@SevenDad , I think @bigdaddy546 is directing this question to you.
Our daughter is in the Upper School at Stuart. She chose Stuart after having been accepted to all of the other top schools in the area, and hasn’t regretted her choice. We’ve found that there’s much to be said for an all-girl environment: the girls at Stuart are confident, articulate, and willing to take charge. They have numerous opportunities to lead and manage, both in and out of the classroom. Those that are interested in having a more robust social life seem to find one, through outside activities or the siblings of their classmates. We were concerned that it might become an issue for our daughter, but so far so good.
I saw another note relating to college admissions. I can’t speak about what happens elsewhere, but we’ve been very impressed with Stuart’s college counseling and the overall results. There have been 5 acceptances to Princeton again this year, so I would politely disagree that earlier results were an anomaly. (And there have been other acceptances to top name schools as well.)
When the time comes, we want our daughter to get into a school where it’s a good fit for her and her interests. We’re very comfortable that Stuart will help her find it. If she’s capable and deserving of getting into a top tier school, they’ll do everything they can to help.
By anomaly, I didn’t mean that it was unusual for Stuart to get students into Princeton, but that those 6 girls (whose situation I happen to be familiar with) had attributes which were unlikely to be those of the OP. Not to say that his daughter won’t get into Princeton, but more as a caution that “actual results may vary”. I would make this comment about pretty much EVERY school, btw, not just Stuart.
Every year, I meet parents who try to choose schools by college matriculation stats, and every year, I meet parents who are four years further down the road and crushed that even though 10 of their child’s classmates got into Selective U. with the same stats as their child, their child did not because he/she was not a legacy/not a faculty kid/didn’t play the harp/wasn’t a nationally ranked squash player/insert missing hook here. What this implies practically, is that even a school that routinely places a number of its graduates in some of the most selective of schools offers great possibilities, but no guarantees. It’s hard – and unwise – to use the past to predict the future unless you know more about each of the accepted students. All a long-winded way of saying to the OP, pick Stuart because you think your daughter will thrive there, be happy, have nice friends, and get a great education. Pick it for the next four years, not the four after it.
@bigdaddy546: Both daughters went to out of state boarding schools. With the first kid we were VERY intentional to not apply to any Princeton-area schools…in deference to Stuart. Again, just because we don’t have kids at the school anymorel doesn’t mean we aren’t fans.
“Pick it for the next four years, not the four after it.” <---- I wish more parents thought this way.
FYI, Stuart just released its college matriculation for 2016 graduating class: of note, 5 to Princeton (including the triplets) and 2 to Harvard.
i would say pds… it’s a warm community, teachers are all so warm, and you don’t find any mean students there. everyone is friendly…academics are rigorous too:)