<p>Hi
Our daughter has been accepted into 9th grade at Winsor. We dont know too much about the school though we are sure it a generally very good school. Here are the most important specific questions on our mind though:</p>
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<li>What is the Science/Math program at Winsor really like? Is it strong? Do kids have opportunities to research in junior/senior year?</li>
<li>Are the teachers the type that grab your imagination and get the kid really interested in the subject, or more of the mundane its-a-job-that-pays-the-bills variety, particularly on the science side.</li>
<li>Are most of the Ivy matriculates from Winsor going into Science tracks or into Liberal Arts majors?</li>
<li>Is the Ivy matriculation data so good largely because of legacy admissions or based on genuine merit for the most part.</li>
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<p>What percentile of the class do you generally have to be to qualify for a Harvard/MIT from Winsor?</p>
<p>The teachers & staff seem a little stiff and cold. Is that an unfair perception?</p>
<p>Thank you very much in advance for your responses.</p>
<p>Not trying to ignore you - I just know nothing about the school. It looks good online . . . but of course that’s not the whole story!</p>
<p>I hope someone else here may be able to help you, but in the meantime, I’d suggest another visit, including some one-on-one time with a few of the teachers your daughter would be working with next year - especially if there is a subject she’s particularly interested in (math/science?). You might also find out if there are student representatives she might be able to talk to (or exchange emails with) directly, so that she’d have a chance to get an “insider’s” feel for the school.</p>
<p>I am thrilled with the math and science in the upper school. Freshman Biology was an excellent survey, and things improve Sophomore year with the separation into Honors and Standard Chemistry. DD isn’t the top math student, but she’s in that track, and found Algebra II and Geometry to be very challenging. Three or four girls are admitted to MIT most years.</p>
<p>There are opportunities to do research in the Longwood Medical Area and, I hope I’m not wrong here, at some engineering departments, in the summer following the Sophomore and Junior years. Some girls really run with their internship and submit papers and enter science fairs.</p>
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<p>You’ll get the occasional mundane teacher, I’m sure. We have had omg-someone-needs-to-make-a-movie-about-this-teacher experiences every year. And when we haven’t, it’s often been because of DD, not the teacher. In my kid’s areas of interest, when she’s shown she wants to go the extra mile, she has found several mentors who have taken an extreme interest in her – personally, finding summer stuff to do, talking about college programs, helping her with techniques and finding outside reading material. </p>
<p>When the Angry Mom and I split up, the school put a couple of younger teachers on her all year to make sure she was ok. If she scratched her nose, somebody knew about it.</p>
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<p>There are girls interested in science, the humanities, and the social sciences. I’ve met a few aspiring engineers. My guess would be that there are fewer science-first kids at Winsor than at some other schools, but at least a quarter of my daughter’s class is in the dementedly challenging ‘top math track.’ And my guess is that most of the science-first kids at Winsor are more interested in Biology than Chemistry, Physics, or Engineering. But now I’m just throwing around assertions. I don’t really know.</p>
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<p>I don’t know, and I’ve thought about it a lot. My daughter is unhooked. I know plenty of unhooked girls who have been admitted to top colleges out of Winsor. But there are also plenty of hooked kids there, and that helps the stats.</p>
<p>I will say this, though. The admissions counselors are some of the most impressive people I’ve met at the school. It’s like hiring a top flight private consultant.</p>
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<p>Lol. I love your attitude. I don’t know about “qualify,” but in the average year, something between 10 and 15 percent of the class ends up at MIT or Harvard. Of course, plenty of the girls are not at all interested in those two schools. Brown is considered a hot, tip top destination, some girls want to get to NYC sooner than later, and many girls consider themselves LAC-types.</p>
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<p>No, it’s not unfair. You will encounter a “we’ve been doing this for a hundred years – we know what we’re doing” attitude sometimes, and you have to get to know teachers and staff sometimes before you get them. But I have and it’s worth it.</p>
<p>I hope this was a help. I don’t know if Winsor is right for your daughter, but it has been wonderful for mine. If you have any more questions, I’ll make sure to check back tonight.</p>
<p>I would guess that much of the answer to the OP would have to be relative-- Winsor is a fine school but there are others that may do one thing or another better.</p>
<p>I have had one daughter graduate from Winsor and one currently attending. It has been a terrific experience for us and them. I think what some might hear as “competitive” is more the girls pushing themselves (and one another) to do their best work. My daughter is often studying with other girls, they share study guides and peer edit each others’ essays. They want to do their best-- it’s not a school for girls who aren’t intellectually curious or interested in school though.</p>
<p>As for “meanness”? Never seen it. Of course there are friendship groups, especially in lower grades, but the teachers have been masterful at working with the girls if it ever comes up.</p>
<p>I would be interested in hearing comparisons of the middle school versus the upper school at Winsor. For instance, how do they compare in academic rigor? Many thanks.</p>
<p>Hey, I’m a recent Winsor grad. @JimC: I went through all 8 years at Winsor so I think I can answer your question. The Lower School (5-8) focuses a lot more on community building and such - they get a lot of time during the school day blocked out for homerooms and student government meetings, as well as class plays and retreats. This results in a group of girls entering the Upper School who are generally very close-knit, well-socialized, and cooperative. Which is not to say that the Lower School doesn’t value academics as much - at least in my case, it made me an infinitely better writer and organized thinker without all of the stress and over-competitiveness. The Upper School (9-12) is definitely more “rigorous” if you’re worried about testing and college prep. I would characterize the difference this way: in Lower School you learn how to learn, while in Upper School you learn. If it’s an option, I would strongly recommend that your daughter goes through both. 8 (or 7 or 6) years seems like a long time to be in any school, but Upper and Lower Schools definitely complement each other nicely.</p>
<p>Hi, seeking some perspectives on the Winsor’s Middle School. Our daughter has been accepted for Class II (6th grade) for Fall 2012 and we are very excited. However, we wanted to clear any lingering questions.</p>
<p>How is the middle school academically both from a Math and English track standpoint. Other posts have mentioned that the programs are strong academically but more foundational.</p>
<p>Am a little concerned about the potential cliques that can form, as want to ensure our daughter finds a group of close friends to lean on. At this point, she doesn’t know anyone else attending sixth grade. </p>