Tabor Academy Q&A

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>Hello All, </p>

<p>Reading through this board I remember the whole process of applying and choosing boarding schools that I went through several years ago. All of that is (thankfully) behind me now and I ended up choosing Tabor Academy as the school I would make my home for my high school years. Borrowing the idea of the NMH thread, I know that this can be a very confusing process for those applying and there are so many things to evaluate that it can get overwhelming. With Tabor's admissions deadline coming up on Jan 31, I wanted to open up any questions anyone had regarding Tabor or on the process as a whole coming from someone who lived to tell about it and a current student. I know that as it comes down to the wire, all the tours and brochures can begin to blend together so hopefully I could be of some help to a prospective student / parent. </p>

<p>Ask away!</p>

2

<p>Thanks Boarder! Tabor is a school we would like to tour for our son as a day student. (We would move there). How do you feel the culture is for day students? No difference? Hostile? I like what I see on the web site...How do feel students who are not jocks/super athletic fit in? Did you participate in the oceanography program and what was your opinion of it? Are there math and science programs strong? How did you find the community? Are the language classes immersion? Is the boat really used for science through out the year as a type of lab, or do you feel it is more of a gimick. It is high on our list so I hope you have lots of positive answers...lol. I would love to hear your overall experience both good and bad. We will probably tour this school this coming summer. Thanks for your input.</p>

3

<p>Hi Joyhuffes,
I'll try to answer the questions one by one. </p>

<p>The culture for day students is definitely strong at Tabor. The split between day students to boarders is about 25% day 75% boarding. So there are definitely a lot of options for day students and they are taken into account with school life and planning. The day students come from as close as down the street, all the way to about 45+ minutes away; unlike some other schools there are no residency restrictions on who can/can't be a day student so thats nice. I would say the majority of day students like the balance of being in a boarding school community but getting to go home at night and don't miss the "boarder" experience in the dorms. Also, day students can get approved to stay the night over in a friend's dorm room if they have an early commitment the next day such as a game or a practice that they don't want to get up early for. So there's a strong day student community but it integrates well with the boarding life. But there are always day students who reapply as boarders, and boarders choose to become day students, so it's not set in stone. </p>

<p>I wouldn't say that Tabor is a "jock" school. While, there are definitely star athletes and strong athletics, it's not the center of school life. Tabor doesn't accept PG students, so that really opens up opportunities for students who may have not played a sport before to progress and make varsity teams. Tabor encourages students to try new sports, so as underclassmen there are requirements to be "active" a minimum amount of seasons per year as freshmen and sophomores. There are ways to get out of this if it's really an issue, but I've found that even if you're at the bottom of one of the JV teams it's good to get out there and try these things. As you become an upperclassmen, your EC doesn't have to be a competitive sport or "active" at all, so you can focus on what you're interested in. </p>

<p>I personally have not taken an oceanography course, but I know that the programs are the best of the best. There are options from Intro to Marine Science to Advanced Oceanography to Ichthyology, and the Marine Science Center is really a spectacular facility for the program. The courses are definitely very popular, there are students who just might take one semester elective during their time and then there are students for whom it is the reason they came to Tabor and plan on majoring in Marine Biology in college. So it's definitely there if you want it and you can determine how much you want to get involved (if at all.) </p>

<p>I LOVE the community here. It's a really small school, so you truly get to know everyone. It's safe to say I not only know the names of everyone in my class but I'd wager that I've had a conversation with all of them at some point or another. Between the dorms, classes, sit down dinners, extracurriculars and clubs, you really get involved with people you might not meet otherwise. Also, one of my favorite things about Tabor is the relationships you make with faculty members. They really care about the students and it's clear how supportive they are. The students definitely respect the faculty, but the relationships are informal. The relationships students build with their teachers, dorm parents advisors and coaches are some of the most valuable aspects of Tabor life. Students are encouraged to go over to a teachers apartment at night for extra help if they have questions and the faculty and their families all eat their meals with the students in the dining hall. So students very comfortable around each other and around the faculty as well. </p>

<p>The language classes are immersion, except for Latin, Ancient Greek, and the beginning levels of Mandarin Chinese (I think). It takes getting used to at first and can be a little jarring, but it undoubtedly helps students develop a comfort and command over the language, and the faculty really help students not used to immersion to get up to speed quickly. </p>

