@Publisher Thank you for this! I also saw this information but it doesn’t help us decide 
It is really difficult to get the more in-depth info on these two schools - maybe there just aren’t current parents or students from Westtown and Williston on the forum anymore. We read hundreds of reviews on tens of different schools on the boardingschoolreview site when choosing where to apply to, but for some reason they were all very positive and I got a feeling that all reviewers described the same school - all of them mentioned tight-knit community, sit-down lunches, rigorous academics, close relationships with the teachers, etc. Go figure…
@Publisher According to boardingschoolreview only Williston has Saturday classes, but it is not that our kid needs special academic support. He just needs a motivating environment that will help him mature I think. But I noticed a parent here that said that during their interview a Williston AO mentioned a couple of times that their school is not focused on academics too much, and that was the reason their DD declined their offer. So that sounds alarming.
It is sad of course that visiting now is not an option for us, but I do think that insights from current students or parents would provide more info than a re-visit day when the schools try to impress prospective families.
Could you please elaborate more on EHS’s and Westtown’s distinctive cultures if you are familiar with the schools? I read a lot about WT’s Quaker values, happy community and that appeals a lot, but I’m not sure about their academic culture. Likewise, EHS seems to be the strongest academically, but there are some concerns about their social culture.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
@gurumsag: Judging by your post, you already know as much as I do about the distinctive cultures at those schools.
Mercersburg’s culture tends to be friendly & caring. My only concern about Mercersburg is for non-athletes & potential for a bit of boredom on weekends since the location is not close to exciting city life as are the other schools on your list. But for tennis players & athletes, their time will be well occupied.
Saturday classes are not for special academic support, but rather to keep kids occupied with school work each night.
@owlfoxmama9 so your son was accepted to Williston? My congratulations to him! The fact that there are a lot of kids of college professors at the school sounds great, I think that creates good academic environment.
Would you mind sharing your and your son’s opinions after the re-visit? Thank you!
We liked Mercersburg very much when we looked at it, but ultimately went the day school route. As regards motivated classmates, one thing to explore with the school might be where your child will fit in on the academics side. Unlike many other “top” schools, MA offers many of its classes - not just math and science which is pretty standard - at different levels based on ability. The school also offers various academic scholarships, so even in a school with a relatively high overall level of ability they can and do accommodate very strong students. I’d imagine that a frank conversation with the school would help you figure out where your child will be and the level of motivation of his or her fellow classmates.
I don’t know much about the other schools other than that I have a friend whose daughter recently graduated Westtown and is now at Boston College and reported that it was a nice, friendly place and not very stressful. Out of your choices I’d go with Mercersburg, but it’s worth having the conversations with the school that I mentioned. Good luck!
Oh, it’s hard to get to get to Mercersburg, which might be an issue if you are international and your child intends to return home often.
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@SatchelSF thank you for your opinion! I would think there is some sort of public transport between Washington DC airports and Mercersburg?
@gurumsag - I’m sure there is a way to get from the airport to Mercersburg by public transportation, but I bet it is terribly inefficient. The school does offer its own transportation options, see here: https://mercersburg.myschoolapp.com/ftpimages/435/download/Transportation%20Fee%20chart%202013-14.pdf
The trip to DC is going to be at least 2 hrs I’d think on the bus. Perhaps parents with kids actually at the school could comment on how the transportation works. Hope that helps!
@SatchelSF thanks a lot for posting the link! Yes I understand the schools usually provide transportation for students traveling during breaks. I was also wondering about how we can take public transport from an airport to Mercersburg, say if we bring our kid there, I will need to google it.
Rather than Googling, it might be useful to just email Mercersburg and ask. The other thing to remember is that most 14-year-old boys are less than perfectly organized and motivated, and most would rather play video games than do their schoolwork. It can be hard to imagine your child’s future self, but he will get there. I hope he will end up at Mercersburg, assuming you can work out the travel issues. It does have what you are hoping for. And I hope he thrives wherever he ends up.
@twinsmama that’s our hope too! Thanks a lot!
