<p>Son is interested in these two schools (PG). Son is bright but average student. Wants to play hockey. Thoughts/experiences with these two programs?</p>
<p>We didn't visit either of these school, but Linda S visited KUA and I believe that she really liked it. I haven't seen her post in a while but she should be back.</p>
<p>Bridgeton is all about PG athletics. Can be good or bad depending upon your perspective.</p>
<p>Funny you should ask:</p>
<p>The funster just this evening ran into the ex-wife of an old college friend.
Her son, a notorious pain in the a$$, just spent a PG year at KUA. He "hated every minute of it", but as a result will be at Bentley College next year and has apparently gotten it together. Take it for what it's worth.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that Bridgton is all PG and FWIU is a little bit of a tough environment.</p>
<p>I appreciate the thoughts on the two programs...also wondering if either offered any good financial aid packages? i.e. Are they looking to attract kids from out of New England?</p>
<p>Neither is particularly well endowed, especially Bridgton.</p>
<p>All boarding schools look for geographical diversity. </p>
<p>Why these two?</p>
<p>momrules,</p>
<p>Looking at your other posts regarding UGTMA, the same principles apply to boarding school FA as to college FA. 529 money though does not get assessed. though IIRC for boarding school. I am not an expert on 529's but you might ask if there is a way to shift money from UGTMA to 529. BTW, I think 529's are assessed at a lower rate than other moneys in minor's name. I think I read somewhere on this forum that this rule changed in the last year or 2. You'll want to post that question over in the FA forum, though.</p>
<p>As to FA secrets at boarding schools, everything is a trade-off. If you bring enought academic credentials and/or athletic skills to a program, the money need-based FA is more likely to be available.</p>
<p>Thank you for the input. My son (only child) dreams of playing hockey at some higher level. Of course I have encouraged him to have a fallback plan! He has it in his mind that attending a prep could be a way to pursue this. I've decided to step out of the way and see if he pursues this with any zest...We weren't expecting a job loss so I wasn't as hyper about funding everything. I appreciate Goaliedad's input on the money aspect. </p>
<p>KUA is very close to family and Bridgton just seemed interesting since it was a PG only program...seems designed for boys that are bright but disorganized and need study skills. </p>
<p>Thanks for the feedback. Very helpful to hear "real" input.</p>
<p>Not a problem, momrules. </p>
<p>I can see that you are in a tricky position. Take care of yourselves first though and make sure you are in a stable position financially before committing to any boarding school. There was a member here who had a daughter going to boarding school (also a hockey player) whom I haven't heard from in a while whose profession put him in the middle of one of the bigger financial crisis of the last year. I wouldn't be surprised if his daughter were back at home in public school this year, much to their disappointment. </p>
<p>BWT, feel free to PM if there are things you'd rather not discuss online.</p>
<p>Have you looked at New Hampton or Tilton? I believe these schools have a similar profile as KUA and are also known for strong hockey programs and academics. They would be fairly close to your home as well.</p>
<p>All I know about Bridgeton is that my cousin used to enroll her children there during the winter (they lived in Portland, Maine the remainder of the year). Her children were all national level skiers, so they would live in Bridgeton in the winter and her children would go to school/compete for Bridgeton Academy. None of them ended up continuing with their skiing, but they were all bright students - one ended up at Tufts, one at Babson (baseball, not skiing), and one at MIT.</p>
<p>Avon Old Farms has a stellar hockey program.</p>
<p>Yes, I actually attended gymnastics camp there a million years ago (I grew up in CT, now live in VA). Beautiful school. Again, I don't want to get in my son's way of his dream but I doubt he is of the caliber (in hockey) that they seek. He has been an inline player for years and went to ice only 3 years ago as a player and goalie. He now focuses exclusively on goalie. He plays house, travel (AA) and high school (it's a club sport here). I'm proud of him and he does well but he did not grow up living, eating a nd breathing hockey.</p>
<p>I feel like I've spent his whole life telling him he can do anything, be anything and now reality sets in...</p>
<p>I really appreciate everyone's input. I think my plan is to stay out of his way. He can certainly choose to apply and we can see where things land. I'll be interested to see if he takes on the application process or gets distracted by his life/friends/girls here and it falls to the wayside. If he actually does make the effort, we'll have to see what happens in terms of acceptances and then finances. Hopefully my husband will find a new job and I won't be in such a panic about that. Again, thanks for the input and for listening!!</p>
<p>I'm back!<br>
We did visit KUA last fall and liked it a lot. They have a new student center going up and for their size, they do have a good hockey program. They had one of the best weight room facilities of all the schools we visited. We know a few kids who are going there and really like it a lot. One is starting this fall so I will let you know how he likes it. We found better matches for my son, so didn't apply - therefore I can't say what the FA situation is like there.</p>
<p>AOF - the have FIVE hockey teams. It may be worth a look even if you don't think he is AOF Varsity material. You could ask if the smaller colleges recruit at all from Varsity B there. Since the Varsity team is so strong they might. </p>
<p>AOF doesn't have a huge endowment compared to the "big schools" - it's about $35 million, but they can be quite generous with FA.</p>