Anonymous
Post 03/06/2026 05:45     Subject: Dexter/BB&N/Fessenden/Milton
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:depending on what town you're in, the public schools are incredibly excellent… In some ways superior to the local privates.


Stop repeatedly pushing publics on posters who ask about privates.


Huh? I have never posted on this forum before or about this topic. I am just speaking the truth.


No one cares. No public is as good as Milton or BB&N or Fessy for K-8. Go back to Brookline or Newton.


NP. I bet Lexington public schools are way better than those!
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 11:58     Subject: Dexter/BB&N/Fessenden/Milton
Also, if you are open to k - 8 coed, check out park school in brookline. They have great upper school placement.
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 09:33     Subject: Dexter/BB&N/Fessenden/Milton
Anonymous wrote:OP - I’m the same poster as just above. Adding - my best advice is move here sooner to figure out the lay of the land. Boston remains a large town, and it’s hard to come across as a serious applicant if you aren’t local. There are definitely very interesting families who apply from elsewhere who get admitted, but I’m thinking like VERY interesting (CEOs, athletes, that kind of thing). Assuming you are a relative normie, actually being local will help. I have children at these schools, and the out of town families always feel a little confused and confusing, and I rarely see them again unless they fall into the above categories. Which maybe you are! In which case, admissions should be fine.


Yea I’m a normie. Lots of immediate and extended family in the Boston metro (but not near these schools or close with anyone who has a child there now). I’m ready to go back.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 22:26     Subject: Dexter/BB&N/Fessenden/Milton
OP - I’m the same poster as just above. Adding - my best advice is move here sooner to figure out the lay of the land. Boston remains a large town, and it’s hard to come across as a serious applicant if you aren’t local. There are definitely very interesting families who apply from elsewhere who get admitted, but I’m thinking like VERY interesting (CEOs, athletes, that kind of thing). Assuming you are a relative normie, actually being local will help. I have children at these schools, and the out of town families always feel a little confused and confusing, and I rarely see them again unless they fall into the above categories. Which maybe you are! In which case, admissions should be fine.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 21:51     Subject: Re:Dexter/BB&N/Fessenden/Milton
Dexter isn’t the auto admit it used to be. Tons of investment in the facilities and more traditional methodology make it very appealing lately. It’s the hot ticket for a lot of folks applying since 2020. Not sure about Fessy, but makes sense considering families who also have girls may not choose it.

Pre K is the big entry point, though Milton does not have a pre K. Assuming you are applying a boy, there may only be something like 20 actually available spots (when accounting for siblings) across the 4 schools you named by the time you are applying for K. That said, there are a ton of schools that do admit for K (Park comes to mind) if you are open to applying again in hs.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 13:07     Subject: Dexter/BB&N/Fessenden/Milton
Anonymous wrote:Fessenden and Dexter are like auto-admit if you are full pay.

BBN and Milton are extremely strong through 12th grade. If you get into one of those two, attend.


Thank you, I did not realize that about Fessy and Dexter. The former's exmissions are very strong.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 19:46     Subject: Dexter/BB&N/Fessenden/Milton
Fessenden and Dexter are like auto-admit if you are full pay.

BBN and Milton are extremely strong through 12th grade. If you get into one of those two, attend.
Anonymous
Post 02/12/2026 20:02     Subject: Re:Dexter/BB&N/Fessenden/Milton
Sorry, I'm not sure. I do know that PreK (Beginners) is better for entry than K. They admit 32 students in PreK and only add 8 more in K.
Anonymous
Post 02/12/2026 10:25     Subject: Re:Dexter/BB&N/Fessenden/Milton
Anonymous wrote:My kid who went to BB&N excelled right off the bat in college. He's at a T50 because of merit scholarships, financial aid, and outcomes for his major, but had T20 options (that were more expensive with outcomes that were not as good). Many of his friends are at Ivies and Ivy adjacent. A bunch of kids in his class were "lifers" (had been at BB&N since Beginners). He loved it.
I've heard great things about Milton, too. It's a bit of a different vibe since it's boarders and day students, where BB&N is day students only.


Thank you. Any advice for the prek admissions? Any sense of how competitive it is?
Anonymous
Post 02/12/2026 09:14     Subject: Re:Dexter/BB&N/Fessenden/Milton
My kid who went to BB&N excelled right off the bat in college. He's at a T50 because of merit scholarships, financial aid, and outcomes for his major, but had T20 options (that were more expensive with outcomes that were not as good). Many of his friends are at Ivies and Ivy adjacent. A bunch of kids in his class were "lifers" (had been at BB&N since Beginners). He loved it.
I've heard great things about Milton, too. It's a bit of a different vibe since it's boarders and day students, where BB&N is day students only.
Anonymous
Post 02/10/2026 12:34     Subject: Dexter/BB&N/Fessenden/Milton
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Dexter is traditional, sporty, and mostly affluent families and lacks diversity. High school isn’t that good from what I hear

Milton - probably the hardest to get into. Smaller class in K and mostly filled with siblings. Out of the schools you listed, it’s the most prestigious and has the best matriculation rates to college. Getting there is a pain, surrounded by dangerous neighborhoods, and Milton town itself doesn’t have anything to offer except a few coffee shops.

Bb&N - another ongoing school like Milton, smaller, better location, but I would put it a step down from Milton in terms of ranking.

Fessy - centrally located but ends in 8th. You would have to elbow your classmates for placements and many boys place out midway and don’t go onto 8th. Lots of Asian boys who board esp from China and Korea.


OP here. Thanks. Exactly what I was looking for. Is Dexter solid academically through 8th?


Agree with pretty much everything except the characterization of the area around Milton Academy. Very odd to say that the neighborhoods around it are dangerous, the average home price in Milton is over $1M. Some of the neighborhoods of Boston that border the town of Milton are not great (particularly Mattapan) but Dorchester is nothing compared to DC's "dangerous" neighborhoods.


Yes - I was referring to Mattapan. You would have to go through that area to get to Milton unless you are driving down from the highway.


Only if you were coming from a few very specific places. In metro Boston. You clearly live in Brookline or newton. Many people going to Milton would not need to drive through Mattapan to get to Milton academy. Look at a map. OP does not even know where they will live yet.