@CaliMex , it sounds like there’s a road trip in your future! You really will need to visit to get the vibe and see what’s right. I’ve known kids who were so sure of a first choice who changed their minds after the revisit day. But you are smart to be thinking through the questions that matter before you head off!
@twinsmama I really like how to speak about Mercersburg. It comes across that you really believe the school has the kids best interests at heart. And that is so important! I know there are schools where the bottom line, whether financial or university acceptances of whatever outranks anything else. The more I learn about Mercersburg the more I am hoping DD has the option to attend there.
@CaliMex: It’s well known that I’m “in the tank” heavy for SAS, and frankly, pretty much any other school is going to pale in comparison…no matter how good it is on its own merits.
And TBH, it’s tough to compare 4 years vs. 6 months (which is how long 7D2 has been at George)…I can’t say that I know GS Head of School Sam Houser like I do/did SAS Head Tad Roach. But know that, even in our compressed search for schools last year, that we chose GS carefully and consciously.
@CaliMex , my kid also goes to Mercersburg; his roommates last year (he was in a triple) were from Mexico and Africa. It is a very geographically diverse student population. I just love the culture - @twinsmama was right on when she described it as “intentional”. There is a real focus on inclusiveness and kindness and finding one’s own “thing”, whatever that may be.
Everyone knows I am an NMH booster too but I would definitely include it in the “kind” and “intentional” camp. Kids are very collaboative, accepting and, well, just happy overall. There are def some superstars but my sense is that everyone finds a place and it isn’t a race to the top. Also in spite of its larger size (200 approx seniors which is the largest grade and I believe they are working to lower that number) the faculty really do know and understand each child as an individual. Every teacher we worked with was very accessible and responsive although they don’t flood parents with constant feedback (unless you need it).
Gladchemms without knowing it we applied to these schools, thanks for explaing it
I visited 8 schools this last few months with my kids. I won’t comment on all but will try to post what my kid’s reactions were and sometimes my own. I think a lot of factors can affect your impression and that’s why we intend to go to re-visit days if accepted.
NMH: good visit, nice campus, athletic facilities surprisingly old, we weren’t given a tour of math/science building despite specific request. My impression, I saw kids driving on/off campus quite freely. I didn’t get quite this much of an impression at any of the other schools we visited. We only saw the newest dorm, which was obviously nice. Lounge area was nice. AO was nice and accommodating and sent followup answers to questions after interview.
Cate: my kid has several friends that go here, they all love it. Beautiful outdoor campus, older and sparse science lab when compared to SPS, Choate, Deerfield and all the top schools. Dorm that we saw smelled bad. Dorm rooms were very small. Very responsive AO to my kid and kid’s questions. AO was perceptive. Student tour guide was very nice. She got into a #1 or #2 university depending on which year it is. So did her sister. Which made me ask her more questions. Turned out one of her parents teach there. I think one should ask questions and not take everything at face value. Kid also spent whole weekend on campus with friends. Got to talk to faculty in residence. Kid loved it and could see self there.
Thacher: Beautiful. My husband and I both liked. Both my kids did not like. They thought looked too much like summer camp. Kid was on a separate tour from parents. The horse program was impressive to me, neither of my kids liked. AO was very nice and followed up.
Middlesex: Both kids and I loved campus. We all appreciated architectural strengths of campus. We all loved personal touches and thought our student tour guide was best of all. Saw another comment on this thread that it was hard to get to. I found that re-assuring actually for safety reasons. This school struck us as having a good balance of community, comfort, and academic standards. AO and coach we met also followed up.
Taft: AO and faculty were very responsive. My kid called ahead and requested to speak to certain sports and academic faculty and got to see all of them. Campus was nice, architecture felt very school-like, what I imagined a traditional east coast boarding school would have looked like before I actually went to visit. Kid thought there were too many signs of student activism around school. Kid is more focused on math/science and sports. I wasn’t bothered by it at all. I thought it showed awareness, instead of living in their own bubble.
We also toured Deerfield, Choate, SPS which have been commented on extensively.
Why will you not go to a school that gives you maximum financial aid ?
We recently attended Experience Exeter with our two daughters. After the visit they both eagerly accepted their admission offers. I can’t say enough about what a wonderful experience it was for all of us. The staff and coaches went above and beyond to make us feel welcome and ensure all of our questions were answered. We have no experience with BS and the girls will receive financial aid. The coach had arranged for our daughters to be paired up with girls of their respective years. They attended classes together and toured the facilities. I attended sessions for parents. They had also arranged for me to have lunch with current parents. Everyone was eager to answer questions. I was very impressed with the classes I attended and the parents, staff, students and coaches. Seeing the Harkness method in action was amazing. Our tour guide was a Senior student and he did a great job. I loved the intellectual yet “not for self” vibe of Exeter. My daughters loved the proximity to the town of Exeter, the athletic facilities and the girls dorm they viewed. Since our visit we have been working with advisors to help select their courses. They’ve been kind and generous with their time. Although I will miss them desperately I’m confident that Exeter will be a fantastic experience for them.
