If any of you were accepted to St Mark’s, I’m happy to try and answer any questions you may have. I tried to bump the thread from last year but it was closed…
MODERATOR’S NOTE: Anyone is free to ask or answer questions in this thread.
Hi!
How would your son describe the classes? Like how they work, all that?
Each class meets thrice a week, twice for an eighty minute block and once for a forty five. There are seven color blocks on the schedule, however most students will take 5-6 classes, leaving a free block for work, sleep ins, etc. Class size varies depending on the class, but tend to be about 10-12. All classes tend to be interactive with students and teachers, however humanities classes are more so than STEM. Saturday classes are independent electives from the core curriculum taught throughout the week. The last three weeks of school are Lion Term, which varies form to form but means that most heavy lifting is done before Memorial Day. Lion Term includes classes that involve international travel, which is not an additional expense for the student.
**disclaimer-DS is home from school, so he wrote that for me. As you can tell from prio posts…I do not write so formally. I think this may have hurt him in applications because they probably thought parents were writing for him. How wrong could they be!!! :))
I would love to know about the. community. My son will not be able to come home at weekends as we are west coast. Will he be stuck at weekends with only international students while everyone else goes home? If not, do they have fun at weekends? While I am 100% confident on academics, I really want to make sure. there is a close community in. the dorms and classrooms.
@boymom928 we are in Texas, so we are in same boat.
SMS has Saturday classes, which are electives ranging from underwater robotics to short films. They also have Saturday afternoon athletics (games/meets). Saturday nights are usually the scene for entertainment ranging from hypnotists, virtual reality games, casino night, neon dances & marshmallow roasts. On Sundays, kids can sign up to go hiking, to the movies, Natick mall, bowling, Target and the like. So, there’s a ton of stuff to do on the weekends. One weekend per month is community weekend, which means everyone has to stay on campus for school-wide activities.
I will be honest. There’s several local boarders there, so weekends can definitely be much quieter, but not vacated. There are so many from 5-6 hours away, it’s not worth it to go home for half a day.
DS is somewhat of an introvert, so while he’s participated in many of the weekend activities, he will often take Saturday nights & Sundays to hole up in his room and sleep.
The community at SMS is very tight knit and much like family. My kid has been invited out for lunch or ice cream by a family who just happened to drive by while he was walking on campus…everyone knows everyone. DS has never mentioned feeling isolated or alone on weekends.
Hope this helps!!
Our kid is a west coast St. Marker. He loves it; he, & we, have found the community great for the far-away kids. It’s proximity to Logan is also helpful for travel back & forth. If you have other questions, please feel free to fire away.
Thank you both. I am glad to hear it is a family-type community. We are looking forward to revisiting.
@buuzn03
Hi! I’ll be repeating sophomore, so I was wondering what’s the transition like for sophomores and how many new sophomores enter each year.
And do sophomores get singles? If so, how much percent of them get singles?
Sports wise, do people try out new sports a lot and do they get cut? I’m doing track & field as a main sport although I don’t excel in it, so I’m thinking about trying hockey and another sport from scratch. I’m also doing robotics so I’m not sure how that conflict with other sports.
Thank you in advance!
@sparkatzz there are many incoming sophomores-you would definitely not be an odd man out. SMS has an excellent cross country program. There are several sports where thirds/JV has many inexperienced athletes. DS had never rowed in his life and worked his way up to varsity crew as a III form.
Sports are required each season, so I am sure that you will be able to do both robotics and sports. Also, Saturday electives include robotics classes. I would definitely ask about the conflicts during your Revisit day.
Unfortunately, DS will not be at Revisits or I would have had you seek him out
@buuzn03 Thank you! I meant single dorms when I said single, I’m sure I won’t be singled out haha 
sparkatzz: I think you’ll find the transition into the school pretty seamless. It’s a small place, and you’ll be around your classmates pretty constantly, so transitioning in should be the easiest part of your journey. As for the athletic part, I commend your interest in trying new sports. You can certainly do that, but hockey might be difficult to jump into unless you have already played at some level. There is no Thirds hockey and the JV team is not really a “beginner” team, so playing without at least a reasonably strong skating ability might be tough. Other sports (soccer, basketball, squash) do have Thirds teams, and other sports (crew, as buzzn03 noted) can be a great home for students interested in trying a new sport. One other thought: if you did have a particular interest in a sport (say, hockey), but weren’t able to play right away, you could look into managing. Managers are important members of the team, and receive athletic credit for their contribution to the team.
I agree with @Eely_Hovercraft about hockey…but there are many other sports that beginners are common to thrive in.
As far as singles—DS requested a single his entering year and it was granted. (although we had to show we as parents supported his request). He earned a single this year through the lottery system. There are not many singles in the sophomore dorms (they are mainly prefect rooms) but most double rooms are pretty spacious from what I’ve seen.
Thank you! I can skate but I have no idea how to play the hockey part, and crew sounds like a fun sport to jump into. Also, is there a debate team of some sort? Do they compete competitively?
My son chose St. Mark’s and will be coming as a repeat 9th grader in September. He is so excited, albeit a little nervous. We came back on Saturday for a repeat revisit (first one just didn’t give us a real feel of the school because there was not Q and A at revisit). Those Saturday classes just turned him around. It also helped that every dog was out walking when we arrived. We can’t wait to be a part of St. Mark’s family.
Woohooo! Welcome to St Mark’s!!!
I know this is an old thread, but wondering if any St Marks’ people can speak about the Saturday classes? We are very attracted to a lot of things about SMS but the big drawback for my daughter would be the Saturday classes. She would be a day student so the prospect of Saturday school is offputting. I know they are electives, but how much of the day is taken up with them? Is there homework associated? Obviously it’s early in the season and we still have to apply, but curious about this aspect of St Marks. Thanks!
Saturday classes, although required, are electives. They can range from underwater robotics to Model UN to short films. DS likes them. They are informal, pass/fail. There’s usually an overall project associated with each one rather than homework. Classes end around 10:45 or 11 and then there is an all-school meeting afterward. Almost all of the schools in that area, in our research, have Saturday classes of some sort prior to athletic competitions.
I completely understand why as a day student Saturday classes seem unattractive. But I will toss this out there…
Having the entire student body on campus on Saturday really shrinks the divide between day students and boarders and will give your daughter a reason to stay on campus and hang with friends on Saturday. It’s a tough call.
Prospective St. Mark’s student here. I read online that the dress code is “business casual” and was wondering how students usually dress? My interview is in January and would like to make sure I match the dress code. Do girls usually wear dress pants or skirts/dresses?
@mondaydevil I think it depends on what you’re comfortable in. Most interviewees (female) wear dresses/skirts but I’ve seen plenty in cute long sweaters with leggings & nice boots, etc.
As long as you look nice and are comfortable, you’ll be fine!