Thanks so much — It’s actually McNair Academic in Jersey City!
Met with another Dalton family today, solidly middle class by any measure. Definitely not an exclusively wealthy group, even with students who live in NYC
What do they think about the school/how has it been for their child?
We didnt have a big conversation about the school, but the kids told me they love school.
You really can’t go wrong with choosing Dalton, as long as the commute and finances make sense for you and your family.
@mathwizard85 Personally, I think you’ll enjoy Dalton much more as an overall high school experience (if the tuition/FA is affordable to you).
McNair is a very good school, you’ll have great peers there, but the school focuses heavily on academics, and less focus on others.
I can’t speak for Dalton, but my son is at a highly ranked and competitive private school that’s similar in caliber to Dalton. We feel the school really tries to teach you to “think and learn”, rather than just “memorize everything for the test”. The private schools don’t do AP classes any more because they don’t want to “teach to a curriculum”. They think their approach is better, and so far, I agree. The school focuses on developing you “as a whole person”, rather than just grades and test scores.
From a peer perspective, given it’s one of the most competitive private schools in NYC, you’ll find many of your peers rich, and quite a few not-so-smart. So the crowd will be very different from the McNair crowd. However, if you’re not fazed by money and attitude, you’ll really enjoy the education and the experience.
Feel free to DM me if you’d like to ask any additional questions.
The only caveat about Dalton is that it’s a really intense and demanding academic experience - more than many other “rigorous” high schools. This is great for certain students who are ambitious intense type A - students make a lot of sacrifices to achieve top grades and get into those top colleges. Those who are successful may deem those sacrifices worthwhile, but others don’t. It can be all-consuming.