<p>Searching the forums, I haven't seen you guys talk much about Cranbrook Kingswood school in Michigan? Apparently, it is a pretty good school. But I just want to know more about the academic and student life. Here are some questions:
_ Do you feel comfotrable when living in a "mixed" school like that( kinder,middle, uper, graduate)
_ What's th acdemic quality? How about the matriculation?(ranking if possible)
Thank you guys . any comments on Cranbrook will do great help</p>
<p>I have not attended Cranbrook, but I know some people who go there (obviously as day students) and they all seem to love it. It's a very challenging school and the campus is beautiful. I'd love to take an art class there. Wikipedia has a pretty long list of alumni on their page, all of which seem to have turned out very sucessful.</p>
<p>I think my uncle also either took classes or helped teach one there. It's a very well regarded school around here.</p>
<p>As for the "mixed" school aspect, I don't think it bothers many people. I knew a middle schooler from one of my art classes and she seemed pretty mature and intelligent, so I don't think it would be too much of an issue.</p>
<p>I know several people who go to Cranbrook and they like it. Cranbrook does pretty well with college matriculation but Greenhills and DCD do a little better with average SAT scores and matriculation, but this may be due to the fact of Cranbrook's large percentage of international students. Also, other day schools in the area offer more depth in courses than Cranbrook, especially foreign language where it only goes to the fourth year. </p>
<p>If I were you and lived in the Detroit/Ann Arbor area, I'd look at Greenhills, DCD, ULS, Roeper, or Cranbrook as a day student.</p>
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<p>Jonathan, I donÂ’t know where you are getting your facts, but you are incorrect regarding Greenhills and Detroit Country Day compared to Cranbrook. Actually, there isnÂ’t even a comparison. Cranbrook has a name recognition that surpasses either school. CranbrookÂ’s campus is on the National Historic Registrar. Also on campus is the Institute of Science, which includes a Science Museum **and even a **Planetarium! What other school has a nationally renowned **Art Museum **that attracts over 250,000 visitors a year? Additionally, Cranbrook has the only graduate program in the country devoted solely to the arts: you can get a masters in art, architecture, or design. The grounds are breathtaking, with renowned sculpture scattered throughout the campus. Take a look at the Orpheus Fountain or the Triton Pools, or the man-made lake shaped like a whale to compliment the sculpture of Jonah and the whale, created by Carl Milles. </p>
<p>Comparing the schools statistics:
Greenhills Endowment: $6 Million
Detroit Country DayÂ’s Endowment: $9 Million
CranbrookÂ’s Endowment: $191 Million</p>
<p>Greenhills SAT Scores: 1321
Detroit Country DayÂ’s SAT: 1948
CranbrookÂ’s SAT: 1885</p>
<p>Cranbrook has better college matriculation compared to either Greenhills or Detroit Country Day.</p>
<p>I know many, many parents that send their children to Cranbrook. My next door neighbor has 3 children attending; her oldest son boards there (has an RA position), while her younger two are day students. I also know families whose children attend Detroit Country Day. Although DCD is a good school, it does not compare to Cranbrook. There are over 50 Country Day Schools, there is only one Cranbrook.</p>
<p>Please take a look at the following photos of some of the sights on the Cranbrook grounds:
Some</a> Photographs Taken On The Grounds Of Cranbrook Photo Gallery by Jay Levin at pbase.com</p>
<p>I really want to visit the museums in Cranbrook this summer. I've lived here almost my whole life and i've never been. Not only that, but the campus is BEAUTIFUL.</p>
<p>Yes, there are a lot of cool things to see at Cranbrook. I’ve taken my children to the museums many times. The Art Museum has wonderful collections of contemporary art. In the science museum, there are exhibits on T-Rex, Mastodons, and the Ice Age, as well as Astronomy, Geology, and interactive Light and Motion Exhibits. The planetarium has a variety of shows—the last one we saw was a Young Stargazers Sky Journey.</p>
<p>One thing I am definitely going to check out is the PGA Championship History Exhibit, which will be at the Science Museum later this month. :D</p>
