<p>What is the White Mountain School like? I noticed it doesn't have honors classes and has few APs; What does that say about it? I'm looking for a small school with lots of support. However, I'm also looking for rigorous academics-- somewhere I have the opportunity to do well if I work hard and seek out help. Does this school fit the bill?</p>
<p>The White Mountain School is pretty outdoorsy. That is the foremost image in my mind about the school, along with their nice range of afternoon activities. The main reason it stayed off our short list was its very small size. You will get plenty of great individualized support there, although I think you are wise to be looking at the mix of classes available. As for AP, it really depends what you are looking for, rather than the total number available. If you want AP English and Spanish but all they have is AP Chem and Bio, then obviously it will not work. If you are looking for what they do have though, it does not matter as much what they don’t have.</p>
<p>As for Honors classes, that is often more important. Without a critical mass of students, a school will be hard put to offer multiple levels of a class. This does not mean you will not be surrounded by many equally motivated and capable students, but rather that classes may not be paced to your needs as they might be a slightly larger school. At Gould, for example, you will see options of Algebra II as well as Algebra II Honors, along with both Calculus and AP Calculus.</p>
<p>There is small, and then there is small. White Mountain School is on the dinky end of that spectrum. I do not think you will sacrifice a whole lot by looking at other school that are still quite small but still under 350-400 students. And of course, at slightly larger schools there are more faculty as well, so the ratio does not change a lot and people still know who you are. Even at my child’s school, at about 450, the faculty really is able to get to know and support every child.</p>
<p>What is it, other than absolute size, that has drawn you to WMS? I could rattle off a lot of schools that are similar in different ways, but the right direction to go really depends on what it is that attracts you. In the same general area there are Vermont Academy, Gould, KUA, Holderness and Proctor. All are a bit bigger, offer academics on the same level but perhaps with a bit more breadth and depth, and all are to varying degrees outdoorsy kinds of places. I think all would still be plenty small enough for you.</p>
<p>Putney and NMH are two other excellent schools that share some characteristics, but Putney is an academic outlier, eschewing AP curricula while still offering top notch teaching, while NMH is getting much more selective and it is getting harder to gain admission there. </p>
<p>There are many other great school that may meet your needs as well. If you share a bit more about your goals you might get some more good ideas.</p>
<pre><code>I’m really looking for small classes. I’m not the student who understands things right away, but I really want the opportunity to try. I really want to have the opportunity to take the hard classes I want and have the support to succeed.
Having a small school is more than just the academics to me. I wanta small community where I can know everyone. That being so, I also really want to be in a small group of kids like myself-- poeple who like the outdoors and fel compelled to try everything.
</code></pre>
<p>You should definitely visit the Putney School… their lack of interest in AP courses, exams and working for grades is to put focus on rigorous academics that are meaningful and have staying power rather than keeping score. Their philosophy of experiential learning means every student has ownership in the process. </p>
<p>In that case it feels as though you are pretty well on target with WMS. Knowing what you need and want and having a solid grasp of what will appropriately challenge you is a very good thing, and if you communicate this interviews it will reflect well on you.</p>
<p>I would put Proctor next on your list after WMS. They have a huge campus, and actively encourage their kids to use it. They also can really teach well to the entire spectrum of interests and skills. They have a woodshop, a metal shop, lots of arts and other hands-on activities, and their international study options are great too. </p>
<p>Look at Putney, too for the reasons jdewey said. After those I would think KUA and Gould might be good matches. Another good match might be Hebron Academy, and maybe Dublin School. Maybe even Darrow. Maybe strike Holderness from my earlier list of ideas and definitely strike NMH.</p>
<p>All these schools will have nicely sized classes and will really let a student push herself or himself as far as desired.</p>
<p>Good luck with all this. You seem to be off to a great start.</p>
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<p>Thankyou for your help!</p>
<p>For anyone who looks at this in the future, they DO have honors classes. My mistake.</p>