Milton student, throw any question at me!

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>Hey everyone!
I am a fellow Milton Academy freshmen this year.
I remember when old students last year on CC had answered several of my burning questions about the boarding school adventure I was about to embark upon.
As a token of my gratitude towards CC, I would like to answer a few questions any of you might have about Milton, any of the prep schools, or simply boarding life in general. </p>

<p>Love,
Miltonian</p>

2

<p>okay, these questions are really cliche, but I was wondering:

  • what made you choose Milton?
    *what are your favorite aspects about the school?
    *least favorite parts about the school?
    Thanks! -PD</p>
3

<p>now how does that make you feel?..</p>

4

<p>polodolly:

  1. Milton seemed like one of the most diverse and liberal school I visited out of Andover, Exeter and Choate. One of the important aspects of a good school is not only being academically rigorous and offering a spectrum of extracurriculars, but being a part of a diverse community where one is able to interact with students of all different ethnicities, cultures and backgrounds of all types. Day students are generally portrayed as students living in the higher socioeconomic range; therefore, with the 50:50 boarder day ratio, students are exposed to both wealthy day students that live in the affluent town of Milton and international students coming from all different types of economic backgrounds. Andover seemed like a school where I would only be able to interact with a wealthier branch of students (despite the immense amount of financial aid). And plus, Andover nor Exeter did not feel like a place where I could freely “Dare to be True” (following the Milton Academy school motto).
  2. Some of my favorite aspects of the school are definitely the English program and the community. The English program uses the Harkness table, similar to Andover and Exeter, but I believe that the key factor the separates Milton from A & E is the philosophy of the English classroom. The philosophy is for the student to fully grasp the information through his/her own discovery, not the tedious, monotonous sentences coming out of the teacher’s mouth. There is never a standardized format for an English class; the material is learnt out of the discussion and the occasional direction that the teacher points to.
  3. Honestly speaking, my least favorite parts of the school is definitely the food. Some nights, it’s great! There’s barbeque ribs, chicken tenders, etc. But most nights, it’s food I seriously can not name. On the bright side, there is always an open Panini and salad bar at the side. :)</p>
5

<p>

Interesting observation. Do the students, even the 40%+ on FA appear wealthier? How so? The stuff they use or the way they talk? How’re Milton students different in this respect?</p>

6

<p>You said that Milton gives out a immense amount of FA…do you know if there is a limit of income that an FA applicant has to have?</p>

7

<p>Have you read the book Restless Virigns? It was written by two former Milton students, and it was really interesting- apparently the DSGs (Day Student Girls) were rich and popular. Is it still the same way. The book also described LOTS of sexual activity, both on campus and off. Do you see that a lot?</p>

8

<p>Benley:
Though I am not too familiar with Andover as my only interaction with students have been through my own tour, games and interscholastic sports, the personal vibe that I received from my tour and revisiting opportunities at Andover were that the students were definitely on the wealthier side. On my tour, there were several times where I passed by hallways with students talking about the way someone dressed or parties that were coming up the coming weekend. Though this may not be the case in everyday life at Andover, it certainly left a terrible impression of the school for my parents and I. Once again, I do not know a great amount of information about student’s at Andover, and the only information I can give you are my lasting impressions during my previous visits of the school.
Polodolly:
I did not know that actually.
Bamagirl95:
I have read the book. That book is definitely not a correct depiction of Milton students. Like every high school, I do see sexual activity existing at the school, but not to the extent mentioned in the book.</p>

9

<p>That’s not a very convincing argument, Miltonian, but thanks for being honest. :)</p>

10

<p>do lifers shun out new boarders? i mean especially since they’ve known each other since kindergarten… do they actually mingle?</p>

<p>is there an academic gap between lifers and boarders?
thanks !</p>

11

<p>miltonian, I have a few questions for year-
If you fall behind the class will the teachers help you get back up or expect u to do it?
Are you given so much homework that is takes over your weekends?
What do boarders do at the weekends?
Are people in Milton nice or are they ungrateful rich kids?
What are the facilities like?</p>

12

<p>DiveAlive:
Great question! Lifers, in fact, do integrate themselves among the new students. At the beginning of the school year, lifers may come across as exclusive, but over the course of the first second or first week, you can’t tell the difference between a lifer or a newly accepted student.
In math, there is somewhat of a gap between the lifers and boarders. Lifers have gotten the main fundamentals (such as material learned in Algebra 1 - slopes, solving equations etc.) drilled into their heads for the past few years and their base knowledge of the math topics are greater than the new students. On the other hand, there are some international students who are currently taking Pre-Calc as a freshman and there a very few or no lifers that have an early exposure to higher level math. Hope this answers your question!
Dhurley23:

  • Yes, absolutely! The teaching system is designed around the students’ personal needs, strengths and weaknesses. I had trouble with physics at the beginning of the year, and I was able to approach my physics teacher for help without any hesitation. Just contact your teachers for extra help and they will always be there for you.
  • There are several activities going on during the weekend. There is a nearby mall called the South Shore Plaza and there are vans making SSP runs every Saturday and Sunday from 12-4. In the evenings, there is usually a scheduled show going on (we’ve had the famous rapper Wale come, magicians, hypnotists, mind-readers and more) which boarders are encouraged to come to. Often, day students come and visit boarders on the weekends just to hang out or watch a movie.
  • Everyone at Milton is nice! A community with 32% of the students on financial aid, no one is ungrateful here from my perspective. There are definitely the wealthy day students, but no one shows off their money flamboyantly.
  • The facilities are great! There are a few old buildings such as the Math department and the middle school, but a majority of the buildings are fairly newly renovated and are kept in great shape! We also have a beautiful quad where students do homework, socialize or simply just enjoy the sun on nice day. :)</p>
13

<p>I play basketball,golf and rugby
i hope to play football
I want to be a journalist so a good english department with newspapers and magazines would be good</p>

<p>is Milton better than Andover and Exeter for me?
Does Milton have a TV or radio station?
Does it have photography or videography/cinematography?
Do boarders ever go to Celtics,Red Sox,Pats,Bruins or Revolution games and if so how often?
Does homework take over your life?</p>

14

<p>Dhurley23:

  • I cannot say which school is the best for you. The only advice I can give you is that you should take a trip down to the schools and go to the revisit days to see which school would fit you best. Seeing that you hope for a good English department, I can strongly recommend Milton for you. We have three newspapers and several magazines published each year. Unfortunately, we do not have rugby, but we have a great basketball, golf and football program. Our freshman football team is undefeated this year actually! :slight_smile:
  • Milton does not have TV or radio station.
  • Yes, it has a great photography program! In your sophomore year, you have the choice of taking photography as one of your arts requirements. From the looks of it, every student that has taken that course really enjoyed it; almost every student that takes photography high recommends it!
  • In fact, we do! There are not Milton-run shuttles or busses going to these games, but on occasions, day students are always willing to drive a few boarders to games.
  • Homework does not take over your life. There is a heavy load, but you definitely still have time for your extracurriculars and sports. Sports practices are everyday after school and games are every Wednesday and Saturday; therefore, teachers will regulate the amount of homework they give students keeping everyone’s busy schedule in mind.</p>
15

<p>How often do students go to sporting events roughly (once every 2 weeks,once a month etc)?
Which is the better school UCC or Milton?
In which areas is UCC better and vice-versa?
Are people more friendly in Toronto
I am actually from Dublin,Ireland
So which city is more like Europe(particularly Ireland)?
Which city has more to do for teenagers?</p>

16

<p>Hey Guys, I’m a sophomore boarder girl at Milton and I’d be pleased to answer any questions. My strengths are English, History, and Linguistics and I run Cross Country and Track. Milton’s a really close community so I can easily access any information you’d be interested in.</p>

<p>dhurley23- A ton of people come out to support their friends and classmates at games and other events. But in case you’re referring to your earlier question about Sox, Bruins, and Celtics games, kids go as often as they get tickets. To clarify on what Miltonian said, Day Students are generally happy to help boarders get to these games and events, assuming that they themselves are invited as well.</p>

<p>Personally I’ve never heard of UCC (unless you’re referring to Upper Canada College…) All I can tell you is that Milton is an excellent school and it provides an extremely wide range of activities and people.</p>

<p>Since I’m hardly an expert on Toronto, I’ll put in a word for the city of Boston. Boston is an awesome city filled with plenty of activities for High School students. A lot of kids go into Boston on the weekend and spend time on Newbury St., in Faneuil Hall, in Harvard Sq. (technically Cambridge but still very accessible via the T), and just hanging out on the Common.</p>

<p>As I read Miltonian’s post about Day Students, one thing really struck me. He said, “Day students are generally portrayed as students living in the higher socioeconomic range; therefore, with the 50:50 boarder day ratio, students are exposed to both wealthy day students that live in the affluent town of Milton”.</p>

<p>Not all Day Students are rich. Not all boarders are rich. Students on FA are a part of every aspect of Milton. One of my favorite parts about Milton, is that, unless the person has proclaimed it, no one has any idea who is on FA. There are virtually no stereostypes regarding socioeconomic class.</p>

<p>Ask me anything you’d like!</p>

17

<p>does Milton accept a lot of new incoming sophomores?
And if so, do you know how much more difficult it would be for them to adjust</p>

18

<p>Yeah, Milton accepts a lot of new sophomores, though I’m not sure quite how many. Returners welcome them with open arms. It’s really cool to have new additions to your grade and honestly, within a couple of months, it’s hard to tell who’s new and who was here freshman year.</p>

19

<p>I was thinking about Milton (when I saw the viewbook my first words were “I HAVE TO GO HERE!” ) but then I looked at the campus online and I don’t really like Boston for some reason. </p>

<p>What do you think about the campus and does Google Maps do it justice?
and you can’t really do anything about Boston but eh…</p>

20

<p>use bing maps birds eye view
It gives you a great look at every school and every city</p>