St Andrew's School, Delaware

Prep School Admissions
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A couple thoughts on STEM at SAS…

Yes, the Amos science building is showing its age, and major renovations will be completed in 2019.

I can vouch for the strength of the STEM programs, even with the old facilities… most of the issues are purely cosmetic. The school has always been incredibly generous in purchasing materials, specimens, and equipment the kids needed for any research projects (or even just for fun… you can check a video drone out of the library, or use the laser cutter and 3D printers in the maker space without any fees for materials used).

The school doesn’t try to compete by leasing “the machine that goes ‘ping!’” (google it). In times when the soaring cost of education (and its value) is a battle line in the culture wars, it is reasonable to ask if you need a DNA sequencer or a scanning electron microscope to teach high school students science. Of course, they are amazing tools that allow you to dive deep into some fascinating research. It’s cool to say you’ve used them, really sounds impressive… and it may help inspire and excite students. All I’m saying is my kids were inspired and excited by the science they were doing without those tools. The teachers were deeply passionate (and remarkably knowledgable) about their fields, and cultivated a love of scientific inquiry along with teaching the foundational skills necessary (from the critical thinking used in formulating and testing hypotheses to the mundane methods of keeping clear, detailed lab notebooks).

On a related note I’ve had a couple parents this cycle ask me if STEM gets short shrift because SAS is a “liberal arts” school. If you aren’t familiar with the origins of the term, check out this [wikipedia entry on liberal arts](Liberal arts education - Wikipedia). Clearly, in modern usage, all the STEM fields are an integral, equally strong focus of any well rounded liberal arts school. In fact, if you look at [url=<a href=“http://www.reed.edu/ir/phd.html%5Dundergraduate”>http://www.reed.edu/ir/phd.html]undergraduate origins of doctoral degrees/url you’ll see that most of the schools in the top 10 list for churning out undergrads who go on to a doctorate in STEM fields are small liberal arts colleges. [Both of my kids are going to schools on that top 10 list, SAS prepared them incredibly well, PM for more details].

And while I’m on a soapbox about liberal arts colleges… When factor loading criteria for tenure, the small liberal arts colleges put the most weight on quality of teaching and mentorship, while universities most heavily weight faculty research/publishing productivity (and grant money pulled in). Personally, our family appreciates the focus on the highest quality of teaching. At the undergrad level, a broad survey of a field (preferably guided by an inspiring teacher), along with learning the habits of thought and the various means of exploring and analyzing that field are all you need for a great education… you don’t need to be doing the cutting edge research yourself… just get great mentoring while you do some basic research and get the hang of it. Then you can go on to a great graduate school (which will certainly have a machine that goes ‘ping!’).

But, as 7Dad says: if you really want your kids to have hands-on experience with a DNA sequencer in high school… SAS may not be right for your family.

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Hm, an incredible amount of water under the bridge lately…
another fantastic Arts Weekend and impressive athletic performances celebrated the talent, commitment, and passion of an amazing community…
All very hard to capture, but incredibly energizing, entertaining, and uplifting.

One thing I do want to try to highlight is how all the members of the community are recognized as being vital parts of the whole. Good relationships are not just between students and their teachers… but all the support staff, administration, food service, security, and (happily) parents and other family members.

This is also hard to capture, but I’ll give a couple anecdotes:
This weekend a one of the food service workers was kidding with my vegetarian son, offering him a juicy cut of beef, my son laughed… and the guy threw in “hey, is your sister visiting this weekend?” She graduated 2 years ago, and he was looking forward to seeing her again. (It just struck me that it demonstrated his rapport with my son, knowledge that he was graduating, and that his alumna sister would probably drop by).
One of the caterers for events saw my wife at a graduation luncheon, knew this was her last kid, said: “well, I guess this wraps it up!” and gave my wife a big hug. They just knew each other from hanging out and chatting at great events over the years, and the connection was there.

Having written them, they seem trivial… but they’re representative of the constant examples of the love and grace that connect all the members of the SAS family.

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Congrats to you and your son, Seekers! Thought of the entire SAS family this weekend as we were celebrating our own “last kid” graduation.

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SAS Headmaster Tad Roach just sent the following letter to this year’s graduates as they head into their first semester of college. My son reiterated that it contains nothing new (it’s messaging they’ve been getting all along) but that it was still a welcome reminder. These are the messages of inspiration, empowerment, and hope that St. Andreans experience all the time.
https://www.standrews-de.org/about/notes-from-tad

MODERATOR’S NOTE:
I’ve edited this post to remove the huge block of quoted text (more than a few lines is not allowed per ToS), but substituted it with a link to the letter.
-SE

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We were SO impressed by Tad Roach. He sent our daughter a 6-page, handwritten letter about her application essay. SO thoughtful in every sense of the word…

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Thanks to SE for posting the link to Tad’s notes… (sorry, orignially posted long block because I’m always worried about links breaking in future). For future reference, the specific note I mentioned is [8/17/18 Sending You Love, Faith, and Ethos](Head of School's Blog - St. Andrew's School).

And since i worry that link will break, or people won’t click through… I specifically appreciated Tad’s powerfully articulated reminder that college is an incredible opportunity (and privilege) that is too often squandered. Saints have the tools and ethos to make the most of it (and implied is the obligation to do so). There is also a reminder that the cultural transition can be a bit of a shock, but an expression of faith that Saints can shape the culture they want to live in (with some specific examples of areas in which their leadership is needed).

It’s worth a read if you want another example of how SAS clearly articulates their ethos to students (all. the. time.).

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Saw the SAS Opening Day pix over the weekend and thought it would be a good time to bump this thread for all the prospective BS applicants and parents for the HS class of 2023.

