<p>Thank you @skieurope ! After really looking into it more, I am now considering Blair Academy. Recently, I’ve also just come across Taft and SAS as well thanks to @SevenDad . Does anyone have any feedback on the Taft School?</p>
<p>Oh, and this may be a little late but I also want to thank @SevenDad . SPS is really high on my list now because if its close community, the fact that its 100% boarding, and its great arts program. SAS seems to share many of SPS’s great qualities and after browsing the SAS website, I think I will be adding a new “apply to” school for the 2015-2016 school year. :)</p>
<p>So, to sum up my current school choices (they may be a little scattered on this thread), I may be applying to the following schools (in order of preference):</p>
<p>I’m definitely going to whittle down this list in the future. I’ve been reading around in the threads, and from what I’ve seen, Exeter does not have as much as a “community” feeling as the other schools (not to say it has no sense of community at all). Would this be true?</p>
<p>And as I find myself saying in many of my comments, if you have any other suggestions for schools, please suggest them! :)</p>
<p>If you like small-ish boarding schools in the SAS student body range+ of 300’s, we liked the following:
St. George’s
Middlesex
St. Mark’s
Groton
Westminster
Miss Porter’s (all girls)
Emma Willard (all girls)</p>
<p>If you like small schools in the 200’s…
Cate (California)
Thatcher (California)</p>
<p>@jjs123 Out of Middlesex, St. Mark’s, Groton, and St. George’s, which ones would you consider your preferred? @ThacherParent Are students at Thacher responsible for raising their own horses (sorry if that question was a bit blunt :/)?</p>
<p>@awsmyyy You make an excellent point. Personally, I would be more than happy to go to a school that wasn’t my absolute first choice but was still an excellent school. Your case, though, sounds very different than mine. The school options that are available where I live are not cutting it. I’m really looking for opportunities my school just doesn’t have. I’m ready to get out of here ASAP! But I like your thinking-- go big or go home. It’s great you have a good option at home. It would be fun to stay in touch during the whole app process! Wishing you the best of luck. </p>
<p>@awsmyyy, you don’t raise the horse per se, although some are certainly younger than others. What you do is take full care of the horse during your freshman year, from its daily feedings, to mucking the stall, to riding the horse for education, pleasure and competition. Most freshman have never ridden before they get to Thacher so everybody is basically learning from scratch and it’s incredibly bonding and exciting. By the time Spring rolls around, you and your friends are heading out on unsupervised trail rides, which will be some of the most enjoyable moments of your school career. Sunset rides with your best friends, grabbing oranges off the trees as you pass by, the smells of sage and leather, exploring the mountains and valleys…powerful and wonderful moments.</p>
<p>That sounds so unique. I don’t think I’ve heard of any other boarding schools that have their students care for their own horse! @ThacherParent </p>
<p>@faiths23 Definitely! You can PM me too. What schools are you thinking of applying to?</p>
<p>@awsmyyy, So far probably Deerfield, Choate, Loomis Chaffee, St. Paul’s, Miss Porter’s, Westover, and maybe Chatham Hall. There are a few others I’m still considering. I find my list changes daily though. I may PM you later with some more questions. It would be great to be able to talk to someone embarking on the same process. Which are you thinking of applying to?</p>
<p>Right now I’m thinking of Exeter, SPS, Deerfield, and SAS. My current still-considered list is Taft and Lawrenceville. Maybe I’ll see you next year at Deerfield or SPS? (If we get in, that is!) And I find myself changing my opinion everyday too! There are just so many things to consider! Are you applying for 10th grade too? @faiths23 </p>
<p>Yes! Let’s hope so! How are you narrowing your school choices down? I’m finding that’s one of the hardest things for me. The more schools I read about and talk to people about the more I get confused… Some schools are obviously very different, but at times it’s hard to tell what really sets each apart. For me, a decent dance program has been a bit of a way to narrow my choices, but now I feel stuck! How has this process been going for you so far? And yes, I will be applying as a repeat sophomore! Are you talking about the SAS in RI or DE? @awsmyyy</p>
<p>I was talking about SAS in DE. I’m a dancer as well, and I use the dance programs to narrow down my choices also! I know SPS has an awesome dance program and Loomis Chaffee does as well. @faiths23 </p>
<p>Wow, just looked at the SAS website and they seem to have a lovely dance program. They are 100% boarding, too. I’ve heard fantastic things about the SPS dance program specifically and a few others. I’m excited to hopefully see a class in action and see the level of dancers different schools have. @awsmyyy </p>
