Having a top minister in France is a much bigger deal than in the US. I think she might be the first female to hold a top position in French government. She gives Holton alot of credit.

My niece also graduated from there and loved every minute of it. Her best friends still from there and she has since graduated from college and now in law school.

PP -- Yes I was watching the Today Show the other day and the French Finance Minister was on. My husband almost fell out of his chair when I told him she graduated Holton. She spoke at Holton last year and was great.

No suprise that if you look at many of the top female leaders in this country, they are grads of women's colleges.

Did you know that France's top finance minister graduated from Holton?

Say it loudly and clearly PP -- it is the time for women to lead!

Amen sisters! Why are some of these moms on these posts so afraid of women doing well? We should all be working to eradicate violence and bloodshed and should be promoting learning instead.

Amen to PP! Anyone who tries to support women's elitism is always shot down....as Helen Reddy once sang..."I am woman...hear me roar!"

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP -- You're funny & I agree. I don't know anything about Lowell, but I know a lot about Holton. My daughter goes there and it has more work than any school I know of. My daughter had more homework in Middle School there than my husband had in his MBA Program or I had at law school. So, Holton is not for the faint of heart. If the Lowell kids want to go there -- good for them. Anyone considering it should just be aware how very, very rigorous it is. We've given up our weekend getaways and weeknight movies thanks to Holton's rigor. And, yes, like a poster somewhere on DCUM -- we gave up cable too. Any girl who graduates from Holton should be given a medal of honor -- it's quite an accomplishment. Most Holton grads say Holton is harder than any college/university they've gone on to -- including top Ivies such as Harvard and Princeton.

Really? They literally put their own lives at risk for the sake of their comrades in arms? I had no idea!

Or... perhaps you have so little experience with patriotism that you hold it very cheaply. Methinks you oversell what, at the end of the day, the privileged graduates of a prestigious girl's school have really and truly earned for the betterment of their fellow citizens and all mankind.

You snark -- you know nothing of patriotism. If women ran this country and not men -- we wouldn't have so much bloodshed. If people around the world believed in the education of women -- we could eradicate illiteracy and poverty around the globe. So, for these future women leaders at Holton and NCS -- yes, they can lead the world in a new direction. Put away your guns and get your books out snark. It's time to study. You woman hater! Are you from another country that you think women should stay happy as little second class citizens?

PP -- thanks -- 2 nice replies -- that's unheard of at DCUM...I appreciate it ... no snarks lurking on this forum? Stay away.

...Anyway & seriously -- some children are late bloomers and some peak early. So, it's actually better to be a later bloomer and to know that a new world awaits. These schools such as NCS & Holton are hard. But, if a girl stays focused -- she can do well there. We never had cable and we ate together every night -- that is our simple formula for success. Our daughter is very happy (now that it's over) that the people at Holton pushed her really hard. It was like a light bulb going on in her head when she found out she was smart afterall.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great question above. The admissions people do seem to have some magic about knowing which kids will do well at their respective schools. Entry is not all about test scores and grades. Our daughter was one who had average everything before going to Holton and somehow turned out to be a star...even to our amazement (we even joke about it with her...fortunately, she is strong and has a sense of humor.) And, yes, she's one of the ones who goes to an Ivy. If we had sent her to an average high school -- we're convinced she would have turned out average since no one would have pushed her to succeed.

This is a particularly interesting and informative quote IMO. I have two children, one boy and one girl, both at a WDC school that goes to 8th. We will be looking at single sex schools for both. One of my children excels at most everything. The other usually falls in the middle of any group in which s/he is placed: academic, athletic, etc... but has some very wonderful qualities and is exceptionally well-regarded at the current school (head often pulls me aside to compliment this child). As we start the process of looking at next step schools, I have wondered if we should be looking at less academically challenging schools for the "average Joe child," Your post makes me REALLY re-think this. I really have to say "Thanks" and please post this elsewhere when it applies.

