New to this whole BS search

Prep School Admissions Prep School Parents
1

<p>Hi there-
We've just started embarking on this whole "find-the-right-fit" BS for our DS. He is planning on repeating his Sophomore year next year so he can get 3 yrs of BS under his belt.</p>

<p>We've been mainly looking at schools in Northeast with 300-400 students. Interests are music, lacrosse, history, foreign languages. Has anyone else looked at or have experience with these schools?</p>

<ol>
<li> Middlesex</li>
<li> Pomfret</li>
<li> Governor's Academy</li>
<li> Kimball Union</li>
<li> Brooks</li>
<li> Berkshire</li>
</ol>

<p>Interested in knowing your thoughts if you visited these schools and thoughts on the school's culture or anything else.</p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

2

<p>Think you have a really good list. Our DC applied to and was accepted at both Pomfret & Brooks. We know faculty at both schools and there’s a lot to like at each. Ultimately DC chose Loomis Chaffee, which you also might want to consider. It’s a little bigger, but with a significant day student population so it both IS a small boarding school but also has a bit of a broader social pool just in terms of number of students. DC has many friends among both boarders and day students.</p>

3

<p>Portsmouth Abbey School also has a very good lacrosse program and is in the 300-400 student range. Have a look.</p>

4

<p>We looked at Middlesex & Berkshire. Both have a dress code, and more formal feel to them. Strong sports. Don’t remember anything specific about Berkshire language program (other than it was fine for DS who has taken Spanish for many years), but really like Middlesex approach to academics. Most classes are term based, and there is flexibility in languages so you can fit in where appropriate. DS did not end up applying to Berkshire for several reasons, so did not look into much after the visit.</p>

<p>Both are a distance from any shops, restaurants, etc. They have shuttles and weekend events, but different from other schools which have towns very close where kids can walk during free time.</p>

5

<p>All six of those schools were on our initial list, and we requested information from them all and spent a lot of time on their websites. We dropped Pomfret, Berkshire and Brooks from the list prior to starting visits, though. I wanted to visit Pomfret, but was vetoed by my child for reasons not entirely articulated. So I can speak about MX, GA and KUA.</p>

<p>Of the three, Middlesex is was our favorite going in, and remains so. It is strong in all areas. Academically it seems strongest across the board. Very friendly and seems to be a very supportive environment. Hardest to get in, of course. A very busy, intense admissions office on the day we were there. If my child got in here, we would be packing the car the next day.</p>

<p>KUA jumped up on our list after the visit. I think my expectations of the academics at KUA were too low, and I was very nicely surprised by how strong the programs seemed. My children are not big into athletics, but their [indoor</a> turf barn/fieldhouse](<a href=“http://www.kua.org/thebarn?rc=0]indoor”>http://www.kua.org/thebarn?rc=0) is very attractive for the sports end of things, especially as late fall and mud season can both be chilly and damp in the Upper Valley. I really liked all aspects of the school, and the sciences seemed strong. I did not get a feel for history, although I know they have at least two versions of many of their course across the curriculum. Their curriculum is not all that deep, but seems solid. The biggest strike against KUA is their shallower racial diversity (6% non-white in terms of domestic students, per the latest stats I have seen). Despite this, I would be very happy if my child went here.</p>

<p>Governor’s was the biggest disappointment, overall. It is hard to pinpoint why. The people were very friendly, and we actually spoke with a music teacher who was very nice, and the arts program overall seems strong. I think our child would be happy and challenged there, but I think the biggest mark against the school is the lack of Saturday classes, and the weekends seem a little less structured than the others. I think the athletics and athletic facilities were least impressive here of the three.</p>

<p>The dorms we saw at all three schools were on the low end of the attractiveness list. </p>

<p>I think Kimball Union has the nicest location, and is close to Middlesex in terms of the attractiveness of the campus overall. GA is in a nice setting as well, but the campus itself is a notch below.</p>

6

<p>nadk01-</p>

<p>Out of the 3 schools you mentioned we have yet to visit Middlesex. We did, however visit KUA and Gov’s. We were very pleasantly surprised by KUA-left with a great feeling-everyone we met was nice-liked the facilities, including the indoor turf training facility. Liked how they utilize the Harkness method of teaching. DS continues to say this is at the top of his list. I was surprised too because we had never heard of the school prior to a month ago!</p>

<p>Liked Gov’s as well (had a nephew go there as well as other kids of friends). They all seemed to like it but at least 2 of them were really into their respective sports. D’S was a little concerned that there might be too much emphasis on the sports programs but like the size of the music programs @ Gov’s compared to other places we’ve looked. I too am not a fan of ‘no Saturday’ classes. Might have too much ‘free-time.’</p>

<p>Hoping to squeeze a visit in to MX sometime over the next couple of weeks.</p>

<p>Thanks for responding.</p>

7

<p>I just want to point out that dd and I did not find MX very exciting. It really is important to get out there and do your visits, as different schools will feel “right” to different kids.</p>

8

<p>I’d suggest that you find out which languages are taught at the schools. It has been surprising to me to find a lot of variety in different schools on dd’s list. Some offer nothing for classical languages, while others offer classical diplomas for advanced study in Greek as well as Latin. Chinese and Arabic are hot now, but also not available everywhere. German is apparently fading in popularity and fewer schools seem to offer it.</p>

9

<p>We are visiting Pomfret in December and I was thinking about adding Middlesex to the list. We’ve visited and interviewed at Loomis and my daughter really liked the school. I’m enjoying reading everyone’s experiences with these schools!</p>