I really liked reading through this thread and thought that it might help to leave behind some of my thoughts from revisit days!
Putney: Loved the teachers! They were such kind and down to earth people, and the kids seemed great too. They definitely seemed more like actual kids rather than the hyper-mature/confident/intellectual kids at other schools, for better or for worse. Some of the buildings were run down, but they had a super cool 100% eco-friendly athletic center. Apparently their goal is to become a net-zero environmental footprint school! I also really really liked the cow barn, although some kids may not. The work program was also something that I liked a lot! One thing that I LOVED was this one housing opportunity where you live out in a cabin with a group of your friends that you choose. You have a little wood stove, and a furnace. If I went to Putney, I have no doubt that I would do that ASAP! The kid that toured me and my family lived in one of those cabins with his friends, and he specifically said that being so isolated and in touch with nature was amazing, not to mention a great bonding experience for you and your friends that live there. My favorite part was when he talked about all of the stars that he could see when he woke up so early in the morning for barn duty. We also saw community time which I absolutely loved. Anybody could go up to the front with any announcements that they had and some students gave presentations. Everybody was so so supportive of one another and everybody that went up to speak was applauded by all of their friends. It gave me a really warm feeling 
.
MX: I was impressed! The interiors of the buildings weren’t my favorite, but I really liked the exterior look of the campus! Every member of staff that I met was SO nice and it seemed like a really calm atmosphere. The kids seemed to connect with their teachers in really meaningful ways. THE DORMS… honestly I thought that I was in a hotel. The bathroom was SO BIG and the common area was nuts. The classes were interesting too! I really liked how in some of the classrooms there were entire walls turned into whiteboards!
Milton: I was a bit underwhelmed by Milton to be completely honest. The kids seemed nice enough, but nobody seemed really engaged or interested in what they were learning. The food was fine, I the AOs were nice. Some of the buildings were nice, but a lot seemed run down. It seemed like an overall good school, but there was nothing there that was for me . The classes seemed fine, but there was a bit of something lacking. The kids just didn’t seem into it, and the teachers seemed a bit less excited about their subjects that I would’ve liked. I never saw any dorms.
NMH: A bit confusing. All of the staff were super nice and I really liked the class that I saw, but the way that the day was set up kinda ruined it for me. Rather than pairing students with revisit kids, they just did a lot of activities with the revisit kids all together and no current students. It made for a slightly awkward experience, as you can imagine. All of the revisit kids were toured dorms, and went to lunch together. It was just kinda strange. I liked the campus, but some of the buildings seemed run down. The dorms were ok. I really wish that I could’ve hung out with some current students: I really really had a good feeling about the school when applying, but revisit day gave me no evidence to back that feeling up.
Choate: Choate left me with no doubts that it was the place for me. I LOVED the math building along with the science building and the arts center. The dining hall was amazing and I loved the huge selection of food. The new student center played a roll too, although I never got to see the full interior (now that I have: WOW). Every single person that I met left me impressed. I doubt that I would have the confidence to be that talkative around a revisit kid that I barely knew, and yet somehow every kid was nonstop talking to me like we were old friends. The freshman dorms were fine: I’m not picky so not a huge thing for me. After meeting a lot of students, I knew that I had found my people. I’m the type of teenager who loves rap music, but also loves to play Bach on the piano. Loves to stay out late doing stupid teenager stuff with a group of friends, but also loves being on the math team. Every kid that I met seemed to have that same aura: they loved to learn, be challenged, do nerdy things, etc, but they also were still teenagers who could have fun, and be kinda crazy sometimes. It seemed like a really great balance. The kids talked about how great weekends were because of Choate’s integration into Wallingford. It seemed like a place with as many opportunities to learn as there were to go on an adventure, or to have fun. Also: the amount of extracurriculars blew me away! I think that it was something like 150 extracurriculars?!
"Every kid that I met seemed to have that same aura: they loved to learn, be challenged, do nerdy things, etc, but they also were still teenagers who could have fun, and be kinda crazy sometimes. It seemed like a really great balance. "
These comments remind me of what both my kids said about their experience at SPS - every kid not matter how cool or jocky or whatever had at least a little nerd in them - in a good way.
I like that Choate has a sense of community good or bad, all are interdependent and both support and challenge one another. You can see where your money is going–no crumbling buildings here. Great new Math Center, Student Center and Kohl Environmental Center. I. M. Pei buildings are lovely. I also like that they keep up with their alumni who return to the school to meet students, like Glen Close and others. I know Andover likes to claim it’s the BS of Presidents, but Choate really rivals that distinction with the likes of JFK and Ivanka Trump’s Dad. Would love it if the President came to speak at Choate.
@"Nico.campbell"l: It is so generous of you to write such detailed reviews. Thank you!
Ivanka went to Choate; her dad didn’t. He went to the New York Military Academy.
^^^Yes, I know. Hence the reference to Ivanka. And her “dad,” Ivanka being the operative word.