What are the ways you gather(ed) lots of intelligence about boarding schools?

Prep School Admissions
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<p>Suppose you want to get as accurate a picture as possible about various boarding schools, including ones that are rarely discussed here. What are some of the ways you're doing that/did that/would do that?</p>

<p>I'll hit some of the obvious ones:</p>

<ul>
<li>Viewbook</li>
<li>Web site</li>
<li>Interview</li>
<li>Tour</li>
<li>Educational consultant</li>
<li>Searching this forum</li>
<li>The Bunkel Index software (for those who purchase it; available at a discount through my personal web mall)</li>
</ul>

<p>Except (possibly) for some of the most prominent schools, I don't think that's good enough. I think someone who isn't plugged into the boarding school scene, especially from an area where they're not connected with other parents through middle school or work or socially, needs to dig deeper. </p>

<p>I, for one, learned more about all of this after the applications were mailed in. And that was with numerous and very candid interviews with admissions committee reps at schools that were easier for me to have (a) because I was writing a short article about the process, and (b) with the decisions already made I felt liberated to ask questions I wouldn't have asked earlier on.</p>

<p>What ideas do others here have about really digging deep and gathering the information it takes to learn as much as possible to decide which school(s) are the best fit for a child?</p>

2

<p>I will add in my comments -- especially since we are looking at schools that are rarely or never mentioned on this board.</p>

<p>All of the items on D'yer's list are things we did, plus:</p>

<p>attending reception for those interested in the school -- we have been to a few of these, they are held at someone's house (usually an alumni or parents of a student) and have a presentation. gives us a chance to see who else is applying and meet some alumni, students and parent's of alumni.</p>

<p>visit with the admission officer and headmaster -- these have always been helpful at really seeing how the philosophy of the school works.</p>

<p>talking with parents of students and alumni -- we call admissions and ask for the phone number/email of a 9th grade boy, a 12th grade boy and a recent alumni. Those conversations are usually great -- we hear the good and the bad.</p>

<p>boarding school review -- a good place to get a quick look at lots of schools. Also a place to start when looking for statistics -- then I call to confirm them. </p>

<p>General google search -- using the school's name and various other words (like "problems", "challenges", "drugs", "arrest", "safety", "art", etc). You would be surprised what you can find.</p>

<p>A long and through look at the curriculum guide -- this can be a window into the academics of the school. For instance, we were not interested in send our son to a school that was overwhelmingly Christian oriented. It is ok if the school is based on Judeo-Christian values (actually, that is expected) but we really wanted him to learn about other views and values in a neutral context -- not interpreted through Christian views (or at least as neutral as you can get in the US -- you are always interpreting things through a lens). I looked at courses in religion, philosophy, history and humanities -- and some schools were eliminated from the list at this point. I had a couple of surprises there.</p>

<p>DVD's -- we love to look at the DVD's the schools send out. They are definitely fancy promos, but they do give us a sense of what the schools feels it's strenghts are, what it feels is important and who they are trying to attract.</p>