@FatherOfOne I too would like to thank you for your insights. Our investigation and, arguably, limited experience offer nothing to suggest there is a lack of supervision on weekends. In fact, we have found a community of exceptionally supportive and caring adults that take true interest in the well being of the students.
I’m happy to say that after our significant research and talking to current and former parents and students we have decided to send DD to Episcopal next year!
@Meatloafer congrats on your decision! Hope your DD will be happy at EHS!
Congrats to @Meatloafer’s DD!! That is exciting news.
Hello,
I’m a recent graduate from Episcopal, and I definitely think you’re right that the most unique factor of EHS is the urban environment. Being one of the few urban boarding schools, EHS definitely offers a variety of opportunities for students like the weekly Washington Program and Senior Externship (seniors take classes off in the month of May for internships in DC - I worked for a consulting firm, and it turned out to be literally the most eye opening experience in my life) Besides school-sponsored programs, students can reach out to get internships or volunteer outside of school, and the school’s pretty supportive of students who use various resources available outside of school.
However, it’s important to mention that the student body is VERY Southern and preppy, despite of the fact that the school is located in the DC metro area. This can be a plus factor for some who like the vibe, but if you don’t fall into the category, it’s definitely going to be a minus factor. As someone above mentioned, the “general atmosphere of rampant Southern elitism” can be a huge shock to students who don’t come from the same background. If there’s a reason why I would not send my kid to Episcopal in the future, this would be it.
As to how Episcopal ranks among other schools, I do agree that Episcopal is considered as a second tier school that runs behind top-tier schools in New England like say, Choate or Deerfield. However, this was one of the reasons why I chose Episcopal over my other options like Loomis and Milton. I thought excelling at a slightly lower tier school would be better than ending up as an average kid at a top school. (Also, it’s true that less students at EHS are academically motivated than those in the top tier schools, so the competition won’t be as harsh) If you’re thinking of college admission process in mind, this could be a better strategy. (I was an international student though, so some of you might have different opinions.)
@jen908 thank you for your perspective as a former student. It’s always insightful to hear from those that have lived it. One of the things I find interesting is the discussion of culture and the term ‘Southern’. Since we come from Texas we are certainly southern and I find that description fine. But I believe that the quote you referenced was expressing a strongly negative view likely due to a number of complex factors. Given the chance, I’m sure some would find issue with describing other schools as having a general atmosphere of North Eastern cultural elitism.
Regardless, the culture of any school should be a key decision for those making a determination whether to attend. We found the southern aspect of EHS to include openly happy and excited students, hugging and greeting their friends, smiling, and some of them saying y’all. I’m great with that. Of course, everyone has their preferences but we’re very excited about the atmosphere of EHS.
Father of a soon-to-be EHS grad here, and our experience and impressions might be helpful. We were referred to this thread by family friends whose daughter is considering applying to Episcopal. There are many, many wonderful aspects to the school: campus, proximity to DC, small class sizes, excellent faculty. The school has a lot of devoted alumni and it seems that financial resources are abundant. It IS a southern school, and to pretend otherwise is naive. Much of the student body leans conservative Republican. Our DC found racism and misogyny to be common. The description of unstructured time referenced by the 2012-2013 reviews is accurate: when sports end at 5pm, adults are nowhere to be found until study hall begins in the later evening. Weekends are worse—we rarely found faculty or advisors or other adults in the dorms or interacting with students from 5pm Friday until 8pm Sunday. The unstructured time provides a lot of leeway for bullying, hazing, drugs, watching Netflix all day, etc. It’s one thing for college kids to have that kind of flexibility and autonomy—quite another for young teens who still need supervision. We know of more than a handful of families who withdrew their kids after experiencing hazing, bullying or social exclusion. Some kids thrive at EHS, clearly, but it’s a decision to be weighed very carefully without regard for the physically beautiful campus. What happens in the classroom is on par with other competitive schools; it’s what happens after school and on weekends that matters equally.
@TwinsDad2 - if you were to do it all over again would you send your child/children to EHS again? We are applying/interviewing there. I know one local family who told me that the social atmosphere might not be what we are looking for, but have met others who said we must go see it. Thanks!