<p>We just received the view book from Milton and were very impressed with the academics. Two observations I'd like feedback on: I didn't get a very strong feeling of school spirit or tradition, compared with say Andover. Also, the number of day students and the location in Boston made me wonder if the campus would feel deserted on weekends. We're deciding which schools to visit and I'd appreciate any feedback.</p>
<p>A friend of my son's was accepted at both Milton and Andover as a boarder. She had pretty much decided on Andover until the revist days and then Milton won hands down. I'm not sure exactly why, but she said Milton felt more welcoming and like home. </p>
<p>She hasn't mentioned any problems with the campus feeling desserted on weekends, but to be fair, I haven't asked. </p>
<p>I worry more about the schools with a lot of "local" boarders who go home on weekends making the dorms feel empty. </p>
<p>I would go on the visit and see how you feel when you are there and ask about weekend activities for the boarders and hopefully you'll have a boarder as a tour guide that you can ask as well.</p>
<p>When I visited Milton, I got the feeling that the majority of students went home on the weekends. Keep in mind, there are many boarders (my tour guide for example) who can, and do, go home on the weekends.</p>
<p>I was going to apply to Milton but didn't mainly because of the whole day student/boarder thing. I knew girls who had switched out because they had thought the majority of the boarders were "weird" with some nice/good people thrown in...They also said that most of their friends were day students, who would go hang out off-campus on weekends, but the school was strict and wouldn't let the boarders go with them...? A problem like that. Take into consideration though that these are just the opinions of three girls that i know-definitely not a full representation of the school. i really liked it when i visited, i just wasn't into it that much.</p>
<p>Looked at Milton for both my kids, but didn't end up applying. I agree that the academics are extremely strong. However, I think the school has a little bit of a split personality. I don't know if it's still true, but a few years ago it was generally considered a lot tougher to get into the high school as a day student than as a boarder. The kid who took us around (who was a day student) admitted that in his view there was a noticable difference in the academic abilities of day students vs. boarders.</p>
<p>To add further confusion to the mix, Milton also has a a middle school (and may have a lower school as well - I'm just not sure). So you have some kids who've been going there since they were in 5th or 6th grade.</p>
<p>I'm not sure if it the academic ability of the day student is stronger than that of the boarder. At many boarding schools that also have day students, it is much harder to get in as a day student, but that doesn't mean it is a cake walk as a boarder.<br>
Milton came to "recruit" at my son's school last year and was the only school to emphasis it's 90+ SSAT average score (all the kids from this school would be boarders at Milton). The one student who is attending was the class valedictorian and another who did not get in was near the top of the class (at a competitve jr. prep).</p>
<p>Didn't mean to imply that it was a "cakewalk" to get into Milton as a boarder. All these schools are very competative, Milton has strong academics and once a kid is in it doesn't matter if he's a day student or a boarder, he's expected to do the same work. However, when we were looking at schools a few years ago, Milton was one of the 2-3 most competative day school alternatives in the Boston area (which has a number of top notch schools). I'm not sure Milton boarding would be characterized as one of the 2-3 most competative boarding schools to get into - although I have no doubt it would be in the top 20.</p>
<p>Prpdd, Milton is definitely in the top 10 for most competitive boarding schools. Its up there with Middlesex, Hotchkiss, and the other so called "Elite Schools."</p>
<p>Thanks for all the good input! This board is incredibly helpful.</p>
<p>Just thought I'd join this conversation since our family has some direct experience with Milton - SmilePup1 was a boarder there and graduated in 2007.</p>
<p>The campus absolutely DOES NOT empty out on the weekends; in fact, it seems rather that most day students return to campus on the weekends to participate in ECs, athletic contests, or just hang out. One of the best things about the Milton campus is the central atrium in the main building where the snack bar and bookstore are located. It was built with the intention of creating a space that everyone can gather in and will necessarily pass through several times a day. It's the heart of the community and creates opprtunities for boarders and day students to share time, space, etc.</p>
<p>As regards the other issue (day acceptance being significantly more competitive than boarder acceptance and this leading to day students being "smarter" than boarders)...well, it seems to me that the tour guide who took prpdd's family around was a bit inappropriate (not to mention, prickly!) in his characterization. It is an unfortunate fact that not every tour guide is well qualified to represent a school, and yet they have the greatest power to form a candidate's early impressions. </p>
<p>I would say that, yes it is harder to get in as a day student than a boarder in terms of percentages, but that really doesn't lead to noticeable differences in academic abilities. As things play out in the classroom, it becomes apparent that students aren't admitted to the school unless they can succeed academically. </p>
<p>I've said all these things before in other threads, so I'm going to try to link those threads to this one...I've never done this before! So here goes:</p>
<p>[thread]475270[/thread]</p>
<p>[thread]503926[/thread]</p>
<p>Hey! It worked! I'm so proud of myself!!</p>