Ridley College

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>There has been some discussion on another thread about schools to consider if you have not had the success you would like on the SSAT.</p>

<p>Ridley College, located in St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada (outside of Toronto, about an hour over the border from Buffalo, NY) does not require SSATs as part of their application. But that doesn’t mean they’re not an academically challenging school. I’m reposting some of the information I posted on the other thread:</p>

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<p>Previous Post:</p>

<p>Ridley College in Canada does not require applicants to take the SSAT, but I think they still like to see test scores if they’re available. Regardless, Ridley is considered an academically challenging school. They are rolling out the IB program this coming fall. You can take IB classes and sit for the IB diploma, or just take a few IB classes, or you can take AP classes, or you can take standard classes. There is a range of academic rigor, but even the least rigorous classes would still be challenging.</p>

<p>Here’s a quote from an email I received from an AO at Ridley:</p>

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[quote]

Our classes or often grouped by ability. In courses where we are offering multiple sections, we try to best place each student. All of Ridley's courses are taught at the Academic level as opposed to the Applied level which is found in public schools in Ontario. Academic level courses are designed with preparation for university in mind.

[/quote]
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<p>and -</p>

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[quote]

In terms of our SSAT scores, we have students who have scored across the board on that test. We have students who scored well above the 90th percentile as well as those students who were not able to find as much success on the SSAT as they hoped.

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<p>Another Previous Post:</p>

<p>And in response to a question about how many Americans attend Ridley:</p>

<p>No, I don’t know exactly how many Americans are at Ridley - my guess is it’s around 5% or less, but that’s just a guess.</p>

<p>Here are some stats on the student body at Ridley:
- apprx 450 kids, 9-12, PG
- 35% international, 35 countries, about half of the boarders are international
- 67% boarders total</p>

<p>It’s a very “English” style boarding school - think of Hogwarts: Houses, formal dress (coat and tie with the Ridley crest for boys and girls), lots of tradition, you expect the people in the portraits in the Great Hall to wave at you and flit from frame to frame!</p>

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<p>Ridley also offers merit scholarship - up to $15,000 for the Ridley Scholar award, which is based on past academic achievement, SSAT score, and potential contribution to Ridley through the arts, athletics, community service or leadership.</p>

3

<p>Here are some more notes about Ridley, taken by my DH, who accompanied our DS on his visit last year:</p>

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<ul>
<li><p>Chapel was fine, 45 min, they attend 3X week.</p></li>
<li><p>Dean/Housemaster took me from Chapel to tour a House, very nice; good size rooms with 2 beds, 3 desks. (Day students are assigned a House, and share a room in the House with boarders for hanging out during the day and studying.) Nice common room.</p></li>
<li><p>Interestingly they are allowed off campus from after classes until 7:30. There’s a mall nearby and a WalMart and Target within walking distance.</p></li>
<li><p>They have to leave campus twice per term, most international students go home with a day student or on a trip (outdoor program, sports, skiing or New York).</p></li>
<li><p>just had lunch, very nice. Expected the figures in the giant paintings in the great hall to all start moving and talking… Food was quite good. Our tour guide is from Barbados, one of 5 here including his sister. Two of the others from Barbados were at our table too as was a guy from Malaysia.</p></li>
<li><p>I think DS has been truly impressed by the enthusiasm of the staff and their offerings. I was impressed that they have a room full of drafting tables, where kids draw something out then go across the hall and make it in a lab shop next to the robotics lab.</p></li>
<li><p>It was good to see their robotics lab. They have a neat instructor, he also teaches physics. </p></li>
</ul>

<p>-met with the heads of the Duke of Edinburgh program - interesting outdoor activities: regular hiking/backpacking trips, canoeing, dog sled trips.</p>

<p>-the music and robotics offerings here are robust; DS liked the orchestra director, seems like a really good program</p>

<ul>
<li>DS also loved the fact that in the geography class he went to only one person had any paper, the rest were all using laptops and all assignments are given and turned in that way.</li>
</ul>

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<p>From what I see, one huge downside is that they’re not in the USA.</p>

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<p>Depends what you’re looking for in a school. If you enjoy immersing yourself in another culture, without any sort of language barrier, a school like Ridley could be an enormous growth experience on so many levels.</p>

<p>There are definitely some added complexities, though. You have to purchase special health insurance (your US insurance isn’t going to work in Canada), holiday schedules don’t always match up with US schools (Canadian Thanksgiving is in October), and depending on where you live, travel to/from school can be more complicated and more expensive. Tuition and board for international students is on par with the costs for 2012-2013 I’ve seen from US boarding schools.</p>

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<p>A recent newsletter from Ridley Admissions:</p>

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