Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My nephew is from an upper middle class family and is currently at Deerfield. He is a great kid but his taste got WAY more expensive. He used to come on family gatherings at the family vacation home and now he goes on "internships" in Asia and his friends celebrate their birthdays by taking a group of them to the Caribbean.

Your student will learn what REAL money is at DA.

Maybe but old money is not flashy like that. The two families I know that sent kids there are status obsessed and networking obsessed (yes - our kids can be friends only if you can help us out socially or professionally types). So you are paying money to be with people like that. I would think very hard.

From what I have heard, there’s not a lot of old money left going to Deerfield. It sounds like it’s very flashy money there these days.

Deerfield alums include members of royal families from many countries. There's new money at all the top schools but Deerfield will always attract old money more than most.

You’d be surprised. A few flashy people stand out anywhere. But the quiet ones? You don’t notice them because they keep everything quiet, including resources. So of course you don’t know they are there.

The admissions filters at all of the top boarding schools ensure a mix of economic strata. Many of the big guns remain anonymous on donor lists. And there are always a few families who give generously, relative to and despite modest incomes.

I am amused when people use phrases such as “sounds like”… Do you always assign outsize weight to the noise?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My nephew is from an upper middle class family and is currently at Deerfield. He is a great kid but his taste got WAY more expensive. He used to come on family gatherings at the family vacation home and now he goes on "internships" in Asia and his friends celebrate their birthdays by taking a group of them to the Caribbean.

Your student will learn what REAL money is at DA.

Maybe but old money is not flashy like that. The two families I know that sent kids there are status obsessed and networking obsessed (yes - our kids can be friends only if you can help us out socially or professionally types). So you are paying money to be with people like that. I would think very hard.

From what I have heard, there’s not a lot of old money left going to Deerfield. It sounds like it’s very flashy money there these days.

Anonymous wrote:Why do people send their kids away to boarding school when there are great local options?

Don’t you want the extra four years to be around your children in order to enjoy each other and to support your children in-person?

For my DS it was simple. The sport he loves is weak in this area, he got tired of spending 4-5 hours a night traveling to/ from late practices, traveling every weekend for his sport, and regularly missing every Thursday and Friday for out-of-town tournaments. We are not a boarding school family, and this was entirely his decision. He loves his former school and his friends, but he’s happy he made the decision.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wasn't the HOS of Deerfield previously working at a school founded by a dictator?

He taught English and was an academic dean at St. Andrew’s in Delaware for ten or twenty years. That is his alma mater.

Then he was head of a school in the Middle East, but I forget which one.

Yea, it was a school founded by the dictator of Jordan. Not a good look.

Anonymous wrote:Wasn't the HOS of Deerfield previously working at a school founded by a dictator?

He taught English and was an academic dean at St. Andrew’s in Delaware for ten or twenty years. That is his alma mater.

Then he was head of a school in the Middle East, but I forget which one.

Anonymous wrote:My nephew is from an upper middle class family and is currently at Deerfield. He is a great kid but his taste got WAY more expensive. He used to come on family gatherings at the family vacation home and now he goes on "internships" in Asia and his friends celebrate their birthdays by taking a group of them to the Caribbean.

Your student will learn what REAL money is at DA.

Maybe but old money is not flashy like that. The two families I know that sent kids there are status obsessed and networking obsessed (yes - our kids can be friends only if you can help us out socially or professionally types). So you are paying money to be with people like that. I would think very hard.

Anonymous wrote:Depends on how mature the kid is. Most kids aren't ready to be away from home at age 14.

+1

I wish it was more common to start junior year. I know some schools have spots for sophomores but I would feel a lot more comfortable with my kid going away at 16 vs. 14.