<p>I would love to hear anyone’s opinions, suggestions, advices on choosing the day schools or private schools that offer day option in MA. I am considering the following schools, I would appreciate if the people-in-the-know here can offer some opinions on these questions:</p>
<li>Ranking on the academic strength, comparing to the good public schools like Acton, MA?</li>
<li>Ranking on overall quality in preparing kids for life, such as moral/spiritual, academic/learning habits, aesthetic education, sportsmanship, etc. </li>
<li>What is the emphasis, specialty of these schools, like sports, art, language, etc. If the school is big in sports, will my son who loves chess and debate be encouraged to apply if they also offer good academic programs?</li>
<li> Ranking on difficulties for acceptance. What each school is looking for? SSAT/ISEE score, grades, extracurricular, essay, interview, which plays a more important role?</li>
<li>Any difference on applying for high school (9th grade) or middle school (7th grade)</li>
<li>Any extra good schools I missed?</li>
</ol>
<p>The schools we are looking at are:</p>
<p>Groton School
Roxbury Latin School
Boston Latin School
Belmont Hill School
BB&N
Nobles and Greenough
Milton School
Pike School
Boston University Academy
Commonwealth School
Middlesex School</p>
<p>Wow - quite a list of schools, and they are all very different which is why it is hard to answer each of your questions. Depends an enormous amount on the student (am assuming boy since Roxbury Latin & Belmont Hill on list) and what his strengths and interests are.
My take:
BUA & Commonwealth are both urban schools with very little in the way of athletics. They are also very small and highly intellectual.
Boston Latin - must be resident of the city to apply. A wonderful school - very intense and bigger than some of the others on this list.
Roxbury Latin - one of the finest schools for the right boy - and easier to get into (in terms of numbers) as a 7th grader than 9th grader. Very rigorous, wonderful character education.
BB&N - urban (Cambridge), intense as a high school, great new building that has built up their arts program a great deal
Nobles - excellent school - well rounded but strong athletic focus. Ditto Milton although Milton much larger and is 50% boarding.
Middlesex & Groton are primarily boarding and very different from one another w/ Groton being more traditional.<br>
ALL of these are the superb schools and opportunities abound at them. Scores over 85% generally on the SSAT although always some flex depending on individual. Teacher/school recommendations play very big part in admissions process - the one area you did not mention.<br>
I know happy students at ALL of these schools and more (how about Concord Academy?) - it really is all about the right fit for your son and your family.</p>
<p>I interviewed at Nobles and Middlesex, here's what I thought:</p>
<p>Nobles - I thought the campus was very pretty, I liked how it was a woodsy New England place. The focus on athletics is much stronger than focus on arts and academics, which didn't feel right for me but well-rounded athletes would probably feel right at home. It's primarily a day school with only a few boarding students, so day students would fit in there. Overall, I like Nobles, it's definitely a good place to be.
Middlesex - I felt like it was a little more uptight than other schools. I saw students spend their entire mornings alone; in between classes, they'd go to the library to study and they would use most of their lunch break to do work. I didn't stay there the whole day, so maybe they were just getting all their work done in order to start having fun later in the day, but I felt like it was very serious and focused on only academics. Most students board there, too, so a day student might feel out of place.</p>
<p>Were you thinking about Concord, Governor's, and Pingree? I loved Concord, it's a small school and everyone knew each other, plus it's in a historical town and I loved the artsy, unique vibe that was encouraged there. I didn't like Governor's and Pingree as much, but they're both great schools. Pingree is a day school, so you might fit in better there too. Good luck on your search!</p>
<p>I'm familiar with Milton Academy (not Milton School). The academics there are extremely rigorous, and they send lots of graduates to top-level colleges. I thought English and History were their best departments; foreign language also very strong although they don't offer as many languages as Andover and Exeter. Their debate team is hugely successful.</p>
<p>Thanks for your input. What would be the "right boy" for Roxbury Latin? What are the criteria to get into Roxbury Latin? What is the acceptance ratio for the 7th grade and for 9th grade?</p>
<p>How is the quality of the middle school at BB&N? Do all middle schoolers go to this high school or do they go to other schools? </p>
<p>I can see that teacher's recommendations are very important, thanks for bringing it up!</p>
<p>Thank you for sharing your notes. Governor's and Pingree are too far from us. Concord Academy looks good, but I am mostly look for the day school that accepts both 7th grader and 9th grader. My older son can choose boarding too. He was not excited about Concord Academy, he is more of sporty and science type.</p>
<p>Thank you for offering information about Milton Academy. It is the school that has the middle school as well, right? My younger son is very interested in debate, arty, but not sporty at all. Does he fit in this school?</p>
<p>Have you considered Deerfield or Andover? They are pretty selective (around 20% acceptance rate), but are wonderful schools. Concord Academy is also a good choice, since you said he was artsy. </p>
<p>I just sent you a PM. My older one is sporty/science type, not too artsy, although loves music. Since you mentioned about Deerfield, we are starting to investigate this school. Thanks!</p>
<p>Are you applying as boarding or day school?</p>
<p>Roxbury Latin is an awesome school for boys who enjoy hard work, a stimulating intellectual atmosphere, and a strong emphasis on tradition - although things are slowly changing with the new head. They have, for example, added Spanish for the first time. There are few choices overall, and you will see from their catalog that they are not about "flash" but completely about substance. 7th grade is their entering year and thus they have the most spaces. In recent years they have taken only 5-6 new boys in 9th and I have heard that it's harder socially for a boy to begin in 9th grade.
BB&N middle school is great - on a separate campus from the upper school and from the lower (elementary) school so very much its own entity which is important for middle schoolers. The mid sch is for 7th and 8th graders and all do go on to 9th if they wish and/or it's the right fit.<br>
Belmont Hill is a wonderful school; they are very strong academically across the board and they have superb character education and an excellent athletic program. More traditional - in terms of dress (jacket/tie required) - even than RL. Great teachers and a wonderful head. Both they and RL understand what how to raise/teach great boys.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for all these valuable information. I wasn't sure about Belmont Hill before, now I am becoming more interested. I really really appreciated your sharing. I am delighted as I read about your description of RL and Belmont Hill. Just hope my sons are lucky enough to receive this excellent education.</p>