Hi everyone. I’d love to hear from anyone who has attended Milton or Middlesex about their experiences there, or from any parents of kids who have attended either. Not interested in a direct comparison between the two, necessarily - I’m aware they are about as different as two schools could be. I’d just like to know what you loved about either one, and what you think could be improved. Bonus points for any info on writing/humanities programs, and on sports programs/emphasis. Feel free to post positive comments here, but if you have really negative things to say about either, be candid but please PM me instead. Thanks.
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I’m not a current parent but I love in the area and know many people at both schools (students and faculty).
I love the Middlesex writing seminar. When we attended revisit day, parents went to a sample writing class and I was blown away.
Both schools emphasize sports but it ebbs and flows and depends on individual coaches a lot.
Milton has a much higher percentage day student population. If you’re a day student that’s probably a positive. At Middlesex day students are not as well integrated as they are a school like Groton that provides an in dorm room for day kids. Middlesex has a common room for day students but it’s not the same vibe.
Before the Middlesex head of school muck up I would also have said Middlesex was a better run school. Generally maybe still true. Milton teachers are somewhat disgruntled and at times during Covid refused to be in the classroom. Milton leadership wasn’t strong on that issue.
I do think there’s a different vibe at the two schools. To be ultra frank I like the people I know at Middlesex a lot better than the Milton people. Milton parents I know are a bit in the pushy type A category (certainly not all parents but the ones I know 
).
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If there’s a specific sport you’re interested in please be specific. If I know anything about that sport, or if othered do, we’ll comment. In general sports are so coach dependent I find it hard to comment without knowing the sport.
Tennis, golf, squash.
I am a parent of a Sophomore at Middlesex.
She loves Middlesex and has made great friends. It really is a special school, with a strong sense of community and an appreciation for the individual student. It’s a good combination of tradition and looking forward.
Based on your post, I would recommend asking about the writing program if you plan to go to a visit day. It is a fantastic program. It begins sophomore year and it is not graded. It is a workshop that the students need to master before graduating. It really teaches the students how to write well.
Every student plays a sport and there are plenty of opportunities to try something new.
Just a great environment overall with plenty of room for growth.
Hope that helps
For tennis and squash I believe you can look up the rankings of the players. We have friends on both teams and the parents always know before the kids play a match “so and so is ranked x.” You can also look up their win/loss rate, you’ll see that you can change the date although you have to go back to 2019 to find a tennis schedule that was played. Have you spoken to the coaches?
Sorry, golf I know nothing about!
@one1ofeach Milton is actually 50/50 on day students vs boarders. My child said they both hang out with each other. I personally find the parents to be very inclusive. We came from a school with families that sends their kids to both Middlesex and Milton. These kids and families hang out together and were great friends until they branch off to Milton and Middlesex. I think the feeling of people you know from Middlesex being a lot better is probably anecdotal and not something that I would use as a generalization. My personal experience with the parents and kids there is superb. It’s a super-inclusive environment. Parents are great at connecting through informal social events like morning walks, coffee, and even Zoom meetings for games. We are very open to meeting new friends. For a school this size, I couldn’t have asked for more. @Nwbddad: If you haven’t already, the Revisit Day would be perfect for you to decide for yourself. Hope you find your perfect fit!
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Kiddo is in her first year at MX and loves it. She is the artistic/theatre loving type and not the athletic type so don’t really have much to say about the athletics except that she has played a sport each season (as required) and enjoyed the camaraderie of her teammates and the coaches. She is starting JV tennis right now.
The Humanities program is excellent at MX. My daughter came in a fairly strong reader and writer and I would say that she has improved by leaps and bounds. She now sees what she needs to do to earn more than the 89-91% on tests and papers. The feedback from her teachers has been top-notch. We are looking forward to hearing more about the Writing Seminar next year which is a signature program. Also, all juniors are required to take AP Lang & Lit. This allows for Seniors to then have more choice in English classes Senior year. My daughter is hoping to put together an Independent Study her senior year based on her interests.
The current acting HOS, Karlyn McNall, is wonderful and the students really like her. The school has moved on from the HOS debacle this fall and no one is even talking about it except to share HOS search information.
The one thing my kiddo would change is the dining hall food. It is not great and the weekly menu could use some tweaks. We also wish they could find a way to open their Grill which was the other more casual dining option on campus. It has been closed since Covid began and they haven’t been able to restaff it to open it again. I think this would be a game-changer on “stir-fry” nights!
We chose MX because it allowed our daughter to continue her passion for music/theater but also asked her to participate in sports, which she has done her whole schooling career. She came into BS more of a “generalist” and didn’t want to give that up. MX really supports her in this.
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Thanks, MommyArchitect and parentof2kids! You were both very helpful. D is really excited about attending a revisit day at both schools. Too bad about the food at MX, but she’s not much of an eater anyway – if they only had chicken fingers as the only option, I think she’s be perfectly fine.
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