<p>The Tabor Boy is the school's 92 foot schooner and it definitely plays a part in school life. During the year it is usually used by the crew of the Tabor Boy, which students can sign up for as an extracurricular activity during the fall and spring. Once every three years, the boat is sailed down to the Virgin Islands (by a crew of students) for the Caribbean Studies Oceanography program. The year before, students who want to partake in the program sign up to take a course in the fall that prepares them for the work they'll do in the Caribbean. There are about 5 different "voyages" each with about 15 students during the winter. Also, each summer most of the new students sign up for an orientation program aboard the schooner in Maine. I did it and it was really nice to have familiar faces on campus in the fall. When it is not in use it can be seen docked in the harbor that Tabor sits on, so even if the only interaction you have with it is looking at it from the waterfront on a spring day, it's always there in some fashion. So it's definitely not a "gimmick."</p>

<p>Hope that helped!
Let me know if there are any other questions you have!</p>

4

<p>Thanks Boarder! The information is great.</p>

5

<p>Thank you so much, Boarder. Tabor is on the short list for my son. We had a great visit/interview there. He loves hockey and golf....both fabulous at Tabor... and he would love an atmosphere where he could get really involved in the community and have easy relationships with teachers. He is a solid student and he is familiar with Marion from summer vacations.
Question: I read in the view book that the average student has about a 81 GPA (B-). Do a lot of kids get C's??? Although I think he would probably be an above average student... Your thoughts?
Also: He studies best in a quiet atmosphere. Is there a place besides your room that kids go to study that is quiet?</p>

6

<p>hi flygirl!</p>

<p>Grading is very tough at Tabor. The faculty definitely doesn't inflate grades at all. I'm not familiar with that statistic, I would say the "average" GPA is a solid B from my experiences. Honors at Tabor is above an 85, and High Honors is above a 90 average. In each class there are probably only 10-15 students who achieve High Honors (out of a class of about 125.) So the grading is tough, but it doesn't work to the students' disadvantage when applying to colleges or anything. Tabor sends a sheet that goes with each college application that is a grade distribution chart for each course, each semester. In short, it shows what each student who takes a specified course earned. So, if no students in the course got a A and your student got an 87, that's pretty impressive; while an 87 in a public school where most students get A's isn't as impressive. Also, Tabor doesn't send your class rank with college applications, because they think it's more important for colleges to evaluate each student in terms of their performance in their courses (honors, regular, AP etc.) rather than just how many other students they got higher grades than. So the grades are something that are worked hard to achieve but it's not discouraging because you have to put it in perspective. </p>

<p>And the Hayden Library is open every night before, after and during study hall for us to go to. Every night from 7:30 - 9:30 there is study hall in all the dorms and dorm parents will come around periodically to make sure the atmosphere is quiet and such (eventually as you become juniors and seniors they don't come around as often and you have more freedom to decide how and when you get your work done.) So the dorms are usually pretty quiet during study hall but the library is always an option. Also, there are a good amount of single rooms available for sophomores, juniors and seniors (all freshmen have roommates and live in the same dorm) so if it's really important to you, you have the option to get a room to yourself and get the atmosphere you need.</p>

7

<p>Thanks for all the info. As we are going thru college apps with another child right now I am interested in the GPA thing. Some automatic merit scholarships are tied to test scores and some to GPA. Just something to consider.</p>

8

<p>I know each year a number of students receive National Merit Scholarships and other scholarships for high test scores. Also, the college counseling office is really great about helping students find scholarships and helping to portray them in the best light. The reason they don't give out a 4.0 scale GPA to everyone is because getting a 4.0 at Tabor much more difficult and very different than receiving a 4.0 at another school. So I would imagine that something similar to the grade distribution chart would be used to convey that, although I don't have any experience with it. I would suggest talking with Admissions / College Counseling when you visit campus for the interview to get more info about it.</p>

9

<p>Boarder, you are very kind to share your experiences at Tabor. Tabor is a bit larger than a couple of other schools on our "short list". Do you feel that most boarding students have good relationships with their advisors? One of the great things about the junior boarding school my son is currently attending is that we feel the advisor/faculty is really looking out for him and know him well. He has a high degree of comfort with the adults around him and he thinks several of them are really awesome and totally inspiring. How are the advisors assigned (by sport... or academic interest... or randomness)? Is there another website you would point us to if we are interested in teacher ratings?</p>

