Need advice! What are chances for top NE boarding schools? Girl from NC

Prep School Admissions Prep School Chances
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Hoping for some advice on CHANCES of getting into top NE boarding schools AND “safe” school suggestions! Any other advice welcome as well…

*Daughter is applying for 9th grade, Fall 2021. Great student, but no hooks…

*Schools on list so far:
Lawrenceville
Taft
Episcopal
St. George’s (RI)
Blair
Peddie
Loomis Chaffee
Westtown
Also considering: Tabor, Choate Rosemary, St. Andrew’s (DE)

*Electing NOT to take SSAT.

*Straight A’s 6th grade - present

*Teacher and piano instructor recommendations – very strong, motivated student. Social and loves being involved. Not a bookworm, but values school and grades. Most teacher say she is an ideal student to have in class.

*Extracurricular:
Piano – 10 years, early advanced level
Acolyte – Monthly for 7 years at our Episcopal church
International Travel – Twice a year (since age 5), travels abroad with Grandmother to places such as Egypt, Sri Lanka, Morocco, Chile, Bolivia, Botswana, Greenland, Colombia, etc.

*Athletics:
Cross Country, Tennis, Track – NOT a serious athlete, but loves to be active & always involved in something. Physical fitness, eating healthy, etc is important to her.

*Other helpful info:

Attended private, local day school through 5th grade.

For middle school, she attends a small unique private girls middle school. No typical sports or clubs are offered, but HEAVY outdoor focus–mainly paddling, climbing, hiking, camping in warmer months and skiing in winter. Costa Rica trip every spring, with final 8th grade trip working with Peace Corps (which won’t happen due to Covid this year). School has very strong academics and writing intensive. BUT, again, no traditional sports or clubs.

Very independant, kind, socially outgoing. Would like a school that has great academics BUT equally important is happy, fun, nurturing environment. GOAL at the end of the day is to ENJOY high school and get a good education. DO NOT want a pressure cooker environment.

Sorry for such a long post!!

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Your daughter sounds lovely, and like a strong applicant.

Have you considered Hotchkiss? Their music program is quite strong, and they have an amazing piano. It is intense but I see you have other intense schools on your list.

I can’t speak to any other school’s music program, but what about Berkshire? Kent? All girls schools?

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@cinnamon1212 thank you for your suggestions!

I was just looking at Kent and added to SAO app. But, can’t figure out why acceptance rate is so much higher than other schools? Hopefully just a hidden gem!

She is at an all girls school now and enjoys it, but not interested for HS. Will revisit Hotchkiss, but we took off list mostly bc she seems to have plenty of super low acceptance rate schools on her list. Will look up Berkshire as well.

Taft interview was today and went really well imo. BUT, he said they have been inundated with applicants this year…a little concerning to hear.

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Seems like a very strong applicant to me! Best of luck

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Another great school with a higher acceptance rate is The Millbrook School. They are the only high school with an accredited zoo, which can be life changing for the right kid. I know nothing about their music program though. It is 300 students, and each kid is known and appreciated for who they are. One of my sons went there (the others went to Hotchkiss).

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@cinnamon1212 will look up Millbrook!

Just finished Lville interview—night and day difference from Taft interview.

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St. Andrew’s in DE is amazing. A real emphasis on diversity, morals, character, kindness. All boarding so no kids leaving at the end of the day. Only issue is that the HOS is leaving at the end of the year and while the incoming HOS seems amazing, it won’t be the same. Incredible group of kids. You should definitely do a virtual tour. If you have a smart child, I highly recommend it.

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@Mamabear03 St. Andrew’s is beautiful! My only two thoughts/concerns…maybe too small, and they are virtual until March. But, hopefully we will have Covid behind us by next fall! Thank you for your recommendation, which is helpful. I’ll show to my daughter tomorrow.

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They are virtual until March but they had a great on campus fall semester so I have faith they will return in March in the same way they did in the fall of this year. It is small(Er), but because of the ethos of the school, that is a good thing. Kids form real relationships, focus on their academics in a deep and meaningful way and they have the opportunity to be outside a lot, not in dorms on electronics. Good luck in your journey and if you have any questions, feel free to reach out.

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@courtneybavl Your daughter seems like a strong candidate! Fellow applicant mom over here from last year and this year. (One DD is a freshman now at BS from our cycle last year, and I have an 8th grade DD applying now.). If you don’t want pressure cooker, I might reconsider a couple of the schools on your list. Or, at least give some deeper dives. Lville especially, and probably Choate I would consider in that category. (again, as applicant mom who visited those; no kids attend.).
SAS – I couldn’t have loved our visit last year there more!! It’s a special place and full of the culture of kindness and connection! It ended up being too small for my DD2. But otherwise, it was actually in a lot of ways her first choice. (if that makes sense). My DD3 is applying. I am sad about Tad Roach leaving, but I do like what I’ve seen about the new HOS, and I am confident that the culture permeated far more than just the actual HOS. I think SAS will continue to be a very special place.
I feel pretty good about in person, relatively normal on campus school for next year. I wouldn’t let the virtual until March thing figure into the equation – I think a number of schools are doing similar.

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I know you said your daughter does not want a girls school, however, Westover has a partnership with the Manhattan School of Music. If she is that interested in music, it might be worth a look.

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Hi! current Loomis student here. popping in to say that they’re really likely to get into LC! more than likely, actually. they seem like a really good candidate. I don’t know much about like SSAT wise this year but extracurricular wise they seem great (so much better than I was). I saw covid and online/in person being discussed so I’ll say this- Loomis has done really well for COVID. we were able to be in person from Oct. 18th - Nov. 20th with no cases, but we’re going to be online until Feb 1st. Also, if your daughter likes running/XC/track, loomis basically has a cross country cult. It’s really good and a lot of my friends picked it for that. I know someone who picked LC over Lville just because of track as an example. people are great. but yeah its not pressured at all. I would say though, I do and can pick the school apart in quite a lot of aspects and they do need to work on diversity / inclusion a bit more amongst other things but right now they’re really taking a step in the right direction. I hope this helps and if you have any questions feel free to update or pm me !

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@Calliemomofgirls thank you for your input! I hope she ends up with at least a couple of options. A little worried bc of possible increase in applicants this year due to Covid. And bc she doesn’t really have a hook. We have a good BS in our NC city, but not applying bc she wants to go away to school. So, taking a leap of faith here…

I added SAS to her list (wouldn’t it be funny if both of our girls end up there next year!). Took off Choate, but leaving Lville (already paid app fee) even though interview didn’t go the best. Lville has been her top pick for over a year now–mostly bc she likes their house system and also one of only schools she was able to attend an (in-person) open house at an alumni home. Hopefully her “best fit” schools will become more clear over next few weeks :slightly_smiling_face:

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@foxrye so nice to hear from a current student!! LC actually seems like a really good fit, so hoping interview goes well. She would especially enjoy the international education program they offer. And, I will tell her you recommend the XC and track program :grinning: