Woodberry Forent School?

[Anonymous]

9:22 - according to the 2016 list linked here, 16 of the 48 schools with at least one attendee were not Southern - pretty sure the 17 and 18 numbers were more diverse than that also.

the new headmaster is doing great things along the lines requested by the comments above....

[Anonymous]

My son did an overnight and liked the kids - said they seemed a lot like his friends from home - but definitely got the impression that there was a fair amount of questionable stuff going on despite the seemingly strict rules.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a diverse mix of traditional Southerners, Texans, and groups from NYC, California, Denver, and a lot from Northern Virginia. More diverse than you might think, incl around 10% intl (mostly China but smattering elsewhere). Single sanction honor code and basically same for discipline means booze and drugs are very under the radar.

Extremely loyal alumni - around 70% give annually - so they have funds to invest in almost everything.

Colleges tend Southern (UVA, UNC, Davidson, etc.) but probably 30% attend selective schools in NE or otherwise outside the south.

I'm an alum with pretty mixed feelings about the place. For starters, it is far from rednecky but it is very Good Ol' Boy with extreme affluence. Which means white boys who love SEC football, wearing ball caps and using smokeless tobacco. But their vehicles are Tahoes and Grand Cherokees, not pickup trucks, their hunting is at exclusive game preserves or luxurious duck blinds, not tree stands in the local forest, and their Alabama fandom is demonstrated by watching the national championship game from club level suites, not in a sports bar.

It is unapologetically conservative, as embodied by the one strike and you're out policy on the Honor Code and alcohol/drugs. The resources there are virtually unlimited - it is one of the richest schools in the country on an endowment per student basis, which is north of $500,000 per student and climbing toward one million. My hope for Woodberry is that it will use those resources to become more like Davidson and less like Hamden-Sydney - a bastion of learning in the south, rather than a manifestation of traditional southern culture. But I haven't really seen much movement in that direction.

Also, the idea that one-third of the student body goes to school outside the south is way off base. Here's the 2016 matriculation list: https://bbk12e1-cdn.myschoolcdn.com/ftpimages/51/misc/misc_134834.pdf

And what, exactly, is wrong with the manifestation of Southern culture.

For me, as a WFS student in the 80s, it was primarily the reflexive casual racism, unquestioned homophobia, and resistance to engaging with new ideas.

But also all the cups full of dip spit.

And of course these traits are never, ever, ever found in persons hailing from any region of the country other than the South, thus confirming your point that this is the gist of "Southern culture." Is that what you mean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a diverse mix of traditional Southerners, Texans, and groups from NYC, California, Denver, and a lot from Northern Virginia. More diverse than you might think, incl around 10% intl (mostly China but smattering elsewhere). Single sanction honor code and basically same for discipline means booze and drugs are very under the radar.

Extremely loyal alumni - around 70% give annually - so they have funds to invest in almost everything.

Colleges tend Southern (UVA, UNC, Davidson, etc.) but probably 30% attend selective schools in NE or otherwise outside the south.

I'm an alum with pretty mixed feelings about the place. For starters, it is far from rednecky but it is very Good Ol' Boy with extreme affluence. Which means white boys who love SEC football, wearing ball caps and using smokeless tobacco. But their vehicles are Tahoes and Grand Cherokees, not pickup trucks, their hunting is at exclusive game preserves or luxurious duck blinds, not tree stands in the local forest, and their Alabama fandom is demonstrated by watching the national championship game from club level suites, not in a sports bar.

It is unapologetically conservative, as embodied by the one strike and you're out policy on the Honor Code and alcohol/drugs. The resources there are virtually unlimited - it is one of the richest schools in the country on an endowment per student basis, which is north of $500,000 per student and climbing toward one million. My hope for Woodberry is that it will use those resources to become more like Davidson and less like Hamden-Sydney - a bastion of learning in the south, rather than a manifestation of traditional southern culture. But I haven't really seen much movement in that direction.

Also, the idea that one-third of the student body goes to school outside the south is way off base. Here's the 2016 matriculation list: https://bbk12e1-cdn.myschoolcdn.com/ftpimages/51/misc/misc_134834.pdf

And what, exactly, is wrong with the manifestation of Southern culture.

For me, as a WFS student in the 80s, it was primarily the reflexive casual racism, unquestioned homophobia, and resistance to engaging with new ideas.

But also all the cups full of dip spit.

And of course these traits are never, ever, ever found in persons hailing from any region of the country other than the South, thus confirming your point that this is the gist of "Southern culture." Is that what you mean?

Yes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a diverse mix of traditional Southerners, Texans, and groups from NYC, California, Denver, and a lot from Northern Virginia. More diverse than you might think, incl around 10% intl (mostly China but smattering elsewhere). Single sanction honor code and basically same for discipline means booze and drugs are very under the radar.

Extremely loyal alumni - around 70% give annually - so they have funds to invest in almost everything.

Colleges tend Southern (UVA, UNC, Davidson, etc.) but probably 30% attend selective schools in NE or otherwise outside the south.

