<p>We are choosing (hopefully) among the following and the problem is that the top few seem v strong, and the bottom few seem weaker academically. Am I missing the middle ground?? My child is solid academically, strong on sports, and we want v solid academics, but not crazy amounts of work. Any thoughts would be appreciated!</p>
<p>the schools are:<br>
Groton
Middlesex
St Marks
Rivers
Nobles
Brooks
Governors</p>
<p>It seems like you guys are only looking in the MA area. Is this for a boarder or a day student, and if you are looking for board, how far away would you go?</p>
<p>MDog- we are looking at day and boarding closer to home (Boston).</p>
<p>I would double check on the amount of work at Groton -- I think it tends to be a heavy load of work outside of the classroom. Great school, though.</p>
<p>If boarding, Groton is certainly the heavy-hitting choice in your bunch academically. But it's also painfully, WASPy, tweedy, sniff-sniff, snobby. We looked at it and were put off by a most amazing sense of entitlement. Still, it places loads of kids in the Ivies.</p>
<p>St. Marks, another School that we looked at, had some of the Groton feeling that we didn't like, but the students seemed warmer all around. Excellent academics, but a notch below Groton.</p>
<p>I know a family with a kid who was just graduated from Nobles and another who is there now. They love(d) it, but it's a day school environment and even though you're looking at both day and boarding, they are not really comparable.</p>
<p>It's too bad that proximity to your home is a critical factor. There are so many other wonderful schools with great academics and friendlier, more genuine atmospheres that you might like very much.</p>
<p>What about Milton?
How far away is Northfield Mount Herman, if thats within your distance range, definitely take a look at it.</p>
<p>My sister and I go to Noble right now and we love it. It is very competitive though. I had 98s on my SSATs and all As and was ranked 5th in an already pretty competitive private school but was wait-listed initially there. You never know with applications. Anyway, all those top schools are going to be a lot of work academically. If you want day schools, Nobles is the place to be- academics and sports are arguably the best in the isl, but also applying to boarding schools gives you many more options. I know lots of kids that went to Middlesex and St. Marks that really like it. I would say that Brooks might be maybe the "easiest" to get into only because, as a boarding school they have many more spots than other day schools. Brooks also doesn't have quite the reputation that some of those other schools do.<br>
Hope this helps a bit.</p>
<p>Good Luck</p>
<p>Glad to hear you + your sis love Nobles. My child is at a v competitive priv school right now and loves it. But, it is a ton of work and they have less time for outside interests, which bothers me. How much homework would you say you have per night at Nobles (a rough estimate would be helpful).</p>
<p>Thanks for the response. We looked at St Marks and agree it has a very privileged feel to it, which is a bit of a negative to us. We are considering Milton, tho I have heard of ongoing problems there w/ an unhappy faculty, plus it is larger than optimal, tho we'l likely look at it anyway and make our own decision.</p>
<p>i went and looked at brooks and HATED it, but i am still applying to Brooks, for some unexplanable reason. LOL</p>
<p>mickmouse, curious about why you hated Brooks. Anything specfic beyond the feel?</p>
<p>groton is a grind, also check their policy vis-a-vis "one mistake and you're out" -- always problematic, since we all know teenagers will make mistakes. st. marks is great academically but has a warmer feel to it. Those would be the 1st tier schools on your list. Middlesex is much easier, but still great. The rest arent nationally recognized</p>