10

<p>Hi again Flygirl!</p>

<p>I know that both day students and boarders have extremely close relationships with their advisors. Each advisor group is a different, as one would expect. The one common factor that I've seen with all my friends' advisor experiences is that each advisor takes extreme care in making sure that they are accessible to their advisees. </p>

<p>First year students are assigned an advisor who is either a dorm parent, teacher, or coach (I'm pretty sure you can choose which one you would want.) After your first year, if you find another faculty member who you think would be a better advisor the process of switching advisors is really easy. The advisors know that if there's another faculty member with whom one of us feels more comfortable they want us to be with that person, rather that trying not to "hurt their feelings." I know that with my advisor, who lives on campus, all I have to do is go over to their apartment and I can sit down and talk with them about anything or just pop in to say hi. </p>

<p>Also we see our advisors every day in the buildings and in the dining hall and all over campus, so it's not like you need to seek out your advisor generally you'll always know where and when to find them. There are, however, structured meeting periods with your advisor so if a student happens to be shy or doesn't like to ask for help, they'll still get face time with their advisor who can check up and make sure everything is going well. Every Friday we have an all school meeting block when the entire school meets in Hoyt Hall and gets announcements or watches a presentation or a musical performance etc. and we sit with our advisors then, also whenever there are Saturday classes we have a meeting block scheduled with our advisors for about a half hour. And additionally Advisors do different things like take advisees out to lunch or have them over their houses for dinner or have random get togethers and just about anything else. </p>

<p>Not only am I very close with my advisor, my parents are as well. I would say they talk a few times a month just to catch up and see what's new and other typical parent things. As I mentioned before the relationships with faculty are some of the best parts of my Tabor experience and the same goes for my advisor. As for websites rating teachers, I've never heard of anything like that before.. sorry!</p>

11

<p>Just about a week and a half until application deadlines. I know I still see tours going on around campus, so it's not too late to schedule an interview and tour.</p>

<p>Please, let me know if there are any last questions any of you have about Tabor.</p>

<p>Best of luck to all of you applying!</p>

12

<p>I'm done with my application to Tabor, but still thanks a lot, Boarder! :)</p>

13

<p>Hi boarder!</p>

<p>Looking at Tabor, how is placement into honors courses decided? How does the school handle different levels of student achievement, or interest, in academics?</p>

<p>Also, what languages will Tabor offer next year? Different sources have different answers!</p>

14

<p>Good luck Tenias!</p>

<p>Hi Periwinkle,
As an incoming student you fill out which courses you want to take and I know for me at least I was placed into all of the ones I applied for, but all courses go through the Dean of Studies and Department Heads before a student is placed into an Honors / AP course. As a returning student, you must have your teacher recommend you to take an honors course, or for AP courses you must apply and then it goes through the Department Committee then to the Dean of Studies. They evaluate your course of study up to that point, what your former teachers have to say and your grades. The Deans and Department heads know the students well so they are pretty good judges of who is qualified for what class. Some AP courses are selective because we want to have small class sizes, and we can't have as many AP classes as we have students who want to take them and plus some students shouldn't be taking the rigor of AP courses.. so that all goes into it. But dropping between honors to regular track is pretty easy, so I would recommend first signing up for any honors / AP's you might be interested in.. see if you get placed into them and then if it's too much drop down. </p>

<p>Also for languages, this year we offer: French, Spanish, Mandarin, German, Latin, Ancient Greek
It should be the same for next year, however the fate of the German program is still up in the air. As of now there are only a handful of people taking German at Tabor and so they're evaluating its future based on student interest whether or not to continue the program and also at what levels to continue it... But as of now I'm pretty sure there will be some form of German offered next year.
Also, if there's a language you want to take that isn't offered in a traditional class you can study under a faculty member who speaks the language and do an Independent Study curriculum with it. </p>

<p>Hope this helps!</p>

15

<p>As a reminder, today Jan 31 (well, I suppose tomorrow because of the mail) is the deadline for applications to Tabor. I would try to get everything in this week, although obviously the sooner the better. If there's any issues getting things in on time I would call admissions and let them know and see what they have to say. </p>

<p>Good luck to everyone, and try to relax a little bit now!</p>

16

<p>Hi All!</p>

<p>As this new admissions season for prep schools kicks off I wanted to re-introduce this thread because I’ve been noticing a lot of threads with questions about Tabor and figured it would be much easier to have them all in one central location.</p>

