<p>Heartburner's recent post searching for schools that were "like" Exeter or Choate, but less selective with regard to admissions made me think it my be useful for people who have visited a range of schools over the years to share any analogs they've encountered. For example, to use a college example, I could say "If you like MIT, check out Carnegie Mellon..."</p>
<p>Here's a boarding school example to get things started (I include a "reason why" to give some color commentary):</p>
<ul>
<li>If you like Groton, check out St. Andrew's (DE)
They are both relatively small schools in the Episcopal tradition, and have a very private, "enclave"-like setting. I know that when we first visited SAS, we were struck by the similarity in campus feel.</li>
</ul>
<p>@makennacompton: While SPS and SAS both have massive landholding (2000+ acres each), I think the size of the student body and compactness of facilities at Groton and SAS are more similar, IMO.</p>
<p>So stargirl3, then you would say:
If you like Groton, check out Middlesex(?)
Care to share any reasons why? I’ve never been, so can’t really comment.</p>
<p>Groton + Middlesex are both small schools around a Circle (although MX is more spread out). They’re pretty secluded, with a cute town a bus ride away. They have the same size student body, similar dress code, chapel (although Groton’s is more often). Both have the mascot of a zebra, and they have sort of an unofficial rivalry. There’s more that I’m forgetting, but all in all, they feel similar. </p>
<ul>
<li><p>If you like Groton, check out St. Andrew’s (DE)
They are both relatively small schools in the Episcopal tradition, and have a very private, “enclave”-like setting. I know that when we first visited SAS, we were struck by the similarity in campus feel.</p></li>
<li><p>If you like Groton, check out Middlesex
Both small schools around a Circle (although MX is more spread out). They’re pretty secluded, with a cute town a bus ride away. They have the same size student body, similar dress code, chapel (although Groton’s is more often). Both have the mascot of a zebra, and they have sort of an unofficial rivalry. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>[I’m trying to stick to a format, ya know ;-P.]</p>
<p>The riff on this question that I think would be more interesting to ask is which, if any, boarding schools among the top 25 are significantly different than their brethren and why. About the only meaningful difference to me seems to be size. Everything else seems somewhat cosmetic.</p>
<p>@Parlabane, my mom and I have discussed this again and again. All schools tout their small classes, challenging and diverse courses, traditions, etc. While size and location differ, they are all similar.</p>
<p>Outside of size, I do think there are material differences in community health among the top 25 schools. It’s not something where stats are published and it takes a bit more digging, but some schools are more “intact” than others with less evidence of drug use, hazing, theft, gender pressures, teacher-student dysfunction etc. If I were sending my kid to boarding school today, I’d pay much less attention to the differences around things like the “Harkness table,” and a whole lot more attention to what kind of people the school was turning out, and it better be a lot more than just well educated. For example, I think SevenDad has been clear on this point - that community health is a SAS differentiator. </p>
<p>Good point, Parlabane. Among the “top prep schools”, does anyone have advice or knowledge about which ones have strong community health?.. Or as Parlabane says which ones are more"intact" than others with less evidence of drug use, hazing, theft, gender pressures, teacher-student dysfunction etc. ? Really important to know and I’m surprised more attention isn’t paid to this. Maybe it is hard to get this type of information. So please do tell.</p>
<p>You can search ThacherParent’s threads or replies to get a short cut to pages on this topic, and link to a particular survey that some schools have joined, in particular.</p>
<p>Every school has something in the way of “drug use, hazing, theft, gender pressures, teacher-student dysfunction, etc.”, which is the old saw most people like to speak. Distinguishing between smaller and larger problems gets more to the point. SAS had some abuse issues last year, and a cyber-meanness outbreak, but action was taken in both cases largely because the kids themselves brought it to light. I believe that the student community came together afterward so that while there was sadness about kids who departed for varying lengths of time (including forever), there were few recriminations. The vast majority are “all in” on the school ethos, and there is much less of a faculty-student divide. See the link below for an interesting opinion piece by a recent alum, Alex McIlvaine, in the student newspaper regarding his transition from the SAS culture to that at his elite university and the “real world”. [One complaint commonly heard in past years concerns the “borrowing” of bicycles that are not returned to their original location.] </p>
<p>Charger - not sure how to read your post. It seems vaguely snarky to start toward me, but since you are a great poster, maybe I’m just misinterpreting. I was absolutely NOT highlighting the SAS issues you raised, which I didn’t even know about until you just wrote your post. Tad Roach is supposed to be amazing and everything I’ve ever heard about SAS points to a school that values the whole child and the community in a way that most boarding schools do not.</p>
<p>Sorry for the confusion, @ThacherParent. Post #9 inquired about schools with “strong community health” and I immediately thought of the survey you have referenced in the past, but which I cannot recall the name of. I was too lazy too look it up and since you have commented about aspects of Thacher as well that contribute to a healthier environment there, I thought letting the OP do their own mining for info was okay. I might disagree with comments posted on this board, and say why, but I hope that I’ll never indulge in gratuitous snark. </p>
<p>Bad stuff has happened at St. Andrew’s, and some kids just don’t “click” there (though lots of my previous posts may have left the impression that’s not the case). Whether they come back year after year and graduate, or actually have disciplinary issues that involve separation, it is testament to what happens everywhere, sooner or later. I do think that the culture at SAS is intentional and designed to minimize conflict and misbehavior; all constituents take pride in this. Airing the dirty laundry should have a purpose, and a proper opening seemed at hand to give a fuller portrait of the school I’ve so earnestly advocated for in the past. </p>
<p>@SevenDad, I can see why! She’s contributed much to the school over the years and they’ll miss her. </p>
<p>I attended one of them. I have visited both with my children.
The current headmistress at Middlesex was formerly a teacher and an Assistant Head at Groton and is married to a Groton graduate. It is no coincidence Middlesex today has become more like Groton over the last decade…all the way to the Circle template, stripes and zebras, and burgeoning steamy rivalry. Other longstanding Groton wannabees include St Albans School in Washington, D.C.</p>
<p>I’m not sure this works as well for boarding schools as it does for colleges. There aren’t that many boarding schools and for a lot of reasons differences that are small and/or subjective can make a huge difference in attractiveness.</p>
we have one kid at solebury who started this fall. it is more like 40% boarding at most (so that the 60 percent or more that is day students make it more like a day school) but they say they are trying to increase the boarding percentage and that could possibly happen soon or fast. in our kid’s experience so far, the boarders and day students aren’t anything near connected as a seamless community anything like they were at another boarding school in our family’s recent experience but that other boarding school had 75% boarding. If these differences are in fact necessary due to the lower boarding population, though, then it is something to make sure you are okay with, before you attend Solebury. So far, it is otherwise a positive place for our kid to be.