Several others have chimed in about these and other schools, so I just wanted to say that I mostly concur, especially with what @one1ofeach just posted.
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Absolutely correct - none of those schools are on the list except Middlesex, which we are looking into.
We have friends who currently have 2 sons at Millbrook - they have nothing but wonderful things to say about the school and their sons experience so far.
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I also support exploring St. Andrews in Delaware.
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Your daughter seems mature and inquisitive enough to help drive this search. There is so much information available online to check out. Steer clear of “rating” and “review” sites and look at what the schools put out themselves. What schools put out may seem “filtered”, but it shows you what they value and want to promote. The YouTube videos from DS school are what completely sold me on the idea of boarding school.
If you do a search, you’ll see a “hidden gems” thread on this forum. It may be a bit outdated at this point but might be a good place to start.
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That’s odd. Nearly every international student I know is (somehow) a citizen of the U.S., Canada, or Australia on top of their home country; some have not even ever entered their countries of citizenship!
I’ve read and reread this… and am still baffled.
My kid’s at a school where they openly limit how many international students they accept from mainland China. Not one of the schools mentioned so far - higher admit rate, but not sporty.
Another vote here for Concord Academy. Rigorous but not cutthroat. Big on “community trust”, to get an idea of where they believe their values are.
I don’t think this was mentioned but George is one of the few school offerings a full IB diploma. We really liked them.
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I agree with looking into Concord Academy. Very girl-positive and focused on well-being and community.
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I think perhaps the reasoning from the counselor is that the country where we are is not your “typical” country for boarding schools to receive applications from. So a student who is actually from this country adds some diversity of citizenship and a new country the school can add to their list.
Perhaps the counselor is mistaken and her coming from at least another culture could be of interest to some schools to add some diversity of perspective/thought?
We are applying to numerous boarding schools (as american citizens based in Asia) for 2 kids (applying into9th and 11th). Some schools definitely view your passport as the driver for which pool of students you will be competing against. And if you are in HK for example - the demand for boarding schools (US/UK/Aus etc) is incredible this year. Everyone wants to get their kids out of HK and into ANY boarding school.
I will let you know the results in March but we arent applying to the tippy top 10 schools are those are not ideal places for my kids (well it would have been ideal for one had she been applying as a freshmen but not now as almost jr)
Based on what you wrote. - def look at the all girls schools and some of the mid sized schools (Blair, St Andrews, Williston, Berkshire as well). MSX is quite competitive
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Not in HK, but I totally get why parents are looking to get their kids elsewhere. Thanks for more names. Berkshire was definitely one that looked intriguing to us on a first pass at Google research, but we weren’t sure on how the community was there.
I was just replying to a PM from someone else saying that I think our biggest challenge is going to be to find a school that has great academics (but not too competitive among the students) and really fosters a strong community. Plus, outdoor education/activities would be a bonus.
I really wish we could get to the schools while students are there, but it just won’t happen this year. Perhaps we could swing a December or April visit next year. December would probably be a good idea just so our daughter could see the massive amounts of snow in many places. Kind of like how we made our oldest do his tour of Midwest colleges in the middle of the winter so he could see what it would really be like during that time of year.
@RoonilWazlib99 I am following your post with interest – I have a daughter in 6th grade who sounds very similar to yours. We are contemplating boarding school for her for 9th grade after kicking ourselves for not buckling up and making it happen for her older sister (who is currently in an early gap year and applying to colleges after graduating after her junior year). Our little daughters sound very similar and the schools we are looking at also fall into the same pile. You definitely should look at Concord. Does anyone have input on Dana Hall in Wellesley? I have only heard about the middle school, whose educational philosophy sounds quite traditional. I’m going to stop writing now, though, because the idea of my baby running off to boarding school is making me teary.
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Jennifer - I will definitely keep updating this post as we decide what to do. I think for now we will likely at least start the process, but will make that decision in April most likely so that we can have time to develop a list to visit when we are back in the US in June.
I totally understand about sending your little kid off to boarding school. Since we have gotten serious about looking into schools, I am coming away from almost all my interactions with my daughter thinking, “This could be my last year of having her at home” and it is terrifying, sad, exciting, and sobering all at once. I still read to her every night (of course, different books than we did when she was in kindergarten - right now it is The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and we just finished All Creatures Great and Small) and I wonder if I’ll be video chatting with her and reading her a story as she goes to bed across the world some day.
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@RoonilWazlib99 this is all heart wrenching and lovely and exciting. Please do keep us posted.
this sounds like mercerburg. They have an outdoor education curriculum. I think it spans hiking to skinning/backcountry skiing (I think), ice and rock climbing, overnight trips, etc.
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Another question as I read through all of the threads and posts - will it be a negative for either my daughter at school or even during the admissions process that she would be applying for ninth grade as a true ninth grader (and would have just turned 14 by the time she arrived on campus)? It seems like most kids on here are old for their grade and/or are applying to repeat a grade, which would make my daughter very young and perhaps out of place?
it will all depends on which school (and their historical protocol) and your child’s age/birthday. Hotchkiss (for example) - 40% of each class are repeats so this automatically skews the class older and makes it tougher to apply for any grade. During a tour - another family was visiting with a potential freshman applicant - this boy had skipped a grade and was already at the tail end of his original class so he would be applying as a freshman turning 13 at the start and boarding school said NO dont apply we wont accept you at this age (as we have kids turning 20 on campus).
this issue matters less in an all girls school for sure. one reason kids repeat a year is that they have a better track record/application and can redo the year but can end up taking more interesting classes as they have completed the requirements earlier. While this is wonderful for intellectually curious kids - i am not sure there is much value or any boost in the long run up to college admissions.
If your child seems mature and ready to live independently of her parents, I do not believe it will make a difference to her chances of admission. Many would-be 14-year-old first years have excellent results.
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Thanks, ameridad! I just got a little worried after seeing so many repeaters that perhaps a young, first-time 9th grader would be seen by the admissions team as not quite ready solely due to age. She has been on her own many times (has done residential summer camp since she was in first grade) and we feel can be happy and successful in the right environment.