<p>rephrased it DAndrew. :)</p>
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<p>Oh heck, I’ve said it once already (in a PM) and I’ll say it again: I stand by that statement, which referred specifically to Quaker schools George and Westtown, both of which, I believe, go out of their way to teach their students their Quaker values. This isn’t intended to suggest that the HADES (and other NE) schools don’t value (and teach) social responsibility - only that it is treated differently, and probably takes a more central role, in a Quaker school curriculum.</p>
<p>My statement was not intended to denigrate the NE schools, but rather to point out that the earth isn’t flat, and if you wander outside New England, you won’t fall off the edge.</p>
<p>What’s so great about New England? Why, where else do you have roofs collapsing all over the place because of the snow? [Governor</a> urges Mass. residents to keep an eye on snow-burdened roofs](<a href=“http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2011/02/wave_of_buildin.html?p1=News_links]Governor”>http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2011/02/wave_of_buildin.html?p1=News_links)
And another storm coming on Saturday. Now, that’s some excitement that you’ll never see in California LOL.</p>
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Well, it could be… but it’s not. There are 74 California students at Exeter.</p>
<p>uh…Mainer - all the NE states have about what…15 million residents total? California has close to 40 million. Kind of undermines your argument. But I appreciate your steadfast self-assurance that you, Maine, New England, Exeter are where it’s at.</p>
<p>I was NOT asserting that New England is where it’s at. I was contradicting another post that asserted California is where it’s at. Thacher and Cate are wonderful, excellent schools. However, our son wanted to remain in New England, primarily because at 14 years old he felt there would be some psychological comfort in being within driving distance of home. Even when he doesn’t come home, he always knows that he easily can if/whenever he feels the need. Not all kids feel that way. That’s great too.</p>
<p>I really like California and have spent/enjoyed lots of time there. I would be delighted if our son chose CalTech, Stanford, etc. for college.</p>
<p>I don’t know Thacher and Cate as well as I do the NE schools, but I’ve been on this site for a while now and you have to admit that when it comes to “comparing” the CA and NE schools, you mostly see stats-filled smack-downs by the parents of the NE boarding schoolers. What Parlabane says makes sense to me based on my various visits to the left coast - that there are differences in the culture (for whatever reason - maybe climate, maybe history) that affect how people measure quality (in this case, boarding school quality). My guess is that the experience of attending an Exeter/Andover vs. a Cate/Thacher are seriously different. That’s why I don’t like the smack downs and why I don’t like this thread, even though I took the time to comment.</p>
<p>It’s a two-way street. Parents of Thacher and Cate kids have been aggressively dismissive of New England schools too. However, I think that real smack-downs have been few and far between.</p>
<p>The decision to send/permit a 14-year-old kid to go to boarding school is a huge, enormously difficult decision for many parents. During their kid’s first few months at boarding school, lots of parents are looking for affirmation of their decision and might be hyper-sensitive about someone seeming to imply that their kid is at the wrong school. We’re all human and human nature is frail at times. It helps a lot to try to be empathetic of what others may be dealing with.</p>
<p>Here’s what I see going on with the “debate” over NE schools vs. CA schools. Apparently, quite a number of BS parents on this board are constantly in a “selling mode” - they are excited about, and (feels like) they are trying to convinice others that their child’s school is the best, better than others or not worse than others, that they have made the best choice, and that other people should apply to, consider applying to and/or choose their child’s school over other schools (again feels like), which is understandable to some extent until it’s getting annoying. </p>
<p>Like their NE counterparts, the Thacher/Cate parents are selling too, but their audience or potential buyers are a mainly NE/east coast crowd. As far as as I am concerned, most of the NE crowd admit that those are great schools (some may not think so but IMO on an Internet board one shouldn’t read between the lines too much - waste of time), but have pointed out that they have all kinds of schools in their area and they don’t want to send their kids to the west coast even if the weather is great and school culture as a result may be different - not a big enough incentive. Over and over again, it’s been agreed upon that parents are most comfortable sending their kids to a boarding school within 3 hours of driving distance. There are exceptions of course, but it is just understandable that most make this choice.</p>
<p>Then some pointed out then why some CA residents choose to attend NE schools? Well, considering the population of CA, that’s a small number. And there are NE residents attending CA schools as well. In general, attending a boarding school is more of an NE tradition than any other area in the country, and that’s why there are so many of them in NE. There are only a few great boarding schools in CA and they are small, so it’s natural that they can’t be a major theme in the big picture of BS. They are like the boutique stores with distinctive characteristics, but they are not in the mall of BS and therefore are in a way missing the mass of the mall goers. </p>