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First of all, I want to highlight that you are in a win/win situation. There are no bad choices here. All are great schools! I think the experience of boarding school is a lot about what a student makes of it. The more your son engages with all aspects of boarding school life (academics, extracurriculars, and friends), the more he will reap the rewards of the experience. And congrats to your son on 6 acceptances!
We loved Williston! It’s a top contender for my son. We have several revisit days this next week so he has not made a final decision yet.
Based on the previous post, I made sure to look into the day/boarding balance. The day student numbers are misleading because unlike any of the other 3 schools you’re considering, Williston has a 7th and 8th grade program only for day students which is quite separate from the 9-PG part of the school. The middle school has 75 students in it, but that makes the overall day student ratio look higher than it is. Personally, I think some day students gives a nice balance to a school. At Williston there is a town to walk to, so students can get away. But that’s not true at many boarding schools. The day students at Williston said that they usually spend a lot of time on campus during the weekends because that’s where their friends are.
You say you want your son to be more motivated and get support, and we heard a lot about what Williston does to help students. Williston has implemented a program called COMPASS (Comprehensive Program for Academic and Social Success) which has 4 areas to support and encourage students. One part of it, The Williston Scholar program, offers any student in any year the chance to design and do an independent study in any area with a professor at one of the local 5 colleges. That sounded really good to me. They also have a 4 year leadership program, and the 9th grade year focuses on helping students understand how they learn, improve study skills, and become more organized. There are other supports as well if your son needs that.
I think I’m echoing a lot of the other voices here when I say that the school where your son has friends and enjoys school life will make him be happy, and that is the best way to get him to be a motivated student.
Good luck making your decision!
@owlfoxmama9 thanks a lot for sharing your impressions! Did you feel it is cool to be hardworking and focused on academics at Williston, and that they have strong college counseling and advisers? And good luck with the rest of your revisits!
sorry forgot to ask if you liked their dorms…
ThNextKid applied to Williston and was accepted. She declined due to no FA offered, but would have been very comfortable there. What she/we liked:
Whenever we were on campus and passed a classroom, any classroom, there was energy and active discussion happening. These were not hand-picked classes for the benefit of prospectives - they were real classes happening with their normal dynamics. The teachers looked happy and interested in the students discussions. We got a great feel for the academics - they would be thrilled to push our kid as far as she wanted. We also were aware that the student body is academically diverse, and not every student would be at the academic level of our kid. But they do have a great schedule that allows students to take some really interesting electives.
Throughout the admissions process, faculty, coaches, and students were regularly reaching out to TheNextKid to offer support and answer questions. I would expect that communication is a strong point at Williston.
The campus is “right size” - not massive, not claustrophobic. The area in general is also “right size” - not huge city, not “middle-of-nowhere”. Easthampton is not a flashy village, but it is a comfortable, come-as-you-are kind of place. It’s close to multiple colleges, and all the expected cultural offerings at the associated college towns, as well as being a reasonable day trip to Boston and NYC.
Good luck with your choice! I can’t imagine trying to make this decision from afar. Be sure to reach out to every resource these schools provide and really ask every question.
Thank you very much @OnToTheNext ! And good luck to your daughter!
The dorms were good. My son said the rooms were pretty typical of what we have seen. They are doubles (no quads or triples). Also, there is a brand new dorm opening for freshman boys next fall.
It was definitely a school where the great majority if not all the students are there for strong academics. They are all pushing themselves and excited about classes. At least that was the vibe we got. My son attended two classes, and I attended two different classes.
Getting into a good college is the end game for high school, right? I was very interested in what they had to say. It’s a top 3 important question for me. We talked with a team of college counselors and some seniors about the process and their results. I feel happy that my son would get good support and have very good choices.
I admit that I didn’t ask too much about the advising system. They talked about it, but it’s not a huge concern to me so I don’t remember so much about it.
@owlfoxmama9 it looks like a great revisit day you had! So many positive observations, thank you very much!
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@gurumsag I am a current Westtown School parent. I would be happy to try to answer any questions you might have. My daughter is a 10th grade boarding student who started at the school in 2nd grade.
@gurumsag Tomorrow is the deadline to enroll, and I’m curious about your choice. Which school did you and your son decide on? All your choices are good, so no matter which you have chosen, it’s great news.
@owlfoxmama9 I will PM you!