<p>Decision time is in 2 days, and I am torn to which school to go to for 10th Grade. Loomis seems to have a better reputation (academically), and the academics seem to be stronger, too, than at Tabor. Loomis has a beautiful campus, but a lot of day students. It seems to be a serious place to study. But, Tabor has a great campus, and real friendly and very happy students. Just about everyone I met said that they "loved it there." The school seemed to be very preppy, which is OK by me, and with 500 students (450 boarders), a lot smaller than Loomis's 750 students, but Loomis has the same number of boarders (450) as Tabor. It also seems easier to get into Tabor's AP classes. I heard that Loomis qualifies the student a lot more before they can sit in such a class.</p>
<p>About me. Female, generally pretty popular, preppy, I like sports, but I am not holding-out for any varisty team experience, I want to go to a real good college (just like everyone else on this forum!). I am just concerened that Loomis is too big. Tabor looks like fun, and I know that I will be happy there, but I want to surround myself with academic achieber types, since I know that I can go with the flow.</p>
<p>This is a tough one. They both can prepare you well for college, they just give you the tools. The rest is really up to you no matter where you decide to go. I know people at both who would defend their schools honor to the end. Loomis is bigger on the sports but doesn't mean Tabor is going to roll-over dead on the sport field.</p>
<p>My cousin went to Tabor (and I have another one going next year), and absolutely loved it. Like you said, the kids there are all very nice and happy. My cousin's friends were all very nice and cool and.. fun! Really great people. I love Tabor.. I'm a bit sad I won't be going. Also.. they have a lot of international students, which is cool.</p>
<p>Loomis.. they make you clean!! And they have fewer boarders, so the residential life probably lacks because of that.</p>
<p>I think it would be best to get this advice from parents of kids at both schools or actual students at both schools. I believe creasemonkey has a child currently at loomis. You might want to use pm to get answers to some of your questions.</p>
<p>Roxbury -- Based on what you posted, it is clear that you favor Tabor. However, if your goal is to go to a very competitive college, just remember that you will need to be in the top 10 - 20 % of the Tabor class. I know a few people whose children go to Loomis, and they do have a high academic standard. Good luck!</p>
<p>We'd highly recommend Loomis because s had a great experience there and we know current students there who are also finding it a great fit. What are you looking for in a school? (Please feel free to PM me if you would like answers to specific questions about Loomis.)</p>
<p>We definitely disagree with you about Loomis having fewer boarders or lacking a good boarding experience. There were 400 boarders at Loomis last year which is more than to entire student body at most smaller schools. The percentage of boarders to day students (~60%) is therefore somewhat misleading. </p>
<p>The boarding community is very strong since about 70% of the faculty live on campus in dorms with their families, kids, cats and dogs. Since you have not experienced boarding at LC, please do not assume that the experience would be lacking because that is definitely not the case. There are school sponsored activities every weekend and school sponsored trips off-campus to NYC, Boston, etc. There is lots of activity in the evenings and the "Snug" (student cafe/center) and library are open every night for studying and study breaks. Also as a rising 11th grader, Roxbury would have more privileges than an incoming freshman.</p>
<p>As do many boarding schools, Loomis continues the tradition of "work jobs" for the students to give them a sense of pride and school spirit. This does include some job you describe as "cleaning", but other work jobs include helping in the mail room, serving in the dining hall, giving prospective stucent tours, etc. These tasks usually take less than 2-4 hours per week, the assignments change each term, and students have the chance to put in their preferences for specific types of work jobs each term.</p>
<p>We were happy to find that our s had learned to do some of these things when he returned home for holidays and helped out more around our house!</p>
<p>Even though a greater proportion of students are boarders, the day students and their families offer a great deal of support for the boarders because the local families are able to volunteer time for activities, offer places to stay when boarders are unable to go home for short holidays, and attend more sports events and other functions which greatly enhances overall experience for everyone at the school.</p>
<p>Both Tabor and Loomis can offer a great experience for the OP, so we should try to share our actual experiences at each school to emphasize the positive aspects of both to help the OP decide which school would be a better fit for her individual personality and needs. (Negative speculation about any school that one has not experienced is not helpful to the OP or any other readers on this board.)</p>
<p>I know a student who fell in love with broadcast journalism because of their "work job" at the Loomis TV station. Having the students donate 1-2 hours a week of their time for the good of the school is an old New England boarding school tradition. At Suffield Academy, the students chop the vegetables for the salad bar and run the dishwasher! Whether this has led to anyone going to cullinary school, I haven't heard!</p>