Considering move from upper Midwest to New England, DC, Portland, OR or Seattle, WA

Prep School Admissions Prep School Parents
1

Okay, so we are looking to relocate to be near family (especially New England, DC) or have a change of scene near family in a new part of the country (NW), and professional, retirement and quality of life factors. Mom native New Englander, lots of family all over, grew up in Five College area/prep school Valley Dad transplant from Midwest, attended college on East Coast.

We have started reviewing options for our language/art/music-strong 7th grader, who will be starting high school. She has recently upped her math game, and is now at the current day school standard of 7th grade algebra. She will have completed six years of Spanish. She has been in a regionally well-known gender-specfic treble youth choir for five years now, and has lots of performance experience, including an international festival. Private vocal training, and will have completed five years of music theory when she makes the change to the new school. Dance is not the strongest, but has several years of jazz/lyrical/contemporary with ballet attitudes. Performance experience, and lots of interest. Also a bit of musical theatre.

Current day school is in a classic day school setting, with a bit of a commute. PK-12 school with smaller middle and upper schools, IB option for 11th and 12th. About 400 kids.

It is obvious she will want a school with a large arts component. We’re fine with that. We want to balance that with strong academics, and be in a urban, suburban or semi-rural area with lots of easy access to amenities and cultural life. We would be living close by, and prefer a day school or day/boarding with an even ratio of each, and strong connections. Coed and indepedent! We can probably handle Friends, or very liberal Protestant history. Walking distance a bonus.

Here is what we’ve been leaning toward so far:
For Boston,
Concord Academy (yes, it fits the bill, big time)
BB&N, Nobles, Beaver, or the like

For Burlington,
Vermont Commons
Otherwise, totally underwhelmed

For DC,
Sidwell

For Portland.
Caitlin Gabel
OES - depending on how religious

For Seattle,
Not really familiar, but something international or progressive in the city would be a good candidate

We have not yet started ISEE and SSAT testing yet. She will likely take the ABRSM music theory exam before we leave.

We know it will be pricey, and we are aware of traffic issues and competition.

DD has initial interest in Brown, with possible access to RISD for design work. We were in Providence this summer, and she was ready to enroll on the spont.

Thanks for any input or opinions you can provide.

2

I think that Boston is an excellent option, and I’d add Milton & Winsor to your list.

3

Providence also offers some good day school options. My DD just started 9th at Moses Brown, a PK-12 Friends school in the same neighborhood as Brown. Wheeler is another day school right around corner from MB, as well as Lincoln, an all-girls Friends school. These are all walking distance from each other, and in a lovely part of Providence.

We actually considered moving to Providence, but decided to stay in the Boston suburbs. There are buses to these three schools from the Foxboro, MA area, and from some southern suburbs of Providence. From the Foxboro area, you can consider some of the Boston area schools (e.g., Milton, Nobles, Thayer), as well as the Providence schools, all with a bit of a commute.

4

One more thing to add, which you may already know…the Boston area schools are very selective. The schools you listed - Concord, BB&N, Nobles - have acceptance rates in the low 20%s, if not lower. (not sure about Beaver, may be higher) Providence area schools are not quite as competitive as the Boston area schools, but still acceptance rates may be in the 30-40% range. For the very selective schools, you really just can’t be sure you’ll get in. Even great candidates get rejected. Sad, but true. So, I would just say, don’t move to any specific Boston-area location for any one school, unless and until you have an acceptance in hand. Luckily, there are many good schools in the Boston area, so even if you do decide to move sooner, you will have options.

5

You might want to take a look at Commonwealth in Boston as well. Small, but a terrific school

6

I second Commonwealth! It’s a tiny academic powerhouse.

7

Take a very close look at St. Mark’s School in Southborough, MA - a truly amazing “hidden gem” of a place that fits your wish list. Terrific choir. Brand new eye-popping STEM building (with the curriculum to go with it). Very close to Boston, but not IN Boston. Warm, caring, supportive faculty and staff.

8

@johnnya , do you have more insight into their curriculum/academic program… I heard their academics weren’t as strong as some of the ones mentioned above (Nobles, Milton, Commonwealth etc)…

9

I think the idea that SMS’s academics is not as strong as those other schools you mentioned is just plain wrong and probably due to the fact that fewer people post about SMS than the others. Our son is there and the program is challenging and rigorous. Class sizes are small and the teachers are top-notch, including quite a few with doctorates in their fields. As noted above, their new STEM building/program is terrific. They also have a wonderful Saturday program that encourages students to explore new areas of interest. College advising is very strong. The school emphasizes the need to go beyond your comfort zone in all things (academics, sports, extras) while wandering into your “stress zone.” Go visit!

10

Thanks Johnnya… great to hear you love the school… !! My kid is already a freshmen at another prep school this year… so I am kinda all set. My kid didn’t want the Sat classes (due to other activities which are only available on Sat) hence we didn’t explore it much !! Good Luck to you and your son!! :slight_smile:

11

Warnings about the difficulty of admission at Boston area schools should also apply in spades to Sidwell. A quick search of a DC parent site suggested about 20 9th grade spots a few years ago. I don’t know but suspect that 9th grade is a big intake year for Sidwell.

12

DC has several options to consider including Georgetown Prep and St Albans. Greater Baltimore has several fantastic schools including McDonogh, St Pauls, St Timothys, Bryn Mawr. Rhode Island has St Georges which is great school…

13

The Saturday classes are typical for a run of the New England boarding schools. Wednesdays and Saturdays are half days with athletic contests in the afternoons. DD likes having a light Weds to break up the week.