Assuming a day student, what would be your top choice and why?
St. Mark’s. I read things on this board that spoke to the kind, supportive, collaborative community. I have also seen it first hand. Just a great all around school and a “hidden gem” as others have said on that specific thread. The disconnect between SMS’s historical acceptance rate, which is a bit higher than some of the other schools that get attention on these boards, and the quality of the experience there made it a no brainer to include on our overall application list as a higher probability option for my kiddo. For what it is worth, we would have been boarding, but I also know several day student graduates that have had excellent experiences there.
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It seems unlikely that a student would live within an easy commute of all 3 of these schools, so you definitely have to weigh travel time. Love St. Mark’s. I’d probably cross off Rivers if it were the choice of these 3, but Tabor and St. Mark’s are so far apart geographically that unless you lived in the exact mid point the commute should really be the factor. It will greatly influence the quality of both you and your student’s life.
what if I had a house in each town? Do you have an opinion?
Depends on interests. I love St. Marks ( that’s the one I am familiar with) but if the kid were really interested in sailing, marine bio, etc, Tabor would have the edge. Have them look at the course catalog, club offerings, etc and see which they get more excited by. Are you going to revisit days? That will probably clear up some indecision.
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Two things:
What’s the day student experience at the two boarding schools. Being a day student can be a bit lonely when everyone else has a sleepover 24/7. Do either bs offer day student rooms when kids can study and sleep over?
Any specific interests or sports? For example, if it’s a girl who’s a top basketball player the Tabor choice would be obvious. If it’s a boy who loves soccer, different choice….we need to know something about the kid otherwise those three schools are a toss up and basically the same.
If you are SET on being a day student I’d probably lean slightly towards rivers. Easier to be in the majority.
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I would not choose Rivers because you are going to be a day student. But I would try to understand the difference in experience offered by a BS vs a day school and what it means for you.
At BS, clubs may meet after dinner. There may be fun things on weekends. You may be at school, by choice, many more hours.
Non school conflicts may be less well endured at BS as fewer kids will have outside sports, lessons, etc. that aren’t school related.
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Surprisingly, the two boarding schools seem to have a sizable well-integrated day school contingency. Already understand the sports pretty well. He is a good baseball player. Thank you for your thoughts.
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Most BS do a good job at integrating day students. Ime, it is often the parents who aren’t prepared for what that may involve of them. (Especially if they are used to a 4:00 pickup every day…) #gratefulmykidhaslicense
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For a smart athletic kid I would choose Rivers.
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I heard rivers has great music programs.
I think many boarding schools do an okay job. I think Covid really really hampered that at a lot of places.
I also think there are some kids who feel the exclusion more than others. My kid who feels it more has only known Covid highschool so that’s his whole reference point.