<p>As the parent of Third Former, I’ll try to answer:</p>
<p>small school size-- does it get lonely? what do kids do on weekends?
I don’t know if there is any difference in how “lonely” you might feel at a school of 300 vs. a school of 850. While there might be fewer people to get to know, but I’d guess that the average kid will befriend the same number of people at a school of 300 vs. a school of 850.</p>
<p>What do kids do on weekends? After Saturday classes, some kids will have athletic events. There are dances as well. Some kids ride bikes to town or the nearby shopping centers/grocery stores/restaurants. The school also organizes some van trips to local malls/movie theater, etc. Pretty sure there is chapel on Sunday (I think kids of different faiths are provided with transportation to other places of worship.), but after that you can work on homework, watch movies in common rooms, bake cookies, play pickup games of paddle, tennis, basketball, etc. The campus is a beautiful and quite large…</p>
<p>isolation from a city/other schools
This is one of those questions that comes up a lot about schools that I just don’t understand. Do people consider Wallingford some sort of metropolis? Or Exeter or Concord, NH? I can understand that if a kid lives in Manhattan or another major city that a place like Middletown might seem like a small town, but again, how often do any of these prospective students visit a metropolis in their pre-boarding school lives? If proximity to a city is important, then Andover, Groton, Milton (Boston), Lawrenceville (NY/Phila), The Masters School (NYC) would be more likely choices than Choate (or Exeter, St. Paul’s, Hotchkiss, Deerfield, etc.) St. Andrew’s is about 30 minutes from Wilmington, DE and about 1 hour (by car) from Philadelphia.</p>
<p>There are a number of prep schools in Delaware and Pennsylvania that St. Andrew’s plays in sports. It might be a small state, but 2 of the top female XC runners in the country came from Delaware (Haley Pierce of Tatnall and Julie Macedo of Charter) this year.</p>
<p>academics-- how are the teachers? are classes challenging?
As I’ve noted in other posts, my daughter is a high-achieving (99th-ile SSAT, etc.) student and is perfectly satisfied with her teachers and the level of rigor. Looking at her schedule for next year with an eye toward the years after that, she has no concern about “maxing out” the course offerings.</p>
<p>dorms-- i heard there is no internet in dorms.
There is no internet in the rooms (wifi or ethernet). I think it’s a plus, as does my daughter. The common rooms have ethernet cables and a few terminals for people to use if you don’t have a laptop. Also note, using a cell phone in public areas is also prohibited. I think the point here is that they don’t want kids checking Facebook in every waking moment or texting while walking to class.</p>
<p>Dress code-- I kinda like the idea of one, However, does it hold throughout the whole day? because I don’t like that so much.
That’s a good question. I think you have to stay in “classroom dress” for the entire school day, but can change after classes are done. There are “formal” meals (where you have to wear “classroom dress”, but I forget exactly how many per week.</p>
<p>I’m mainly interested in art and music, is SAS good in those areas? What about compared to Choate?
- It was just Arts weekend at SAS, so I got to see student art and hear the musical groups. My wife is a professional artist who did stints at MoMa and the Guggenheim, and she was even more impressed with the art than I was. As I noted in an earlier post, the first chair cellist and violinist in the orchestra are amazing, could probably earn a living as musicians if they wanted to.</p>
<p>Choate seems to have amazing arts programs and, of course, the IM Pei-designed Mellon Arts Center building. What I think you’ll see at Choate (and all larger schools) is a “deeper bench” in all sections of an orchestra. I bet you the first chairs at majority of these schools are of comparable ability.</p>
<p>Hope this helps. You can’t go wrong with either school. It really comes down to what you and your family value and which school best meets your needs/matches those values. I happen to prefer the more private feeling of the SAS campus (and SPS as well as Groton) to the more open/in-town layout of Choate (and Exeter).</p>
<p>I’ll leave you with this thought from the Headmaster’s page of the SAS website: “If you take on the opportunity of St. Andrew’s, you will embark on a life changing adventure.”</p>
How many drawers??? How about the closets? One for each or just one to share? I can’t seem to find any pictures online.</p>
I’m soooo excited about starting school!!!</p>