<p>The reason why you cannot compare Cranbrook to any of the local day schools around Detroit is because Cranbrook uses its own infrastructure to teach the curriculum. Art teachers use the Art Academy and Museum to analyze artwork. English students do research in the archives, using original documents. The science programs that are held in the Institute of Science building are open to all Cranbrook students. Every year, a biology class adopts a section of the river that runs through the campus, and studies it all year long. The students’ reports are housed in the school library. Students study the architectural designs of the buildings—most of them were designed by Eliel Saarinen. </p>
<p>I believe the only reason why Cranbrook is not frequently mentioned on this board is because of its location. If the school were located in New England, it would be in the same category as the Andover and Exeter and Saint Pauls… Cranbrook is a wonderful school. I wish my daughters would apply, but sadly, they all wanted to experience life outside of Michigan. My only complaint with Cranbrook is that it does not appear as diverse as some other boarding schools. With only 34% boarding—there are a lot of wealthy day school kids attending.</p>
<p>jennycraig, I agree with you that Cranbrook has more name recognition than Greenhills and Detroit Country Day. All I said was that DCD and GH do better with college matriculation and SAT averages. </p>
<p>With what you posted, Cranbrook has the lowest SAT average. Greenhills sends over 9.3% of its graduates to Ivy League schools, and 14.5% to Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell, University of Pennsylvania, Wesleyan, Williams, Pomona, Swarthmore, Stanford. I haven't calculated Cranbrook's, but I don't think it is as high as that. Greenhills also sent 91 graduates to University of Michigan over five years.</p>
<p>Anyway, I agree with you that Cranbrook has more name recognition and a beautiful campus, but beyond that I really do not think it is a superior school to Country Day or Greenhills, except for maybe the extracurricular opportunities compared to Greenhills, but that is because Cranbrook is over double the size.</p>
<p>Also, Greenhills has more academic opportunities for me than Cranbrook. Cranbrook only goes to the fourth level for languages, while Greenhills goes to fifth. Cranbrook also limits students to five courses per semester, or six with special permission, while Greenhills lets students take seven. However, most students only take five academic subjects, an art, and a free period.</p>
<p>Jonathan, Greenhills doesn’t list a year-by-year matriculation list on their website, so it is difficult to calculate the % of kids accepted to Ivy’s. The information I saw only listed a group from 2003 to 2007. On the other hand, Cranbrook shows the matriculation list by year. So, it is difficult to compare. Both schools have the same ACT score: 28—I can’t find the writing portion of Greenhills SAT scores to compare to Cranbrook. And, I am not sure about your stats, as you list 9.3 to Ivy league schools and 14.5 to Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell, etc.. which are all Ivy leaque schools. A little confusing.</p>
<p>However, there is still no comparison. Not because of the SAT or matriculation list, but because of all the other items I listed (the infrastructure of how Cranbrook teaches). Additionally, when one looks at the endowment, the acceptance rate, the sports and extracurricular activities (3x the amount as Greenhills), the international diversity (23 countries represented to Greenhills 1-USA), the study abroad and term-away projects that Cranbrook offers, there just isnÂ’t a comparison.</p>
<p>Greenhills is a fine school and it sounds as if it is perfect for you. There are other equally good day schools around Detroit. Actually, one of the very best is a public school – International Academy, located in Bloomfield Hills. As the first public school in North America to be a full-IB diploma school, it was recognized by Newsweek as the top public school in the nation in 2003, second in 2004, second in 2005, ninth in 2006, and seventh in 2007. Unfortunately, admission is based on a lottery, so it’s just by chance if you get in or not.</p>
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Jonathan, Greenhills doesn’t list a year-by-year matriculation list on their website, so it is difficult to calculate the % of kids accepted to Ivy’s. The information I saw only listed a group from 2003 to 2007.
