Can someone tell me about Tabor Academy? What is the school like? Thanks
You will get more helpful responses if you ask some specific questions.
What is the school like? Would you recommend it for a bright student? Tabor has a low SSAT acceptance score of 68. Although, I am considering it, I am concerned that I will not be challenged enough.
Not sure where you are getting the 68 number, but always always always take the stuff with a large block of hand-hewn artisanal salt. Even “official” info might not be telling you what you think it is telling you. If you’re worried about being challenged cuz you are like super smart and everything, look at their course catalog and then when you go for your interview ask how many kids are in the hardest classes before you let 'em know that you’re gonna ace 'em all for sure!
My daughter spent two years at Andover and is now at Tabor. She was an above-average student at Andover and she’s challenged at Tabor. There are plenty of bright kids at every boarding school in New England.
If you have some specific questions we can ask her for you. Their admissions open house is October 15.
Garandman, what attracted your daughter to Tabor?
Extraordinary campus setting on Sippican Bay.
Faculty and staff are MUCH more connected with the students than brand X.
Big enough school to have an extensive course catalog including lots of AP.
Multi disciplinary approach to teaching the sciences, using their marine environment.
School has rejoined the ISL (Independent School League) which does not allow Post Graduate athletes and plays a lot of area schools and has tournaments for every sport.
New Leadership Team with a clear vision of what they want the school to be and how to get there.
A down-to-earth, pragmatic approach to living a happy, healthy life, instead of being told “You are the Chosen.” The Tabor Boy, the school’s 92’ sail training and research vessel plays a role in that, as sailing a vessel that size requires flexibility and teamwork and a good attitude. (That’s not required but most students spend at least some time sailing).
Much closer relationship between dorm parents and students: in my daughter’s case a ratio of 4:1 versus 12:1.
Advisor meets regularly with student about all facets of their campus activities. If the student doesn’t like the Advisor, they can request a change. Each Advisor only has 5-7 students and coordinates issues with classes, schedule, sports team and other recreational choices (sports are required): in other words, in-depth guidance of their entire experience.
Well resourced, very proactive college counseling staff that starts working with students almost as soon as they arrive.
Schools are always changing. Some are becoming happier, healthier places that manage to challenge students while supporting them through one of the most intense periods of personal change (from 14-18) in their lives in these crazy 21st century times. Tabor right now is one of those places.
Why the school isn’t better known is hard to understand.
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Garandman, I truly appreciate your speedy response regarding Tabor. I was trying to make an informed decision about applying to the school and you have convinced me. Thanks
This may just be me but I feel like Tabor and Mercersburg (and there are more in this situation) are similar in many ways: they are in areas where schools with more rarified and ancient pedigrees overshadow every other school (Mercersburg in the shadow of the DC area elite privates as well as the NJ/PA schools like Lawrenceville and Hill etc) and Tabor off on that little spit of land is a world away from Andover, Exeter etc) They still offer world class educations and experiences and put their students into excellent colleges
^^ This. There are so many wonderful BS, and Fwiw, not all of them were founded with the idea of prepping the elite for admission to elite schools. (although all tend to place grads in excellent schools.) They were all founded with the idea of providing an excellent education.
I am a huge fan of the Quaker schools for their emphasis on encouraging young people figure out who they really are and who they want to be in the world. But the point is that if the fit is right, a school that isn’t one of the best known may be the best for you.
I have a friend who went to Tabor, a little too long ago to be relevant to OP, who had a great experience there.
Tabor is a Naval Honor school. If your student might be interested in attending one of the four service academies, not just USNA, that is something to look into.
“Service Academy Appointments
A special privilege granted to us, as one of only two remaining Naval Honor schools in the country, is the authority to directly nominate up to three candidates each year to each of the nation’s military academies.
Students, once nominated, then compete on their own merit to secure a place at West Point, Annapolis, The U.S. Coast Guard Academy or The Air Force Academy.
This is an option pursued annually by a small number of our top students, most commonly at Annapolis and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Our participating graduates have maintained Tabor’s excellent reputation through the years at the academies.”
The academies like Tabor grads because they tend to have much stronger math and science skills than typical HS grads, they’ve played sports every term so they are fit, and they’ve lived away from home.
https://www.taboracademy.org/page/school-by-the-sea/nautical-science
^^Very cool!
Thank you all for your advice. Garandman, is your daughter interested in Marine Biology? If you don’t mind me asking, why did she leave Andover for Tabor? You can pm me if you would like.
This thread is about Tabor.
She is interested in Marine Biology but it’s not an abiding interest.
What those programs do, though, Is give real-world examples of how science is applied. Last year students built a robotic watercraft to sample harbor water. The water samples were analyzed, comparisons made, trends predicted. Think about all the disciplines that were applied in the project: Physics, Computer Science, Chemistry, Statistics. Other projects are done on Tabor Boy, the school’s 92 foot schooner used as a research vessel. All sound more interesting than dissecting frogs.
My son is touring the campus tomorrow during the Open House to see if he wants to apply. He is applying to day schools and didn’t like some of the other boarding schools he’s visited, so we’ll see what he likes and does not like.
I’m taking my 8th grade daughter to the open house tomorrow as well.
Neat!
We like the article they posted about how to approach campus tours: http://info.taboracademy.org/blog/how-to-approach-your-boarding-school-tour
We also like an article posted on Governor’s website, “Choosing a School.”
http://www.thegovernorsacademy.org/page.cfm?p=526
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^^great resources. The one from Tabor provides excellent guidance!
So, I was standing in a corner waiting for my son and daughter and struck up a conversation with a mom and her charming and self-confident daughter.
When I told them we were from Boston, she asked, “Are you Garandman?” It was MAandMEmom! So we had a chance to chat in person.
@Garandman thats crazy!
At Parents Weekend they explained the new schedule. Of particular interest, start time was pushed back to 8:30, and class time increased to a 75minute block.
They have an initiative with http://www.thecttl.org/home/ to apply the latest knowledge of how the brain functions to a teaching environment. We were presented with flash cards to sort, some of which contained “Neuromyths” for us to sort through.
This is an extremely impressive endeavor.