<p>The SAS dance program is only a few years old, but Mr. Gold is beloved by the students. And I’ve been impressed with the performances we’ve seen so far. It’s not as big a program as the one at SPS, from what I know about both schools.</p>
<p>As I understand it, the SAS dance program came about because a few kids who were dancers wanted to have a dedicated resource rather than the ad hoc programs/part-time teachers that had come before. Knowing it had a few talented kids on board for a few years, SAS committed to hiring a full-time teacher. And the program continues to grow in size and strength year after year. What I’m getting at is that SAS invested in something that the kids wanted…that the kids drove what programs were made available.</p>
<p>Another thing I love about SAS: the school is small enough that even though my daughter is not a dancer, she did take courses with Mr. Gold as part of the frosh intro to the arts class, and when I see Mr. Gold at school he not only still knows who my daughter is but also who we are! Go Saints!</p>
<p>@SevenDad , what about SAS’s music program? From what I saw on the website (the music clips, guest artists, and many courses) the program seems great. I am a piano and flute player, so I am definitely looking for schools with strong music programs.</p>
<p>@awsmyyy , my son is in both the orchestra and the jazz ensemble. Another SAS parent, ops, who used to post here before child graduated, was very appreciative of the work of the music director, Fred Geiersbach, as is SevenDad, whose child also plays. Fred knows his stuff, and is very effective with kids. The program has students with a range of ability and interest. Some leave the school having been accepted to top conservatories, while I suppose others might not continue with organized participation in college. Even the top musical performers are generally very involved with other activities, e.g., the expert violinist this year who shone in soccer, for example, while a sophomore who had just joined orchestra was best female distance runner in the state. It is rare at SAS to specialize in just one thing, so the musical groups are focused on getting the players “to the next level” on an individual basis as musicians, now, but not into schools for advanced music concentrations. </p>
<p>My daughter is in the dance program, and pretty much the same goes there as well. Three seniors graduated last May who “led” the program as the best performers, if I could venture to say, also were very accomplished at singing, cello and crew. Second on the shout out for Avi Gold. </p>
<p>At SAS, lots of the kids start as “generalists” and get on the stage in a fairly big way right out of the gate. They grow over the four years and become pretty accomplished, even if not All-American or in an ensemble as renowned as those at other schools. This is a function of the small school size and the expert instruction, which includes outside specialists who come to give private lessons. </p>
<p>Glad to help, @awsmyyy Getting into the smaller schools as a sophomore can be more difficult than the larger schools, simply on the numbers. But I do think that for very good candidates, if St. Andrew’s appeals on closer inspection, it is worth a try. </p>
<p>They do need more flute musicians as a teacher is currently in the mix along with a kid from Shanghai who stayed with us over Thanksgiving freshman year. To reinforce my earlier point, he is reasonably strong on the flute, but an extremely fine mathematician, and has of course dipped into the required sports, trying squash out for the first time. Loads of students end up trying something for the first time at SAS, and usually end up glad that they did, as it’s part of the school’s signature ethos (alluded to by SevenDad). The school does not require community service, but most kids take advantage of opportunities presented to them on Tuesdays and volunteer their time anyway. </p>
<p>Athletics are celebrated at SAS, and participation is high, even though the time commitment is serious. Megan H. graduated in May and is an incredible talent at singing and dancing (seen in many of the posted videos, including the Choral Scholars, shows, etc.). Her studies led her to a summa cum laude degree, one of only four in the class. It was incredible to me that she joined the soccer team to play in the spring of her senior year, not having done so the previous junior year, simply because in an especially random and tough situation, the team was hurting for personnel and she must have had some prior experience. That sort of selfless extension for the greater good is seen pretty often because of examples like Megan’s and the expectations that permeate the culture at SAS. </p>
<p>I hope these details flesh out some of the ideas that SevenDad presented for the signature qualities of the school. I agree with him that it is a very inclusive community, by design, and both my children have said so as well. </p>
<p>@boardinghopes Thanks for the recommendation! I have looked at Concord, but I became a little disinterested when I discovered the low boarding rate and small size of the campus. </p>
But I like your thinking-- go big or go home. It’s great you have a good option at home. It would be fun to stay in touch during the whole app process! Wishing you the best of luck. </p>