<p>Thanks for the excellent review of the tour, tommeister! Please keep them coming. </p>
<p>Strange that a brand new student would be a tour guide!</p>
<p>I know you get it! what I meant was there were many things I liked about emma willard better than westover, but those factors were not important since the really important thing was what she would be doing in music. So even if we thought it was a "better" school in terms of academics etc, she still would have picked westover.</p>
<p>to go further, she ended up picking NMH because we specifically requested certain music (vocal and instrumental) teachers, and I was able to get a guarantee that they would teach her for her four years there. this turned out to be very important, because one year her voice teacher was acting chair of the dept, and didn't have time to teach any of her other students, but honored the promise to teach my daughter.</p>
<p>drnanacie, thanks so much</p>
<p>School Name: St. Paul's
Location: Just outside Concord, NH
Visited when:10/10/06
VISIT ACTIVITIES(comments): Interview
Tour: The tour was really helpful. We were taken around by the captain of the basketball team who seemed quite intelligent and kind.
Interview: The wait room for the interview is really beautiful. The interviewer was experienced, and we were able to have a fluid, interesting conversation. She asked many of the basic questions like, "What's your favorite subject?", "Why do you want to come here?", "What book are you reading right now?", etc.
Miscellaneous:
RATING AND COMMENTS:
If you could tell us your rating out of 5 and comments:
Grounds/appearance of campus: 6!! Absolutely stunning. It is situated pretty much right in the middle of a forest, with great views of the pond. The recent flood damage was not much of a factor--there was just one building being fixed, as far as I know.
Boarding houses/rooms (if boarding): The houses I would say were a 4. I didn't get to see into a dorm room.<br>
Faculty impressions (helpful, kind etc): 5 The faculty seemed very helpful and kind. We talked briefly to a Spanish teacher who came across as very intelligent and level-headed.
Student impressions (were they all helpful and happy to help you, also stuff like whether they were very work orientated etc): 5 The students here seemed to be intelligent, but maybe not as obsessed about work as the students at Exeter (just my impression). They all seemed very kind.
Building/ facilities/maintenance/ cleanliness:5 All the buildings were in top condition. There were a lot of stone buildings. The library was amazingly beautiful, though not quite as big as Exeter's. The chapel was surprisingly nice for a school chapel. It would've fit in in Cambridge, England.
Security/saftey: 5 It was in the middle of the woods, and there were some fences.
Over all school impression:5 A very beautiful school with the right balance of academics,ECs, and fun.
Town/ city the school is in impressions: The city of Concord is nearby, which provides pretty much everything you could want. There were many stores situated along the Main Street.
GENERAL NOTES:
Visit Description: Interview
Hotel/Lodging Recommendations or Comments: We stayed in a decent hotel, though I can't remember the name of it. It had an ok swimming pool.
Dining/Restaurant Recommendations or Comments: We went to Margarita's Mexican restaurant. They had good food, though the portions were huge.
Other Comments (Transportation, local attractions, parking, etc.): None</p>
<p>I thought it was interesting how different schools handle the visit and interview differently. Perhaps shouldn't be surprising but I guess we were thinking it is pretty straightforward to do a tour and an interview - how many different ways can there be to do it. The answer to that turns out to be quite a few and I think the different approaches did have an impact on what my daughter thought of the school. Here are a couple examples of what I mean. Five of the six schools we visited had the tour first, but one had the interview first. Five of the six schools interviewed my wife and I separately after my daughters interview was done, but one school had all three of us together. Two schools separated my daughter from us and gave separate tours. One school worked very hard to make sure there was no down time for my daughter - two girls took her on the tour, when she got back from the tour there were two other girls waiting to talk with her while she waited for her interview and then after her interview there were two other kids to talk to her while my wife and I were interviewed (rather than have her sit by herself drinking coffee and looking at yearbooks). Spending time with 6 different kids on campus gave her a lot more insight than only meeting one tour guide. One school really tried to convince us to stay for lunch in the cafeteria while all the students were in there. The best though was probably the school that made sure my daughter's tour guide was one of the star hockey players (my daughter's sport).</p>
<p>biffgnar, did the visit to Pomfret change your families mind about the school in any way? How about other schools?</p>
<p>Before the visit it was absolutely a school we were interested in (naturally given that we scheduled a visit), but from a perception standpoint there were probably other higher profile schools that we may have had higher expectations from. The visits absolutely made a difference though. While some of the higher profile schools were impressive there were things about them that we didn't really like and where we just didn't see her fitting. In fact, there is one school that gets mentioned a lot on CC that she probably isn't even going to go through with the application process. At Pomfret it was the visit that got us really excited about it. I know it is one of her top two choices right now (she goes back and forth on which is one and which is two). She has been wearing to school some days the t-shirt that they gave her at the interview. First, it is a beautiful campus (although that can be said for a lot of schools) and it was a great fall day when we were there. We were the only ones visiting when we were there which while probably silly to say was nice (versus feeling like you are in an assembly line on a busy day at some schools). We really liked the small size. Most of the facilities while perhaps not overwhelmingly impressive as at some of the bigger schools all seemed modern and comprehensive. They split my daughter up from us for the tour and her tour guide was one of their star hockey players so they had a lot to talk about and were bonding right away. They have continued to correspond by e-mail since the visit talking about us going back up to see some hockey games there and my daughter staying overnight with this girl on revisits (assuming we get to that point). Initially the hockey coach was only going to meet with my daughter, but after doing that the coach proactively tracked my wife and I down on the campus with our own tour guide to talk with us also. We have continued to correspond with the coach and she has talked about making an effort to come see my daughter play live (versus just asking for a tape which a lot of the coaches do). There was just so many things that were positive about it.</p>
