<p>I know this has been discussed many times before, but I can't locate the threads where this subject appears. A friend is beginning the BS search for her child, and wants a list of questions that would be good to ask about the schools (i.e, info not typically available from viewbooks or BSR etc.) Any great ideas? Or anyone remember what threads this has been discussed in? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>It's just 5 threads down. Page 4. Here's the best post of the lot, but I think there are more ideas.</p>
<p>many thanks. yes, this is exactly what I was remembering! Great questions. Wish I had thought of them before we went to look at schools!</p>
<p>what changes does the school have planned for the next 4 years? </p>
<p>such as major construction which might disrupt / displace / improve student living space or other facilities, such as labs, gym</p>
<p>significant changes in administration or teachers (headmaster change)</p>
<p>change in curriculum/requirements, ECs</p>
<p>Also, try to think about what the school will be like when your child is a senior as well as a first year student! hopefully enforced study halls won't be necessary then!</p>
<p>Here's one more BIG question that I forgot to put on that list.</p>
<p>If your 18+ year-old child is taken to the hospital for a medical emergency, will the school notify you?</p>
<p>This happened to our senior D and the school NEVER told us! D was seen and released with no definitive diagnosis. D did not request that the visit be kept secret and probably assumed we were notified by the school. I only found out because D told me after graduation (3 weeks following the hospital visit) when she had recurring abdominal pain and needed to visit her at home doc. She had no idea what tests had been performed and the school nurse would not release ANY information to me because D was over 18! Even the hospital would not discuss the emergency room visit or tests because D was not a minor. D wanted me to have access to the hospital records so I could have them sent to her doc, but I could not legally obtain the release. We were outraged, but D had already graduated. In my opinion, if a child is living at the school under adult supervision, the school has an obligation to inform the parents if the child experiences ANY emergency medical situation, particularly if it requires a trip to the emergency room. At D's school, there was an abrupt cutoff of communication in this area once a student reached 18. I would like to have known this ahead of time so D could have signed a waiver upon her 18th birthday!</p>
<p>Also, along the lines of the "changes" in the next 4 years, if they have a planned new "something" that they are "selling" don't consider that as a reason to attend...For example, the new science building at Deerfield was 3 or 4 years late in opening. Some students went all 4 years in the temporary sceince buildings. Not that they were horrible, but it was a selling point.<br>
I do think, some schools have learned from that.</p>
<p>If your 18+ year-old child is taken to the hospital for a medical emergency, will the school notify you?</p>
<p>wow, that is good to know. I would have just assumed that the school would let me know. I am going to ask that question when I am at parents weekend.</p>
<p>To me the ratio of boarding to day kids is KEY. We had a disaster experience at a school that emptied out on weekends- only 25-30% boarders and many were from the local area because the school was so hard to get into as a day student. The boarders were barely supervised and were running all over town.</p>
<p>Also, after-hours contact with faculty/staff. Do the teachers have kids over for informal dinners, chats, political discussion groups? Faculty house doors open all the time? Outings? Some of the most memorable experiences for both my kids were off-hours contacts with wonderful mentors/faculty.</p>
<p>The student handbooks -- often available on-line, but rarely proffered with admission materials -- address policies such as this...and more not mentioned here.</p>
<p>Some of this due diligence can be quite time-consuming in advance, so I think asking questions like this is understandable. But, better still, go through one or two student handbooks to see what schools typically cover. This will raise questions, so keep a notepad handy.</p>
<p>The time to really pour over all the handbooks is when you've got a decision to make in March. One school will address HIPAA and make a note of that. Another school may be silent. So ask.</p>
<p>On the score of emptying out on weekends, find out if there's a policy that limits the number of off-campus weekends for boarders. That may reduce the emptying out feel.</p>
<p>Sometimes it's actually nice to have people leave. Not if they're your close friends (I mean, it depends) but some of my friends left this weekend and some of my friends' roommates, so it's easier to sleep over if there's only one person who has a room for a night. Also, this weekend I had a lot of time for myself - I sat by the pond and read, and walked around, etc. It was very peaceful.</p>
<p>St Paul's student handbook is on line. Hard to find though, whenever I want to look at something again, it takes me a while to find it. Salisbury, Old Avon Farms have thiers on line too. It is very interesting to read the rules and yes, the official answers to many of these questions.</p>
<p>The handbook's print the official story, but the exceptions to the stated rules are never published and can rarely be discovered, despite due dilligence. At
D's sch, despite stated policy regarding "closed" weekends (when students must stay on campus) - - boarders who resided nearby were often excused for family obligations. </p>
<p>Question to ask: </p>
<p>-Is the health station staffed 24hrs (many schs have nurses "on call," but off-site, after 3pm) and 7 days/.wk?</p>
<p>To find the SPS handbook, click on "about SPS" and then when it brings down the list of tabs on the left, click on "parents" - there it will be. :)</p>
<p>Changes - find out the length of time the school head has been there and whether or not a change is anticipated. The head at Miss Porter's, Burch Ford, is retiring the end of this year. She will be missed and there will likely be some change with a new head.</p>
<p>
[quote]
To find the SPS handbook, click on "about SPS" and then when it brings down the list of tabs on the left, click on "parents" - there it will be.
[/quote]
That's right...the handbooks are quite often in the parents sections or under "publicaitons" sometimes.</p>
<p>Here's A link to Exeter's Handbook:
<a href="http://www.exeter.edu/documents/EBook_07.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.exeter.edu/documents/EBook_07.pdf</a></p>
<p>and their Parent Book:
<a href="http://www.exeter.edu/documents/ParentBook_07.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.exeter.edu/documents/ParentBook_07.pdf</a></p>