<p>I don’t know all the specifics about groton or other schools. But I don’t know how someone can essentially give me a bedtime. Does it matter when my lights are off as long as I’m in the dorm? That just seems over protective. There’s only so much you can do with internet and phone off other than studying and homework. I just don’t get that.</p>
<p>Also, regarding your question about mixed forms in the dorms - vertical housing - I am a big fan. It builds community by encouraging cross form interaction. Older students can provide guidance to younger students whether its help on that physics problem you’re having trouble with, or advice on managing your work load, or how to deal with a roommate problem, etc.</p>
<p>Thank you creative1, Your insight is appreciated.<br>
Have you heard anything to the effect that SPS had problems with college placement this year? I’ve heard rumors that they did “terribly” this year. Any truth to it?</p>
<p>Also on ‘lights out’, I agree with mpicz. When I was at St. Paul’s there used to be a mandatory lights out. I was a ‘senior proctor’ in a dorm of 3rd formers. One of my jobs was to see that they were in their rooms at 9:30 and lights out at 10. We would even walk around the outside of the dorm checking for windows that were glowing! It NEVER WORKED. We would find kids under their beds, flashlights under their covers etc. No limit to human imagination. I promise you it happens today at schools that still try to enforce policies. All you do is drive it underground, with kids hiding and lying! The gestapo tactics were/are doomed to fail. Now they let them decide, but discuss it if they are having a problem. Far healthier for both parties. Anyway, the mice were way to slippery even for a good cat!</p>
<p>skafe - I haven’t heard anything about college placement yet this year. I know it was another tough, extremely competitive year across the country. When the stats come out it’ll be interesting to see how all the schools have done.</p>
<p>Skafe - can you be a bit more specific about these rumors of problems in SPS’s college placements??
I wonder if it because they don’t have PG’s which buoys up a schools college matriculation.
I don’t think you can compare SPS’s matriculation for that reason with schools with PG’s. If a SPS senior went to Deerfield to play another year of LAX he would probably get into a better college in theory.</p>
<p>My son said “a lot of people got in everywhere” and a few got in “nowhere”. But one of those did not get into Yale but did to Penn, and another did not get into an Ivy but did to UVA. Both great schools. So take the early emotional and panicked responses with a grain of salt (or more). Now is when the advisors try to solve the weird cases. Also you might go back and reread that front page NYT article from last week about waitlists this year. </p>
<p>It is bound to be a weird and tough year between demographics and the economy. Also realize that no schools have magic fairy dust, it is about the kids and always has been. But I cannot find anyone who is talking about any disasters. Wait and see the final results. And remember, last year Harvard accepted 5 from SPS and only one accepted them!</p>
<p>bump.bump.</p>
<p>Skafe- out of interest which did you chose?? We are future Groton parents and wonder if our childern will be firends?</p>
<p>Thank you for bumping this thread - really great information to read. We were also choosing between SPS & Groton for next year, and have chosen SPS. A lot of that is due to the “feel” of the campus, and my D felt much more of a connection with SPS, the people we met there, the buildings - and the chapel and dining hall took her breath away. We saw the two schools on back-to-back days, which I think did help in making a choice in that they were immediate comparisons for her. Both are excellent schools though, and I doubt you could go wrong with either choice!</p>
<p>I doubt you could go wrong also! My daughter is going in to eight grade- second form- so she only applied to Groton but SPS was on her list for next year if she hadn’t made it this year- I guess our kids will just compete against each other ! 
Best of luck!</p>
<p>Hi MDmomoftwo. I don’t know if you realized this
but, I wrote those comments TWO years ago…My D ended up at SPS. As with everyone, I’m sure, some trials and some triumphs over the last two years but the ship seems to be heading in the right direction.</p>
<p>Oops- thought it was 1 year ago- thanks for answering! Hope your daughter is well</p>
<p>You can get the college placement facts by going to the SPS website, going to the a-z index, and pulling down the annual report. Around pp 74-77 are the specific details. SPS got something like 24% into the Ivies plus MIT and Stanford, which is pretty amazing, but a big drop from the 34-43% they had enjoyed for the preceding few years. However, all the boarding schools are getting fewer students into those schools. Groton went down from 25% to around 15%. Deerfield went down around the same as SPS. Only Andover seems to have held its own.