<p>I am a former student, and will do my best to answer any and all questions any of you might have in making decisions on where to apply and ultimately where to attend!</p>

17

<p>I will copy some posts from other threads I have replied to here in order to make this thread more thorough and informative.</p>

<p>On the campus:</p>

<p>In visiting upwards of 15 schools, I thought Tabor’s campus was so unique and beautiful compared to all the other schools I looked at. For those of you who don’t know, the entire campus sits on Sippican Harbor, which spills out into Buzzards Bay. I liked how the campus felt to me, all the buildings are covered in weathered shingles (it reminds me very much of buildings on Nantucket) except for Lillard Hall, the dormitory for all the freshman which is the oldest building on campus and is in the Tudor style. A lot of dorms sit right on the waterfront and so many students have a direct water view just feet outside their window, it’s pretty awesome considering to get that same view you would have to purchase one of the multi-million dollar houses that sit on the harbor. The buildings also feel more like independent houses than academy halls which is refreshing. One building I thought was really impressive was the Marine Science Center, which was constructed literally on top of the water. As for location, when you’re in town it feels like you’ve gone back decades. It feels like a small seaside community with a town beach, a general store and post office and little shops, but then also it’s almost right in between Boston and Providence (about 45 minutes to either) and only 20 minutes to Cape Cod. So there are trips almost every weekend to one of the two cities, also there are frequent school trips to theatre productions or museums in Boston and Providence. I think it’s the perfect place to get a small town boarding school feel, but then also have the ability to get off campus and not be in the middle of nowhere like some other schools. </p>

<p>Photos: </p>

<p>[Tabor</a> Academy](<a href=“http://www.taboracademy.org%5DTabor”>http://www.taboracademy.org)</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.boardingschoolreview.com/school_images/school_id/43/id/1/start/-1[/url]”>http://www.boardingschoolreview.com/school_images/school_id/43/id/1/start/-1&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“SKYPIC.COM”>SKYPIC.COM;

18

<p>On the dress code:</p>

<p>I’ve really enjoyed the dress code at Tabor. It’s one of the last prep schools that still requires students to be in formal dress for classes. That means a sportcoat, dress shirt, die, khakis and dress shoes for the boys, and skirts with blouses or dresses or slacks with a blazer for girls. There’s something to me that just doesn’t feel “right” about going to a boarding school and being able to go to class in jeans and a hoodie, but maybe thats just me.</p>

19

<p>On sit-down dinners:</p>

<p>Tabor has them once a week, and I personally really like them. Not so much the actual meal, but I like the atmosphere of having the entire school community in one room eating and talking together. It’s nice as an underclassmen to get to know the upperclassmen that you might not interact with on sports teams or in the dorms and it’s nice as upperclassmen to get to know the new students who you don’t have classes with. Also, getting to know the faculty who you might not have as coaches or dorm parents in situations beyond the classroom is another thing I like. It’s only one night per week and it alternates between being random and sitting with advisors and other combinations. Also, formal school dress is required for sit down dinner and part of me just loved the traditional feeling that brought to a nice meal while having good conversation.</p>

20

<p>A question about rowing at prep school:</p>

<p>From Tabor’s wikipedia page:</p>

<p>The men’s and women’s crew teams have been active participants in the Henley Royal Regatta and the men’s team won the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup in 1965 and the Thames Challenge Cup in 1936, 1937 and 1939. In 1919 Tabor Academy was one of the first American prep schools to establish a rowing program. Then in 1951 Tabor was one of the original founding members of the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association along with Belmont Hill, Choate, Gunnery, Salisbury, St. George’s, Brown & Nichols, Phillips Exeter, Pomfret, South Kent, St. Mark’s, Kent, Halcyon and Shattuck (clubs from St. Paul’s), and Shrewsbury. [2]</p>

<p>I know the boathouse is right on campus and Tabor rows right on Sippican Harbor which campus sits on. From what I know, Tabor fields a lot of boats for being a smaller school (around the same as Andover and Exeter despite being less than half the size) so it’s really easy to get involved.</p>

<p>Tabor usually has 5 eights on both the boys and the girls side. I think the way it goes is that 1st and 2nd boats are varsity, 3rd is JV, and 4th and below are “novice.” They will field as many boats as there is interest, I’m pretty sure no one gets cut from crew.</p>