Very true about this year. I sit on the board of a peer school so I get some pretty solid information. Note that the Rivers upswing has been going on for about 3-5 years now, and COVID just gave it the little extra it needed. No argument with the Andover comparison, of course.
I thought in terms of academics and college matriculation Nobles is on par with Milton and at least a level above Rivers. Am I wrong?
I completely agree. These schools do not draw from the same applicant pool.
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Here is how I see it. I may not be right, but I sit on one of the boards of one of the schools being discussed in Boston.
I think Milton is stronger than Nobles, even though some lists have Nobles rated higher these days. Milton IMO is the only Boston āsort-ofā day school that can compete with the top boarding schools. Nobles is great, too, but overlaps with Belmont Hill and Rivers quite frequently. It is slightly harder to get into and the kids go to slightly more competitive colleges, but sometimes they take an applicant waitlisted by Rivers or BH.
When a family goes through a comprehensive search, lately, all these schools get included on their list.
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This may be off topic, but Iām interested in your view on Boston Latin School vs the top private schools in terms of applicants pool, academic rigor and EC. Is BLS close or on par with PA, PEA, or Milton? Of course BLS is free so its not fair, but if we exclude cost, are they comparable?
BTW BLS changed their admission criteria this year. I hope this doesnāt hurt the school.
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The stats I have heard from several sources were insane though - 100ās of applicants for a few spots. Is it truly that crazy this year?
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I think some folks have views that will vary. Rivers might be on the upswing but I would not compare it with Nobles or Belmont Hill. Not even close. I know that kids in the area try to get into the best school
possible. This is often based on their grades, sports, ecs, tests etc. Not all the schools are the same. That doesnāt mean that there arenāt good fits for all.
Some of the schools mentioned are also BS and some day. They get some overlap but not as much. Hard to compare, IMO.
The acceptance rate isnāt the only factor. Some schools are known for their academic preparedness. Also, some schools like Nobles are known for their outsized and really impressive matriculation. This might be based on lots of legacies and sports. We thought so when we looked at it about 5 years ago. They have a fabulous STEM program as well. Rivers is known for its conservatory.
We know a kid who went to Cambridge School of Weston and on to an Ivy. Yep, there was a connection ( parent headed an Ivy dept).
Funny how some folks feel like some schools are better than another school. We felt like fit mattered. There were some schools where academics also seemed to play a backseat to other things. Again fit. One can look at stats and easily see how many classes are offered and what the typical student looks like. We know lots of kids at all levels attending all these schools. Most end up in the right place.
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Heck, Iāve known kids who went there and gone on to Ivy engineering schools.
Wow. Yep, I think kids can leap from any of these schools into anything else. I do find some of the angst around which one is best a bit funny. We know tons of kids at all these schools. Typically kids apply to a span of schools and go to the one they like best, or think is hardest to get into. Lol.
But then again, I should have noted the thread title. Thereās a lot of whoās best in Boston/Metro-west in every respect. Such a local thing. So funny.
Outside the bubble of private school, no one even knows the names of many of these schools.
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And the silliest thing about this thread title is that the difficulty of admission can (and does) vary from person to person.
Endless loop, or like the black and white lines on the TV late at night ( if youāre old enough to remember that). Will be revised again and again to be sure.
Again, Rivers, Nobles and Belmont Hill are overlap schools. I realize that is not what it use to be like or what you understand to be the truth. Traditionally, Rivers accepted the lowest academic student of the three. Now, Rivers accepts an equal or slightly stronger student than BH and a slightly weaker student than Nobles. Eventually, school reputations evolve to match admissions difficulty. They always do. The consumer speaks! So many examples in the college admissions world where this has happened. And people age, with older viewsā¦much less involved.
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Applications at more competitive Boston area schools were up 20% - 50% YoY.
One thing different this year is that people went for all years, not just common entry years. So, there are some grades that got 100 applicants for 4 spots, for example. Normally, people just donāt waste their time like that.
Also, this year, many kids tried to repeat to gain an advantage in admissions, not just for sports or academic/social need.
Iām so happy to find some discussion of Boston area day schools! Our DD applied to 5 local day schools, was rejected at Nobles, WL at Rivers, and accepted to Dana Hall, Thayer, and Dexter. Rivers was her dream, we knew Nobles was a long shot. Now weāre scratching our heads between the 3 acceptances (academics win at Dana but the all-girls factor doesnāt). Which leaves us with Thayer/Dexter. Any insight between the 2? Our DD is somewhat sporty, not super arty, but really loves academics/socializing/current events. Sheās all As in a top 10 MA school district and mid-70% ssat. Iām including this b/c she really wants to be in school with kids who are like her academically. W
Itās wonderful to hear that Rivers is on the uptick, itās wonderful school and occupies a certain niche. That being said, just like there are tiers in the Ivy League, there are tiers in the ISL. Like the Ivy League these schools are organized around sports. Certain schools in the league occupy a place at the top that is not affected by success in athletics- the boarding schools (Milton, Lawrence, Middlesex & Groton) and Roxbury Latin. The next tier includes Belmont Hill, Nobles and BB&N. While these schools are certainly strong academically they owe some significant degree of their reputation to the fact that they are feeders to the Ivies & NESCACs for sports. Belmont Hill & Nobles are the big dogs in this regard. They are the two strongest athletic programs across all the sports at least for boys. Rivers cannot compete against them and in fact they donāt in some sports. While an excellent school, Rivers is in a lower tier than Belmont Hill or Nobles.
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You have a unique perspective on the ivy league and the ISL. Thanks for sharing it.
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Iād disagree about Lawrence. Academically itās at the bottom of the schools you listed. Possibly even below Rivers. And I mean that based on the kids they admit. Not teacher excellence which I think is fairly amazing in this area.
Pre covid LA had a 50% + admit rate while Groton hovered at 11-12% with the other schools on the spectrum in between. But thereās no way anyone in MA thinks LA is a harder hitter academically than BB&N and Nobles.
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I agree @one1ofeach. And mixing privates and boardings is a strategy for getting things really mixed up. BSās have different offerings just by the nature of having to keep kids busy 7/24. A day student at a BS will have a vastly different experience than a day student at a top private school.
BB&N and Nobles are far better academically than Lawrence academy which is known for having specialized programs esp. for learning support.
All ISL schools are not equal just as any bunch of schools in an athletic league are not equal.
When I said unique, I meant unique.
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Itās very hard to compare Boston Latin to independent schools. Latin is an outstanding public school and has an excellent track record of placing students at top colleges. However, it is a public school, so it has much larger class sizes than private schools. I believe class sizes of 25 -30 are the norm, even for APs.
Latin offers many impressive extracurriculars, though in general the athletics are not comparable to the private schools. It does have an impressive rowing program. Performing arts are strong, and a high percentage of students participate in orchestra, band, and chorus.
Academics at Latin are very strong, but my impression is that there is less of a focus on developing writing skills than you would find at most private schools. I assume that is due to class size.
Putting aside cost, I think it really comes down to fit for your child and your family. Latin offers a wonderful opportunity for kids to get a great education in a diverse, urban school. However, it is a big school (approx 400 students in the graduating class), and there is not the same level of advising that you would find at a private school. I donāt say that to be critical of the faculty and administration. They do a fantastic job. It is just not possible to have the same degree of one-on-one attention as private schools offer.
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