<p>Hey. I havent been posting for a while, but anyway...</p>
<p>These are the schools on my list. I don't know if there are any similarities among them but I'm interested in which schools you think has the same/different feel.</p>
<p>Hotchkiss
Berkshire
St. Andrew's Sewanee
Gunnery
Portsmouth
Cate
Kent</p>
<p>My favorite right now is Berkshire. Not sure about Kent and Gunnery because I havent received an email yet regarding FA to internationals.</p>
<p>Also, for those that recently visited these schools or attends, please post you're impressions about the people you met and the facilities.</p>
<p>I haven't been to any of these, but I have a friend who goes to Berkshire, and she says that there's an insane amount of drug and alcohol use. I don't know how much you care about that sort of thing, but just wanted to let you know.</p>
<p>St. A's Sewanee is gorgeous- but very isolated setting on top of a "mountain" in Tennessee. Lots of bus travel to other schools for sports, etc.</p>
<p>Berkshire has a lot of drug and alcohol use? Wow, didn't know that. Thanks! I thought Hotchkiss was a little worse than Berkshire in that department....</p>
<p>I haven't been to Berkshire, but that's what my friend told me...And mind you, we come from a town where drug use is pretty insane, so if someone from here thinks that it's a lot, it's got to be.</p>
<p>Berkshire has a beautiful but remote setting. Athletics important there. They are in the midst of some significant construction and upgrade of facilities. When they are finished it will be great but it is a multiple year process. Last year when we looked we wondered how much of it our daughter would really get to enjoy and to a lesser degree whether the construction would be disruptive to the campus.</p>
<p>D is a freshman there now. We asked here about substance abuse and she said she's neither seen it or even heard about it. Of course she is young and new (and an athlete), so who knows, but I doubt that Berkshire has any more of a problem than other schools.</p>
<p>The ongoing physical transformation of the campus is nothing short of amazing (lets hear it for Hedge Funds), and they are managing the distractions from the construction very well. The new athletic facility will be the envy of many small colleges, and Berkshire Hall will retain its beauty while becoming a modern classroom building.</p>
<p>The relatively new head and his wife are all-stars, and they have overhauled the faculty. Result: happier kids, fewer shenanigans, better academics.</p>
<p>So far we are very pleased with Berkshire, and D, after an, ummm, adjustment period, is a happy camper.</p>
<p>I would expect to see a stunning improvement within the next quartile or so for Berkshire's WTBY and Bunkel ratings.</p>
<p>As for drugs, I know several students who transferred to Berkshire after struggling (and in some cases failing ) at their first boarding schools. One of those students used drugs regularly at his first sch - - but NOT at Berkshire b/c of Berk's zero tolerance policy, which is uncommon among BSs. This boy (and his parents) reported that bC he knew that his first drug offense would result in expulsion (not a semester probat, as at other shcs), that he NEVER indulged whild on campus.</p>
<p>I haven't read Berk's handbook, so I don't know whether the zero tolerance is a fact maybe funisfun can comment). But I do know that at many other shcs the conseq is probat.</p>
<p>I would also expect that the sch's relative remoteness, strong athletic prgm and low % of day students are also factors (not that day students are drug uses/pushers - - it's just easier to control boarders).</p>
<p>Berkshire Hall should be completed by next fall or sooner -- the new athletic/wellness center in late, early '08-'09? Renovations to the science facilities, new fields (the baseball field will be ridiculous) continue.</p>
<p>I believe Berkshire has slightly amended the one strike rule but you'll have to contact them for the details. Regardless, I honestly don't think the current (second-hand) info being bandied about here is correct.</p>
<p>fun is fun: who else would use "shenanigans" and "bandied about" in the same thread? Nobody, that's who.</p>
<p>It is a good list. But, since you are already in this process, why NOT apply to at least one of the TOP schools such as Andover/Exeter/St Paul School, as these schools are reach for everyone any way and they do offer FA to international students.</p>
<p>Exeter will have a reception at Manila Polo Club on Oct 31. I am not sure if it is for alumni only or if it is for potential students. You should probably check it out.</p>
<p>ahq - I think it's just for the alumni. But thanks! I didn't know about that...</p>
<p>I didn't like Andover/Exeter that much because they're both too big and I prefer a school that has a smaller student body, like less than 600. St. Paul's sounds good though...I love the humanities courses. I emailed admissions and she said that out of 89 international students, only 8 are currently receiving tuition support. Seeing as how SPS is so competetive, I'm just wondering what my chances are. I guess being need blind helps, but the funds for internationals are just so limited. Anyway, I'll consider applying to SPS.</p>
<p>Isn't Cate/Hotchkiss a so called top school?</p>
<p>Cate apparently accents 1 in 7 foreign applicants and I'm just wondering why the rate is so low. Do you think it's because of the large number of Korean applicants that balance out the number of students from other countires? I know I'm still from an Asian country, but does being from the Philippines help?</p>
<p>You have to wonder though, maybe only 8 international kids get tutition support, but how many apply? It probably isn't many is my guess (just a guess, nothing really to base that on). AND, at St. Pauls they say they meet 100% of demonstrated need without loans. So, I would say it is worth a try. All that can happen is it is a no either from admissions or the FA side. If you don't apply, it is automatically no. I always tell my kids "the answer is automatically no if you don't ask."</p>
<p>Boarding students live in a more controlled and "bubbled" world. It's harder for them to keep connections and a stash of drugs on campus. Presumably faculty and staff aren't acting as suppliers for boarding students. If boarders use an off-campus supplier, they still have to keep the drugs somewhere on campus...generally the limited personal space that's subjected to searching. Day students have more personal freedom, more opportunities to encounter supply sources, and more places to keep a stash hidden away. It's not that day students are worse or more prone to addictive behavior. It's all about opportunity. They have opportunities that boarders don't have. To the extent boarders have opportunities, they're generally through day students. Day students are a boarding school's chief connection to contraband. Not the only connection, but they are often the biggest gap that needs to be plugged.</p>
<p>Drugs use is most definitely a crime of oppty at BS. A prime factor relating to day students adn not mentioned in D'yer's post: day students often have access to cars (BSs prohib boarders from having and in some cases even riding in cars on campus), which are invaluable in acquiring/transporting contraband.</p>
<p>Certainly "most" of the contraband brought in by boarders comes after vacation (access/oppty). And post-vacation contraband may constitute most of the contraband on campus, depending on a number of facators - - primarily location/remoteness and the number/% of day students.</p>
<p>Again, I'm not saying that the day students are any worse than the boarders, just that the presence of drugs/alcohol is a function of oppty (as evinced by the increase in contraband after vacation) - - and the day students have more oppty, so they tend to be more involved.</p>
<p>FA for internationals at Berkshire usually go to applicants from Afghanistan, Bosnia and Bulgaria. Any thoughts why? And it seems like Berkshire really prioritizes athletics. Will it hurt me if I don't play major sports?</p>
<p>Do I have a chance in any of the schools I listed? Especially since I'm applying for financial aid...</p>