Where SPS took a real hit last year was that there were 11 graduating students (out of 133 or 8%) with no college plans as of the time the report came out in November 2010. That is a really serious issue which I don’t think has ever happened at SPS before. Winterset might want to weigh in on this.
The bottom line is that there are day schools in NYC which have the best college placement records now in the country if that is what you are seeking. Among boarding schools, SPS is still near the top,at least for the Ivy-type schools.</p>
<p>Here’s what I worry about - that the stats don’t tell the whole story. Some students take a gap year and go off to do some amazing things. It’s becoming more common as the pressure in high schools across the country pushes some kids towards burn-out. </p>
<p>Second, Harvard, MIT and a number of other top colleges have now set a “tuition” free policy for families making under a certain amount. That has pushed the applications to record highs even in a bad economy - the same as with boarding schools that moved in the same direction. Hence - more competition from students who would not have normally considered those schools and fewer slots for BS students. BS used to be considered a feeder, but that’s no longer the case, and even when it was in the “olden” days - the most common students “fed” to IVY’s fit a very narrow profile.</p>
<p>Lastly - not every student wants to go to an IVY. It’s no longer a valid litmus test of academic rigor. If a student goes to BS but comes from an area with strong ties to a different college/university - why is that a bad thing?</p>
<p>Reading stats will not only make outsiders crazy because they don’t know what forms the basis of those numbers in any given year - but it also drives many students to depression as they and/or their parents chase a dream that might lean towards a subset they don’t fit (legacy or “connections”, hooks, etc.). </p>
<p>Find the school that fits and enjoy the ride. Take advantage of all it has to offer and make long lasting friendships. But if you’re attending or picking a boarding school based on elusive stats - one might caution the readers to look at the BS stats this year - more waitlists and rejections than in previous years.</p>
<p>And we’ve said it before - more people graduate from non-IVY’s than from IVy’s and they seem to be faring just fine.</p>
<p>I could not agree with you more Exie!</p>
<p>If your only aim is to get your kid into an Ivy or Stanford /MIT then by all means pay attention to Old1’s post. But if you are concerned about graduating a child who has solid study habits, a love of learning and is prepared for the real world- and if you are more concerned about your child finding a College that suits their needs, then all of that is meaningless. Ivy admission is NOT what I am basing my child’s education on.</p>
<p>I am amazed and more than a little saddended that people are still defining BS success as admission to an Ivy. Haven’t all the recent analyses proven that this is bogus? State colleges are racking up Fullbrights and sending their graduates to amazing MA and PhD programs. Who cares where you were for Undergrad once you are studying for your MA or PhD?? I can tell you that when I was in my Residency program, students from MIT/Stanford were perceived no differently than those from Wherever State and UF</p>
<p>There are many paths to the same end, and it is no longer the case that the only road to success is through an Ivy. If you are spending 50k a year to “guarantee” an Ivy- then you are making a very poor investment. If however you want your child to be challenged, pushed and nurtured beyond what is available in your local schools- then go for it. </p>
<p>" The bottom line is that there are day schools in NYC which have the best college placement records now in the country if that is what you are seeking" say s Old 1</p>
<ul>
<li>well my local HS has 100% college placement- but the kids are not receiving the kind of education that I want for my daughter. And “college” is not what Old1 is referring to- for college read “Ivy”. Additionally we do not all have the “blessings” of living in NY.
Also- see link below-
[Title</a> IX Complaint Against Yale: Women Allege a ‘Culture of Silence’ on Campus - The Daily Beast](<a href=“The Daily Beast: The Latest in Politics, Media & Entertainment News”>The Daily Beast: The Latest in Politics, Media & Entertainment News)</li>
</ul>
<p>This is not what I want for my daughter- but by Old1’s definitions this is “success”</p>
<p>sorry- my buttons got pushed! :)</p>
<p>Happens to all of us. No one likes it when they feel someone is making generalizations, or being accused of it themselves.</p>
<p>Were these students boys by chance?</p>