<p>You have to visit each school to get their “feel”. Fessy is less than a half hour from Fay. Fay is an hour and a half to Eaglebrook and CMS is about two hours from there. I strongly recommended coming out for a few days to visit each school.</p>
<p>Academically, all send students to top schools…if that’s what you and your son are looking for.</p>
<p>We recently went through this process, Edumacation, & it turned out very well. What a learning curve! Feel free to send me a message for details. The above posters were very helpful to us…agree with much of what has been said. CKSBABS has a key point…we were far from these schools, like you, but an in-person visit is a ‘must’…there is just no substitute. S was accepted to every school he applied to…had great choices (there are some wonderful schools mentioned on this post!)…is very happy where he ended up. Do listen to your son’s opinion of the schools…he is the one who has to attend.</p>
<p>Hun School of Princeton? I’m pretty sure it offers boarding for 7th grade</p>
<p>Thank you to all for your great insights! I am now knee-deep in the application process and I am down to my last few months of researching since my son will be entering next fall.
I am definitely looking into booking flights to visit the schools out there in MA and NH and possibly some others. Only thing I am finding out,though, is that these schools like EBS and CMS are really far from the airports. To ops, or any other former alum, is there some easier way to get to the schools. As for EBS, is Bradley Intl. best airport or is NYC or Boston? And then rental car, or train, or bus? Please help!
Also, I am now a bit concerned regarding bullying and hazing at these junior boarding schools. Has anyone experienced and/or heard anything regarding this?
Thank you!</p>
<p>Fessenden for boys is excellent and close to Boston. It is both boarding and a day school.</p>
<p>Thank you, puckmom. I am just starting to look into Fessenden seriously. I was just looking at the website and really do like the physical proximity to Boston.
My only concern is that is seems go have a much larger percentage day students vs. boarders. Because I am all the way on west coast my son would have to be a boarder – do you know if this has had any negative impact at all on boarders because majority do not live on campus? Thanks!</p>
<p>There are more day students than boarders, especially in the younger grades but they blend seamlessly with the day students. It is not considered good or bad to be a boarder. It is a really nice group of boys in an academically serious but fun environment.</p>
<p>Bradley Airport would be a lot easier than the chaos of NYC or Boston. My guess for EBS is about an hour from Bradley. I zoom up from Southern CT and it takes about 2 hours. At least for EBS it is off of a major highway that is normally not congested.
Fair to say that none of these schools tolerate any bullying much less hazing. I’m sure there have been plenty of instances where kids just don’t get along. Schools such as EBS quickly take notice of any improprieties and exercise the appropriate action. Certainly a fair question to ask when you visit. I’m confident that schools such as EBS are well versed in dealing with such situations. The faculty at EBS are a special group of individuals and coupled with the stewardship of Andy Chase would leave me with the utmost confidence in educating and watching out for the personal welfare of the students. They don’t pay me to say this and I wouldn’t make these statements if I didn’t believe in the integrity of the school. The leaves are turning in New England and is a sight to see this time of year. Hurry up, enjoy and good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you, ops, for the great travel tips for EBS. And I agree with everyone who said I really need to go see the schools to see which is the best fit for my son. Well, I’d better start booking those flights! Thank you all!</p>
<p>Just curious to know how your visits went to the various schools and if you made a decision?
I’m getting ready to visit a few of these schools myself</p>
<p>Good luck to you, ravensmom. I am not sure that edumacation is still checking CC. You might want to contact a few of us who have posted on this thread for more info. Most currently have (or have had) kids at junior boarding school. It has been a wonderful experience for us & for those I know who have chosen it.</p>
<p>Hello to all you wonderful contributors on CC who have helped me through this entire decision-making process. We decided to apply to and was accepted into two of the all-boy junior boarding schools – Eaglebrook and Cardigan Mountain.
It was really, really hard to pick between the two because they are both really fine schools. Just today we finally picked one over the other but it was only because of specific and minor reasons that would only apply to my son’s particular situation.<br>
So all I can say is that I was really impressed and very much liked both schools. They both offered so many things that a local private school (or public) would not be able to possibly offer and my son is very much eager to experience all that junior boarding has to offer in the coming school year.
If you are interested in knowing specifically which one we picked please contact me in private. I would not want to discredit either one of these fine schools because they are both wonderful in their own individual ways.
Many thanks again for helping me every step of the way!</p>
<p>Congrats edumacation!</p>
<p>Our son applied, and was accepted to both EBS and CMS. I agree with you that both schools show amazing strengths. Sometimes there is a sport, or a feeling, or a subject - that pulls you one way or the other. I respect your comment that neither deserve an impression of being discredited because of a single student’s choice. </p>
<p>Good luck to ravensmom - big decisions. Feel free to PM me - I have two boys in jbs.</p>
<p>We felt the higher % boarding and all boys was important for our jr high age sons. Having now had friends with students at Fessy, Fenn, and Fay - I can say that those schools would have been equally good choices for our student.</p>
<p>bump, this should help.</p>
<p>Bump again for fishinlady</p>
<p>Thanks Ops!</p>
<p>Would Eaglebrook take in someone who would enter in 9th grade year? Or is it better to apply for 8th grade?</p>
<p>Rumsey Hall School in Washington, CT is another great JBS option. Check out their website and secondary school enrollment page. You can apply for 8th or 9th.</p>
<p>It is much better to apply for 8th at EBS. They have taken in 9th graders but not often.</p>
<p>I would add another vote for The Bement School in Deerfield MA. It is a co-ed day and boarding school K-9 – about 250 students. My D is in 9 and has attended since K. She was recently accepted at Deerfield, Taft, and NMH. Her classmates were accepted at DA, St. Paul’s, Andover, Exeter, Groton, NMH, Blair, and others. The academics are very strong as is the arts program. They offer a variety of sports all three seasons but are not known as a powerhouse except maybe for girls soccer where they consistently beat secondary school 3rd teams - and sometimes the JV teams. The emphasis on community and character are among the many outstanding qualities of this school. I would strongly recommend it.</p>
<p>They do take students for just 9th grade.</p>