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<p>What are you talking about re “cutoff”? The College Board doesn’t determine cutoffs by type of school. Cutoffs are by State.</p>
<p>Boarding schools are different. Have you not heard of this?</p>
<p>^^ Show me the link to prove it.</p>
<p>What a strange demand! Such effrontery! Try finding it yourself or think what ever you want about NM scores.</p>
<p>@4york, I think you’re right, at best these boards give only a partial picture of the complex world that is a boarding school. I think both kids and parents are naive if they think that the average adolescent problems, multiplied by close to unlimited cash flow among a simple majority of students at EVERY school, doesn’t lead to at least an average level of adolescent angst and experimentation. DC is home this weekend for a short break, and it is clear that his freshman year has been a real eye opener (not only in terms of what happens at the school, but also what his friends share with him about their disfunctional family dynamics). Since I went through this myself, I knew that it was coming and can offer some advice from first hand experience. </p>
<p>All that said, I think the majority of what appears on these boards IS useful information for families considering boarding schools and those with kids going through the pipeline. And some of the best information sharing goes on behind the walls. </p>
<p>Why don’t you share more of your story? </p>
<p>We were kindof shocked to meet a former Loomis student (our age) who also withdrew back in the 80s. She was from California and just hated the New England way of doing things. So…it works for some, and can be an incredible experience, but it’s by no means failsafe or everyone’s cup of tea.</p>
<p>Erlangen, as the parent of a potential BS student, I find your somewhat contrarian posts helpful as they tell the other side of the story. I wish others would provide such insight. My 7th son told us he wants to attend boarding school and although this forum as been quite helpful in our quest for information, it sometimes seems the posts are overly positive about the whole BS experience. I just wanted to thank you.</p>
<p>Pelicandad, I think the info available on this site is useful, I used it myself. But it isn’t balanced. </p>
<p>Now that my dd has some college acceptances in hand I feel a little more confident that she has recovered from being forced to leave mid year.</p>
<p>So consider that when you leave boarding school, you lose not just your classes, but your friends, your activities, your home, all that. And this can happen to kids who aren’t discipline problems or drug users or academic drop outs.</p>
<p>SAS is shedding a dozen kids a year - I think they should be able to explain why.</p>
<p>^^I’m dense, I’m sure, but I’m just not getting what you’re implying. If it’s not behavioral disciplinary or academic related, is there a different trend you’re noticing? Burnout? The opposite of “fit”?</p>
<p>4yorkshiremen: effrontery? I prefer brazenness confronting cluelessness. If you make an assertion, it is up to you, not the audience, to provide source and evidence when challenged. I can just see you in court: "Judge, the accused is guilty! Execute him! ". Judge asks for proof. Your response: “what effrontery!”. I laugh in my hand, there is no boarding schol cut off. In doing the research which you did not do, I discovered that the NMS program uses cut off scores by high school by state, meaning that if you go to a boarding school, you are subject to the state cutoff in the state in which that school happens to be located. There is, however, no specific cutoff exclusively applied to boarding schools. What effrontery to suggest otherwise, with no evidence!</p>
<p>Hate to barge in on this but @4yorkshiremen is right about the boarding school cutoff: [National</a> Merit Scholarships](<a href=“http://www.collegeplanningsimplified.com/NationalMerit.html]National”>http://www.collegeplanningsimplified.com/NationalMerit.html)</p>
<p>It is OK to talk about what goes wrong or what should be improved from your own experience. Like some other posters, I encourage 4york to share her experience and since her child already left the school there’s less implications. For wittyone, I suggested she should focus on actions and options instead of trying to dig out all the “facts” unless she expects the “facts” would justify her planned actions. As for erlanger, I admit I was probably wrong in saying her “complaining” all the time. I do have the impression that she talked about “swim or sink”, “most 14-15 yr olds can’t handle the freedom” etc., much much more than “unrivaled academics, great facilities and opportunities, much personal growth, to name a few.” I now think she just intentionally wanted to be a different voice since many other posters already chant for BS, which is fine.</p>
