<p>
but so many people say that re-visit days are the most valuable of all opportunities to make a reliable assessment of each school’s fit. we’re familiar with a case where an accepted applicant was purposely abandoned mid-day by the student she was shadowning at her first choice school. because of that, it became her last choice school and she’s now doing very, very well at the school that became her first choice.</p>
<p>Re-visits do provide a valuable chance to get a better understanding of the school, but it’s still an event organized by the admissions, with whom you will have little to no contact after the re-visit day. Suppose that when visiting your first choice you don’t see anything you dislike other than the organizers were cool (or in your example, an immature student did something dumb), can you then make up your mind that this is a bad fit?</p>
<p>Several of the schools my son applied to had current parents call us after the admissions decisions were out. Yes, they are “trained” by admissions, but I think they give much more honest answers and especially being on the phone, not at an admissions event, will be honest. During our re-visit at one school, we went to a lacrosse game, sat with a current parent who gave us her number to call with any questions.</p>
<p>Right. The day schools ( whose decisions have been out for some time now ) had students and parents call us up, and both have been very honest and helpful, despite their motivation to sell the school to us.
But just to be clear - I was not referring to revisit days; I was asking about parents’ participation next year, when the kid is atending the boarding school.</p>
<p>I feel that in general day schools are more parents centered while the HADES level boarding schools really encourage the students to delegate themselvs and make things happen and as a result the parents’ involvement directly with the school is somewhat limited. Supposedly, you will see your kids learning and developing personal responsibility, self-reliance and confidence over time, but you may also see your kids stumble from time to time and wish you could just jump in and correct things for them.</p>
<p>Right. Part of the value of BS is not having the parent hovering to fix problems. Still, I’d like to be able to come over and say “hi” and not feel unwelcomed.</p>
<p>In general, the larger the day population, the more opportunities there are for parental involvement, such as a Parents Association.</p>
<p>It’s not a good idea to show up at a school without first discussing it with your child. The academic day is long, and your child may have other obligations. I’ve never felt the need to get permission from the school to visit.</p>
<p>In general, I think it is fine with the school if you visit your child. Most schools have closed weekends at the start of the school year, so visits are discouraged during that time period. After that, I think it is fine, as long as it is OK with your child. Keep in mind that most schools depend on the generosity of parents for the annual fund. Friendships with development people are encouraged. </p>
<p>I can only write about my experience at Blair. I have always felt welcome on campus. In fact, I’ve been surprised by how many faculty members know who I am. Athletic events or musical productions are a great time to come to campus. I’ve even been invited to eat in the dining room if I want to eat there.</p>
<p>If you want to feel connected to the school, you can probably volunteer to do various things like the annual fund, helping a parents weekend, admissions help, etc. Go to the schools’ websites and read the parents section. It probably has information on volunteer opportunities.</p>
<p>I believe in most if not all schools, parents are free to come to campus to see their kids any time as long as you don’t interrupt their classes and study hours. And during weekends, with a prior notice, you can take them out for a day or an overnight stay in your hotel with no problem. Unless you make an appointment, there’s not much of a chance you will see the faculty/staff member you know. It’s odd to say the least that someone would make you feel you are “interfering”.</p>
<p>My son was accepted to Loomis, and waitlisted at Choate … wondering what you all think/know about Loomis? Is it a problem for so may day students if you are a boarder? Thanks!</p>
<p>Loomis has a reputation as a great school. Many people view schools with lots of day students as a negative, but I think it has positives. Parents are more welcome on campus for starters and if your child has day student friends he may have the opportunity to get off campus and go to a friends house…relieving some of the cabin fever many boarders experience. Of course you would want it monitored (ie…where is he going? With whom? Plans…) Congratulations on Loomis. I have heard wonderful things.</p>
<p>The larger day school population makes a difference–and it depends upon you as to whether it is a plus or minus. If you live relatively close by, and your S/D is one who will welcome you visiting them or wants to come home on weekends–it is definitely a plus because weekends are quieter (the school doesn’t put as much into weekend activities as I see at schools with 80-100% boarders). We also found that a school with a high day population does some pretty day school centric things–like local parent get togethers, local parent volunteering; and a less interesting parents weekend–because they expect parents to be around campus at other times. There is also less thought into things that impact parents far away–such as vacation scheduling and emails to make parents feel included–again because the mindset is that many parents get to know the school because they live nearby. Depending on where you live in relation to the school and how involved you hope to be, the day community can be a positive or negative.</p>
<p>Nice post erlanger.</p>
<p>We interviewed at Loomis but never applied. Our tour guide actually told us that there is tension between the boarders and the day students and that they were trying to lower the percentage of day students for that reason. That was our first school that we went to and wasn’t a good start.</p>
<p>My daughter will probably end up at Loomis. She liked the day student population (“keep’s it real” was her attitude, which also meant she hated SPS as a result). The faculty were all wonderful and engaged. The admissions office was always welcoming and enthusiastic. She especially likes the semi-urban setting…again, keeping it real. Academics are very strong, with high level math (she will need it) along with great visual arts and excellent writing programs. All perfect for HER. She wouldn’t have gone to PEA (dorms were too depressing) and she is WAY too laid back. Loomis has just the right mix of academic rigor and reality for her.</p>
<p>Hi, </p>
<p>I am new to this forum but I am looking for getting my daughter in M’burg.
