<p>Can someone give me some perspective on Brooks School and St. George's? I think both schools will be a great fit for my daughter. I can't help but to see them as very similar in a lot of respects. Of course, I realize that St. George's is in a much better location. Academically and as far as the community feeling and the holistic experience, are they pretty comparable?</p>
<p>FYI. You can compare 3 schools side-by-side:
[Compare</a> Boarding Schools | BoardingSchoolReview.com](<a href=“http://www.boardingschoolreview.com/compare_schools.php]Compare”>Compare Boarding Schools)</p>
<p>Some posters have commented that boardingschoolreviews’s numbers are not all up-to-date. But the numbers are probably good enough to make broad comparisons. </p>
<p>Yes of course, a school is much more than its numbers, as you have already alluded to w your request for perspective on the community feeling.</p>
<p>I don’t know much about St. George’s other that the fact that I know people who go there. But, I applied to Brooks and I can tell you that I live it, the campus is beautiful, it’s small, people are friendly, awesome facilities… All around it’s a great school…I also know kids that go to Brooks, and they love it!</p>
<p>We have three family friends who kids went to Brooks - all were very happy (two still there). Good science program and homey atmosphere.</p>
<p>We did get the feeling during our initial visit last fall that Brooks is a tight-knit community. The campus is beautiful, obviously the classes are small and the kids do seem genuinely happy. </p>
<p>My D has been accepted at Brooks which we will revisit along with 2-3 other schools the first week in April. My D has a list of what she needs from each school along with pros and cons. No school is absolutely perfect, that is not a reasonable expectation. It is somewhat of a cost-benefit analysis. I say that loosely because attending any of the schools would not come at a cost and would ultimately be fine.</p>
<p>Does anyone know about the breadth of Brooks’ classes in certain departments. I know they have a good science department. I’m sure their classes are phenomenal. It looks as though they do not offer a huge choice in their language department and the electives are somewhat lacking in comparison to other schools. Can anybody speak to this?</p>
<p>Also, my D is concerned about size. She is’t sure about a couple of the “bigger” schools. Personally, a bigger school with 600-800 people doesn’t seem so big once one breaks it down by class, gender and boarder v. day student. I’m wondering if a smaller school starts to feel a bit too small after a year or so. Can’t a small community cut both ways? </p>
<p>Finally, as another person on CC said, and I agree, " I am not sending my child to prep school to be on lockdown." My daughter is already at a JBS. She will be entering secondary school as a sophomore. I want her to have freedoms that teenagers should have and be able to occasionally leave campus for something other then an all campus excursion. I think the ability to go into town and out to dinner or a movie with some friends is important. I want my daughter to be balanced and not solely focussed on academics or in a pressure cooker.</p>
<p>I’m trying to gather some thoughts and opinions prior to our revisits hoping that we will have a set of specific and targeted questions to quiet our concerns, if possible, at the schools she is considering for next year. I have pretty much made my choice. But, the final choice is hers.</p>
<p>English language program would be the weakness of Brooks in my opinion. Definitely not much variety. But it has many things to offer in exchange. This is where fit comes in. If strong diverse English program is high on your daughter’s list of must haves, then it is not a good fit. However if a small school with strong community and a stellar science program are then it is a good fit…
My sons have gone to both small (under 350 students) and large (1000 students) prep schools. It is a very different experience and both have their pluses and minuses. One son loved the small school environment where everyone knows your name but the other found it repressive, everyone knew his business etc. One of my sons went to Andover which is very much a liberal environment with lots of freedoms and fantastic academics but not warm and cozy like the smaller schools. Again the whole fit thing…
Good luck!</p>