Boarding School Suggestions

[Anonymous]

Have you looked at Lawrenceville? It might be a bit sporty for your son, but I loved my time there and never saw a football game; I was mostly just thrilled with the opportunity to take multi variable calculus and join the robotics club.

[Anonymous]

Blue Ridge School, near Charlottesville.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd see where he gets in, and go from there

+1. Some of those are pretty difficult.

[Anonymous]

Search up posts about Episcopal High School on this board. It’s known for a very toxic social culture and heavy party atmosphere. I would steer clear.

[Anonymous]

Keep in mind that Episcopal HS in Alexandria VA is different from Virginia Episcopal School in/near Lynchburg VA. The names are similar but the schools are very different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Keep in mind that Episcopal HS in Alexandria VA is different from Virginia Episcopal School in/near Lynchburg VA. The names are similar but the schools are very different.

Good distinction to make. I'm PP who mentioned Episcopal meaning the one in Alexandria but we've only ever just referred to it by the one name. Good to know!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son is a rising sophomore at Mercersburg and I echo the sentiments above. I’ll add that he was not an athlete before he arrived on campus, but after doing climbing and hiking in the fall, he decided to try track in the winter and has now fully embraced the sport. MB is a place where kids really feel empowered to try new things without judgement.

The school is 80% boarding I believe and with a large international population and students from across the country, the campus is full and busy on weekends. My son has very little to no downtime.

Yes, the school has a massive endowment and they use it wisely. The town is small, safe and charming.

Mercersburg has @ 450 students across 4 grades and PGs. Happy to answer any specific questions you might have. Good luck with your search!

It seems at MB that most kids come in at sophomore year of HS? Why is 9th grade significantly smaller than 10th grade?

[Anonymous]

I don’t know how many students are coming in the current 10th grade class but I do know that all boarding schools, MB included, add a good number of students sophomore year. If you go to the college confidential message board you’ll see there are a lot of sophomore applicants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Blue Ridge School, near Charlottesville.

Our DS goes to Blue Ridge. He had a great Freshman year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know how many students are coming in the current 10th grade class but I do know that all boarding schools, MB included, add a good number of students sophomore year. If you go to the college confidential message board you’ll see there are a lot of sophomore applicants.

+1 when looking at various BS we noticed that students apply for 10th more frequently here. I was a surprising discovery. Some re-apply if they did not originally get in, others I suppose want a change. Mileage varies. It could be that schools keep a few slots open to be able to have a bit of space for 10th grade admits. At Mercersburg (just since it was mentioned above and was the one that began the convo), at least on their website, it does say they enroll at every grade but their primary entry point is 9th grade (in FAQs).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know how many students are coming in the current 10th grade class but I do know that all boarding schools, MB included, add a good number of students sophomore year. If you go to the college confidential message board you’ll see there are a lot of sophomore applicants.

A lot of sophomore applicants does not necessarily mean a lot of sophomore admits. I would be interested to see if the acceptance rate differs as the entry year is not the main one and the number of slots is not necessarily the same. Of course, 'a lot' is also not a specific quantity and may just seem that way- in relation to the number of 9th grade applications, this may be a fraction. Would be curious about the actual numbers.

[Anonymous]

Here’s the class breakdown at Andover for
22-23 pulled from the website
CLASS DISTRIBUTION
12th grade 348 (includes 20 postgraduates)
11th grade 311
10th grade 276
9th grade 214

Unlike day schools, boarding schools do increase their class size each year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:George School (PA)

We have a friend who teaches there. Lovely school, campus and community.