<p>Between looking at other schools initially throughout the admissions process or visiting schools to watch my child compete in various sports, I've been on many boarding school campuses. For the most part, we all love to sing the praises of our child's school but I thought it would be fun to talk about schools we did not choose or apply to that we like or admire for various reasons. </p>
<p>For me:</p>
<p>Brooks - The students I've encountered at Brooks have been super friendly and polite. Faculty I have talked to at sporting events seem engaged and dedicated. </p>
<p>St. George's - Inspiring campus in a gorgeous setting. </p>
<p>St. Paul’s — IMO, the most “special” feeling of the “usual suspects” of the New England area. At the risk of offending many, some of the other “top” NE frequently mentioned here feel like really well funded public schools compared to SPS.</p>
<p>Thacher — The road less traveled, some of it by horse. Think of it as the Deep Springs of the boarding school world. And if you don’t know Deep Springs, you should.</p>
<p>Ridley College - mid-size, English-style boarding school right outside the vibrant city of Toronto. You can’t help but think of Hogwarts as you see the kids in their navy blazers with the Ridley Crest, dining in the Great Hall. Strong academics, great arts and athletics programs, and a really unique outdoor program (dog sledding, anyone?). An “international” experience, but so close to home!</p>
<p>St. Paul’s - I’m intrigued by its “freedom with responsiblity” approach for a relatively small school community, which is often interpreted as “nurturing” or “cuddling”. To me, it indicates the vision of the school admistration, which is to expose its highly mature students to certain risks, give them a taste of the real world, and let them learn from mistakes. It values its traditions highly, but at the same time is making efforts to break the “bubble effect” of a BS.</p>
<p>I really liked George for the feel of the campus. My children are at a Quaker school now and there’s real sense of comfort in the physical spaces of these schools. My daughter wanted something different, so she didn’t end up applying.</p>
<p>Groton was a favorite for my daughter. She loved the freshman dorms with the partial walls!</p>
<p>I love this thread, btw. It’s interesting to see where other parents’ hearts and minds are when “they don’t have a horse in the race” (to paraphrase DA). I think this could turn into a valuable thread for future applicants.</p>
<p>So far Groton and St. Paul’s have gotten two nods each, with Brooks, Ridley, St. George, George School, and Thacher also getting the thumbs up.</p>
<p>I’ve posted on several other threads how my heart was left at Northfield Mount Hermon. The school embodies “excellence without pretense” as someone else put it, and they did the best job of getting to know our son and courting him along the application way. 1100 gorgeous rural acres (and homemade ice cream) spoke to my soul. I also loved the line on their website: NMH has no preconceived notions of who you ought to be, but does have great expectations of what you can do, a paraphrase of how we have raised our son. If it had been me…</p>
<p>^^+1 to ChoatieMom. There is a whole thread lurking out there somewhere about NMH being poised to take things to a whole new level…everything we saw there last year seemed to concur with that. Will probably look again closely if any of the younger peeps take interest in the BS route…also think their web presence and marketing is among the best</p>
In a way, all the schools with thousands of applications and super low admit rates should have many admirers out there that don’t have these schools as “theirs”… So I don’t know how representative this sample can be, but for good old fun it’s still worthwhile.</p>
<p>I really loved Groton. Everyone we met was so warm and welcoming, and I felt they were very intentional about how they created community–I like schools that have a distinct personality. Not the perfect fit for my kid, but I’d like to go there!</p>
<p>I agree with Choatiemom and thought NMH was wonderful. We looked at many schools on our New England boarding school trip and NMH really stayed with me! It was hard mailing our decline card last week. I felt badly! I highly recommend taking a look at NMH!</p>
<p>Today is decision day, and our son is going to attend St. Paul’s. He is thrilled with this, and deep down I know it’s the right decision for him. However, I have a deep regret that we are declining the offer from Groton, which parents and son alike just LOVED. This is one of the toughest decisions I have ever made - as I would feel so very confident and comforted if we were sending him to Groton. It is an intimate, nurturing environment with plenty of opportunities and academic rigor, in a beautiful setting. I love the structure and rhythm of the days there, and worry that my son will have too many choices at too young of an age at SPS, and more resources than he could ever fully take advantage of as a high schooler. </p>
<p>Groton strikes me as a school that is balancing being an internationally acclaimed institution with being a quaint, New England high school. They will help your child to shine and still hold him or her very, very close. I think that being cherished, nurtured, and kept safe is important through the years of high school, especially in the absence of parents. </p>
<p>That said, the whole reason my son wants/ needs to go to boarding school is that we hover a bit too much over him, and he has led a very structured, almost choreographed life to date. He has accomplished a lot, but usually because it’s what we (or his school) has expected of him… not what he feels driven to do or passionate about. Our sense is that going to SPS will be like jumping into the deep end… but this is the best way he will be able to find his own internal drive, motivation, and sense of accomplishment. He felt Groton would hold him too close. Maybe that’s true, but in the mean time… I sure wish I could be sending my son there.</p>
<p>Have a similar feeling to IM4’s about SPS and Groton but from the opposite direction. ChargerS is St. Andrew’s Class of 2016, having declined an offer from Peddie. SAS is smaller, like Groton, and Peddie is larger like SPS. Peddie has wonderful teachers, and beyond that, has loads of opportunities and programs due to its size and “never complacent” mentality. It is loaded with Jersey kids yet manages to succeed as a “diverse” school of national and international repute. One teacher there attributes much of the school’s success to the incredibly enthusiastic “buy in” among so many of the students. (As I have written elsewhere, read the Matt Roach blog entry – “Freak” – on Peddie Voices to capture a sense of the school spirit.) While SAS is going to be great for my S this coming year at 14-15, a nagging question is whether it will wear well for all four years. At 16/17-18, would the “small college” scale of Peddie be more desirable? Imponderables are really just that. For many kids, Peddie is a great balance between inspiring teachers, terrific school spirit (think Blair Week), advantageous location and resources, and the academics/athletics/arts mix.</p>
<p>Deerfield is my fondest memory of the admissions trecks, it seemed like a marvelous gem - ageless. The campus, town, and history of the place, as well as the book about the Headmaster, were so REAL. Our interviewer (a senior director) spoke to my soul. They send a beautiful watercolor poster of campus to admitted students. The bright pants with little animals embroidered on them everyone was wearing were so cute too. My daughter did not appreciate it the same way I did, though, she said it was like a museum. She is not a museum goer.</p>
<p>Reviving this thread for this year’s round of applicants. </p>
<p>There are so many great schools out there! </p>
<p>I can second the recommendation above for Ridley College in Canada…a wonderful school that is now rolling out an IB program. Millbrook is a fantastic place - outstanding headmaster, warm community, and nice kids with a lot of heart. For those open to single sex schools, Avon has a gorgeous campus and I was impressed with the generous, kindhearted adults who work there.</p>
<p>Blair definitely left a big impression on dd and me. We found the environment warm, the classes engaging and the campus just lovely. It was a struggle to turn it down.</p>
<p>I also liked NMH (much better than did geekgirl). It seemed to have something of a “best of all worlds” quality, and we loved the arts offerings.</p>
<p>We admired PEA’s academic breadth, loved the architecture inside and out, and thought the students seemed a very interesting and diverse lot.</p>