<p>My family and I are visiting this Tuesday also. I did have a question about laundry although. My daughter does her own laundry and I was wondering how things worked there. Do u need quarters? Do people do it for you? Where do you do your laundry?</p>
<p>There is no outsourced laundry service at SAS like there are at other schools. The good news is that the in-dorm washing machines and dryers are FREEâŠno quarters needed.</p>
<p>From our experience in the girls dorms, there could be more machinesâŠIâve joked with Tad Roach that should I ever win the lottery, a âgreenâ dedicated laundry center will be our first major gift. The situation in Moss seems to be better than the Frosh girls dorm, Pell.</p>
<p>Iâm working on responses to some earlier questions now.</p>
<p>Trying to catch up on questionsâŠ</p>
<p>@katrinadad: Regarding correspondence from schools post application submission. I donât know that Iâd read anything into a relative lack of communication from a school in the pre-M10 period as an indication of anythingâŠlack of interest, likelihood of admission, etc. Many families have reported strong communication pre-M10 only to get a thin envelope on M10. I will say that when we had a question for all three schools SevenDaughter applied to two years ago, SAS was the first to get back to us by phone; then SPS by email late on a Sunday after; and finally Choate a few days later. This was over a weekend pre-M10, and I truly appreciated the quick turnaround by both SAS and SPS.</p>
<p>Regarding SAS having âlots of senior administratorsâ who are maleâŠI donât know how different that is from many other schools (from the schools on your list, Groton, Andover, Choate, and Episcopal all have male Heads of School). The head of Admissions at SAS is a woman, as is the head of college counseling.</p>
<p>But more importantly, I think SAS fosters a healthy environment for the female students. Just one example is the concept of co-presidentsâŠwhere a boy and girl are elected for this leadership roles by their peers. </p>
<p>Re: âAre the female students treated as well as the boys in terms of teacher attention, athletic facilities, etc.â</p>
<p>Wittyone touched on this, but as the parent of a daughter at SAS, Iâll elaborate. From my POV, yes. I see that sports teams of both genders get fairly equal coverage on the school website. </p>
<p>Regarding the menâs varsity shell being better than the womenâs varsity shellâŠI think the menâs V8 had a âdemoâ shell from some high end boatmaker the year they went to Henley and they also had it last year. But yesterday at the home opener it looked like they were not in that boat (which I recall was white), rowing instead a blue Vespoli like the women and the JV boats. </p>
<p>Regarding academics, IIRC, the valedictorian last year was a womanâŠ.she is now at Harvard.</p>
<p>@hamburger110: I happen to LOVE the SAS campus and find it impressive. But more importantly, I get a very warm feeling whenever I turn into campus. Does it have a Phelps or Lindsay âstarâ science building? No. But how many of the schools do? Not Groton (yet). Not Hotchkiss.</p>
<p>@FilleMigonne: Although I see that you are going to SAS revisit later this week, my recap of the 2011 revisit day is on the first page of this thread: <a href=âhttp://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1112976-2011-revisits.html?highlight=revisits[/url]â>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1112976-2011-revisits.html?highlight=revisits</a></p>
<p>Kids do their own laundry at SAS, though there is, I believe, a dry cleaning option off-campus. Machines are in each dorm and they are free. The school intentionally does not facilitate the use of an outside service.</p>
<p>Yes, went to our first regatta yesterday and couldnât help but think that having a team tent behind the alumni house, on the high hill overlooking the last part of the course, is just very rare in the prep world. (SPS and Kent also come to mind; maybe NMH.) Very few schools compete, literally, right at home, which is one of the many ingredients that make for a tradition of pride around the crew program. Over 100 boys and girls in school rowed yesterday, and more came out, with lots oâ parents, to cheer them on. Many kids at St. Andrewâs try at least one sport for the very first time during their stay. Stretching oneself is encouraged, with lots of support given, not the least by other students. And Mr. Brownlee, the piper!</p>
<p>Mr. Brownlee on the pipes for the final races (usually the varsity boys & girls 8s) is truly an amazing experience.</p>
<p>Strong day for the Saints yesterdayâŠclose finishes in both V8 races.</p>
<p>Does the crew row just downhill from the beautiful collegiate gothic buildings, like they do in Dead Poets Society? If so, then the rowing course is even more central to the campus than it is at SPS.</p>
<p>@friendlymom: The crews do row on that body of water, known as Noxontown Pond. However the primary viewing area for the âhomeâ team is a few hundred feet to the left of the Front Lawn (shown in DPS) if youâre facing the water. They call it Alumni Point.</p>
<p>One very nice thing about the SAS crew program besides the proximity of the boathouse and training/racing venue is that SAS fields so many boats. In a school of about 300, I count 11 Eights and 1 Four fielded by St. Andrewâs this past weekend. Throw in the coxswains, and thatâs about 1/3rd of the school that rowsâŠmany students taking the sport up for the first time at SAS.</p>
<p>A new video that shows rowing facilities at SASâŠincluding Alumni Point spectating area (around the 1:47 mark) and dock (both on campus). Keep in mind that these are frosh rowers, so donât get too critical of technique/speed:
[Freshmen</a> Boys Race - YouTube](<a href=âFreshmen Boys Race - YouTubeâ>Freshmen Boys Race - YouTube)</p>
<p>Hereâs a vid of the varsity men from last year, if you want to get a feeling for pace of SASâs V8 crews:
[St</a>. Andrewâs Crew - YouTube](<a href=âSt. Andrew's Crew - YouTubeâ>St. Andrew's Crew - YouTube)</p>