Can you give some tips and hints what is helpful and not based on your expirence.
Tip on application, SSat score what needs to be highlighted in resume, interview process. Timeline of applying to getting in </p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Since I haven’t seen anyone else on this thread mention it, here’s our apparently unconventional method: once our daughter was happily deposited at her new BS, we sought a school nearby for her brother (we are 3K miles away). We actually contacted the Admissions Director at daughter’s school for ideas and son is now thriving at a school that has what he wants and is near his sister. We didn’t get to visit many schools, and it was a late admit situation, but having the conversation with people who were familiar with our family seemed to make a difference. We still marvel that we feel like we accidentally careened into something perfect.</p>
<p>@alwaysaparent: I think the person who posts under the “zuzu’spetals” name may be a parent of a Mercersburg student.</p>
<p>Here’s an old Mercersburg thread I found looking for the spelling of his/her screen name:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/513171-mercersburg-academy.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/513171-mercersburg-academy.html</a></p>
<p>Alwaysaparent, SevenDad is right, my daughter is at M’burg. It amazes me how much time has passed. She is a jr and I can vividly recall having a virtual cc handholding circle on March 9th at midnight when she was still an 8th grader waiting to get it. </p>
<p>As you will hear over and over again at CC, it is all about fit. M’burg is the perfect for my daughter. She is an outgoing kid and very involved in the school community. But it is the kind of school that encourages it. I remember at our revisit day meeting a jr. girl who was playing soccer. It was the third sport she had tried in three fall seasons. The admissions person who introduced her to us was immensely proud of that fact, that she might play try a different sport each fall. She was playing either jv or thirds, but who cares? She was having a blast.</p>
<p>My daughter was a straight a student when she applied, and had lots of leadership roles (student council pres, drama, sports). Her ssats were in the 75th percentile overall. That was probably near average for the US students, low for the internationals. It is a very diverse school with 38 nations (I think) represented. They also encourage foreign travel during breaks. She went to Costa Rica as a freshman (free) on a bio trip. Next month she is going to India for 15 days with the school. That one is not free, but FA is paying the lion’s share of it.
The dorms are decent, the food okay, and the classes relatively small. They use the harkness method in every class.<br>
Classes are challenging for my daughter. She is thinking about a particular service academy and is bulking up on AP science courses. Math and science are not her strong suits, but she is working very hard and doing very well.<br>
Overall, she loves it there. She wants to one day send her own kids there. Go, visit, take a tour. Look for a bubbly jr girl tour guide who is also a writing center fellow. But please don’t tell her that I gush about her on CC. She would kill me. :)</p>
<p>PS: At Mercersburg there is a good chance that if you are on your tour, friends of your guide will repeatedly wish him or her a happy birthday. Admissions doesn’t just assign tours to kids with birthdays that day… Instead, it is a long standing student tradition and it is all done in good fun, but can get awkward with group tours when two or more guides are both celebrating bdays. My daughter lets the parents in on the joke. So don’t be surprised if it happens to you.</p>
<p>zp</p>
<p>Should have made it clear that lab sciences are done in typical labs and not in Harkness style. </p>
<p>Where is that edit button the next day? Or week, for that matter? :)</p>
<p>zp</p>