I am a long-time lurker here. Finally decided to open an account, as I found myself getting lost while trying to decide which BS would be the best for me next year. I eliminated some schools and attended some revisits (and spent some time on CC of course :D), but am still in between Milton, Concord, and Loomis. I have tried out everything (including the rating thing- those types of things never seem to work for me), but thx to my indecisive nature, I still can’t make a decision… AND A10 IS REAALLLLYY CLOSE!!! I would love to hear what you guys think about these schools, and which one you would choose if you were in my shoes & why. You can answer it by looking at reputation, the feeling of the school, or what opportunities it offers to students.
DISCLAIMER: I know that everyone is different, and that one shouldn’t just go with the crowd when it comes to choosing a school, but I just want to hear some precious opinions of yours.
I have never visited Milton or Ckncord so I really can’t give any opinion about them. For anybody reading this, please know that I am not dying to bad mouth your school, it is just my personal experience and opinion. When I visited Loomis, the girls were all very clique and rude to each other. They were mocking girls behind each other’s backs and openly talking about who was doing what in front of me and another revisit day girl. They inhabited us for the most part and it could have just been a group of bad girls but I have gotten the feeling that it is definitely a more fend for yourself social environment (I have heard this opinion from other people who revisited Loomis as well).
In the end though, nobody else opinion matters. Where do you see yourself and feel the most comfortable and at home? Academically, all these schools are great. The rigor of academics at these schools are all similar and so it should really just come down to your gut feeling and where you feel the happiest. Good luck!
@Nico.campbell I revisited Milton too, but wasn’t able to sense the separation. How would you say the 50/50 boarding-day ratio affects the school? Btw, your profile pic is awesome
@cababe97 I heard that about Loomis a lot too, but didn’t experience anything like that on my revisit (I guess I was lucky, as my host was extremely kind and even answered some of my parents’ questions). However, Loomis certainly didn’t feel like a school that paid much attention to how “nice” the kids they admitted were. As I don’t want to take risks when it comes to stuff like that, I guess I’ll drop Loomis from my list.
Milton & Concord both have 50% boarding/day split. Loomis is probably higher % boarding but I don’t know the numbers. Milton has the reputation of being sportier. All these school require sports. Concord has moved away from AP classes, so the academics have a different slant. Still strong academics.
Milton & Concord have closer proximity to Boston. While you will be busy most weekends there could be times to visit. Also are you driving or flying to school? Look at transportation.
In another post I suggested (from college counselor) to make a pro list. What do you like about each school?
SmallFry is a new sophomore boarder at Loomis this year and is extremely happy there. SmallFry has not experienced or observed cliques at Loomis – groups of friends, yes, but not cliques. SmallFry’s close circle of friends include kids from the dorm, classes, athletics AND day students.
Re: the day student population – Loomis’s website says it is 30% day students. For what it is worth, I have heard more than one rumor that there is a concerted effort to bring that number down. That being said, in my opinion, the existing ratio of day to boarding students is not a negative. When I went to Choate many moons ago, there was a very healthy number of day students and they were very integrated into the community. Although my first year there I did not know many day students and tended to find my friends in the dorms, by senior year several of my closest friends were day students. I’m not sure if the level of integration is the same at Loomis, but like I said, SmallFry’s close circle of friends already includes day students after only two terms. SmallFry has also mentioned that from time to time day students will stay overnight in the dorms on the weekends.
Just weighing in Loomis – can’t speak to other schools. Good friend’s daughter is a sophomore at LC and has not had anything close to experiencing “cliques.” In fact, she constantly refrains she thinks Loomis does value nice. She has a very active social life and is very happy there. Boarding is 75/25 and that is by design. 3 years ago, Loomis board decided to raise boarding percentage both due to increasing number of applications, when you are 50/50 many boarding families will cross off list and was also seeing not as much strength in local area from which to draw day students. Good luck with your choice.
