Dd12 has been planning to attend a local high school next year for which we have turned in a school of choice application. I'm fairly confident that she'll get in.

Having participated in academic talent search, she also seems to be on the mailing list for a lot of private schools throughout the country who would like her to apply there. She usually expresses no interest. She recently got some info from the Phillips Exeter Academy in NH, though, and wants to apply.

It is an expensive private boarding school about an hour outside of Boston. They are offering full scholarships for kids who meet their admission reqs and whose families make less than $75K/year, which we do. I must admit that it looks like it offers a lot of very cool stuff, but the idea of sending a child who will be just shy of 13 off to boarding school 2,000 miles from home is a bit daunting.

If she seriously wants to apply, she's going to need to start working on this b/c she'd need to go to the nearest big city (1 hr/away) to take a private school entrance exam, get her school to fill out an application/recommendation form, do the student application and essays, etc. This is all due by January. The application fee is $50, which isn't the end of the world if it is wasted, but I really don't want to put a bunch of time into this if we aren't going to seriously consider it.

She has two friends at school who both said they want to apply too when dd told them about it. Both are very bright girls. Whether their parents agree with them applying is another issue and I don't know their families to ask.

Would you even consider something like this?

My D gets these mailings all the time, too. Phillips Exeter does have an excellent reputation. But you obviously need to make a family decision about whether you think it is right for your situation for her to go.

Davidson just announced a boarding option for the Davidson Institute school in Reno for next fall, too. My D does not know about it yet, and I am dreading the onslaught of begging to attend that will follow when she finds out. For a variety of reasons I don't think it would be the right decision for her. A note about it based on the comment above, the boarding option appears to be with families (not dorm style boarding), so the peer influence might be less at the Davidson program than at a place like Exeter.

You might look out on the College Confidential website at the Prep School section for a lot of discussion that includes Exeter:

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/

I will say, almost everyone out there is totally sold on the idea that they/their child should go to one of these schools. But if you dig into some of the older threads, my guess is there there are some "pros/cons" threads. And you likely will unearth a lot of info on Exeter that is not in the brochures!

My impression of Exeter was the same as CFK's above--but my very good friend who did not fit into the affluent/large disposable income/clique-ish crowd (and didn't want to!) had a wonderful experience there and speaks very highly of it. Also--check out Andrew Sullivan's blog--there were quite a few entries about Exeter in particular a few months ago and the doors it opened for alumni.

My dh went to boarding school starting at age 10 and I always swore I would never send my kid away before college. But I think for the right kid it could be a great experience.

The amount of work I'm seeing mentioned on these sites about Exeter is daunting. Dd is a slow, methodical worker. B/c her currrent school expectations are below what she is capable of in most subjects, she gets by fine even with the grade skip. If the work is truly challenging intellectually, I do worry about her getting enough sleep.

We're continuing to talk about it.