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<p>Greenhills has a 100% college matriculation rate for 2003-2007, so everyone is included on that list.</p>
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Both schools have the same ACT score: 28
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<p>Greenhills' average is 29, but it was 28 last year.</p>
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And, I am not sure about your stats, as you list 9.3 to Ivy league schools and 14.5 to Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell, etc.. which are all Ivy leaque schools. A little confusing.
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<p>I said 9.3% to Ivy League schools, and 14.5% to all the Ivy Leagues + Williams, Wesleyan, Pomona, Swarthmore, and Stanford.</p>
<p>Not to beat a dead horse, but if you are going to compare statistics on a 5 year basis, Cranbrook has a PDF file that details the stats of their acceptances from 2003 to 2007. Some are:
Brown 22%
Columbia 18%
Cornell 30%
Georgetown 27%
Harvard 18%
John Hopkins 45%
MIT 39%
Princeton 15%
Stanford 14%
U of Mich 63%
U of Penn 24%
Wesleyan 52%
Yale 10%</p>
<p>As I said Jonathan, Greenhills sounds like a fine school for you. Glad you are so happy there.</p>
<p>Jenny Craig - you're getting a little out of control here.</p>
<p>First of all, you're comparing an endowment of a school that goes all the way through graduate school to ones that stop at high school. </p>
<p>Second of all, you're comparing campuses. So what? Of course Cranbrook has a more beautiful campus. Probably one of the most beautiful in the country. Doesn't make it a better school.</p>
<p>All in all, Detroit Country Day is well regarded as quite superior academically and athletically. Sorry. Not trying to be a jerk. It's not really a point that's debated. That said - for a certain type of student Cranbrook is far and away better. DCD is much more traditionally structured.</p>
<p>I disagree with you applejack. I do believe that Cranbrook's campus does make it a better school. Having the science museum, the planetarium, the art museum, and the architectural designs of the buildings and the sculptures around the campus, all enhance the teaching at Cranbrook. As I said earlier,
[quote]
The reason why you cannot compare Cranbrook to any of the local day schools around Detroit is because Cranbrook uses its own infrastructure to teach the curriculum. Art teachers use the Art Academy and Museum to analyze artwork. English students do research in the archives, using original documents. The science programs that are held in the Institute of Science building are open to all Cranbrook students. Every year, a biology class adopts a section of the river that runs through the campus, and studies it all year long. The students’ reports are housed in the school library. Students study the architectural designs of the buildings—most of them were designed by Eliel Saarinen.
[/quote]
.</p>
<p>Not sure what your point is regarding the endowment. Even if Cranbrook has a graduate school, the endowment is still $191 million to DCD and Greenhills single digit endowments. </p>
<p>I absolutely agree with you that DCD has a great reputation and is a very good school. My only point regarding Detroit Country Day is that there are many well respected Country Day Schools throughout the US--there is only one Cranbrook.</p>
<p>Also, the school doesn't "go all the way through graduate school." Cranbrook isn't a college. It ends at high school. There is an Academy of Art (graduate program) that is also on the campus.</p>
<p>I guess I don't get why only being one of something matters. It's not like the Country Day schools are really connected in any way. They're all completely independent with completely different guidelines, cultures, and qualities. Plus, it certainly can't hurt to have "XXX Country Day" when applying to schools across the country. It provides a basis of understanding that the student probably went to a top notch private institution.</p>
<p>Well, to each his or her own. The academic quality at Cranbrook is well regarded as inferior to the others, though certainly the campus does provide a very unique and rewarding experience and teaching opportunity that Country Day's far more pedestrian campus does not. Like I said, for the right person (usually more creatively and independently focused), Cranbrook could be the perfect institution. There's certainly no high school experience like it - perhaps in the country.</p>
<p>I’m a Cranbrook graduate, as is my brother, a nephew, and an uncle. My sister and mother are both Kingswood graduates. I did not have the personal discipline to see my way through four years of college, although I did attend the University of Wisconsin at Madison. I attribute my Cranbrook education to helping me teach computer science courses (those with PhDs were my peers) to professionals at Boeing, Exxon, Dow Chemical, and Sprint. I have done freelance technical writing for Microsoft and Que Coporation (computer books), was a contributing editor at Ziff-Davis’ Windows magazine, and worked in a similar capacity at Hewlett-Packard for three years. I must have learned something, huh?
