<p>I crossed Hotchkiss,Deerfield,SPS, Governors and Berkshire off my list because they felt so far away from everything. I like Choate and Loomis a lot. Exeter felt cold and grey especially the cafeteria. Andover was too spread out. Kent had students doing drugs in town when we were there so my mom crossed that one off. Taft had a nice feeling to it and stayed on my list. Williston was a little run down. All my tour guides were very nice and it showed that they all loved their schools. All these schools had a lot to offer.</p>
<p>maddog: we loved, loved, loved DA and kept it on the list, BUT the remoteness thing still nags at us. The campus is “movie set” picture perfect to my eye, and I am sure that fall and spring terms are fine. But that location in those long winter months, I don’t know, it worries me and D. Just nowhere to go. Things better be going pretty “swimmingly” with your friends during winter term or you might just go stir crazy. Maybe you can get a ride into town somehow??? Town looked ok to me.</p>
<p>Maddog: forgot to add that I agree on Loomis - didn’t you just love the fire in the admissions waiting room? We toured/interviewed on a frigid cold and snowy day. When we got back to Admissions they sat D in front of the fireplace with hot chocolate. Good move!</p>
<p>Great thread. While a Headmaster vows to uphold the mission of the school, a new headmaster can change the underlying ‘tone’ of the school. Those of you applying with younger siblings should not rule out schools based on an earlier visit.</p>
<p>@surfergirl-please understand, Berkshire just didnt meet our academic needs. I am not saying is isnt challenging, just not what we needed for a school.</p>
<p>My d decline Exeter, not because of the rigor but for us it was the size, and what she felt had a “little-university-of-chicago” feel. Would she have made it there, I believe so, but it was her feel that ultimately I had to listen to.</p>
<p>She crossed off Exeter (sigh) after she visited other campuses.</p>
<p>I loved Andover (waitlisted) but she got on campus and thought it was bigger than she wanted to manage. </p>
<p>Governors wasn’t on my radar until I found out that Exeter faculty were sending their own children there as day students and a Governor’s teacher had a son at Exeter. Very small and intimate. Very close to both Exeter and Andover. Had a student matriculate to MIT so that sealed my insecurities about curriculum (plus I loved the math and art instructors).</p>
<p>Taft wasn’t on my radar. But my D and her father added it to the “list” based on his favorable impressions of his phone call to them to ask for information. He said they were “nice” and went the extra mile. I will admit that the minute we drove on to the campus I was smitten and we hadn’t even gotten out of the car. The extended interview and their decision to invite other faculty to meet my D pretty much confirmed my husband’s impressions of them. </p>
<p>There’s a lot of cross pollination among faculty and alum and students. They’re all good - but fit is everything. I was thankful to parents who contacted me off-line to fill in blanks about some things I had missed at each school or to confirm things I wondered about. The candor on this board is amazing.</p>
<p>Exie, it’s funny, we were very excited about Taft, and it’s “hidden gem” reputation. Contact before our visit was excellent and very positive. Our visit was just so disappointing in contrast, that dc, dh and I agreed that it was not the right place for dc before we even got back into the car to leave. </p>
<p>The one school that seems to be far and away the best for for dc happens to be a HADES school. We don’t care about prestige. We want a good academic and social fit for dc - a chance for him to get the education we cannot find closer to home.</p>
<p>dc=?
