Yeah, I can never tell how excerpts like these might come across to someone who hasn’t experienced the community… I worry that it may sound like empty marketing or something. The degree to which this community executes on the vision/mission is… astounding. I’m wishing everyone good luck on March 10. And for those who are lucky enough to be invited to visit back, come take a long hard look at this amazing community.
SAS is sounding like a Quaker school!
I love schools that include students in hiring decisions in a meaningful way. It shows the confidence the schools have in the kids - both their decision-making and the good impression they’ll give the candidate --, acknowledges that the “fit” with students is critical, and it gives students an appreciation for being on the other side of interviewing table than where they’ll be for most of the next decade.
Good luck to all the SAS applicants…
I have read this thread until my eyes are blurry, but as decision day nears, I would appreciate hearing what the flaws are. Several have commented that SAS is not for everyone, and I am curious if anyone can articulate who might not be a good fit? I have already started drinking the Kool-aid, but I just want to make sure that we go in with eyes wide open before committing.
Thank you.
Please contact me via PM, I’m happy to chat at length about what you’re looking for and what our experience has been.
“It’s not for everyone” most often means, I trust your family’s sense of what you are looking for… If you know you want [insert name of another school], we wouldn’t say SAS is better for you.
What you see is what you get.
If you like the values expressed in the materials and at visit back, you will love this school.
It executes incredibly well on stated mission, goals, and ideals.
It is as happy and healthy as we could possibly imagine for a high school.
It is very challenging. But I assume any schools you’d be choosing between would be as well.
And SAS is genuinely supportive and loving.
Again, if you get in touch via PM I can go into far more depth, with personal info I wouldn’t post publicly.
We did have a very tough choice to make that we took down to April 9th with our first…
But we never, not for one instant, questioned that we made the best choice for our family.
Oh, I wish it weren’t so far from us and that flights were less expensive 
I want to PM about SAS, but I am not a junior member and probably won’t have 14 more posts by April 10. Guess I need to try…
@peacoat, check your inbox…
I’m not sure that post limit still/currently applies (or maybe I was able to PM with someone else who only had one post because I initiated that conversation).
I’m also not sure if the default account setting is for the site to email you when you get a PM… but that’s a very useful setting.
talk.collegeconfidential.com/profile/preferences/InsertYourUserNameHere
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
Correct. New members with <15 posts cannot initiate PMs, but can receive and respond to them.
Here’s what I mean when I say “It’s not for everyone”…
Over the years (and in recent weeks), we’ve seen some people have a seemingly visceral (and negative!) reaction to excerpts of Tad Roach’s talks/letters.
If you are the sort of person that does have that sort of reaction, then I’d say that SAS is not for you. Because it’s not just talk…the ideas that Tad touches on in his chapel talks, and letters to students/parents/alum are truly incorporated into the overall and day-to-day ethos (if you are going to be an SAS family, get used to that word!) of the school.
If you are a stats-chaser (in terms of number of NMFs and/or HYP-level matriculations in a given year), then SAS is probably not for you. I think SAS is much more interested in getting kids into schools that match their interests/aptitudes/and personalities than clocking big HYP numbers to impress prospective students/parents. That’s not to say that SAS doesn’t have HYP-level matriculations in pretty much every class…it does. But it doesn’t seem like it’s that important to them.
If your kid rankles at the thought of having to wear a formal dress code (jacket and tie for boys, equivalent for girls) on a daily basis and/or attending chapel a few (2, I think?) times a week…then SAS is probably not for you. It’s part of the deal…and if that deal is unappealing, you should probably look elsewhere.
One other negative that I think should be noted, is that is is a small school (300 or so students…and 100% boarding). The downside of the size is that, IMO, there are limited social options — both platonic and romantic. I’ve found that my 2015 grad has developed much closer relationships and stronger affinities once she went from SAS to a college with 20K undergrads (as opposed to me, who has about the same number of friends from HS and college). There are just more (and more types of) people at college. But I will say that her time at SAS definitely prepared her well not just for the academics of college, but also to be a good friend and member of her college community. And yes, she’s pretty much killing it GPA-wise in a Top 10 ChemE track three years in.
I used to be a lot more active in championing SAS here on the forum…but have moved on since my kid has moved on. But you are in very good hands with seekers and co.
One last thought for now…another great thing about SAS? I know that I could call or write to any number of people at the school (including Tad Roach) today and they would know who I was, who my kid was, and take the time to reply to me. Despite me not being a major donor. How many schools can you say that for, 3 years after your kid graduated?
Tad Roach is the only head of school i know of who has invited admitted students to call him any time with questions about SAS that might aid in their decision. He wanted them to know they would always have access to him and be his priority.
What @SevenDad said- spot on! We sent one twin D to SAS- she has loved it and does not want it to end. She was fortunate enough to be admitted ED to Williams. The other twin D has been at SPS. Very different culture but excellent academics etc. She is deciding between Bowdoin and Georgetown. If you want strong moral compass as part of your child’s experience, SAS can’t be beat. Worth every penny!
@Twinsdad499: I think your SAS 2018’s college outcome is illustrative of the SAS POV. There are plenty of people who consider a Williams undergrad education equal/superior to the equivalent at Harvard…but Williams of course, does not have quite the name recognition or “prestige” among the general public. But those who know, know. Congrats to both of your daughters on a great college outcome!
@Twinsdad499 I’m very curious as to how you would compare the cultures.
Thanks @SevenDad- please know you were instrumental in getting us to SAS as I was reading your posts and @Charger78 posts a year or two before she arrived. You two rock!
@CaliMex I could pm you tomorrow if you want my two cents.
Yes, please…
I forgot to include something in my “SAS is not for you if…” post above.
If you really need to have a DNA sequencer at your disposal on campus, SAS is probably not for you. This is a compact way of saying that SAS lacks a gazillion-dollar science building like the Phelps at Exeter or the Lindsay at St. Paul’s. That’s not to say it doesn’t have its share of “ooh-ahh” buildings (the Siprelle Field House and Founders Hall do it for me). Nor that if a kid had a good reason to need the use of a DNA sequencer (or other STEM-centric equipment) that they couldn’t arrange it with…perhaps at nearby UD?
Aren’t they breaking ground on a new Math & Science building in 2019?
@CaliMex: They might be…I’m admittedly out of the loop on the day-to-day of on-campus goings on now.
That would make sense, as all schools are engaged (more or less) in a facilities escalation whether they care to be or not.
My point is more in the spirit of “if you need a bright shiny ball to be impressed by, then SAS may not be for you…”. Not that SAS campus isn’t impressive. It still is to me, even after all this time.
My understanding is that they are breaking ground on the new Math & Science building this summer, and it should be finished in time for the 2019-20 school year.