I'm an alum with pretty mixed feelings about the place. For starters, it is far from rednecky but it is very Good Ol' Boy with extreme affluence. Which means white boys who love SEC football, wearing ball caps and using smokeless tobacco. But their vehicles are Tahoes and Grand Cherokees, not pickup trucks, their hunting is at exclusive game preserves or luxurious duck blinds, not tree stands in the local forest, and their Alabama fandom is demonstrated by watching the national championship game from club level suites, not in a sports bar.

It is unapologetically conservative, as embodied by the one strike and you're out policy on the Honor Code and alcohol/drugs. The resources there are virtually unlimited - it is one of the richest schools in the country on an endowment per student basis, which is north of $500,000 per student and climbing toward one million. My hope for Woodberry is that it will use those resources to become more like Davidson and less like Hamden-Sydney - a bastion of learning in the south, rather than a manifestation of traditional southern culture. But I haven't really seen much movement in that direction.

Also, the idea that one-third of the student body goes to school outside the south is way off base. Here's the 2016 matriculation list: https://bbk12e1-cdn.myschoolcdn.com/ftpimages/51/misc/misc_134834.pdf

And what, exactly, is wrong with the manifestation of Southern culture.

For me, as a WFS student in the 80s, it was primarily the reflexive casual racism, unquestioned homophobia, and resistance to engaging with new ideas.

But also all the cups full of dip spit.

And of course these traits are never, ever, ever found in persons hailing from any region of the country other than the South, thus confirming your point that this is the gist of "Southern culture." Is that what you mean?

Yes

+1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good place if you're looking to ditch your kid for the rest of his childhood, and don't mind risking the chance that he could end up a little bit rednecky.

+1 on rednecky warning.

?? I find this an amazing comment. The 3 guys I know who've gone there recently are from the Chapel Hill area and about as "old family," moneyed, and non-rednecky as you can get.

What’s the culture like at the school? Any drugs? Partying? Truancy? Cheating?

Just curious - do you honestly think a high school exists where these things don’t happen at all? If so you’re delusional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seems weird. I don't get bording schools why do people ship off kids in those few precious years you can be together?

Ding ding ding... Disfunction.

[Anonymous]

Dip was pretty common at boarding schools in the Northeast during my day in the 1990s. Just a FYI.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dip was pretty common at boarding schools in the Northeast during my day in the 1990s. Just a FYI.

It’s 2018, we are all we’ll beyond dip now, lax bro

[Anonymous]

Your mom still likes it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dip was pretty common at boarding schools in the Northeast during my day in the 1990s. Just a FYI.

It’s 2018, we are all we’ll beyond dip now, lax bro

Never did it myself. But you'd be surprised who was doing it back then. Including girls. Particularly sporty girls. Particularly sporty girls who liked other girls.

[Anonymous]

I took a spin through the campus on the way to dropping my boys off at summer camp last summer. Incredible campus. Blew me away. I've been to a number of fancy private schools including top flight Northeastern boarding schools and WFS was #1 hands down (from a campus perspective). There's some serious $ there. My impression from knowing several graduates is it's a well-to-do school with polite boys and reasonably strong academics. Used to be primarily Southerners and Texans but that is changing pretty rapidly; more Northern kids now. Sure there is some misbehaving going on, but compared to alternatives, the misbehaving is rather tame. My only concern is the rather sheltered nature of the isolated school's location. Beautiful setting though for sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I took a spin through the campus on the way to dropping my boys off at summer camp last summer. Incredible campus. Blew me away. I've been to a number of fancy private schools including top flight Northeastern boarding schools and WFS was #1 hands down (from a campus perspective). There's some serious $ there. My impression from knowing several graduates is it's a well-to-do school with polite boys and reasonably strong academics. Used to be primarily Southerners and Texans but that is changing pretty rapidly; more Northern kids now. Sure there is some misbehaving going on, but compared to alternatives, the misbehaving is rather tame. My only concern is the rather sheltered nature of the isolated school's location. Beautiful setting though for sure.

In my experience with school shopping for kids, these "blew me away" campuses do more for parents than for the kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I took a spin through the campus on the way to dropping my boys off at summer camp last summer. Incredible campus. Blew me away. I've been to a number of fancy private schools including top flight Northeastern boarding schools and WFS was #1 hands down (from a campus perspective). There's some serious $ there. My impression from knowing several graduates is it's a well-to-do school with polite boys and reasonably strong academics. Used to be primarily Southerners and Texans but that is changing pretty rapidly; more Northern kids now. Sure there is some misbehaving going on, but compared to alternatives, the misbehaving is rather tame. My only concern is the rather sheltered nature of the isolated school's location. Beautiful setting though for sure.

In my experience with school shopping for kids, these "blew me away" campuses do more for parents than for the kids.

As an all-boys school, with an emphasis on sports and outdoors, Woodberry might be a little different. The opportunity to fly fish in the river, shoot skeet, and mountain bike on campus, not to mention play on the golf course, can be very appealing to a boy whose interests lie in that direction.