Hello experienced parents!
I have homeschooled my 7th grade girl, but she strongly wants to try BS for her highschool experience. I have thoroughly looked for several schools, did a lot of homework on my side, but the information out there is vast and I would love to have some insights and directions.
Key points
- Girls-only school is highly desired, but not a must (Miss Porter's & Emma Willard)
- Short-skirt type uniform is not acceptable (Santa Catalina)
- SSAT score will be good. She got 91% on her first test (99% verbal, 90% writing, 72% math) but that was before she properly learned Algebra and grammar terms. She would probably around 99% verbal, 95% writing, 99% math if she takes it again now.
- GPA is irrelevant since she has been homeschooled. But she got all A on her community college courses.
- She has a hook in Ceramics. She has taken 9 community college studio art (6), arts history (2), and history (1) courses. She has some good drawing and ceramic pieces to show.
- During her 8th grade, she plans to take several General Education courses to prepare for BS - English 1A/1B, Spanish 1A/1B, Fundamentals of Chemistry (Fall), General Principles & Cell Biology (Spring), and two more Ceramics/Sculpture courses.
- She hasn't done much writing yet, therefore is expecting to still face good challenges at top boarding school even though she has taken some community college courses.
Thanks!
Welcome to the forum!
There are a few home-school parents on the forum who should be able to field most of your questions.
From this thread:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-parents/1624008-updated-bs-parent-resources-p5.html
mountainhiker and classicalmama are home-school parents
Regarding the two schools mentioned in your post…for someone who does not have a child at the school, I am an Emma Willard superfan. Am familiar with both Porters (daughter did summer program there) and EW (daughter applied and was admitted) out of the “usual suspects” girls schools and prefer EW.
This thread, from my older daughter’s process may be worth reading…covers a lot of the process, and many of the schools mentioned on this forum:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-parents/1174214-one-family%C2%92s-bs-search-and-application-process-%C2%97-start-to-finish.html#latest
I know you said all-girls, but you may want to take a look at Loomis. Amazing Ceramics and head of Art Department’s passion. Sophomore writing program is incredible.
SevenDad. That was amazing information that you shared. I feel I suddenly know much better now. I liked your approach of finding a fit and I will try to do something similar, although we don’t have money for so many visits to east coast schools from California 
Our goal with BS is well rounded education and different life experience. For pure academics, I think nothing beats self-directed homeschooling with community colleges. But I feel that I pushed her too much in narrow area of logical reading comprehension and sculpting. She wants to see what’s in the other world and she has the right.
Dreamcatcher3. Thanks for the suggestion. All-girls is not a must. Loomis sounds promising. We will look into it.
Another thing. We looked into Arts Boarding Schools. They are wonderful. But daughter slightly prefers a regular BS. Even though she enjoys arts the most at the moment, she strongly wants to explore other areas too.
And I love Loomis focusing on writing. As an immigrant parent, I have neglected in English writing in my homeschool.
Well, since you read about the Seven family’s journey of discovery, you’re pretty well informed about SAS.
Elizabeth McGiff is the Ceramics teacher there, and I do think that she’s pretty wonderful. The entire Visual and Performing Arts department is good. My two kids have enjoyed working with several of the faculty in different areas of the department, with welcome results.
St. Andrew’s is all about the “well-rounded education and different life experience”, inasmuch as the school encourages wider participation by a smaller number of students (300) to populate so many programs and teams. “Specialized” students are admitted, but the greater number are kids who are “generalists” and pick up new activities along with the others they have experience in. Those who want to drill deep into math, singing, soccer or whatever are generally able to excel but have a broad experience to boot. Really advanced Division 1 prospects certainly will find larger schools with more competitive environments to be attractive alternatives to SAS. The general climate in this all-residential community fosters wide interpersonal associations as well – few kids hide themselves within cliques and behind program doors because an inclusive, supportive “ethos” discourages the stereotypical patterns often associated with the high school experience. Watch performances on the video feeds found through the website/Livestream/YouTube/Facebook pages and you will sense just how much unity the students feel with each other and the faculty/staff. It might suggest the kind of “fit” you’re looking for.
I also have an artistic, high-achieving daughter. Academics are her primary reason for wanting to go to boarding school, so although she investigated the arts opportunities at various schools, they weren’t really a deciding factor. We checked out vocal music, theater, and visual arts…didn’t look into dance, and assumed writing instruction would be good anywhere. We didn’t find a single school really lacking, although obviously some have unique programs. She did like Loomis and SAS very much. If ceramics is your daughter’s particular interest, I believe there is a strong program at Mercersburg (my children’s school). Also, Choate has an arts concentration that may be of interest. Arts high schools are pre-professional, for kids who only want to do one thing and who know it at a young age. IMO, your daughter is wise to want a general education. Best of luck in your search!
George School (PA) has a very strong ceramics program.
Charger78, thank you for your suggestion. SAS seem to have a top notch program on both art and academic. We have requested more info and we will study it more
twinsmama. Thanks for the suggestions. I will study them. Daughter said she wants to be an artist early on, and has spent majority of her time on art. So I naturally prepared plans that she can continue to do just that - she can junior transfer to a local university with Arts major next Fall, with both general education and lower grade degree requirements completed. But now she wants to take it slow and see what else is out there.
Thank you CindyLWho. I will look in to George School.
The arts are integrated into The Putney School not just on an academic level but part of the regular routine in their evening arts program. The academic curriculum is progressive and often self driven.
A school with a small boarding program but strong arts & academics is Cambridge School of Weston. I know some graduates who were day students - don’t knowing much about their boarding program. About 25% boarding. They have a block system - you take 3 academics classes each block and there are 7 blocks during the year.
Also you might want to look at Concord Academy. Both CSW and CA are in Massachusetts.
Thank you for the recommendations!
Thank you for the recommendations!