Great stuff. I will definitely add MX our list for my young kiddo. Thanks again and have a great weekend!
Groton is a pressure cooker, even the brilliant kids are getting by on a fine line of making everything work. Any little thing that can derail that balance is basically a disaster.
However, for some kids who are really academically motivated it is still the right place - those kids would be bored at the other schools you are mentioning because the pace just wouldnāt be fast enough for them. Those kids are the top 10%, for everyone else at Groton it probably isnāt the best situation for them, unless they are super satisfied with the 85 average. The thing is every parent thinks their kid āwho has never gotten a Bā will be in that top 10%.
Faculty and staff are universally kind at Groton and the kids are super collaborative - MANY classes are set up so that you must work with the other kids in your class to succeed.
I havenāt met anyone at Groton I would consider elitist. The billionairesā kids are some of the most humble kids on campus. And several of those kids are also geniuses so they have a lot going for them, still incredibly kind, humble kids.
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My daughter is considering MX as a day student. While the community sounds wonderful, supportive and engaged, she is wondering if it is a bit insular - she calls it āa bubbleā. Is there any interaction ( aside from athletic, obviously) with other schools? dances, mixers, etc? We have only been told about on-campus dances and activities involving just the MX community. THanks!!
Iām not aware of mixers with other schools at any boarding schools in this area. (Maybe at all girls or all boys schools?)
I will say the most of the BS, MX, Groton, etc are more racially and financially diverse than any public schools in this area.
Thanks. She is coming from a private PK-8 and choosing between MX and another private day school. Her current school is small and we have always called it āthe bubbleāā¦ itās not a question of diversity per se, as it is interaction with the āoutside worldā. The day school kids seem to know many kids at many other schools, not sure how that works at a school that is primarily boarding.
I would think Deerfield would be the most insular of all of the MA-area schools simply because of its geographic isolation. My older son went to Groton, a similar school re size and social makeup, as well as location. I donāt think there were a ton of formal social interactions, but there were lots of interactions around sports events (e.g., St. Markās Day). Basically, you go to a MX or Groton etc and thatās your social universe for 4 years, but thatās also the source of the deep bonds many forge during their time there.
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@SeaToSea
I was a boarding student for a year before my family moved and I switched to day.
MX does have some inter-school dances, Iād say 1 or 2 every semester. I personally didnāt go too many but most of my friends did and as far as I remember they had a fun but it was never a big thing. In-school dances were always hyped up more and had a lot more excitement around it. I still remember every MX dance and theme but I could not tell you at all about the context or even which schools the inter-school dances happenedāit was honestly just a passing thing that happened once or twice a semester and if you had a free weekend, youād just go.
It IS a bubble, but I feel like many of BS in NE are: just by virtue of being boarding and integrating into the BS school culture. I never felt like I needed more interaction with other schools and I really enjoyed the events that were happening in school.
I am not really aware of any school that has extensive connections and interactions with other schools, heck even in public schools, you mostly just interact within your own school for non-sporting events.
I like @Nwbddad 's words on this you do indeed go to these schools and for the next 4 years its IS āyour social universeā.
Day students in general do know more people, but thats mostly by virtue of having gone to schools nearby and having parents/cars that they can use to keep in touch and visit their pre-MX/childhood friends.
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Kiddo is in her first year as a boarding student at MX. I agree with the previous posters regarding high school being an insular experience. I would also add that Covid has effectively eliminated those inter-school dances and activities the past 2 years. Many of the students currently there have lived only inside the Covid bubble and therefore canāt talk much to the idea of inter-school activities. Perhaps as things evolve, the school will go back to doing more with other schools as it sounds like they have in the past. But the day students with whom my daughter is very close have not mentioned the school feeling too insular.
Hi there,
My son has narrowed down his choices and Middlesex has risen to the top. We are not from the East Coast and are wondering is most of the students hail from Massachusetts? The only potential downside would be everyone knowing each other and coming from a more reserved culture. He for sure is an individual and not afraid to be himself. I am sure he will find his peeps at Middlesex regardless.
Thanks in advance
Even the kids that come from MA donāt know each other before they get there. They are coming from all different areas and schools.
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There are definitely more students from the East coast; but I would not say it felt overwhelmingly Massachusetts. Seconding @vwlizard, in that most students did not know each other before coming to MX. Maybe 1-3 students knew each other from having attended the same K-8. Even then, new social groups were made at MX.
I also wouldnāt call MX a āreserved cultureā; if the comparison you are thinking from is Cali, Iād say there was minimal culture shock.
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Thanks all
Did your DS choose Middlesex?