<p>A newbie here...</p>
<p>Thinking about the above 4 schools for my S; also considering Governor's, Westminster, Holderness. S is an 8th grader, to take SSATs in December; solid academically (mostly Bs, an occasional A or C), and athletically (football, hockey, baseball). Still early but he's interested in engineering/design, maybe architecture, as a possible career path.</p>
<p>Your thoughts on the above schools?</p>
<p>Westy has a good engineering/architecture sequence. Football not so good, if that is important, but athletics in general are very competitive. Truly outstanding new academic center. DF, Westy and Taft w/o hooks might be a bit of a reach for a B student.</p>
<p>Has he taken a practise ssat, or do you have any idea where he will fall there? If his current school is difficult and does not inflate grades, and he does extremely well (80+) on the ssat’s, then Deerfield and Taft may be in range. There has to be both an academic and social “fit.” I seem to remember from when my son was exploring Taft that there were three levels of courses offered in most major subjects. I actually asked the admissions officer about it and he said very non-chalantly that it was a form of tracking. So maybe Taft accepts a wider range of academic talent than Deerfield.</p>
<p>Those are the only two schools on your list that I have actively researched. My son is not applying to either. For some inexplicable reason, he didn’t even want to look at Deerfield and he just couldn’t see himself at Taft. Nothing against either school, just not right for my son.</p>
<p>I have heard very nice things about Berkshire on this board and there are a few parents (fun is fun, I think) around who would probably be willing to share their experiences. We didn’t look at it only because we had to draw the line somewhere!</p>
<p>If you haven’t already visited Deerfield, you might want to think about adding Northfield Mount Hermon to the trip. They are pretty close to one another. It really seems like a school on an upward swing. A warning, though. The wind really whips around on that hilltop!</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks elmo & NB. The schools’ websites are bookmarked and we have a stack of various viewbooks in the den. Since we live in NE we have driven through a number of the aforementioned campuses and others (e.g., Andover, Loomis, Choate, Hotchkiss, Groton) in recent years. It;s not interview time yet, but it’s nice to get others’ views on these schools here at CC, a site that had been recently recommended to me by a friend. We have a few family friends who are BS alums and recommend their experiences highly, and they feel that BS is ideal for our S. </p>
<p>Given the level of competition (and admissions selectivity), Deerfield might be a reach but it’s one school in which he’s shown a lot of interest. I’ve searched these forums a bit already, but I’d really appreciate a “20 word summary” (admittedly subjective) on each of the schools I noted. Thanks!</p>
<p>highly recommend Westminster</p>
<p>Awesome facility and location in Simsbury, Ct, friendly students, great academics and responsive staff. I am have been pretty open in opinions expressed on this board. The longer my student is at Westy, the more I see very strong advantages over other programs. Specifically for a student like yours…</p>
<p>Taft- Horrid students, teachers, athletics community.</p>
<p>Don’t apply!</p>
<p>tennisgeek1 “horrid” seems a little harsh. Do you go there? What do you base that on?</p>
<p>well i just said horrid because I couldn’t think of a word gruesome enough to describe that excuse for a school!
eeeewwww taft!</p>
<p>TG - please fill us in on why you feel so negatively toward Taft. Also, might you be able to share any opinion (pos or neg) on Deerfield, Tabor or Berkshire?</p>
<p>Deerfield, Tabor or Berkshire are great schools 
Steer clear of taft!</p>
<p>I am not really interested in Taft but what do you not like about it tennisgeek1?</p>
<p>TG - again, please fill us in on the reasons for your aversion to Taft.</p>
<p>To keep it brief, I’ve seen the bad side of Taft. Be warned- DON’T APPLY!</p>
<p>Is it true what was mentioned in another thread about a Hotchkiss football player being kneed repeatedly in the groin by a Taft player on the field? If so, that’s enough for me.</p>
<p>A healthy rivalry is one thing, this is another.</p>
<p>Tafties are ruthless!</p>
<p>Anyone care to weigh in on Deerfield, Tabor or Berkshire? Thanks!</p>
<p>I could not let the tennis geek get the last word on Taft. My daughter is a freshman at Taft and is having a fabulous experience. Taft is everything she was hoping for in a boarding community - high academic standards, loving community and competitive athletics. Although we live over 1000 miles from the school, I was able to visit three times this fall. I did not meet a single child that I would not want to visit us in our home town. I am sorry that tennis geek has a chip on his shoulder about Taft, but I find his opinion to be way off base.</p>
<p>Problems I have with TAFT:
<ol>
<li><p>We have two teachers that left Taft over the whole “New Money” issue. I share this experience. It just seems that some kids that go to Taft are very showy and that Taft in general is more of a “Showy” school. They like to spend money on nice buildings and the student body really likes living that in their personal lives… Not a big problem but some people don’t like it.</p></li>
<li><p>School Spirit… When we played them in football and soccer… The crowds at each were so tiny… I really have to question how much pride they have in athletics. Aren’t those the two most heavily attended sports at most schools?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I don’t know anything about Taft or Berkshire. If you’re interested in Tabor, you should follow their “Log Blog.” [url=<a href=“http://www.thelogblog.org/]THELOGBLOG.ORG[/url”>http://www.thelogblog.org/]THELOGBLOG.ORG[/url</a>]</p>
<p>tiger31 said nice things about Taft. Maybe he thinks he’s talking about another school…? Possibly a good one?</p>