<p>Hi, does anyone has any information on the Emma Willard School? It sounds really good for me, but does anyone have any "insiders" information? Thanks!</p>
<p>Someone whose daughter goes there posts here occasionally. If you do a search of "Emma Willard" you will probably find him/her. Then you can pm for more info.</p>
<p>alright, thanks. What information does anyone have about emma willard?</p>
<p>It is a wonderful school for girls. Like most of the strong girls' schools mentioned here, it strives to produce an intellectual, fun environment that challenges its students. I think it succeeds. There are several schools very similar - but, natch, we like Emma since it's my d's school. </p>
<p>Very, very beautiful campus. Lively girls who tend to be VERY opinionated, but I THINK the school looks for girls who have strong personalities, talents...very much it's a "girls" school where the girls are very aware that they likely will become very strong women who are very well educated. </p>
<p>While it is academically challenging to some, I think, it is not a cutthroat atmosphere at all. check it out. good luck</p>
<p>Emma is a great school, and I have been impressed with the handful of graduates I've met. Do a search for the girls' school thread on here from last summer--I think there was a current Emma student who posted about her experience. She seemed to really love it.</p>
<p>I applied to Emma and had a interview. I also had a chance to attend a class and have lunch with one of chemistry teacher. School campus was beautiful, the girls were so confident, and independent.</p>
<p>it sounds really wonderful. anymore inputs?</p>
<p>I looked at Emma Willard a few years ago, and had it been coed, it would have been the perfect school for me. It has everything I wanted in a school (minus boys) and I have a wide variety of interests, so to anyone who doesn't mind being with girls only 24/7, it's definitely worth looking into.</p>
<p>My daughter was accepted to Emma but decided on another school. We have high regard for emma willard school and is a top school with stellar academics.</p>
<p>My sister goes to Emma. She can't stop raving about it, really. The campus is by far the most beautiful I've ever seen; it far bests that of my own school.</p>
<p>The three, IMHO, all girls schools to consider are: Emma Willard, Miss Porter's, and Westover. There are others but htese three, I believe, have top notch academics and good endowments for single sex schools. They have very uniquely different personalities. You have to look for the best fit.</p>
<p>Those are my top choices... they all sound great. What do you think the main differences are of the three?</p>
<p>Well, as a student at Westover, I can tell you that it's very hard academically. If you're not already a good student with a good work ethic, you might not be able to stay afloat. I had to learn this really quickly. Emma has about the same academics, Porters has slightly lower. Porters has better sports than the other two. Emma has the best campus of the group. Westover's art/music/dance program is the best of the three.</p>
<p>As far as personality of the school goes, I haven't really found the Porter's girls to be very sporting. Emma girls are very outspoken and friendly, as are Westover girls. There are all types here: party girls, studious girls, silly girls, musical girls (lots of those), weird girls. I really like it. Come to Westover!</p>
<p>Westover and Emma Willard sound really good. But I have been hearing so-so things about Miss Porters. Can anyone offer information?</p>
<p>There are one or two girls who post here that go to Miss Porter's. Try a search and then you can PM them.
I disagree with the poster who stated she thought Miss Porter's was less academically challenging than Westover or Emma Willard. My daughter goes to MPS and is taking very challenging courses. She also this year has taken two different independent studies to explore subjects of special interest. Every year girls are accepted to competitive colleges. I believe the school is always completely enrolled as well. The statistics on boardingschool.com are very out of date as Miss Porter's,as many other schools, does not pay the fees to keep the site updated.
I think the schools have different personalities, different attractions. My daughter really did not like the lack if internet access and telephones in the dorm rooms at Westover. Overall we felt that Miss Porters use of technology was much stronger than what we saw at Westover and Maderia- we did not look at EWS. We also thought there were more things that students could walk to in Farmington. Athletics are strong. Although for my daughter that was not a deciding factor.
The library was another attraction. We visitied several schools and the library at Miss Porter's was one of only a few that had group study rooms. My daughter liked the idea of being able to study with a group for a special project or a test. It also had cozy sofas and chairs that you could cuddle up in and read or study.
A new athletic center with a swimming pool and 8 squash courts will open in September 2007.
I thought the school infrastructure and premises were nicer than Westover but that is really just a personal opinion. I heard that EWS is spectaculor.
A major selling point was the Head of School, Burch Ford. She had been at Milton Academy before coming to Miss Porter's. She was head of the Coalition of Girl's Schools and is a recognized spokesperson for the advantages of single sex schools. Unfortunately, she has just announced her retirement at the end of the 2007- 2008 school year.
And, lastly, I believe that Miss Porter's endowment is the highest of the three schools we're discussing.</p>
<p>Look - there is no doubt that all three of these girls schools are top notch. Shelley is right that what matters is getting a feel for them and then try to determine which one fits you best. You couldn't go wrong with any single one, I think, as long as it seems right for you. </p>
<p>Yes, the facilities at Emma are gorgeous, but Shelley is also right that the library at MPS is awesome!! Plus, Farmington is a lovely town with a real "town" feel - something that Troy, NY definitiely does NOT have. Each school has something that makes it stand out - but each applicant will have a different view of each school. Since my d doesn't actually attend Westover or MPS, I can't say at all how the schools actually are different from each other from a studen'ts perspective. Even girls who go there can't really compare them unless they've gone to more than one.</p>
<p>But, any girls who really wants an all-girls school would serve herself well to look into all three schools and ask lots of questions. They're all wonderful places to grow into women!</p>
<p>Thank you, Shelley and Jedwards. That was very informative! Whats the Westover campus like? So far the Emma Willard campus appeals to me the most.</p>
<p>Also, what would you consider the top selling point of each school?</p>
<p>Westover is lovely - designed, I believe, by a female architect, Theodora Pape (I may have the name wrong). It is built in the traditional English boarding school quad with classrooms,dining hall, meeting rooms etc. on the lower floor, and dorm rooms on the top floors. The dorms rooms are sizeable and were built many years ago for girls and their large steamer trunks! The rooms we saw had walk in closets, built in drawers. The newer buildings that have been added on really were designed well to fit in with the school architecture.
The freshman English class was priceless - in one of the older buildings with books everywhere! Very warm and cozy. The art history teacher has a collection of slides gathered over her lifetime of travels that she uses in her classes. Overall we were very impressed with the school. It just wasn't the one where my daughter would have had the best fit.</p>
<p>Shelley is right about the campus. The whole exterior is painted yellow. The dorm rooms are the nicest I've seen; they're very big (although there are few singles and only seniors can have them.)</p>
<p>There is a new library and performing arts center, where I spend most of my time. The english classroom you're talking about is Hillard House, which has the alumni office on the bottom and Shamus Weber's classroom on top. It's a great space. The new gym is also really good, especially because of the dividing system they have. There is a huge basketball court, but they have these motorized dividers between that and the two volleyball courts. The building is huge...kind of like the main gym at Taft? If you've been there. There's also a well-ventilated excersize room. I was actually in there today polishing the silver for a detention. =/</p>
<p>The lack of technology at Westover is really frustrating at times, but even though I'm a technocrat I haven't found it to be a huge issue. The restrictions are mostly because the freshman go crazy with facebook and myspace and don't do their schoolwork (I'm not joking...sadly.) I hate this aspect of the school, but let me tell you, my parents adore it...</p>