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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We've been at the school since lower, my daughter is now in the upper school near graduation.  We loved the lower school and middle school as well.  Upper school is a different story.

Upper school is a great fit for many girls, unfortunately, it has not been a great fit for my daughter.

If your daughter is off the charts smart, Holton is fantastic academically and I don't think you can find a better school.

On the most part, the teachers are exceptional.

Socially, the girls are extremely cliquey - if your daughter finds her clique, she will thrive - if not, she's going to be very lonely because it's difficult to make really close friends outside of school unless your daughter is on a team sport outside of school or has other resources to meet friends.  And the amount of homework and test preparation in upper school is insane, so she's not going to have a lot of extra time.

Culturally, the school is extremely liberal and the girls are intolerant of girls who do not follow the same ideology.  If your daughter/family is moderate or conservative, it's going to be a rough road for your daughter.

I hope this helps.[/quote]

We are in Upper School now, and I agree with this poster that US is very challenging. Girls have their cliques and are not open to changing them.  The US is a huge pressure cooker though, too. Be prepared for girls to get competitive and mean about it. The girls are all mostly over achievers so it creates a toxic environment. They are definitely not supportive of each other.  Its quite the opposite of what we thought would happen in an all girls school. It is cut throat.  Not diverse at all, too.  The school is liberal but there is definitely a lack of diversity especially for this area which has been disappointing.

The administration is okay, not great.  They don't listen to the girls complaints and just tell them that if they don't like it they can leave.  The HOS is leaving which is great.  I don't know anyone that is a fan.  It will be interesting to see who they bring in.  It will take time for any meaningful change to occur.

The families are mostly super wealthy.  A lot of designer stuff being used/worn.  We're probably on the high end of the annual incomes for the families that attend but I try to keep my DD grounded.  No need for her to have a Louis Vuitton bag in high school!

LS is fine.  MS gets bad.  And US is toxic.  If you enter is LS plan to leave for middle and high.  It's just not worth it for the mental health of your child.  I wish we had left but it was too late as we were in too long and too deep at that point.  [/quote]

THIS!!!!!!!!!! x100  Could not have been described more accurately.
[/quote]

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