<p>ah, well, not only am I wicked but I'm wicked wicked! and my, as for the NH-- I'm afraid you'll never know. lol. well, its the net, so it's a bit safer that way. </p>
<p>hmm.. so are you two applying this fall?</p>
<p>^^^you're a smart kid to not disclose. didn't mean to pry.</p>
<p>no worries. :) sooo... would you reccomend St Pauls? My aunt went there for a year, and she liked it, but I'm not sure.</p>
<p>My child has been very happy there. What are you looking for in a school? What ECs, sports, activities interest you? I glanced at your posts and noticed that you have a sibling at Exeter. What appeals/doesn't appeal to you about Exeter? It's hard to recommend it without knowing you. There are plenty of good schools - SPS is definitely one of them but it depends on one's interests and fit. </p>
<p>Things I like about SPS: size of the community, 100% boarding, faculty living on campus all add to community spirit and cohesiveness, traditions and things like seated meal a couple of times a week without being too uptight or restrictive, a moderate dress code - not too strict or too liberal, gorgeous campus with plenty of green spaces and beautiful, well-maintained buildings, strong music, fine arts and dance programs, diverse student body, to name a few...</p>
<p>It sounds quite lovely, and I know a lot of people who have ben happy at SPS. What really appeals to me about exeter is the size and the myriad of opportunities and possibilities. My school is very WASPish, and often I find myself just.. not fitting in. I like asking questions and debating, and writing certainly. Reading, of course, discussion, foreign affairs-- I'd like to become a foreign correspondent journalist, so I could delve into cultures and and learn about foreign countries, learn languages, and write about it. </p>
<p>My worries about smaller boarding schools is that they would be stifling. I'm looking for interesting classes, kids who want to learn and like asking questions, the like.</p>
<p>The thing is, my parents worry about getting overwhelmed, lost in the shuffle, at a bigger school. They want me to go to a small to middle sized school, but I wonder if they can offer the same opportunities that larger schools can.</p>
<p>sorry about St. Sebastian's, I was just dividing a list of boarding schools I had into two groups. I stand by my St. Paul's division, though.
Also, creative1, could you please provide a link to the St. Paul's grading system? I can't find it. Thanks.</p>
<p>Here's a link to the Student Handbook:
<a href="https://www.sps.edu/ftpimages/36/download/download_group4243_id315970.pdf%5B/url%5D">https://www.sps.edu/ftpimages/36/download/download_group4243_id315970.pdf</a></p>
<p>wickedcrazy - I think schools in the 500-600 student range like SPS, Deerfield will still provide plenty of interesting classes and opportunities. Given your parents already have a child in a large BS (Exeter), perhaps they know reasons why you would do better in a smaller school. Whether it's Exeter, SPS or any of the top tier schools, you'll get a great education and find plenty of kids who are inquisitive like you. I assume you'll apply to multiple schools to increase your chances. The first task, obviously, is getting acceptances and then you can choose the best fit.</p>
<p>thanks, creative1, it's really helpful. I was planning on applying to a bunch, yes, so I can include some bigger ones, as well as medium-- and make a decision based on which schools I get into out of each category, that is, if I get in at all. thanks.</p>
<p>wickedcrazy: Your career aspirations are almost identical to mine. Seriously. It's almost scary. Haha anyways- I just graduated from Exeter, so feel free to PM me with any questions.</p>
<p>does no one realize how great a school milton is? its academic records are undeniable and its prestige is first rung. please stop excluding milton from top lists!</p>
<p>How do you really define a "large" school anyway? It's really relative. The public schools in my area are all 2500+ students. None of the boarding schools come close to that. In my opinion, they're all small schools, even Exeter and Andover. Then with a 5:1 student:teacher ratio, and average class size of 12-14, even the large boarding schools sound small to me.</p>
<p>Class size is relevant but only as it pertains to the classroom. I would imagine the real size difference is felt when you consider that BS students do not reside daily with 75%, 85% or 100% of those 2,500+ kids. That would be downright brutal. In this instance, size does matter.</p>
<p>I like to recommend Saint mark's school in MA. It is a small school. This year's
acceptance rate is 29% and SSAT average is 83 percentile. They have a new school master who is leading the SMS toward the top ten schools. Currently their ranking is between 10 and 15. However, everybody believes that it will be one of the top ten as they were about 10 years ago. They are coming back to top ten schools. It is a small school in Bsoton suburb area.
Students have a very close relationships with teachers. It is perfect fit for me. I am going there from this fall. as a refrence, my SSAt was 97 percentile and I was very good at public middle school and very active at sports and music. I stronly recommend you to conser SMS. I am sure you will love SMS.
Their college matriculation is excellent as well. check it out at </p>
<p>erkybk, weren't there rumors about sms having like a 24% acceptance rate? or was that just me reading it wrong?</p>
<p>i heard you were accepted so don't lie ! :P jkjk but i'd like to know if it's 24 or 29 because well... that is a big percent jump o_O</p>
<p>welllllll... no one has mentioned Peddie...</p>
<p>Um, I'm just going to throw this out there: ANDOVER?</p>
<p>Oh yeah, and that other one. With the stolen name / motto. God, what is that place called? :)</p>
<p>Hate to break it to ya Pixie, but Andover is not the best. Maybe for some it is, but its far from ideal for all kids applying to boarding school. My S is very smart, and visited Andover as well as other schools and liked many other schools more than Andover. Choate, BB&N, and Milton were his favorite. Andover and Exeter were very low on his list.</p>
<p>"Best" is a very relative term. We're talking prestige -- no offense, but prestige doesn't exactly depend on your son's personal preferences. Maybe Andover and Exeter weren't tailored to his tastes, and I'm sure he's very smart, but simply because plenty of smart kids choose other boarding schools (or stay at home) doesn't detract from Andover and Exeter's prestige. There's something about 230 (or in Exeter's case, 227) years of consistent excellence of education and reputation that can't be copied. That's prestige -- which may be less about specific criteria and more about what you'd like to name-drop at your next dinner party.</p>
<p>Milton has been around for 210 years. I don't know if your familiar with the term prestige but it does not mean most well known. And no, other schools did not copy Andover or Exeter, they came up with their own ways to provide an excellent education for their students.</p>
<p>pres·tige /prɛˈstiʒ, -ˈstidʒ/ [pre-steezh, -steej] </p>
<p>–noun
1. reputation or influence arising from success, achievement, rank, or other favorable attributes.<br>
2. distinction or reputation attaching to a person or thing and thus possessing a cachet for others or for the public: The new discothèque has great prestige with the jet set. </p>
<p>–adjective
3. having or showing success, rank, wealth, etc.</p>