<p>A view of the Girls 3rd Boat race from the visitorâs spectating areaâŠI think the TC Williams boat (the boat the videographer is following) finished 3rd. Around the :30 mark, you can see the SAS boat two lanes to the leftâŠthey finished 2nd behind Walt Whitman. Provides a good shot of Alumni point as well.</p>
<p>[2013</a> Noxontown Regatta #1 - Girls 3rd Varsity 8 - YouTube](<a href=â2013 Noxontown Regatta #1 - Girls 3rd Varsity 8 - YouTubeâ>2013 Noxontown Regatta #1 - Girls 3rd Varsity 8 - YouTube)</p>
<p>You never miss a beat, 7D, thanks for the find!</p>
<p>Best wishes to all who revisit tomorrow. We have a girl who will be a III Former next year, and she was thrilled to talk with 7daughter at the regatta as well as to meet a future classmate. ChargerDaughter was initially unable to picture herself at a BS despite living her first five years at one. Fair enough, itâs not for every kid. However, a turning point was really achieved when she spent time with this yearâs freshmen and discovered how uniformly friendly all are. This realization began to jell with an understanding of the differences between the day schools she was considering and the opportunities available at SAS. Over the course of the fall the reservations dropped away and every new exposure to the school, through the winter and spring, has been positive. Following in the wake of her elder brother, admittedly, helped to change her thinking, too. Weâre happy to share our experiences with interested readers. </p>
<p>Speaking to the issue of gender bias raised several months ago, I just have to say, now, that I wouldnât send my daughter to SAS if I wasnât perfectly clear that she would be treated just as well as any boy. All the evidence Iâve gathered indicates that this is a fantastic âsecond homeâ for girls. Will elaborate on request.</p>
<p>Any thoughts or follow-up now that Visit-Back Days are done?</p>
<p>Wow. </p>
<p>We could not have been more impressed. </p>
<p>âAt least two members of our party teared up multiple times while listening to Headmaster Roach. </p>
<p>âMy daughter has already found a new favorite teacher. </p>
<p>âThe students couldnât have been nicer, more engaged, or more in love with their school.</p>
<p>SAS is either a truly wonderful place or it is a cult. Either way, we are pretty sure weâre in.</p>
<p>M3, the points you make are our experience too. Though, last year, I had one (now former) parent write to me that, while a huge fan, she hesitated to subscribe to the âcult-like devotionâ demonstrated by some on these boards! Touche (w/ accent).</p>
<p>Itâs really great, though, if you can have these thoughts in the context of the comparisons youâre able to make with the revisits at other schools. Compare, compare, compare. </p>
<p>Would be happy to see your family on Noxontown Road!</p>
<p>We have revisited SAS and one other school. </p>
<p>At the end of our SAS visit my daughter questioned whether we should bother revisiting the last two schools under consideration. </p>
<p>We pointed out that SAS had not been her first choice before revisits, and that while it would certainly be difficult for a school to surpass the impression that SAS gave us, it only made sense to give them the chance. She agreed and we are all keeping an open mind. </p>
<p>For us there is also huge financial component to the decision, due to a spectrum of aid offers that are lightyears apart. </p>
<p>At this point however, I cannot imagine she will want to go anywhere but SAS.</p>
<p>SAS is a good school. But she does not accept common application. This prevents many good candidates to apply.</p>
<p>âCult-like devotionâ?</p>
<p>I guess I might be one of those she was referring to. While I admit my fandom for SAS is strong, is it any greater than that exhibited by Winterset for SPS (when he/she was active on the forum) or by ThacherParent for his/her eponymous school?</p>
<p>Donât get me wrongâŠit was the advocacy of both of those posters that put those schools on our radar. Just as it was opsâ advocacy of SAS that helped the little school on Noxontown Pond get on our âto considerâ list. If my advocacy for SAS over the past few years has helped any students/parents to consider SAS when they had not, Iâm totally fine with being labeled a âcultistâ.</p>
<p>Glad you had a good revisit MomThree. Best of luck in the days counting down to A10.</p>
<p>@Stylus: I canât believe that their non-participation in a common application is holding THAT many people back from applyingâŠis it really so hard to fill out another set of forms?</p>
<p>Sounds like an awesome school. Too bad there is no girlâs ice hockey â maybe it wouldnât have been ruled out ⊠It appears we lost out on a good one! Congrats, MomThree on finding âthe right schoolâ!</p>
<p>SAS does, in fact, accept the common application. (My daughter used it.)</p>
<p>@MomThree: Yes, youâre right. I do remember it stating on their app that âwhile they prefer the SAS app, they will accept TABS, SSAT, or other common BS appsââŠthanks for clarifying.</p>
<p>I am new to this forum, and I am glad that I found it. Very informative. My son had a number of good options and he just decided on Saint Andrewâs School, Delaware (SAS), because of the positive impression that he (and we) got on our recent re-visit. He will be attending in the fall as a III Form (did I get that right for a freshman?). The school is pretty unique in that it is relatively small, all boarding, and sits on more land (2,200 acres), than any of the New England schools we visited. It has itâs own 2.5 mile lake. The natural beauty, classical architecture, and first rate facilities are just stunning. On our re-visit, we were most impressed with the academic team that we met with. Top of the line instructors across the board with a certain enthusiasm in their voice that greatly impressed us. We were a little nervous about the role that religion plays at the school since it is not non-sectarian, and is officially an Episcopalian school. But after meeting with staff, we are confident that there is no proselytizing, and there is great respect for all who attend, and a special emphasis is ingrained in the student body and the culture of the school to respect all and learn from each other. So we have taken the plunge. Sometimes you just have to go with your gut, and our son did exactly that.</p>