dh=?</p>
<p>This is a fun and light thread - great input. I agree 100% it is all individual. Here was our experience -what fell off the list…</p>
<p>TAFT- everyone in the family LOVED this school the minute we drove on campus. It was clear it would be a top choice. In the end, didn’t even make the list. Had nothing to do with the greatness of the school, he just didn’t feel like it was the place for him. </p>
<p>CHOATE - we too stayed in the Sally Hart Lodge and loved this school. Son decided too big.</p>
<p>SPS- we had the same ‘basement’ experience. Loved our tour guide. He was SO great. But the lackluster theatre tour and the basements did us in. … I think they should finish their tours with the library and chapel - I mean cathedral. That place is amazing. </p>
<p>BERKSHIRE and HOTCHKISS and KENT - too remote was son’s reason, but no other negatives. Loved the town of Kent. Son really liked the racquet sports at Hotchkiss.</p>
<p>GOVERNOR’s -We all felt it was kind of run down. New headmaster coming in should be a real positive. On paper it was strong favorite. Son said he felt it had a ‘safety school’ feel from the kids - even though for him it would definitely NOT have been a safety by any stretch. Had a great experience in admissions though and found all the staff and faculty excellent. We think it had great dorms also.</p>
<p>HOLDERNESS - the greatest disappointment. We’ve spent quite a bit of time in the Plymouth NH area and love it… know many people who went to school there - son knows lots of kids there - we were so excited about the tour/interview etc. Nice enough tour guide - but even before the interview our son said “Mom this place is missing something. It feels vacant to me.” Unfortunately, we all felt the same way at the end of the day. It just was not for ‘us.’</p>
<p>And yes - the Green Cup Challenge videos are a lot of fun - I think they do give some nice insight into the personalities.</p>
<p>^^So you crossed off all these schools? How many schools have you visited and what’s left on your list?</p>
<p>@Madaket: DH/DC=Dear Husband/Dear Child</p>
<p>@Mamakiwi & Others: Funny that so many got a bad vibe from the SPS “basement tour”. I have to say that, based purely on the facilities/campus/tour, SPS and only one other school stood out for us as feeling truly special. Again, it comes down to fit/personality, because both schools have more of “enclave” campus feel as opposed to being in/near a town center and having a more open campus.</p>
<p>A few people have mentioned “run down”/poorly maintained facilities being a turn off. That definitely tainted our view of schools where we could see any “deferred maintenance”. If only I held my own home to the same standards! ;-P</p>
<p>Seven, what was the one other school with a special feel?</p>
<p>and DA, yeh, you can tell something about the school by the company it keeps. As one other poster stated, the school in the 8 association meet to talk about philosophy, academic rigor, how they are alike and how they are different, what they value and what knits them together and sets them apart. </p>
<p>the 8 all taut academic rigor. I think Choate espouses character building as a goal which separates them from others and public service,which I take is more than community service. I wish however, they would define character building more, not sure what that means.</p>
<p>Yeah, but academic rigor is such a broad term that’s impossible to quantify. I bet you can add 10 more schools to the association and still say they share ‘academic rigor’ as a common charateristic. What about the Ten School Association? What can one generalize from the company the member schools keep?</p>
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<p>Sorry it may sound blunt, but it’s a real question. Are you still talking about “schools crossed off after visit”? My understanding of “cross off” is to decide not to apply after the visit. Or is it to apply any way but decide not to go if admitted, or not to be super mad/sad if rejected/waitlisted?</p>
<p>DAndrew, some students interview by Skype, or with alumni. They may not have seen the campus before March 10th.</p>
<p>??? That’s not the case with ExieMITAlum is it?</p>
<p>@Rellielou - go for it! That’s the best way to decide.</p>
<p>@DAndrew - she had already applied. We were interviewing in late January. We didn’t withdraw any apps.</p>
<p>Funny someone mentioned rundown at Governors. We were surprised by the campus because it was our last on a five-school tour. Library is huge and competitive, Math and Science state of the Art. New theater/assembly hall that was state of the art, and a brand new building just to house the kiln for the art program.</p>
<p>We didn’t get to see the gym and none of the keys worked when the poor girl tried to show us the dorm rooms. The facilities I saw didn’t seem run down but I didn’t see everything. What did I miss?</p>
<p>The ten schools in the ten school association are the basic 8 minus NMH, but add Taft and Hill and Loomis Chaffee. </p>
<p>When I use this example, I am hoping not to incite another riot about which schools are truly in the top tier, but like the Ivy schools those in this group are thought to be the cream of the crop. The ivy schools are all different in character but value academic breadth and depth and want top students who want to challenge themselves.</p>
<p>So, yes, I think you can tell something about the school by the company it keeps.</p>
<p>I am not saying there aren’t ‘just as good’ schools including Milton and Groton or even better that fall out of the 8/10 in the association, but I am stating that the 8 to 10/11 are probably in general most highly regarded by the masses. Yes, if a “fit” at another school, say Linden Hall, which has an equestrian team and a chocolate factory downtown within steps of academia is a better fit for your kid (My daughter and I are seriously looking at this one), it then moves to the top of your particular list.</p>
<p>And I don’t want a “Don’t feed the ■■■■■■,” reply but ExieMITAlum I thought you previously posted that your daughter was rejected at your Alma Mater and that calls had to be made to alumni whose kids were rejected including yours. I’m not going to pull up your previous posts as you like to do to me, but ??? some of us are confused about who crossed whom off their list.</p>