<p>Where else is like Loomis and Kent?</p>
<p>I'll comment on your questions for Blair.</p>
<p>With 440 students, I guess you can call it a medium-sized school.</p>
<p>It has a casual dress code, but there are some restrictions such as no jeans during the academic day.</p>
<p>The advantage of Sat. classes is that you have more vacation. My son has had a light schedule on Sat. mornings. I don't know if this is intentional or he just got lucky.</p>
<p>Blair has the sports you are interested in. I suspect most of your schools will have them, except they might not all have golf. Blair has its own 9-hole golf course which students can play, and golf is offered as a recreational (non-competitive) as well as a competitive sport. They have an exchange program with a British school golf team. I don't know that much about the program, but I think one year the British team comes to Blair and the next year the Blair team goes to the UK. If my memory is correct, the other 2 schools on your list with a golf course are Taft and NMH. </p>
<p>I think it will be hard to find a school that offers recreational football. At Blair, they have a JV team. As I understand it, incoming 9th graders who want to play are encouraged to come to the pre-season so they can learn the sport and work as a team before the season starts. My understanding is that if you want to play football, there is a place for you on the team. I don't think this is true for every school. </p>
<p>Arts programs are strong, but the graduation requirements are not onerous for the non-artist. If you dislike the arts, be sure you understand what the arts requirements are; it varies by school. </p>
<p>I think all the schools will give you a chance at student government and other leadership opportunities. I've heard the Blair Headmaster talk about how many graduates have moved on to leadership positions in college and beyond. If you look at the back of the viewbook, there is a section called something like "Most Likely to Lead." <a href="http://www.blair.edu/Admissions/viewbook/Blair_Viewbook_06.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.blair.edu/Admissions/viewbook/Blair_Viewbook_06.pdf</a></p>
<p>Academics are strong and high-ability students are encouraged to take honors and AP courses. While it's not a large school, one of things my son liked about the school was that they offered some unusual classes for a school its size, such as architecture, marine biology, video production, computer science, and more.</p>
<p>It would be good to vist some of the schools ASAP.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Well first I have to trim two schools off that list excluding Taft, Loomis, and The Gunnery. Any suggestions as to which schools I should cut off?</p>
<p>Do they all have openings? You might just trim on that basis. In other words, only apply to the schools with openings for you. </p>
<p>The other thing you might do is to rank your schools in 3 sections:
1. 1st choices
2. like but not 1st choice
3. OK but not my favorites</p>
<p>By the time you get through writing applications for levels 1 & 2, you might decide to eliminate #3. </p>
<p>If Taft, Loomis and The Gunnery are your first choices, start writing your applications while continuing to study the academic offerings and distribution requirements of the remaining schools. If you study them carefully and start to understand what makes each unique, you will start to understand how they should be ranked for you.</p>
<p>Oh, Choate(I forgot it), Loomis, Taft, and the Gunnery aren't my first choices, those I know I will apply to (maybe not Gunnery), so I'm trying to decide which of the other schools I should trim off.</p>
<p>My first choices are looking like this:
NMH
Kent</p>
<p>Then these schools I like but aren't my favorites:
Blair
Millbrook
Salisbury</p>
<p>I haven't read too much about these, so it would be wrong to judge them:
Berkshire
Willis Northampton</p>
<p>This is the only school I think I will eventually take off the list:
Pomfret</p>
<p>All those schools have openings.</p>
<p>As Warriorboy said, every one of these schools offers honors classes and AP classes.
It's not a matter of "rank" really that set them apart from one another academically. It's more a matter of what TYPE of classes they offer. Some have different science classes, some different math, various languages.<br>
They will **All **offer classes that will challenge you, but if you are very interested in student government, maybe (I don't know) you are interested in history and government and would want a school that offered several different goverment classes. That's the kind of thing to look for.</p>
<p>If you are considering Blair you should look at Peddie. Peddie has better academics and strong athletics. Both Peddie and Blair are located in NJ, but Peddie has the luxury of being 5 min. away from Princeton. Peddie will be harder to get into than Blair but easier than Choate.</p>
<p>Oh, but isn't peddie very artsy?</p>
<p>no not really. I wouldn't call it "artsey" but i'm sure it has a impressive art program. Its normal not "artsey".</p>
<p>artsy**** i had no clue how to spell it</p>
<p>I guess I might have to look at Peddie too.</p>
<p>Any other school suggestions?</p>
<p>Lawrenceville is in New Jersey, and is an excellent school. Very impressive college matriculation, good sports, and outstanding academics. I don't know if they have spots, though.</p>
<p>Yeah there are definitely no spots, and I also heard that their dorms for boys are terrible.</p>
<p>Anywhere else?</p>
<p>Oh sorry, lol, didn't know that.</p>
<p>There's also Avon Old Farms, an all boys school in Connecticut. It's good academically and excellent athletically. 40-50% acceptance rate.</p>
<p>Is that as good, better, or worse academically than Salisbury?</p>
<p>Salisbury is a little better academically than Avon, but they are both good schools.</p>