Looking for our boarding school unicorn?

[Anonymous]

14:29 poster here. I'm sorry, I overlooked the fact that you might be moving around so you are seeking a consistent school for your child. Hope you find something great!

[Anonymous]

Thanks to all for your replies. You are much nicer than the people hanging out in DCUM college chat room! I will look in to your suggestions. Feel free to toss out any other schools worth a look.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure if Mercersburg has a good rowing program but in terms of strong academics and a laid back atmosphere, it's a school to look at.

St. Andrews should be on your list. Just like what everyone else says.

Mercersburg parent here. Amazing school but no rowing team.

[Anonymous]

Dying that the person who wrote this: "billionaire alpha spawn who let you know the minute you walk in the door that the fix is in: They have it all sewn up, and you are there as window dressing to fill out the high school so they can hoover up all the awards and college placements."
about children wants to make sure no one is mean to their most kindest precious baby.

[Anonymous]

St. Andrews

[Anonymous]

St. Andrews-excellent academics, nice kids, competitive rowing program. Several seniors are rowing commits. Berkshire is a good school, but there will more of a NYC upper east side vibe, academics are okay, rowing is not too competitive-primarily 4s.

[Anonymous]

Taft is located right on a river do you can row right there, without traveling to a boathouse.

No school is going to be all nice kids. Because boarding is a relatively rare choice in the US, and extremely expensive, the families tend to be atypical in some way (affluence usually). Or unusual family situation/structure. But of course those kids can still be nice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Taft is located right on a river do you can row right there, without traveling to a boathouse.

No school is going to be all nice kids. Because boarding is a relatively rare choice in the US, and extremely expensive, the families tend to be atypical in some way (affluence usually). Or unusual family situation/structure. But of course those kids can still be nice.

I meant Kent! Sorry!! It’s a very cool location for rowing.

[Anonymous]

St, Georges in Middletown (Newport county) Rhode Island has pleasant kids. Not sure about rowing but they have a cool sailing program.
https://www.stgeorges.edu/academics/connected-learning/geronimo

[Anonymous]

Really, why boarding? 99% of bright nice normal kids in the US go to day schools, public or private. If you want to avoid billionaire and oligarch “spawn” then don’t do boarding. You definitely don’t need boarding to find a good rowing program.

[Anonymous]

I would agree with PP and many others that have posted. If possible, try St. Joe's Prep in Philadelphia and/or any other boys school on the rankings on East Coast. I don't know anything about boarding school rowing so only chiming in to suggest you look at college crew teams to get a sense of where they are recruiting from. Go to websites for Cornell, Yale, Harvard, etc and you will get a sense of the best boarding school programs.

I knew alot of Aussie rowers out in San Francisco. Definitely check out Marin if West Coast is an option.

[Anonymous]

Isn’t it more important for you to see your young teen daily vs having to move once or twice in high school? Why not have one parent stay put and the other move?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aussie family excited to soon move your way! We would love feedback/suggestions about school culture for boarding schools that fit the following:

1. Eastern US region
2. Must have a rowing program. (His absolute most favorite sport. Rugby is a distant second.)
3. And the single most important factor: Nice kids! Not excited about schools filled with billionaire alpha spawn who let you know the minute you walk in the door that the fix is in: They have it all sewn up, and you are there as window dressing to fill out the high school so they can hoover up all the awards and college placements.

I know 3 sounds rough, but it is what we were told by a few US families at our school here in Sydney. They are discouraging us. The culture is very different from the marketing is what we are told. Toxic is what they said, but I am keeping an open mind. However, our transfer might have us moving around, and we would like a consistent four year experience with solid relationships for our child.

We are not as hung up on the "perceived prestige" factor. I've read up on the acronyms and rankings. Interesting, but not persuasive. Great teaching and community for a bright kid is the goal.

Sooo....... what have you got for me? Thanks mate

I haven’t been on campus in 20 years; with that caveat, I went to The Hill School for 3 years, and my experience fits the parameters you posted.

Details on the crew program below:

https://www.thehill.org/athletics/team-pages/coed/crew

[Anonymous]

St. Paul’s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Taft is located right on a river do you can row right there, without traveling to a boathouse.

No school is going to be all nice kids. Because boarding is a relatively rare choice in the US, and extremely expensive, the families tend to be atypical in some way (affluence usually). Or unusual family situation/structure. But of course those kids can still be nice.

This isn't really true at all. Did your kids go to boarding school? This might be the perception but not the reality.