We’re looking for strong education in a slightly less intense environment for our son who will be applying for a 9th grade spot. He favors STEM type classes and but it would be good for him to grow in the other areas. He has strong grades, ec’s (sports), and rec’s but is coming from an avg public school system so initially he may find the workload and move away from home challenging. Because of this we’re looking for a school that will offer support when necessary and where he’ll at least mostly be surrounded by friendly kids.
He’s scheduled to take the SSAT in Dec so we’re not sure where he currently stands. His “hook” is hockey but he wants to play football as well. We haven’t ruled out all boys schools but do prefer a co-ed education for him. Please help us knock a few schools of our list based on the above.
I am a current studnet at Berkshire. I have now been a student here for 2 years and I absolutely love it. We have an amazing STEM program and a strong hockey team. Please feel free to contact me with any questions about Berkshire and I would be more than happy to help:))
One of my boys (the mellow one) has absolutely thrived in Kent’s Wentz Pre-Engineering Program, after coming out of public school fwiw. He has also had a lot of opportunity to get involved in things that he never would have gone near if he had not been encouraged and surrounded by nice kids and non-critical adults - i.e. school plays (even singing!) and he also tried some intramural sports that we could never have imagined him being up for in middle school. There are always teachers available for extra help and a fabulous peer tutor program too. All the schools on your list are good but based upon your post about your son, I would definitely not cull Kent from your list as it seems a fine fit for @cgb_prep boy. Kent hockey is strong and football can definitely use some good players. ; ) Best of luck!
P.S. Not sure what happened above. Tech glitch with my wifi I suspect. Perhaps a moderator can remove the empty post if it a problem.
@cgb_prep - If you need any amount of FA, and your son’s SSAT comes in @75-80%, I would actually ADD schools. Definitely keep all the all boy schools. Look at Taft as your Hail Mary/reach school with Loomis, Berkshire and Kent following close behind… largely due to their popularity lately.
I do like your list with or without a SSAT score. If you’re looking at Govenor’s, maybe checkout Tabor, too. If you’re looking at Kent and Gunnery, maybe add Canterbury which is near both schools . I would add ( as painful as that may sound ) rather than subtract . All the schools on your list are great… including the all boy options. Good luck!
Are you ONLY interested in New England schools or would you consider mid-Atlantic schools like Episcopal in DC, Mercersburg in PA, Blair, Peddie, George, etc? Given your need for financial aid, I suspect @PhotographerMom is correct about the importance of casting a wide net. I’m in the process of convincing my daughter that she needs to apply to more than 2-3 schools myself, but our local public school option is excellent, so we are okay if Boarding School doesn’t work out for this year.
I would add St. George’s. I have been so impressed with the school - really nice, happy kids & a fantastic new Head of School. An incredibly tight-knit community & loads of school spirit. A fantastic science/math building and a beautiful location overlooking the ocean. They have a great hockey team too! My son is new this year in 10th grade, and he has had such a great experience so far.
We really appreciate all of your input! @cababe97 I’ll probably reach out with some direct question about Berkshire. @judbeeski Our son interviewed with Kent, which went pretty well, we think, but we gathered a lot of great information about the engineering program.
@PhotographerMom Thank you for your response and recommended additional schools. I haven’t come across much information about Gunnery so I’m curious how it compares to any of the others on our list.
@CaliMex We are trying to focus only on New England right now since our sons hockey coach has ties to several programs. I’ll definitely look into St George’s as well @GMC2918.
The Gunnery is a classic BS and it’s very highly regarded. It offers everything all the other schools offer but it’s a smaller community with ( I believe ) just under 300 students. Great hockey program and a quintessential NE campus. I’m totally in love with Washington, CT and I couldn’t imagine a more beautiful setting to learn and grow. I’ve been scratching my head for years over why The Gunnery isn’t mentioned more here on CC, but maybe it’s meant to be a closely guarded secret -which I doubt they’d have a problem with ! Without question- it is comparable and in the same league with all the other schools on your list. Their Head ( who came to the school via L’Ville ) is absolutely amazing. The Gunnery has a vibrant community and it’s a very special school . He would receive attention there if he found the work challenging out of the gate- which all students do at all the BSs… Big or small.
