<p>Exie, not trying to give you a hard time, but it surprises me that someone like you who emphasizes “fit” like no other would allow your daughter apply to both A & E without a school visit, and end up being WL’ed by two school she “crossed off”. (What could’ve stopped you? As we’ve seen on CC, many international families would take the trouble to fly over and visit schools.) What a waste of resources! I bet you have learned hard lessons from that experience? And that’s why you are promoting “fit” like no other?</p>
<p>@DAndrew - yes, crossed off those with no application. Applied to six.
Saw some schools in summer - more exploratory - some had kids on campus with summer programs and others did not. Did a ‘drive by’ of A&E and Groton because we felt those were not in reach but wanted to just see the campus for comparison.
Remember - he is at a JBS in NE so it is pretty easy to get around…</p>
<p>Ah! Thanks for the clarification. Boy, you guys are serious! :)</p>
<p>Yes, we are a little Type A sometimes. New England is such a beautiful place to explore - and we have lots of friends and family in CT and MA - :)</p>
<p>DAndrew - Lol! Being “older” didn’t make me wiser in this case - lol!</p>
<p>That we learned there was so many different “personalities” on the trips out east is exactly WHY I tell parents it’s about fit not status.</p>
<p>Prior to those visits I thought - like many parents - it was about getting into the most elite school on the list. (okay - let’s call it like it is - I was an Exeter snob and told her she could only apply to Boarding schools if they contained the letter E and Andover didn’t count as an option … 
) She had ideas of her own and chose a range of schools she thought made sense. Now I know it’s really important to take the view books with a grain of salt and really go for a visit early if you can afford to. It was really clear on visits which schools she gravitated towards and which liked her as well. </p>
<p>BTW - I think she would have done well at Andover . The “campus size” jitters would have abated. She enjoyed living on a university campus the previous summer. She and her Andover interviewer had a real affinity and stayed in touch over the next few months. But she’d seen two schools that were half the size. And I think there’s something about being a big fish in a smaller - but challenging - pond that was appealing. </p>
<p>So my advice comes in hindsight. This process has been an eye opener about the importance of putting children where they will thrive instead of where we want them to be.</p>
<p>Which is why discussion is so important. Because there are a lot of families whose financial position makes the expense of visiting schools impossible.</p>
<p>I kindly repeat, I learned so much about my d during the entire experience. Things that were important to her came out when the decision was hers (mainly hers). My eyes were so opened when she spoke about how she felt about each school/tour/interview.</p>
<p>Accepting her viewpoint and her reasons behind it, made it a lot easier when she turned down a full ride at one school for a school that I had to pay a relatively small amount. My d would have gone to the full-ride school, but I asked her honestly if money wasnt an issue where did she want to be. </p>
<p>Seeing her thriving at her selection makes me realize we made the right choice and the sacrifice is more than worth it.</p>
<p>I appreciate’s Exie’s candor regarding hindsight experience etc. </p>
<p>There are extemely smart kids at all of these places, and yes, finances do play a part in regards to how much aid a family can receive, how much travel a family can afford, and application costs do add up.</p>
<p>We do have to consider all of those things, including where we as parents, would love to have attended:). </p>
<p>And yes, the YouTube clips can be disheartening at times. They don’t quite match the admission videos. :)</p>
<p>I enjoy this discussion. It’s refreshing to see people like and dislike the same campuses. We thought both SPS and Andover had well-kept, impressive campuses. Could it have something to do with the weather? Or the fit with the tour guide?</p>
<p>Periwinkle: Right on both accounts in my son’s case: grey day and a girl tour guide who wasn’t very enthusiastic, at least with my boy. Makes me wonder–do schools usually pair boys with boys, girls with girls? SPS was my son’s only female tour guide, and in general, I’d say it worked better for him to get a boy’s perspective on life at the schools.</p>
<p>Funny about the tour guides. When child #3 made the rounds, almost without exception she got day students (she is applying as a boarder), who had no connection or clue about her three interests: math, riding, and volleyball. By contrast, when our son went around a few years ago, if he had an interest–academic or athletic–schools made great efforts to have pull asides with coaches, teachers, etc. Additionally, all his tour guides were male boarders. On the SPS basement tour, yes, we got the same with our older daughter–and with a nice but almost clinically introverted male tour guide. The blessing, however, was in a superb connection with the interviewing officer. (Still wasn’t enough to keep her from getting WL, though!)</p>
<p>Responding to an Emma and Westover post earlier…Went to both schools as well and had the exact same experience. Emma wasn’t the first school we visited, but we assumed it would be one of the best academically. Really disappointed by both the faculty and the students. Buildings were much more impressive from the outside!!! Westover, where we went last just looking for options in case we needed to apply to more schools, shot way up the list because of two amazingly engaging teachers and responsive, excited students. Some of the facilities were impressive as well. Very pleasantly surprised by what we thought would be a “nothing special” school.</p>