<p>Again, because of the geographical locations of this crowd, it’s mostly a discussion about close to or far from home, but like many other threads, it’s been unfortunately carried away and turned into HADES vs. non-HADES, NE centric vs. there is a world outside NE, etc.</p>
<p>DAndrew…good last word on the subject.</p>
<p>New England prep schools are the top high schools in the US. Exeter, Andover, Deerfield, Northfield Mount Hermon, Taft, etc. These are the best-of-the-best high schools. They cost a signficant amount, they are very prestigious and almost guarantee a T50 undergrad admission, from name of HS alone.</p>
<p>I agree. EHS isn’t mentioned much. Almost all threads revolve around HADES. EHS is one of my top choices so I’m quite happy to see that there isnt much competition</p>
<p>The Cate and Thacher parents who post have had very useful and interesting comments, and I haven’t gotten a vibe from them that they think California schools are superior. Rather, they’ve been good at calling attention to some wonderful schools that might otherwise not be on an applicant’s radar screen. (However, as a native Californian transplanted to New England, I can say there’s no contest that the weather is better in California. If you want to disagree, first come spend a few hours pounding the ice off my walk).</p>
<p>^^Few if any NE parents think NE schools are superior to Thacher/Cate either. And to be fair, I did read some comments from ThacherParent about NE school kids being entitled, stuffy and sacastic at others’ expense, etc., which I don’t mind as long as the comments are not a blanket generalization. </p>
<p>It’s just a fact that most NE students/parents don’t know a lot about Thacher and Cate, and they don’t want to further explore those options simpley because they are too far from home, and great weather doesn’t change that fact.</p>
<p>I think that the simple truth is these schools have been created by the establishment for the establishment, whether you like it or not. Same with colleges, same with geographic bases of influence. Great California schools/colleges non-withstanding, there is still a huge NE bias in our culture. One can argue circles all around it - yes Wall Street screwed up our economy, yes that kind of thinking is very parochial, yes Silicon Valley is important, etc ect, but the NE culture still comes out ahead. Thus you get many more people in the NE thinking about sending kids to BS, thus the cluster of schools in this geographic area, and the mind set of parents which wouldnt send kids to Thatcher/Cate, no matter how great they are, precisely because they are on the “wrong” coast.
Ok, now sling those snowballs at me.</p>
<p>@DAndrew and mhmm</p>
<p>I don’t think Thacher is superior to NE boarding schools; I think it’s different. A superior choice for one kid is not necessarily a superior choice for another. I love New England, I went to an East Coast boarding school myself, most of my family is from Maine, and I live in D.C. today. Our school tour at Thacher was my first visit to California, ever. I went into the process biased against the State and most definitely biased against the idea of traveling 3000 miles to a “suspect” boarding school when there were so many fantastic options locally.</p>
<p>I was won over, plain and simple, by the differences between Thacher and the East Coast schools, which differences constituted a superior match for my son. As time passed and I spent more time in Ojai, I began to understand and appreciate how these differences in the boarding school environments between the coasts shape the kids. Post 51 by Parlabane actually summed up a lot of my feelings pretty well.</p>
<p>I do think I have been overly defensive, too anxious to call out what I saw as some of the anti-CA bias that I once felt myself. I regret this. Now, I’d prefer to encourage those few kids with adventurous spirits (and the parents’ willingness to be separated by a plane ride) to make the trip to Thacher and see for themselves. If it’s “right” for that young man or woman, then everything else will pale in comparison. The mix of horses, mountains, camping, warm weather, great academics, and a genuinely warm community spirit is unique. </p>
<p>I used to think, like mhmm, that the “NE culture comes out ahead.” I don’t think that anymore. I’m glad for the coastal differences in boarding school choices, just as I am glad for the country that we have coastal differences.</p>
<p>Personally, the best school is the one that’s a “match” for the student. </p>
<p>But right now it’s so cold I say that the Ojai school wins or any school in a climate that does not involve lots of sub-zero weather and miles of snow.</p>
<p>And parent day is coming up - oh joy. Luckily, my kid tells me the weather in her neck of the woods is tolerable because it’s not windy. Here at home it’s so windy even the snowflakes are protesting.</p>
<p>Anyone for moving to California (or transferring our kids so we can visit without packing ten tons of winter wear?).</p>
<p>I realize that I might be wrong in saying that this is mainly an NE crowd here on the prep school forums after all. There are several posters that are from the midwest and a few from the west coast. I am surprised many of them didn’t even consider Thacher and Cate. Maybe there is indeed a perception that “NE culture comes out ahead”…</p>
<p>True, but also the top universities are in the norheast. There is something to be said of going to a prep school that all of the top schools have longstanding relationships with.</p>
<p>A New Englander, we ruled out West Coast schools from the get go, as simply too far. Especially the first year, it has been a comfort knowing that I can rescue my D in one day - at less than 3 hours away I can drive to her school and back on Friday and return her on Monday.</p>
<p>The process of becoming independent is gradual. </p>
<p>Next year she’s hoping for the entire year abroad. </p>
<p>Scary. As a non member of the jet set, if she goes, she will really be on her own.</p>