<p>My D is applying to Cate School here on the west coast. She is also. Applying to school on the east coast (DA as well as the Governors Academy). Can I get a parent and. Or student perspective on the Cate School. Also is there any major diff in the west coast boarding school vs east?</p>
<p>Read this: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1079656-new-england-whats-so-good-about.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1079656-new-england-whats-so-good-about.html</a></p>
<p>Thanks for the info</p>
<p>I have a kid at Cate School and it has been a wonderful experience. Feel free to PM me and I will try to answer any questions you have.</p>
<p>We are on the West Coast with a S at a well-known East Coast HADES. We fell in love with the aura of NE school tradition and name power. S has not adjusted well and we are now considering taking him out of BS. Some of his “lack of success” I attribute to his being so far away. If we lived closer, we would be able to see sports game, take him out to dinner and know better his teachers and dorm parents, etc. If we lived closer, we would have had a better pulse on his “feeling lost” and helped him navigate much sooner and probably to a better result. If we were closer, we would not feel terrible about when he was badly injured in baseball last spring and all we could do was feel his pain (and alone-ness) from so far away. Why do these things matter? Simply because most 14/15/16 year olds still need the guidance and support of their parents. Teachers/Coaches/Faculty are very busy and simply NOT there like a parent would be. Frankly, our hopes for a wonderful BS experience has been dashed–but for purposes of this thread, I sometimes wonder if he had chosen a school closer to home, perhaps the outcome would have been much, much better.</p>
<p>grinzing…it’s tough being far away and it’s not for everybody. Hopefully, your son will start to find some happiness this Spring when the weather warms up. If he’s a sophomore, encourage him to hang in there. Things will get better.</p>
<p>Don’t beat yourself up for letting him go to school on the other side of the country either. You can’t say for certain that being close would have changed his experience thus far. Sometimes, close proximity can actually be a crutch and slow down the maturity process.</p>
<p>Anyway, I hope everything turns out ok.</p>
<p>Grinzing, thank u for ur imput… It is very helpful. I am leaning toward Cate. Since our visit& interview she hhas moved Cate up to number 1 on her list. The experience u have shared with me, match my concern in allowing her to go to an NE school. I think 2 hrs away will be better for her as well as myself.
Now comes the waiting game! She understands if she does not get in, its ok. We have also applied to some really great day schools.</p>
<p>For some kids, distance really is an issue. My son is over 4 hours away and sometimes I feel like it might as well be 14 hours. </p>
<p>But none of us have a crystal ball. Grinzing, I second Parlabane when he says not to beat yourself up over it. There is no way that you could have known and your son could have just as easily run into the same problems closer to home, could have just as easily put on a brave face from an hour away. When you don’t see their face at the end of the day, there is only so much that you can know.</p>
<p>As parents, all we can do is our best with the knowledge that we have. If you feel that BS is not working out and your child is not happy, then you are absolutely doing the right thing by removing him from that situation. It’s not giving up or quitting, but being proactive and facing a situation for what it is. If he were unhappy in public school, no one would think twice about your removing him from that, why should leaving BS be any different?</p>