DD is in 8th grade going to 9th. She was admitted to Nobles and CA. Last year, we visited Nobles, and DD fell in love with the school for its beautiful campus and friendly teachers and kids. We never got a chance to tour the CA campus due to the Covid situation. We will be visiting for sure. Currently, she is strongly favoring Nobles but I love CA for its more laidback feel. She is academically strong but her reading and writing are relatively weaker. She is very strong at dancing. She does not play sports. Welcome any suggestions, especially from the parents and students from both schools. Greatly appreciate it.
Nobles is a big sports school. Ask around to see if she’ll fit in.
1 Like
I’d go with Nobles esp if she’s stronger in STEM. They just built an awesome science center. It was fantastic. CA is a good choice for those who don’t like competition. They have no awards and have a very different student body. Very alternative in lots of ways, IMO.
One can go anywhere from either place but I thought Nobles was much stronger academically. My kid didn’t even finish CA application after the interview. Just not a fit at all. And it was supposed to be very creative. Yet, art and music seemed very limited and not of the same caliber as some others we visited. The sports at CA were very low level (unlike many other schools we looked at). Theater at CA was very strong. Though friends who attended CA liked it. We know a number of kids who liked CA and did well but it didn’t meet anything we were looking for with strong academic kids who loved STEM, sports and the arts.
I also think Nobles has a MUCH better matriculation record. Could be the sports kids and legacies but could also be the CG office. We felt like Noble and kids all seemed to come from the same 5-7 towns. We got this vibe when we went to follow ups including a cocktail party and revisit day.
I agree with a lot of what @Happytimes2001 says.
Nobles is a school full of jocks who are really smart. It is not a laid back accepting of differences environment. The kids self segregate a fair amount by race. The impressive college matriculation is, in large part, due to legacy or sports.
CA has an ADORABLE campus in concord center. It is a school full of interesting kids who are supportive, supported, and smart. The sports teams play in a different league and are not strong nor a focus at all. Kids are often in groups with many different races.
My kids did not like either but we did tour and interview at both. I don’t know about college matriculation but in terms of academic strength I’d say they are both strong schools.
I actually kind of dislike the Nobles campus so I’m surprised that’s tipping the scales.
2 Likes
I know CA has a strong academic support center so if your daughter has weak areas that is a plus.
I don’t know anything about dance programs. I’d email both schools and ask to talk to the person in charge of dance.
Thank you all. I always feel that Nobles was not reviewed very well among the users in this forum despite its high ranking on Niche. One1ofeach’s comment “The kids self segregate a fair amount by race” concerns me as my DD is Asian and on the shy side. Would you please elaborate a little on that? Many thanks!
From two sources: tour and what I witnessed and knowing several kids who have attended - the asian kids are all together, the black kids are all together, the white kids are all together. This is the case at a lot of schools so I am not meaning to say “Nobles is bad” but it is a factor for some people. Here’s the thing, if I spoke Chinese as my primary language but had all my classes in English, I would probably want to speak Chinese during my off time because it would be a relief. So if all the kids who speak Chinese cluster together outside of class is that bad necessarily? Who knows…
I don’t think there is more racism at Nobles than at other schools. Nobles and CA have about the same percentage students of color and about the same percentage students on financial aid.
I think the feeling of negative reviews is more that most of the people who post about Nobles are posting about college matriculation. “Nobles has a great college matriculation so if my kid goes there he/she will get into an Ivy” which leads to a rush of people explaining why Nobles has that matriculation data and that comes across as negative.
Also, Nobles is really a day school. So when people are comparing to the the BS in the area it is a hard comparison.
I understand Nobles’ college matriculation has a lot to do with Legacy and sports and we have neither. But does it also apply to other schools in the area?
About Asian kids hanging out together, it is not the case in her current Lexington public school. She has a circle of 5 very close friends from different background. They grew up together and went to the same school until now. That is what I pictured in Nobles but I guess it is different. We will revisit this Saturday and will try to get a sense about that.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
How strong? Have you compared the dance programs at both schools?
I was under the impression that CA’s dance program is highly regarded. (Not the most beautiful campus.)
Two things: Niche is written by students, parents and teachers with affiliation to a particular school. The basis for ranking isn’t stats or other things you may care about. Some schools have a large number of faculty filling in top ranks, other niche reviews say things which apply to one kid ( or say things which aren’t valid across the board). Honestly, I’d give it zero regard as some of the factors are things which I don’t consider impactful in terms of education.
In terms of kids segregating, that can be a real issue. We didn’t actually find that@ Nobles. Instead, we found kids hanging out by town. And there was a very tiny group of kids who boarded, those kids seemed to hang out also. So, it might be racial but it might be based on commutes etc. Ideally, you want everyone to integrate in every regard. This does happen at many schools. Worst case, is all the hockey kids hanging out only with each other or all the X kids hanging out and the groups are locked.
If they have a parental visit that’s a great way to see things as well. We attended for one at Nobles and got to meet other parents. These are eye opening we attended many for our kids and learned a LOT! Good and bad. Go if you can. And listen to the Head of School. What they say is usually what you will get. Make sure his/her vision aligns with your families.
2 Likes
Yes I think CA’s dance program is a little stronger. But DD is quite serious about dancing so it is unlikely she will solely rely on either school’s program anyway. She will continue to go to her studio to train.
What are the rules for after school participation at both schools. Many schools have rules about playing two sports with one art type after school activity freshman year. If that’s going to interfere with her dancing out of school better to know now.
Thanks for the reminder. We really did not think much of it. We do need to check that out.
Maybe it is not entirely true that DD does not play any sports. She did track and field and won 2nd place in one of the scholastic meet but she gave that up for dancing.
It is incredibly hard to keep up a serious activity like that outside of school AND fulfill the school’s athletic requirement.
VOE. (Not dance, but a sport not offered by my school back in the day. And that’s considering I had a minimal commute to school (2 miles) and practice (1.5 miles).)
If she’s too serious a dancer for CA’s program, then she should be at some place like Walnut Hill.
1 Like
I will check that out. Like I said, I did not think too much of it. I am glad I came to ask around today. Thank you all so much!
Just for future readers, walnut hill dance is now run by Boston Ballet pre-pro so just be aware that the program is now ballet, not general dance. And admissions are 100% through Boston ballet pre-pro folks, not normal BS channels. (Prescreening video submissions are about 10% pass rate — to then get invited to audition. Or, get invited after taking the Boston ballet summer intensive.) So it’s not the serious-but-not-professional-dancer-performing-arts school it was. It’s truly a ballet pre-pro. (Which is good or bad depending on goals of course.)
3 Likes
Does Walnut Hill not offer any other dance anymore? That seems like a bad choice, I mean considering they are an arts school.
No — it’s Boston ballet program only. I know this because we considered only pre-pro options for my ballerina daughter. (Who ended up moving out of state for a pre-pro program unattached to an academic program.).
1 Like