<p>Our son is applying to four schools. One is a hades school, two others are competitive NE schools and one is Europe. The one school I wish he would have kept on his list was Westminster. I<code>m not sure why he didn’t like it, perhaps he heard something negative.We had a very good tour and my son was impressed with the school, jut not enough to apply there. I find that it</code>s not a school mentioned very much on cc. Does anyone know anything about this school?</p>
<p>classicalmama: Interesting … we also had a less than enthusiastic female tour guide at SPS and dreary weather. Son decided not to apply after the tour. While the tour was disappointing, one of his reasons for not applying was he wanted a school that was within walking distance to a town.</p>
<p>I’m surprised at the bad response Emma Willard had for most of you. For me it was the best place. Walking around you could definitely tell that everyone was happy and in the class everyone was interested and what not. I also liked how much you got to do during the visit, not just the standard tour and interview.</p>
<p>Several posts have referred to the remoteness of schools. I think it’s worth distinguishing the ones which are truly remote from the ones where quality civilization exists within a 10-15 minute drive. For instance, DA is within a short drive of several college towns including Amherst, SPS is in Concord. Exeter’s proximity to the lovely town of Portsmouth, NH is a real plus in my view. Hotchkiss and Taft are both a short drive from some scenic and cultured parts of CT. On the other hand, I haven’t managed to locate the town of Groton, MA yet, but have been assured it’s there. St. Andrew’s School in DE was the most remote place we visited. It was difficult to find a decent place to stay or eat nearby. I’ve also been giving more thought to the trip logistics to and from home. Ultimately, you and your child will want to decide how important off-campus activities will be and then spend the time doing a little bit of research on what is really accessible.</p>
<p>Kraord: I grew up in the Groton MA area; yes, there’s a town but it’s definitely small town NE. And unfortunately, the main drag, such as it is, is now a very busy road with lots of cars whizzing by way too quickly. There are a couple of good restaurants, a health food store, a grocery store…etc. That part of Massachusetts is a beautiful place to visit if you like small, historic, rural towns. There’s not a lot of “culture” there, though, though it’s an easy enough drive or commuter rail ride to Boston.</p>
<p>The towns you mention associated with the other schools are great for parents visiting but not much use to kids, except on week-ends when, for instance, exeter will often run a bus to Portsmouth. One of the reasons my kid liked Exeter was because of the town/school mix–he can walk to the coffee shop or go out to eat with friends without having to wait for a school shuttle. I think he has yet to take a shuttle to the mall or to Portsmouth.</p>
<p>Classical: I think the towns are of primary relevance on the weekends, and I’m a big fan of the charming NE towns. For schools like DA and Choate that have no Saturday classes the weekend options are more important. I regularly hear of kids going out to a restaurant or to a movie on the weekend which is why the 15 minute driving radius is important. Parents probably appreciate the more pastoral settings while the kids like being able to walk to a coffee shop, diner or movie. I’ve also begun to consider the importance of compact vs. more diffuse campuses. Maybe it’s the two feet of snow on the ground. :-)</p>
<p>I think that most boarding schools in eastern Massachusetts arrange activities on the weekend for the boarders and interested day students. That could include trips into Boston or to the mall. Some schools have train stations within walking distance, which means that Boston is easy to reach.</p>
<p>It makes a difference how a school defines “on campus” and “off campus.” If you need permission to walk a few blocks off of school property, that’s more restrictive than policies which decree “on campus” includes the coffee shop.</p>
<p>Easy access to restarants and shops, or simply being able to hang out a bit in town outside campus is a blessing to the BS students. Things like trips to boston are usually set at a specific time and take a whole block of time that one has to plan and book in advance. They are not as convinient as just hanging around in town, and are not as widely used by the students as their “regular entertainment”.</p>
<p>My son is applying to Westminster and it is tied for his top choice along with Berkshire. We loved both campuses. Westminster seems to be more rigorous in a few ways than Berkshire, but Berkshire seemed more nurturing, and its campus was <em>wow</em> beautiful.</p>
<p>Schools crossed off the list after visiting: Williston-Northampton–son really didn’t get a good vibe, and we weren’t overwhelmed, although their freshman boys dorm was brand new and extremely nice. Also Taft–son thought it was too intense for him, though again we all loved the place both physically and in terms of what it had to offer. </p>
<p>Loomis almost got cut, but son kept in on, not exactly sure why. It is far bigger than the other schools he’s applying to, a major drawback in his eyes, but for some reason it remained on the apply list.</p>