who did the most talking, because I had to fill in the awkward spaces. They should probably plan that better. The girl was in short: shy, a little uptight, and serious. It didn’t help that she was a freshman. (Not only that, she kept checking her iPhone!) She did have my same nationality, though, which I thought may have been a little bit strange. Maybe they did that to help us “relate.” (Did anyone else have that same type of thing going on, or am I reading too much into it?) Personally, we barely got to see anything on the tour and my parents were not impressed by the time we were back into the admissions center. In addition, the campus did not feel “friendly”, especially the kids. The adults were all very nice, but the kids were gathered around each other making jokes and not even smiling when we looked at them. The tour was very disorganized. (Much like this paragraph, sorry if it was confusing.)
However, things took a MUCH better turn by the interview. The interviewer made me feel very comfortable. We laughed a lot, and the conversation was flowing, with us talking about many different things. Our conversation ranged from talking about our favorite character in a Seperate Peace to waterskiing in Bora Bora (something we both have not done.) All in all, it was a nice interview experience. (Sorry if I’m being n00bish, but halfway into the interview he filled his note page-- is that a bad or good thing?)
My Andover was experience was MILES better. Our tour was a girl from overseas who was able to describe her experience, and answer all of our questions. She was EXTREMELY nice and outgoing, and she didn’t let our questions go unanswered. Needless to say, the tour was really organized. The girl was a really good explain-er and led us around in a circle. It was obviously pre rehearsed (a good thing.) It was in a nice chronological order. The students were welcoming too; they saw I was touring, and acknowledged it. They smiled, waved or even said Hi!
The interview was a little less comfortable than at Exeter, and I felt on my part I could’ve done better. but the lady was extremely nice and welcoming. She talked about her experience at Andover. Overall I was more impressed with Andover than Exeter as a student. My thing with Exeter was mostly just with the tour guide, though. If accepted I would still go. (This is mostly because I want a four year experience at a boarding school, Exeter is great in terms of academics, and also as you read above my parents are restricting me.)</p>
<p>My son and I toured quite a few New England BS’s last fall. Groton and Concord were taken off his list of schools without any hesitation. Facilities in both schools were far below the ones we saw at other schools, students at Groton did not appear polite, girls there were dressed in VERY short skirts and had a lot of make up on, and very old buildings smelled of dust and mildew. The interviewer at Groton was very aloof. The same goes for Concord, as well. There are kitchens in every dorm in Concord and aromas in some of them (we were shown 3 dorms) were far from pleasant.
Surprisingly, both my son and I were very impressed by Exeter tour and interview. At first, I was not even going to treat Exeter application seriously, as this is an extremely competitive school. I look at my son’s abilities and achievements realistically and never imagined Exeter to be a good fit for him. The campus tour and the interview changed that perspective. The tour guide looked very tired, but talked for the whole hour taking us from building to building, answering questions, telling stories of his life at Exeter. The interviewer was very welcoming, had a great sense of humour and just seemed like he was enjoying himself talking to students.</p>
<p>@Shirlie - This is a perfect example of why it’s so important to visit the schools. While you found them lacking, many people find the old buildings at Groton charming, the boarding houses (and access to kitchens) at Concord homey, and the facilities at both schools amazing. For example, while my daughter didn’t end up going there, the old buildings at Groton were one of the most appealing parts of the school to her.</p>
<p>I wish we’d gotten to see Groton (and Milton) - I have friends who went to both and loved them (granted, 30 years ago!) and they sounded really cool - we just couldn’t look at more than we already have. We did visit Concord and LOVED it - it’s very high on my daughter’s list! (One of the plusses for us: we live in a very small, rural town of 3000 people, so being able to walk around a much larger town freely was very appealing to her.)
You never know what you’re going to like or not like!</p>
<p>“Facilities in both schools were far below the ones we saw at other schools, students at Groton did not appear polite, girls there were dressed in VERY short skirts and had a lot of make up on, and very old buildings smelled of dust and mildew. The interviewer at Groton was very aloof.”</p>
<p>A great reminder that so much of this is subjective. We found our Exeter interviewer aloof in the extreme and, in the pantheon of great schools, the Exeter campus merely a “meh”…especially when compared to Millville (aka. SPS). We simply prefer our private schools more, well, private-feeling. So the Grotons and SPSs and SASs of the world resonate better than the Exeters and Choates.</p>
<p>Groton did have some “deferred maintenance” (a term we picked up from an AO somewhere) we could see, but we generally found the Olmstead-designed campus very appealing.</p>
<p>Different strokes for different folks…</p>
<p>After touring schools this past summer and fall, we removed Pomfret, Choate and Deerfield. Pomfret was a summer tour, so it was hard to get a sense of the student body. The tour guide was less than stellar. You could tell she was not a strong student and openly talked about partying…taking limos to NYC. Choate was removed, we had the sense it was more for future Wall Street types, not at all my daughter. The tour at Deerfield was not very good, nothing very specific. My daughter and husband came away with a sense it was not the right place.</p>
<p>Ah, the physical grandeur of Millville, that refracts light for a stunning glow at any time of day or season . . . those poetic images you just can’t shake, can you, 7D. How do THEY feel about fruits, one wonders?</p>
<p>@rebeccabw, I give tours at Deerfield and it’s an amazing place. After my tours, students and parents go back with a big smile! What are you looking for in a school for your D? Which schools did you end up shortlisting, if I may ask?</p>
<p>Fruits of all varieties are most welcome in Millville. Apples, oranges, mangoes, you name it. ;-)</p>
<p>Seriously, my husband wasn’t crazy about the facilities at Groton, but they didn’t bother me. The Groton AO told us that they wanted to develop their STEM program in advance of planning for a space for it, rather than the other way around (I had to take that as a dig at St. Paul’s since they were just opening the Lindsay Center at the time). I can’t say if it was actually as deliberate a strategy as they made it out to be, but I thought the Groton STEM program sounded strong regardless of the facilities. </p>
<p>I’m more interested in the overall layout and organization of a campus than in the interiors of the buildings. I like the use of the Circle at Groton (although I’m sure it’s tempting to just cut across that big field sometimes).</p>