My apologies for the delay, it was a long two days and I’m just now getting back on the computer. My son chose St. Paul’s. It was the most difficult decision he’s ever made. He really liked both SPS and MX, the schools are pretty different when you actual compare them point by point.
He finally came to the decision based on:
Facilities - He felt that SPS facilities - classrooms, gym, campus, etc. were better. They are building a new football complex that will be finished in the fall.
Diversity of classes - SPS offers glass blowing and artificial intelligence as well as a ton of science/engineering/computer classes.
Its closer to Dartmouth (where his sister is)
Campus - SPS has 2000 acres, which includes ponds, woods and trails (in addition to the classroom and dorm area)
Their philosophy related to trust and rules mirrors my parenting philosophy and is very different from the MX philosophy.
Both schools had extremely nice, seemingly happy kids. Both schools seemed manageable in terms of the workload. My son liked the wrestling coaches of the two schools about equally but felt the lax coaches at MX were more passionate about the sport. He also felt the food was about the same at both schools.
MX has mindfulness and seemed more supportive in some ways. MX seems to integrate college planning right from the start, involving the college office (as appropriate) in a student’s course selection. MX has AP’s, SPS does not. MX dorms were definitely nicer but the rooms themselves were about the same size. MX schedules by semester, SPS schedules by year - this means that MX kids can easily move up to honors (or down) mid year.
MX was supportive of my son’s plans to continue with scouts and earn his Eagle. SPS is not - so my son will need to find an alternative path. SPS requires community service and there are lots of those options but there will be no way for my son to affiliate with a local troop as they discourage those kinds of weekly off-campus commitments.
In terms of financial aid, SPS fully matched MX’s offer, so that was not a consideration at all.
@panpacific@buuzn03 - Hopefully I’ve answered your questions. Please feel free to post or PM if there’s anything I’ve left out.
Congrats!! @HMom16 I’ve been thinking of you and your family. Been there done that so I know what you went though. As I said earlier, such a “first world problem” to have but that doesn’t make it any easier. No, you haven’t left anything out. The most important thing is the decision was made finally! And I think you son’s choice was solid. Wise kid!
@panpacific Bittersweet. yes, it’s a nice problem to have had. In the end, this journey will be my son’s not DH or mine’s. DS and I made pro/con list and it was too close. Yes, Choate was #1 but followed very closely by MX, ever since we visited in December. DS wanted us to make choice for him and we decided not to do that because DS has always been more willing to be in situations that DH and I would not choose to be in. The things that DS has wanted to do thus far in his life is probably what made him attractive to these schools. DH and I didn’t even want him to go to BS, that’s why he didn’t apply last year. DH and I preferred MX, its values are more closely aligned to ours. DH and DS worked through the rest of the decision-making process. Choate offers something specific and non-traditional that DS has demonstrated a long interest in. I want to make clear that it wasn’t because of a short-coming at MX. @GnarWhail helpfully recommended that we look at curriculum because of where DS is academically and that helped but not enough to make clear decision.
Thank you @skimom22 for being my stand-in and sounding board!!!
@GnarWhail For the record, I’m still in the process of digesting your post #1237. I thought I said I was not your enemy… And what did @SevenDad do to deserve the honorary mention in the response directed to me?
@HMom16 Congratulations!
DS does zero scouting activities while away at school. He does them during spring break, winter and summer. Our local troop is very accommodating. It better be. I serve various committee positions, spend numerous hours fundraising, and attend troop events and meetings during his absence. It feels weird not to have him while I volunteer with them though. He goes snow camping during spring break and will go to Northern Tier this summer. Scouting with home troop is doable.
I nagged him for several months to have him earn his life scout rank before he left for BS. He gets one merit badge completed during each break. From then on, it is more of will and motivation rather than logistics. He is getting less motivated and feels distanced from his troop friends making scouting less fun but more chore. Sigh. I do hope he continues toward Eagle. He has more than two years left till 18 but I do feel that the sooner the better as it gets harder to push it through.
@payn4ward - Thanks! Luckily my son has finished all of his Eagle required badges. Unfortunately he won’t be able to continue with the local troop as we are moving over the summer. The Scout website talks about something called a “Lone Scout” which we will investigate. I’m also going to contact the Concord, NH scout troop and see if they have any ideas. Perhaps there is a way for him to do his SPS community service and Eagle project in conjunction with something the local troop has planned.
@HMom16 I see. I’m sure one of those can be worked out. Our troop had one Eagle who moved to Australia. His Eagle BoR was conducted over Skype a couple years after his move.
Good luck!
Hi All. I’m new to CC. Have been reading, but this is my first post. Concord Academy just notified that they are fully enrolled for the fall and will not be going to the waitlist at this time. “As of now, we have enrolled the number of students we need for our new class in the fall. However, it is possible that we will go to our wait pool at some point this spring or summer, should plans change for any of our enrolled families.”
Thanks. This forum has been very helpful. My DS was waitlisted at 5 schools and rejected by 2, so it’s been an incredibly stressful ride. We knew he was applying to top schools and it would be very competitive, but M10 was a tough day and being that “hope is not a strategy” is a mantra of mine, the finger crossing and second guessing is driving me nuts. Thankfully, DS is hanging in there, but today when so many of the 8th graders wore their secondary school gear, I wanted to cry.
Ugh @ThemApples & @mtmtmt1227 sending good thoughts your way. I think @Atria may be a good resource and sounding board because she went through the same thing last year but is now a Zebra!
And what did 
He goes snow camping during spring break and will go to Northern Tier this summer. Scouting with home troop is doable.