<p>My daughter was just accepted at Suffield, Pomfret, Williston Northhampton and Miss Halls and we will hear soon from Berkshire. Can anyone compare them, in particular comparing Suffield vs. Pomfret which are the ones that interest her the most? She cares about which has the strongest academics, she is a top student, extremely high grades and was waitlisted at Deerfield. She loves classes and class discussion and wants the strongest academics - as well as good atmosphere</p>
<p>Don’t overlook Williston. It’s a great school and because of its location, the school has close connections to the five colleges. That results in some unique academic opportunities for the Williston kids. Since strong academics are your top concern, I encourage you to really consider that before you cross that one off the list.</p>
<p>Agree with Cameo43. I’m a very satisfied Williston parent happy to answer questions. </p>
<p>Thanks for your comments, but she just wrote Williston to let them know she would not be attending, mostly because on the internet boarding school review sites it was not ranked as high as Suffield or Pomfret and in fact in her interview, the Williston interviewer mentioned 2 or 3 times that academics are less of a concern at Williston, that she can go to school there without getting too stressed or spending too much time doing homework etc…basically the interviewer (after reading her application) basically misread her and what kind of a student she is and what she is looking for in a school. I dont know if they just say that to all the kids who interview which also worried us as it seemed then that Williston must attract less academically strong kids. I know your children study there so I may be wrong and we will never know, but that was just the wrong way to present the school to us in particular. </p>
<p>Does anyone know whether Pomfret or Suffield is better academically?_ Suffield has that Leadership Program and Pomfret has the Pomfret Project and we dont know enough about them so it seems really hard to say… Anyone know? </p>
<p>Academically, it not only seems hard to say but it truly is hard to say. I think it is so close as to be meaningfully unmeasurable. My feeling has always been that they are very similar, but that Pomfret is stronger in the arts and Suffield has a slight edge in academics. Ask me to quantify the academic comparison, however, and I will start mumbling and look the other way.</p>
<p>The thing that has always leaped out of the data is Suffield’s strong improvement in average SAT vs SSAT scores, although as I said that is not a real scientific comparison as the pools of students within the school are not even the same cohort, for the most part. Maybe they just spend more time on SAT prep. In any case, their SSAT scores (last time I checked) are slightly lower than Pomfret’s, but their outgoing SAT scores are significantly higher. Accepting that these tests are not the best measure of most things that matter, this can still be interpreted to show that they take a very similar pool of people and produce better end results.</p>
<p>The best way to make the choice is to stick to what you are doing: look at the specific academic strengths and foci for each school and go with what excites your daughter the most. Everything else being equal she will be served equally well at either. </p>
<p>It is more a question of focus than strength.</p>
<p>The 3 schools you have left (I am assuming Berkshire is still being considered) are very similar in size, academics and traditions. You will get a great education at all of these schools. You need to determine where your daughter will “fit” the best. Suffield and Pomfret have a higher number of day students. Suffield has a good reputation, and I hear the Head of School is doing a great job bringing the community together. I am not as familiar with Pomfret. Berkshire is a school that you should definitely give more consideration to. It has a lot of momentum right now. They have a new Headmaster, and the energy on campus is very strong. Berkshire has committed itself to high level science and math research and has some unique offerings for the highly motivated student. They are doing a great job at attracting top students. Their fundraising efforts and endowment growth over the past 10 years has allowed for a campus makeover. The facilities are by far some of the best you will find in New England. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you all so much for your comments. It really has been very helpful. Nadk01 I noticed the same thing you did about how much higher the SAT scores of Suffield students are than Pomfret’s, but I had not analyzed it like you did, that was very helpful. We looked at the focal points as you mentioned and the Leadership Program at Suffield (2 hours per week of leadership classes and projects, 9-12) really interests her. She is super strong minded, smart and charismatic but sometimes is confused about how to lead in a way that make people want to follow, so that is really on key for her.<br>
Chelsea1 we also were impressed by what the interviewer at Berkshire told us about the research projects of 11th and 12th graders with off-campus professionals. Seems very well-thought out and executed. With regard to the campus renewal, its funny we didn’t pick that up about Berkshire so its good you mentioned it, yet Suffield told us they finished the “field house” for sports recently, are completely redoing their science lab building and and will be building a new dining hall and I forgot what else! Something else too. Similar momentum in terms of renewal of the physical plant.<br>
And I am actually glad Nadk01 to hear you say Suffield has a slight edge in academics (even if unquantifiable) because my daughter loves the idea of the sit down lunches they have every day at Suffield, and their alpine ski team and snowboard club, their leadership program, that you can walk into the small town, she just seems to feel more comfortable with what we know of it…</p>
<p>“she just seems to feel more comfortable with what we know of it…”</p>
<p>There you go. At some point the analysis stops and you simply go with that.</p>
<p>Ha ha ha! Very fair! thanks again,</p>
<p>Just need to pipe in to say that Williston accepts a range of kids, many with very good stats. I am sorry to hear that the admissions folks “misread” your child. I suppose that makes your decision easier 
</p>
<p>But one of the (many) things we love about Williston is that the student body is very diverse in every way. There are outstanding athletes and artists whose talents don’t show up in test scores and GPA. There are also kids with very high SSAT, SAT, and ACT scores. It’s a well-rounded community. </p>
<p>It’s important to find the right fit, but when ranking schools according to scores and “perceived” image families may cheat themselves of finding a place where their child will have great opportunities. My child has thrived at Williston, and we are more than grateful that we didn’t end up at the top-tier school we initially coveted. </p>
Hi All, Just seen this topic. What about Brooks, Berkshire and Williston? Do you think which one is the best academically?
@Trekko10 You have your own thread on the subject; it’s rude to hijack someone else’s. You should also not resurrect old threads.
sorry, my mistake.I tried to delete my earlier post