<p>So SAS goes with the NE boarding school cutoff for NMF? It’s not on the official website as linked in the above post. Do all bording schools in the country have the same cutoff? 223 is a high cutoff.</p>
<p>Placido, there’s no court case here. If you want to get information, use a bit of curiosity and google. Or don’t. It doesn’t really matter to me what you think.</p>
<p>Dandrew, as far as I know, SAS goes with boarding school cutoff 223 this year. I live in Delaware and my dd is nmsf with a lower score since she’s not at SAS any more.</p>
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<p>4yorkshiremen: SAS is one of the schools we were considering for application next year. I googled and did not find any problems. I think you owe it to this board and parents to share what you know about the school and why they are shredding kids at the rate you cite, especially since you have alleged that some are let go for what?? I am sorry but I cannot envision reasons other than discipline, drugs, or grades. I beg you…please share.</p>
<p>Sorry, I really can’t share my daughters info on this public forum. I do think it’s worth seeking out info from other places besides CC because this whole forum tends towards boosterism.</p>
<p>I would ask schools what their retention / graduation rates are. That seems like a fruitful line of inquiry.</p>
<p>Yorkshire,</p>
<p>Nobody asked you to share your daughter’s info</p>
<p>I asked you rather nicely to give a few hints about your blatant, unsubstantianted, vague smear on SAS.</p>
<p>You alleged that dozens have been let go for reasons beyond discipline problems or drug users or academic drop outs. Like what??? Providing a few examples hardly breaches your daughter’s confidence. How about a PM?</p>
<p>In contrast to some, I post about my Ds experience in order to try to it helps others make the right decision for their own kids. I wish I had more information before we chose our path. However, I do not make statements about any particular school because it would be unfair: I understand that school experiences can be as different and varied as the kids who attend them. I am not sure 4 york’s Ds specific story is that helpful as other students can absolutely have very different experience at SAS. For the record, my D does not attend SAS, and from what I see and hear, at least philosophically on paper, it sounds like a very thoughtful, caring, rigorous school (not of the kind of cold, sink or swim type, of which I protesth so loudly)</p>
<p>I’d be happy to talk via pm. </p>
<p>By the way, I’m really not smearing SAS. I don’t generally venture over to the prep school forum, and I think many people with experiences similar to mine probably also stay away. It’s a pretty defensive group, and, as I’ve said, boosterish. </p>
<p>I’m happy to tell you that I think SAS is a great school with great academics.</p>
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<p>C’mon, Weatherby, that’s a little over the top, isn’t it?</p>
<p>This is really not the same as saying, “I heard a rumor that such-and-such happened.” This is a parent saying, “My kid attended this school and my kid had a problem.” Yes, she’s declining to give details publicly and I can understand that. She also suggested, as diplomatically as possible, that you and others take a look at school attrition rates. So, without going into personal details, she’s telling you what to look for if you want to see if there’s a problem at SAS (or any other school, for that matter).</p>
<p>I agree with you, by the way. I also found it hard to imagine any reason other than a disciplinary infraction or honor code violation that could result in a student being asked to leave a school. So, I’d suggest you do what I’m about to do: go through the student handbook very carefully to see if, in fact, SAS has more discretion that what you and I imagine.</p>
<p>But, regardless if a student’s departure is forced or voluntary, if a school has a significant attrition rate, that’s something to be concerned about. And I think it’s something that should be disclosed if a parent or prospective parent asks about it.</p>
<p>I think erlanger’s criticism should be encouraged because it’s not about a particular school, but a certain type of schools that are big with a “swim or sink” culture and are most likely over-rated. 4york’s shouldn’t. SAS is such a small nuturing place with a close-knit community. It’s a hidden gem. Don’t ruin our dreams.</p>