I'm the PP who asked the question about whether schools will admit girls if they don't think the girls will be able to succeed there. I also agree with the poster who said you should please re-post this again and again. I actually think of my daughter as wonderful and average academically. Smart, but average and I struggle so much about whether we should put her in an environment like Holton or NCS. Your post is exactly the confirmation I needed that I should not pre-determine the level to which she could rise. Thanks again!

PP -- thank you for the nice compliment. I was afraid by being honest -- someone would jump down my throat for admitting I had "an average kid" and would berate me for telling her. But, I do think especially for girls -- they need to be pushed sometimes. Otherwise, in order to look cool -- sometimes they just sit back and "act average". I would have your daughter at least meet the people at some of these tough schools -- then you all can decide what might be right for her. Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:Great question above. The admissions people do seem to have some magic about knowing which kids will do well at their respective schools. Entry is not all about test scores and grades. Our daughter was one who had average everything before going to Holton and somehow turned out to be a star...even to our amazement (we even joke about it with her...fortunately, she is strong and has a sense of humor.) And, yes, she's one of the ones who goes to an Ivy. If we had sent her to an average high school -- we're convinced she would have turned out average since no one would have pushed her to succeed.

This is a particularly interesting and informative quote IMO. I have two children, one boy and one girl, both at a WDC school that goes to 8th. We will be looking at single sex schools for both. One of my children excels at most everything. The other usually falls in the middle of any group in which s/he is placed: academic, athletic, etc... but has some very wonderful qualities and is exceptionally well-regarded at the current school (head often pulls me aside to compliment this child). As we start the process of looking at next step schools, I have wondered if we should be looking at less academically challenging schools for the "average Joe child," Your post makes me REALLY re-think this. I really have to say "Thanks" and please post this elsewhere when it applies.

Great question above. The admissions people do seem to have some magic about knowing which kids will do well at their respective schools. Entry is not all about test scores and grades. Our daughter was one who had average everything before going to Holton and somehow turned out to be a star...even to our amazement (we even joke about it with her...fortunately, she is strong and has a sense of humor.) And, yes, she's one of the ones who goes to an Ivy. If we had sent her to an average high school -- we're convinced she would have turned out average since no one would have pushed her to succeed.

Anonymous wrote:NCS & Holton are for the academically talented girls. Somene who isn't at that level will suffer at both schools.

But will the schools admit girls if they do not think the girls would be successful there? I guess my thought is that the admissions process would weed out the girls for whom Holton & NCS are not a good fit. I have friends who went to NCS and Holton who thought of themselves as "average" students at these schools, yet they all graduated, went to Ivies and are now very successful women. The Holton girls (on average) seem to report a more positive experience, but they are all fiercely loyal to their alma maters and consistently acknowledge the many benefits they got from going to those schools. We all know it is statistically impossible for every girl at each school to be a genius, but I do think we sell our girls short if we assume they are not going to survive those schools unless they're "academically talented" (not even sure what that means). As one poster noted previously, if your girl is doing well at pretty much any K-8 school, they should be just fine at Holton or NCS provided that they are willing to apply themselves.

Anonymous wrote:PP -- You're funny & I agree. I don't know anything about Lowell, but I know a lot about Holton. My daughter goes there and it has more work than any school I know of. My daughter had more homework in Middle School there than my husband had in his MBA Program or I had at law school. So, Holton is not for the faint of heart. If the Lowell kids want to go there -- good for them. Anyone considering it should just be aware how very, very rigorous it is. We've given up our weekend getaways and weeknight movies thanks to Holton's rigor. And, yes, like a poster somewhere on DCUM -- we gave up cable too. Any girl who graduates from Holton should be given a medal of honor -- it's quite an accomplishment. Most Holton grads say Holton is harder than any college/university they've gone on to -- including top Ivies such as Harvard and Princeton.

Really? They literally put their own lives at risk for the sake of their comrades in arms? I had no idea!

Or... perhaps you have so little experience with patriotism that you hold it very cheaply. Methinks you oversell what, at the end of the day, the privileged graduates of a prestigious girl's school have really and truly earned for the betterment of their fellow citizens and all mankind.

agreed -- don't push your girls too hard if they're not able to do top level work