I mentioned Canterbury ( another fine school that should be mentioned more frequently here ) because it’s located between Kent and Gunnery ( 15 minutes down the road from either one- right in the middle! ) and they recently brought in a new Head from Blair who ( according to my very active alum brother ) has done a remarkable job bringing this wonderful classic BS up to speed… not that it was really lacking before but she has some pretty grand plans and it’s already coming together with rave reviews from alums and parents I know with kids there. The AD would like to bring their hockey program back ( they’re still pretty good- with players being recruited to some BIG colleges ) and recapture the glory days- which were pretty darn glorious . My brother played hockey there ( still goes to home and away games to cheer on the Saints when time permits ). After Cbury, he went on to Dartmouth. Canterbury … once upon a time was THE BS Hockey Powerhouse and I think they’d love to meet your son. The history of their program is worth learning about and I think your son would find it very interesting.
Again- small in size like Gunnery compared to Kent ( just over 300 students I believe ) but definitely comparable to all the schools on your list with what they have to offer. I believe their acceptance rate is somewhere around 35%… and I know it’s Catholic but FWIW- my family wasn’t Catholic and more than half the families I know there now aren’t Catholic either… Many just feel that the spiritual component ( which has softened a LOT over the years ) is actually a huge plus for any child . All the kids who go there now or alums ( young and old that I know ) are all super nice people. I think it’s definitely worth a closer look plus it’s handy to schools already on your list. Like Gunnery, if your son has a hard landing, I think he would find the proper attention/support there.
I was always blown away that the late great Joseph Campbell went to Canterbury …My brother used to tell my dad that he was following in Campbell 's footsteps by going to Dartmouth. Follow your bliss… My dad found his choice treasonous. Anyway- the schools that aren’t talked about too often here all have amazing history and a great story to tell… I’ve always found that part of the application process to be the the most fun and interesting to explore…
In many meaningful ways ( often overlooked ) - it shines a light on who they are today.
By the way- I like the SMS suggestion, too!
Not sure that helped @cgb_prep , but I wish you all the best and good luck with your search! Circle back and let us know how it goes, too!!
Don’t forget to look at St Mark’s!! They have an amazing STEM program! They are an intentionally small school that likes to fly under the radar-- My DS is SO happy there! Great, Great school with GREAT people. Several underclassmen have already committed to Harvard, so that can speak for the academics there. You can PM me if you have any more questions about SMS!
I sent you a PM, but I second what @PhotographerMom says about Gunnery. While we weren’t as wow’d by some of the facilities as other schools, there is a lot of heart at that school (and the town is beautiful, and it’s not as remote a some other CT and MA schools). The people were amazing. One of the coaches went to a game last year to see my son play and spent a ton of time with him on his interview day, and the athletic director was extremely attentive as well (and it’s not like my son is a superstar). DS’s last interview was at Gunnery, the day after a shadow day at another school, and he was sick, and we were all worn out, and we went into it just wanting to survive it, but we were very much won over by the sense of community and what they seem to accomplish among a very small student body. The Head of School is indeed amazing – a really neat guy. I think Gunnery’s hockey program has been very successful in recent years. For football, I believe they play within a small group of schools that participates in an 8-player football league, which is intended to be safer. I’m not sure if that matters to your son.
It’s wonderful that so many kind, decent, caring folks love to talk up the smaller schools, but the harsh reality is that the smaller schools have little to no FA available when it comes time to hand out the cash to many/most qualified families. You might hit the lottery at a Canterbuy, but chances are you won’t. When you need significant FA, your only concern is the availability of FA.
You need to answer two important questions for yourselves as a family, with the first being how good is the kid at hockey, and the second being how high can he possibly score on the test? (And this is assuming he is a straight-A student at his public school.)
If he’s really, really good at hockey, then besides insane hockey schools like Cheshire Academy, you need to check out bigger, more financial aid-capable–and yes possibly more competitive/academically intense–schools like Deerfield and Andover. Plus if he’s really good at hockey, you need to include the all boys schools as those tend to emphasize the jock aspect at admissions time.
If he’s not a hockey superstar/impact athlete today, then the SSAT score needs to be very much higher than your estimate–again assuming the perfect grades–even at schools that report somewhat lower admitted averages. (It’s tough out there for a hard workin’ public school kid with no money these days.)
Finally, don’t apply anywhere as a day student. Day student FA tends to be the most harrowing of all the admissions classes, so your chances go down pretty much anywhere.
Suffield is a solid school with a strong athletic culture.
^ I agree and disagree with the above. Do NOT count out the larger schools and definitely look at them. But just because a school is small does not mean they don’t have a large endowment. So, don’t count out the small schools, either. We are at a small school with FA…
The history of their program is worth learning about and I think your son would find it very interesting.
Anyway- the schools that aren’t talked about too often here all have amazing history and a great story to tell… I’ve always found that part of the application process to be the the most fun and interesting to explore…