Cranbrook has produced graduates as politically far apart as Pete Dawkins (USMC retired) and Daniel “Pentagon Papers” Ellsberg. Michael Kinsley, former Crossfire host and Slate editor, is a graduate, as is former Sun Microsystems CEO, Scott McNeely, presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Bob “father of ASCII” Bemer, and a host of many other notables. Dirk “Derry” Kabcenell was in my class; after MIT he joined Xerox PARC during its development of the computer GUI, mouse, laser printers, and Ethernet; he went on to become VP and Chief Database Architect of Oracle. Distinguished college professor and poet laureate Brad Leithauser was also in my class. A couple of Roger Penske’s boys also went there. These are just a few of the famous names you’ll encounter at Cranbrook, never mind being surrounded by the architecture of Eliel Saarinen and the magnificent sculptuary of Carl Milles and Marshall Fredericks, all world-renowned.</p>
<p>Ugh. This thread is from last year. Anyways, unlike DCD and Greenhills, Cranbrook is ranked among the top schools by Prep Review (somewhere in the 30’s?). At least, I think I’ve seen that somewhere.</p>
<p>It’s obvious that none of you attended any of these schools. I did. I attended Detroit Country Day for junior high, then Southfield Christian for senior high. DCDS is excellent! They have a top-notch athletic program as well. I only wish icould have stayed. My mother was a public school teacher at Farmington, and I won an academic scholarship to attend SCS. I graduated Summa Cum Laude. Half-way through, I was invited to attend Cranbrook. At the end, I applied to attend West Point. As you know, West Point is not an Ivy League school. I was never interested in Ann Arbor, e.g, UofM, nor interested in associating with liberals. Greenhills is one if two private schools in Ann Arbor. Even though it produces bright students with relatively good GPA’s and SAT scores, it can not be compared to the class of Cranbeook. Cranbrook is Cranbeook…De Dacto. Even if it produces a lower number if students to go to Ivy League schools, so what! When you parents earn 30 million a year, and you are going to inherit the business, who cares where you go to school, that’s even if you go. Cranbrook is the most prestigious college prep in Michigan. Greenhills is hillbilly holler. It’s like those in Barton Hills thinking they are on the same level as Northville, Bloomfield Hills, and Grosse Point. Even Northville High School is better than Greenhills, and it’s a public school. I’m biased towards Northville, my home town you see. Anyone knows, and this is an irrefutable fact…100% of mothers would rather send their kids to Cranbrook verses Greenhills. Greenhills is just that little nothing private school next to the expressway, right near Geddes Rd exit with the homeless dude panhandling out there.</p>
<p>It’s funny, CPM1266. You say, “Anyone knows, and this is an irrefutable fact…100% of mothers would rather send their kids to Cranbrook versus Greenhills.” But I, in fact, have lived my whole life in Northville, and my parents considered Cranbrook and Greenhills. Funny thing is, we went to Greenhills. Is the survey just based off your mother? Because I know many who think of Cranbrook as a stuck-up, upper-class school. Yes, you may have some kids whose “parents earn 30 million a year,” but we have students who are working to get into a position of financial security by attending a good college and Greenhills is their gateway to that dream. Cranbrook may have a nicer campus than Greenhills, but I guess that’s why the school is $10,000 more per year.</p>
<p>In recent years, Cranbrook cannot compete with Detroit Country Day, International Academy, and Troy High School academically. In other area of competition, such as science fair, science olympiad, and math competition, Cranbrook teams/individuals are no where in the top. It is more and more for the kids interested in art and humanities instead of science/engineering.</p>