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7dad thank you so much for keeping this thread going. Your posts on CC have been invaluable to both me and my son as we navigate the admissions process. My son is applying to boarding schools via the A Better Chance program. This is an 18 month process and we have completed most of the major hurdles. At the end of the week we should be receiving our list of referral schools. I am hoping that the list we receive match the wish list we submitted.

The kidlet is applying for 9th grade class of 2023. When we began this process we were only aware of the acronym schools. Through our research and posts by you and others we find that both SAS and George School top our list. Fortunately early on in the process former ABC parents suggested we give SAS a closer look because it is a “special place”. Shortly after that we found CC and your posts. We’ve listened to chapel talks by Tad Roach and others, podcasts by students and staff, and viewed more videos than I care to admit. We have swallowed the koolaid and fallen hook, line, and sinker for the culture of kindness and the ethos espoused by SAS.

So consider this an introduction. By any standard the kidlet more than meets the admission requirements, strong SSAT’s, advanced learners tract in Junior High, currently taking Honors Geometry, plays multiple instruments, an alum of both Northwestern CTD and JH CTY summer residential programs and has extremely strong extracurriculars. But more importantly he has been raised with the same values cultivated at SAS. We are looking for an institution with more than strong academics. We are looking for a place that will allow him to explore and come to define himself for himself in an environment that values diversity, inclusion, and a moral obligation to be the best person he can be. At weeks end should we find SAS and/or GS listed among our referrals this midwestern mama and the kidlet will be reaching out to you with innumerable questions.

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We LOVED St. Andrew’s. If we lived on the East Coast, we might have chosen it over Thacher, which has a very similar culture and also emphasizes kindness, community, and using your education for the greater good. Best of luck to all the SAS applicants this year!

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@1OboeMom: Though my participation on the BS side of the forum has pretty much tapered off…but my enthusiasm for SAS remains strong.* Seekers, Charger78, and NCSwimmom have slightly more current experience with the school, and I’m sure will be open (as I am) to answering any questions you might have (via PM or on the board).

Best of luck to your kid as the process unfolds.

*I’m also a fan of GS, but because we only had 2 years of experience there vs. 4 at SAS, only consider myself semi-knowledgeable about it/the culture there. I will say that my younger girl made some very good friendships at GS, and saw a few fellow 2018 grads over her recent Fall break.

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Overjoyed! The kidlet has been referred to nine schools through the A Better Chance Foundation. Both St. Andrew’s School and George School have received his application. We could not be more thrilled. Now to schedule interviews and hopefully visits.

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Fingers crossed for you, 1OboeMom!

And, if you haven’t seen this yet…SAS grad Maggie Rogers on SNL from this past weekend:
https://youtu.be/j3T9UdK90YE

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And this one! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dDV7ArLkf4

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And for other OboeMoms out there: The oboe part in the SPS orchestra this year is played by the clarinet because the oboe graduated without a replacement. Hint, hint… That’s your SPS year if you’re an oboe!

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Wishing all a great Thanksgiving break…
and offering prospective families a glimpse of the culture at SAS.
This is what you get when you ask saints what they are thankful for: https://vimeo.com/301062370/357922a74b

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Hooray @1OboeMom ! Two terrific schools!

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Daughter turned 21 this month:
Nice time to reflect on healthy choices, and SAS’s unusual substance free culture.

When my kids graduated from SAS, neither one had ever been drunk or high.
Nor had they vaped or tried any form of tobacco.
Daughter had a bit of caffeine occasionally (hello junior spring), but never a daily addiction. Son was caffeine free.

Neither had a real social media habit.
They might participate in group/individual chats in the evenings, just sharing a laugh with friends in different dorms.
They weren’t addicted to posting, scanning, and assessing self-worth by “likes and mentions”
[during some school breaks, one might peruse tumblr, the other reddit].

Neither kid had ever had a meaningless hook-up in high school. They had authentic, healthy relationships with peers regardless of gender.

They weren’t outliers.
Sure, some of their friends would happily got drunk or high with friends on breaks (as the years went on; more in senior year). But kids didn’t bring contraband to this self-contained, 100% boarding campus. The school really was dry/sober (with the exception of some special parent/alumni events… which might be considered ‘tastefully lubricated’).

Some friends were a little more free with their affections, but obviously big on consent, honesty, and integrity (no predatory or competitive/scoring sub-cultures, no pressure).

And no, you don’t miss out on “preparation for college” if you aren’t getting drunk in high school. They had no trouble adjusting to college life. They knew what good relationships and healthy habits were. They didn’t go wild, because their lifestyle had been authentic and voluntary. Both chose middle-range “substance optional” dorms. One enjoys occasional, responsible, social drinking, the other is still 100% substance-free (and living proof that one can ace a STEM-heavy workload without caffeine).

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@seekers - probably the best endorsement for a school which I have heard in a while. Thank you for posting.

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Thacher is the other school that is known for this. I heard one alum explain that Thacher grads (and, I assume, SAS grads) are often the ones at college parties who are holding up a girl’s hair in the bathroom while she throws up, summoning Uber or Lyft drives so everyone gets home safely, or helping the host clean up. SAS and Thacher kids may indulge in college or on breaks, but they know how to have fun without alcohol and don’t need it as a social lubricant… and their schools’ emphasis on community gives them a sense of responsibility, too, for the overall welfare of the people around them.

I don’t know if this is still the case at SAS, but I seem to recall some of the boys were really into sneaking dip? (Chewing tobacco?)

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If that really was an issue it was an older one… predating my kids.
I had asked them about it and they were both surprised and disgusted to hear that might have been a thing.
So, no… there isn’t any group into dip these days.