<p>@faiths23 My daughter’s best friend attended Brooks and raves about it. Brooks is known as a jock school, but D’s friend was an artsy/literary type and found her niche. Brooks is definitely a traditional place–dress code, sit-down dinners, Saturday classes. It’s also small–less than 400 students–so loads of personal attention.</p>
<p>Applying to BS as a junior will probably be challenging, so you may want to cast a broad net.</p>
<p>I’m not familiar with NMHs dance program specifically but the school is strong in all arts, has a beautiful new arts center, and matches all of your other criteria including accepting some new juniors every year. My daughter picked it because the vibe was very friendly and a little more laid back but still challenging. I also know a boy who dances ballet and has been happy at Andover - he will be dancing professionally in Boston this summer. </p>
<p>My daughter is going to Westover in the fall - she is not a dancer but there appeared to be a thriving dance program (as well as many other programs) and a generally supportive environment with very engaged girls. At the revisit day there were performances as well as classes - we liked everything about it.</p>
<p>Thanks, DTimberLD. I have been hearing lots of fantastic things about Westover recently. Definitely a school I will be applying to. </p>
<p>From all that you listed, I am only familiar with Deerfield, NMH, and Choate. Out of these three, I’d have to say that Deerfield has the most sense of community (look on their website for more information; they have sit-down dinners and strongly emphasize the sense of community). I’d also recommend St. Paul’s School and St. Andrew’s.</p>
<p>I’d suggest NMH. I’m a rising senior there and have been there since freshman year. Good academics, gorgeous campus, and if you want to be outside the farm (where I spend a ton of time) is incredible. The people are fabulous, and you’ll meet wonderful teachers and dorm faculty. I can’t say enough good things about NMH–I’ve loved every year of it and will miss it dearly. They accept a fair number of sophomores and juniors. The dance and arts programs are both strong, and english and social studies classes, of which I have taken many, are very strong. The surrounding area, the Pioneer Valley, is a beautiful place to bike and walk. The outdoors team does a lot of mountain biking around the campus woods; my friends who are on that team love it. NMH is a solid, good place all around and in my opinion its atmosphere can’t be beat. A visit would be a good idea–if you end up doing that this year, feel free to PM me and I’d be happy to show you around campus!</p>
<p>As an aside, the sense of community at NMH is actually great compared to a lot of schools I’ve heard about, though of course I can’t say how it stacks up to others. It has always been very warm, welcoming, and fun, in my experience. </p>
<p>Have you looked into Interlochen? They have a very unique program with plenty of dance and arts.</p>
<p>Definitely check out NMH.</p>
<p>@faiths23: This thread is so useful. Have you made decision? I wish you all the best with your application process
Dear All: I am Asian. My kid is crazy about computer. He wants to do computer major at university. We did not plan to send him to boarding school, but we may have to change our mind to send him to boarding school in 2015 due to family situation. Do you know any boarding schools which are great in math and computer science. His SSAT (the first time): 75 percentile. TOEFL(the first time): 113. He is always at top 5% in his school. Script writer for school’s news. GIN member. School reports: A math and technology and music, A- English, Science, Foreign Language, Others: B. What can be a good school that fits him? I am grateful for advice.</p>
<p>@tramtpm Phillips Exeter Academy is quite well known for its strong math and science programs. Deerfield has a pretty good robotics program, from what I’ve heard. Berkshire’s science programs are excellent as well and they just recently invested in a few new math/science departments. Exeter may be harder to get into as it is a more selective school than most but it depends on many other factors. </p>
<p>@fluffymilk: Thank you very much. I will try, but we are worried that Exeter, Deerfield and Berkshire require higher SSAT score.</p>
<p>@tramtpm - Try this thread: <a href=“2013-14 Hidden Gem Applicant Thread - Prep School Admissions - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1545276-2013-14-hidden-gem-applicant-thread.html</a> On page 4 there are blurbs and links to school websites. Good luck with your search! </p>
<p>@tramtpm Does your child play any sports? Any extracurriculars that he has been doing for a while and enjoys and is good at? BS application is really interesting in that a lot of people that I know here were A-B students with an impressive EC. </p>
<p>@mrnephew Thank you for your question. He won first prizes and second prizes in chess tournaments for all international schools in the city several times. He enjoys soccer, plays 5 hours per week. He loves basketball too, plays everyday. He plays piano for 7 years too. Not sure if this is good enough?</p>
<p>If he’s really good at the sports, send in a tape of him playing and get in contact with the coach.</p>