<p>Hi everyone. This is my first post on the forum, so I apologize if this topic is incredibly overdone, but this is the main thing I came to the forum to ask.</p>
<p>My daughter Rory is not old enough to apply to boarding school just yet, she's in 6th grade, but I'm starting the research process a little early. She's done very very well in school so far, going to a private school near where we live, but for high school we are looking for a school that is more challenging for her. She is already fluent in French (as we are from Canada originally) but wants to learn Latin and Greek in high school if possible. We are looking for a school that is very challenging academically, offers Greek and Latin, and hopefully has a strong math and science program. </p>
<p>She's not incredibly into sports, but she rides horses (although a school equestrian team is not a must for her), she dances ballet and figure skates. The only real team sport my daughter plays competitively is volleyball. She is more into music - plays piano, violin and trumpet. It probably sounds a lot like I'm just bragging at this point, but I'm just kind of listing her interests so you guys can maybe tell me what she needs to do before she applies to boarding school to increase her chances of getting into a good school. </p>
<p>She also hopes to go on exchange at some point, do most American boarding schools do that? I don't know much about the American boarding school system, as I grew up in Canada, but my daughter of course wants to remain in the States. We live in New York, so somewhere in New England or the Mid-Atlantic would be ideal. I guess I'm just looking for suggestions of what you more experienced parents think might be a good fit for my daughter. Any suggestions or comments are greatly appreciated!!!</p>
<p>M2: Welcome to the board. Have you checked out Boarding School Review yet? That’s your best starting point as you can narrow schools by things like selectivity, sports, clubs, etc. That’ll give you a list to starat that matches your daughter’s interests; then come here and search for posts about particular schools or interests.</p>
<p>In general, you’ll find that some of her interests are covered in many places (Latin offered at almost all selective schools; not sure about Greek, though Exeter has it and I suspect many others do as well); others, like figure skating and equestrian sports offered at a more select group of schools. It’s great to have interests in mind though, both for fit and because it helps to narrow a plethora of choices down to a manageable few. </p>
<p>Study abroad programs are available at many schools, but they vary in time commitment and location.</p>
<p>Hope that helps! If I had a specific rec. that I knew met all those interests, I’d give it, but you lost me at figure skating and horses…price of having sons, I suppose…</p>
<p>It will be interesting to see where this thread goes, since the question is a bit more specific than “What are the ‘top tier’ boarding schools?”</p>
<p>Note that pretty much all of the usual suspects (pick your semi-meaningless acronym group) will be able to support even the most advanced students. And consider that perhaps the “most academically challenging” schools may not even be the best fit for you daughter by the time she gets to high school.</p>
<p>Also, going forward, I would not use your daughter’s name…it could be used to identify her/you by admissions officers who may or may not lurk here. In fact, let’s assume you are using “Rory” as a pseudonym.</p>
<p>One more thing to keep in mind is that many boarding schools are filled with kids just like your daughter. So she’ll be in good company should she make it through the the VERY selective admissions process.</p>
<p>A couple of schools that I know of from our own search that offer Latin & Greek: St. Paul’s (they have a Classical Scholars program); Groton; St. Andrews.</p>
<p>Exeter not only offers Latin and Greek, but they have a Classical Languages Department and even offer a Classical Diploma to students who excel at a certain level in both Latin and Greek. There is also an Equestrian Club at Exeter and quite a variety of exchange programs too.</p>
<p>Andover offers both Latin and Greek. They do seem to have a decent music program. They have a skating rink, but I don’t know that they have much of a figure skating program. No horses. PA is strong in math and science and does also have a variety of exchange programs.</p>
<p>Most boarding schools in the US begin in 9th grade. Your daughter has time to develop. Her interests are great–but I don’t think there’s a school at which she can satisfy all her interests. </p>
<p>I recommend you play around a bit with the “guided search” on <a href=“http://www.boardingschools.com%5B/url%5D”>www.boardingschools.com</a>. The conflict arises from your daughter’s current academic interests–Latin and Greek, and her athletic interests–volleyball and equestrian. I set the size between 200 and 1400 students, coed or all-girls. There are only 12 schools which offer Greek and Latin: Brooks, Episcopal, Groton, Middlesex, The Masters School, Milton, Portsmouth Abbey, St. Andrew’s School (Delaware), St. Mark’s School, St. Paul’s School, Tabor Academy, and Wayland Academy. [caution: I’m sure Exeter and Andover should be on that list, and probably more besides. Don’t use this tool as the ultimate authority. It’s a starting place.]</p>
<p>If she wants interscholastic equestrian competition, all the above schools vanish. If she elects interscholastic volleyball, the list shrinks from 12 to seven. </p>
<p>If she’s willing to give up Greek, she can study Latin and play volleyball and ride at: </p>
<p>Dana Hall School Wellesley, Massachusetts
Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy La Canada Flintridge, California
George School Newtown, Pennsylvania
The Madeira School McLean, Virginia
Miss Porter’s School Farmington, Connecticut
Santa Catalina School Monterey, California
The Thacher School Ojai, California</p>
<p>You’ll find a “best fit” for your daughter after you take some visits. Each school has a different feel and different mix of academics and athletics. Our sense is that schools look for a diverse population. Meaning that they look for kids who excel in one or two areas and can bring that expertise or perspective to the school community. If she still has broad interests you might look more closely at the larger boarding schools as they generally offer more variety in their programs.</p>
<p>We have friends with a daughter who is very happy at Culver which has a very strong equestrian program. When your daughter starts taking the entrance exams you’ll have a better feel for an appropriate academic environment. </p>
<p>Our D attended an all-girls school from K-8 before boarding. Great experience.</p>
<p>Exchange programs are available through School Year Abroad, sya.org. I think most schools allow/encourage that; the grades just transfer as credit. The teachers aren’t the same as those at the boarding school, it’s just an affiliated school. Our daughter did a SYA summer program last year (France) and really enjoyed it.</p>
<p>Suggest you might want to get your daughter involved in community service of some kind. Given her current age, she can establish a good track record of involvement in one or two organizations to help support her application to BS in a few years. Unless your daughter is a superstar athlete or musician, they will be looking for more than just academics in her application.</p>
<p>Wow, thanks to all of you! Very helpful replies. I haven’t heard of any of these places, but the websites you’ve given me have been really helpful. Sorry about the name thing - didn’t realize that would be anything to think about! Luckily, “Rory” actually is just my nickname for her, so no one would know it was her as she would apply under her real name. From now on I just won’t use it though, thanks for that suggestion. </p>
<p>I guess I didn’t really specify this, but it isn’t a must for my daughter to continue all of those activities when she gets to boarding school, I was just wondering whether or not it is a plus when they look at your application if you have a lot of different activities like the ones I mentioned (horseback riding, figure skating, ballet, volleyball, violin, piano, trumpet) or do they mainly look for kids who have great academics and great athletics?
The community service suggestion is well appreciated also, it didn’t cross my mind that they would look at that. </p>
<p>To those who mentioned all-girls schools, thank-you - my daughter is in an all girls school currently, and she has been since 1st Grade. I think it’s been very good for her academics, and I would recommend it strongly, especially for the younger years. But in terms of high school my daughter would probably prefer a co-ed school, that’s just her personal preference. </p>
<p>Thanks again to everyone who has replied so far, you’re all so helpful and lovely I don’t know if you would say it that way in English actually, it sounds slightly strange - sorry if I weird anyone out. :)</p>
<p>Add Hotchkiss to the small list of BS’s that offer both Latin and Greek. Also, THS has an excellent volleyball program. The team posted a sterling 13-2 record this fall and now holds the 2nd seed in its post season tournament in NE.</p>
<p>Lawrenceville also offers Latin and Greek. As I wrote, don’t take the Association of Boarding School’s search tool as the last word on the topic. In general, when investigating this topic for my oldest child, Latin and Greek courses were strongly associated with the established, well-known boarding schools which were once all-boys.</p>
<p>I would not worry about the sports element. It sounds like she will be a physically fit girl who contributes to the teams she’s on, who might also play in the orchestra. Many of the questions on boarding school applications run along the lines of, “how do you see your child contributing to our community?” You’d be able to point to all the ways she’s participated in teams and musical groups at her present school.</p>
<p>She is still very young. She will change. In two years, you’ll know better which of her present interests her eighth-grade self prefers. If it’s music, in two years, you’d have to decide whether she should look at a pre-professional arts school, or if she’d prefer a boarding school with a solid music program. In some way, in the next two years, she will surprise you.</p>
<p>There is a very, very small coed boarding school (88 students) in St. Louis, Missouri called Thomas Jefferson School that requires all students to take Latin and Greek. It has been described one of the most academically challenging programs in the United States. It’s practically unheard of, but it is very, very good. It begins in seventh grade. By twelfth grade, all courses are AP. I would say that Thomas Jefferson is the most academically challenging school in the country. It’s lovely. I’ve been going there since seventh grade, and I’ve learned more than I could at any other school. They are big on independent learning, which is why classes are only 35 minutes and school ends at 1:10 every day. The rest of the time is for independent study. We get about six hours of homework per night, so make sure your daughter is up for the work load. It’s all worth it, though!</p>
I don’t know if you would say it that way in English actually, it sounds slightly strange - sorry if I weird anyone out. :)</p>