<p>BlueRaven- I personally loved SM. The administration sometimes irked me, but I had fabulous teachers. Some of which I still keep in contact with. It’s a pretty small school and everybody knows everybody’s business. That’s not to say that people can be unfriendly or judgemental, but that as a senior I happened to know almost all of the freshmen. Moreover the school community is incredible. One such example is after my senior year Groton football game. We were losing so badly at halftime that it was almost embarrassing. Once all the other games were done though, every St. Marker was there cheering for our team in the pouring rain and it was getting dark. We lost the game, but managed to catch up and only lose by 3 points. After the game was memorable. A lot of students were sitting in our dining hall eating dinner when some of the senior girls and myself had an idea to go wait for the football team and cheer them on as they walked off the bus and into the athletic center. We gathered a bunch of people and make a gauntlet for them. ([happy</a> gauntlet Pictures, happy gauntlet Images, happy gauntlet Photos, happy gauntlet Videos - Image - ■■■■■■■ - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting](<a href=“http://■■■■■■■.com/view.php?pic=nq9qpj&s=6]happy”>http://■■■■■■■.com/view.php?pic=nq9qpj&s=6) <– thats a picture) It was incredible to see how we banded together in a bad situation yet were still extremely proud of ourselves.</p>
<p>Anyways I had a great time at St. Mark’s and particularly enjoyed the SM-Groton rivalry. It was so fun how into it everyone would get!</p>
<p>It sounds a great school! Thanks… And I know how great a good rivalry can be, its fun to get into the school spirit. At my old school we had houses they were mini-rivalrys that wre always fun-assuming your friends were in your house.</p>
<p>neato, I understand what you are saying, but here’s my take on the acronym. The five schools (A, D, E, G, S) in the acronym are truely exceptional schools in terms of prestige, academic rigor,test scores, selectivity, and college placement, etc. They are considered the super stars in the industry and ithe term GADES is used to represent a larger group of schools with similar stats. Every industry has some well-known brand names. When it comes to schools, TJ represents the high quality of the best magnet schools and everyone knows which public school districts are the BEST in their area. I know almost everyone is talking about how “fit” is more important. It is but this acronym is not about that.</p>
<p>I know, I know. It still drives me nuts when kids out there think those are the only schools that are “good.” Trust me, I know and appreciate how exceptional those five schools are (my son applied to 4 of them!). </p>
<p>And I apologize for getting off-topic so here’s one for the thread - GO ZEBRAS!</p>
<p>As a parent, I find Groton to be a real gem. If you’ve decided that a more intimate setting (100 person graduating class rather than 200-300 at some other top schools) suits you or your child, you can hardly go wrong picking Groton. Other schools with similar academic and cultural aspects where admissions chances are a bit easier are St. Andrew’s and St. Marks. These are all excellent schools and would prepare you well for life.</p>
<p>what about Portsmouth Abbey in Rhode Island? Anyone have any experience with how hard it is to get in, or once you’re in what it’s like? HOw does its reputation compare to HADES?</p>
<p>son got into Groton and choosing btw Groton and Andover. loved Groton during interview week, but worried about the smallness. the student population also didn’t look very diverse. someone also told me a lot of Zebras are legacies, with reputation for snobbishness. what’s the reality?</p>
<p>hijklm,
PM me if you’d like. I’m a Groton alum and was lucky enough to choose between all of the “usual suspects” when I was choosing a school and never regret choosing Groton, 4 fantastic years! I was a “nobody” from NC and never felt that the school was snobby etc., it is very much a place where inclusion is the norm and excellence garners respect. Let me know what your sons interests are and I could provide more info.</p>