Northfield, Taft, or Loomis?

Hi everyone -

We are considering sending our daughter to prep school next year and interested in feedback for best fit. We have researched a lot of schools and while you can get a good feel for the facilities and the classes, I find it very difficult to get a sense of the culture at each school and looking for some insights.

Our daughter is a very strong student (mid-90s average) in a good public high school now. She is very active in performing arts (plays, singing, etc), but not a strong athlete (although does play some sports casually). She is very social and enjoys being part of several different friend groups, but doesn’t usually let the social stuff get in the way with academics. She enjoys being part of something bigger than her and follows her school’s sports teams closely.

One of my biggest concerns is that she is not an “intellectual”, meaning she doesn’t have a natural academic curiosity, but she is definitely smart. I want to make sure we send her to a place that she can hopefully cultivate an interest in academics, but not feel out of place with kids that are extremely intellectual. I also want to make sure she fulfills her need for a strong social experience while also an appropriate focus on academics. Right now, we are considering NMH, Taft, and Loomis as these appear to be the best fit, but interested in feedback based on what I have described above.

In full disclosure, I am drawn to the appearance of the facilities at Taft, but recognize that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover

Thank you in advance for feedback!

Our son chose Taft for many reasons, but one was the flexibility of the curriculum. On the website, Taft indicates the different tracks for each discipline. It is also my understanding that if one track is not a good fit for the student, she can move up to a high level or drop down to something more manageable. I am not sure if this answers your question, but we also weighed the same issue.

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Thanks for your feedback. This is very helpful. Did your son consider either of the other two schools I mentioned? Do you have a sense of the culture at Taft in comparison to other schools? Thanks again for your help!

Quick clarification— when you say next year, you mean 21/22 I’m guessing?

Since you are looking at all 3, I would strongly discouraged picking a favorite until you see who picks you. I assume you are not deciding where to attend but where to apply, right?

Right now, you can really spend time on their websites. Understand courses and course planning. Look at who is celebrated and for what. Read their news. Understand where they differ (block schedule, for example, for NMH). This will set you up for better interviews and visits when you can do that.

Your list looks good for the student you have described. If you are BS or bust, you may want to add a couple more to be safe.

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All great schools! I applied to Taft this year and I think they accepted me because I run track. However, my real hook is that I am a competitive dancer and perform regularly in professional musicals in my city. When I visited Taft I didn’t get a strong arts feel compared to other schools. I definitely think that Taft is more “sporty” than “artsy”. Taft is an amazing school overall with a welcoming community and nice, social, very outgoing students. I know a few current students and they are extremely social and speak very highly of the school. When I went on tour, this was reflected as all the students seemed to know each other very well. Taft is a school where you can be very social, make lifelong friends and also be motivated academically. The only reason I said no to Taft was because I felt that the dance/arts program wasn’t as strong as the other schools I was admitted to.

During the admission process, I also visited Loomis. It has a great arts program! I loved the campus vibe and it is a really good school in general. The art program is very professional and it is a well rounded school. Unfortunately, I don’t know that much about Loomis.

I recommend you continue your research on boarding schools. Good luck with the admission process!

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