My son is just finishing 6th grade, so I am only in the preliminary stages or gathering information about BS. I was wondering if you could share your thoughts on the effects of PG programs on schools as a whole as I am only planning on him attending 9-12.
I think he will want to play a varsity sport, and wonder how a PG program will affect a kid that is probably good enough to make the team as a a 9th or 10th grader, yet not going to be a standout (especially do to size). He is specifically interested in baseball which doesn’t seem to be a sport schools actively recruit for and is not going to be applying to the most selective schools. (The kid is in 6th grade, so of course would like to be a MLB player, however, I’m a realistic parent that thinks he’ll be lucky to be recruited by a Div III school. The BS decision is about the most appropriate education for him, but we do want him to be able to play a sport he is very invested in).
Some other areas I’d love to hear pros/cons of schools having PG programs:
Academics
Social
Influx of new students each year
I think t can honestly really depend on what school(s) you are looking at/applying to, the size of those schools, and how strong their certain athletic programs are. Smaller schools typically accept less post grads, which changes things up as compared to a larger school that would accept more. What schools are you looking at?
Baseball is also one of the hardest to make varsity, as the spots are more limited by nature. However, the is JV and usually 3rds depending on the school. But in schools that have PG’s they will obviously get playing time. But with it being a spring sport there are generally less baseball players because they get looked at in the spring of their junior year for recruiting. The PG’s are generally there to get their grades up or because they had an injury and didn’t play
As my son needs academic support, I’m starting to look at the following schools. He is in 6th grade and very bright, so the level of support right now is unknown as I’m assuming he will change a lot over the next two years (but so will the academic demands). He is in a Montessori school and does well in that type of setting, so will look for school that emphasize experiential learning. He is definitely an “out of the box” thinker.
The schools that really jump out at me are after spending a lot of time on their websites are
Forman (high level of support)
New Hampton
Proctor
Other schools that look promising are
Cushing
Brewster
Winchendon
Trinity Pawling (high level of support)
Sallisbury (high level of support)
Vermont Academy
Hebron
Kimball Union
South Kent
Kents Hill
So, basically, everything I’m looking at so far has a PG program. Surprisingly, it’s hard to find that infomation on some of their website.
There were other schools that look wonderful as well, but didn’t offer baseball. Again, I’m limiting the list to schools with baseball only because it is so important to him, not because I expect him to be recruited or anything.
Yes, I’m thinking many PGs are basketball and hockey players (two sports he has no interest in). If they are baseball players, most probably pitchers (and while my son can pitch, it is not his preferred position).
Add Suffield to your list! We are looking at it for SwimKid2. It was high on SwimKid1 list for different reasons but we think it would be a great pick for #2 because of the support. He is dyslexic. We are also looking at proctor.
Yes, I was going to add Suffield as well. Berkshire, Proctor.
Berkshire has a established baseball program and offers lots of support, as well as hands on learning. It is a small school, with only 400 kids, which makes for a very loving and tight knight community.
I am a current student of Berkshire and if you are interested in looking at Berkshire as an option, feel free to pm me and I would be more than happy to answer any questions.