<p>Nice post about SPS, tommeister! It makes me love SPS even more.</p>
<p>It should be loved. When/if you visit you'll really see what I mean.</p>
<p>We visted Choate today. Completely difference experience than visiting and interviewing at Salisbury, Deerfield, Loomis, and Avon. </p>
<p>Choate is surprisingly big and spread out. Lots of kids. Roads with traffic run through campus -- kids are crossing roads between classes. Looks like a hike to the dining hall from some of the dorms. Lots of distance from Art and Science buildings to Math and Humanities. My son liked his visit -- and the school has what we want/he wants -- but we'll have to see what we think after we sleep on it. And visit a few more places!</p>
<p>where else are you visiting?</p>
<p>Are tours and interviews different for freshmen applicants vs others? Half of the schools we have been to, we see the applicant (looking older than entering 9th grader) going with one tour guide and the parents going with another. Is this common? Our S says that all of the interviews so far have asked the same questions. CCA, Avon, Tabor, Deerfield. We still have St G's & MX to go. Your thoughts would be appreciated.</p>
<p>This son has visited Salisbury and Choate. Also on the list are Deerfield and Kent. He is currently in an independent day school.</p>
<p>Older son, now at Cornell, did a PG at Salisbury after graduating from public school. During the course of his public hs career, we considered switching schools and visited Avon, Loomis, Deerfield, and Salisbury. </p>
<p>While at Salisbury, we were on several other campuses for away games including Hotchkiss, Trinity Pawling, Kent, Avon, Deerfield, etc. Oh yeah, while on vacation in Newport we checked out St. Georges ... awesome campus!</p>
<p>After my experience with S1 ... I'm particularly interested in schools within a 2 hr drive <em>or less</em> and will make an exception for Deerfield.</p>
<p>bump... .</p>
<p>I'm so glad I can finally do this!</p>
<p>School Name: Greenhills School
Location: Ann Arbor, Mich.
Visited when: 11/29/06
VISIT ACTIVITIES(comments):
Tour: Great. The students were very enthusiastic about their school.
Interview: I didn't have it yet.
Miscelaneous: I LOVED IT! The teachers are SO dedicated to what they're teaching, and that's what lacks at my current school.
RATING AND COMMENTS:
If you could tell us your rating out of 5 and comments:
Grounds/appearance of campus: 3... the outside was nice but the inside was a little depressing.
Boarding houses/rooms (if boarding): --
Faculty impressions (helpful, kind etc): 5 I went to one classroom where the teacher wanted to have me do this geometry thing on the computer. He said it would take five minutes and it took 20. He loves what he's teaching and that's what matters.<br>
Student impressions (were they all helpful and appy to help you, also stuff like whether they were very work orientated etc): 5 They seemed really smart and really intellectually curious. Everyone loves their school and I didn't see one student who didn't want to be there.
Building/ facilities/maintenance/ cleanliness: 4 It was pretty clean. They have a really nice theatre.
Security/saftey: It seemed pretty safe.
Over all school impression: 5.
Town/ city the school is in impressions: I didn't know how affluent the area is around the school. It was a little intimidating. In the "Community Forum" it said that 30 students out of the school's 400 were children of university profressors. (Probably University of Michigan) There were local move theatres and malls and well. Lots of after school hang-outs.
GENERAL NOTES:
Visit Description: First, everyone went into the theatre and the head of school and admissions officers gave a little welcome message. Then we went on a student-lead tour and looked at the presentations everyone had made in the Forum. (Each grade has a forum.. it's where a lot of students meet and study together). They also have "Smartboards" at this school which seemed pretty cool.
Hotel/Lodging Recommendations or Comments: Lots of hotels in the Ann Arbor area, but I doubt you'd need to stay in one since it's a day school.
Dining/Restaurant Recommendations or Comments: Lots of fancy restaurants in the area. Yo ucould probably find a McDonald's since it's about 5 minutes from the highway.
Other Comments (Transportation, local attractions, parking, etc.): nope.</p>
<p>I LOVE THIS SCHOOL.</p>
<p>I'd also like to say that I think I've finally realized that there's so many more important things than high average SAT scores and good college matriculation. My favorite thing about Greenhills was how much the students loved their school and wanted to be there. If I ever apply to boarding school, I would definitely make sure I visited. The visit is SO important.</p>
<p>I hope you get in and get the financial aid you want! </p>
<p>"I'd also like to say that I think I've finally realized that there's so many more important things than high average SAT scores and good college matriculation."</p>
<p>Glad you got it. Besides, they probably do have a high average SAT score and good college matriculation -- just not the highest.</p>
<p>Good for you Jonathan. By the time your'e ready for college there will be so many awesome colleges that won't even require the SAT. Are you still going to look at Ashbury?</p>
<p>
[quote\ Besides, they probably do have a high average SAT score and good college matriculation -- just not the highest.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Yeah. Their average SAT score is ~1320/1600 which is great. They also have great college matriculation, just not as good as SPS or Groton.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Are you still going to look at Ashbury?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I think so. As long as I can arrange a visit during the winter break.</p>
<p>What happened to claudia?</p>
<p>I visited Andover over the summer, so I'll post on that:</p>
<p>School Name: Phillips Academy
Location: Andover, MA
Visited: August 2006
Tour: Very nice. I didn't get to see classes, since it was summer, but I was given a tour by students and they were very bright, kind, and informative.
Interview: Went fantastically. I could tell the man was very good at relaxing children.
Misc. Excellent school, though everyone already knows that :).
Campus: 4 Beautiful Campus
Dorms: 4 I didn't get to see very much of them, but what I saw was very nice.
Andover is pretty well known, but I will confirm that it looks amazing.</p>