Advice from Admission: A School That Feels Like Home

The fall is the height of the admission season, and as families explore schools and begin the application process, the Admission team is frequently asked for advice. Most often our advice includes comparing the experience of looking for a school to looking for a new home.

When visiting potential homes, one usually gets a feeling that a space feels like home or it doesn’t. The same feeling should apply to finding your child’s next school.  

This feeling—some may call it intuition or a “gut feeling”—comes from a place of knowing, and it should be trusted.  A parent knows his or her child best, so when researching and visiting prospective schools, both the parent and student need to remember how a school makes them feel.

Think about what is important to your child and family during the admission process.  For example, if a sense of community is a priority, then look for tangible examples of members of a school demonstrating community. If wellness and balance are important to your child, then inquire about how the school offers these opportunities. If your child is passionate about performing arts or a particular sport, look for those types of programs. 

A final word of advice: carefully regard a school’s mission and values statements. These will give you a clear understanding of whom the school is serving and should resonate with both you as a parent and your child as a prospective student. Be sure to read our mission and values below this post. 

As students get older, they will be spending more time at school than at home, especially as they become more involved with school life during and after school hours.  Make sure a school feels right to your child and to your family. You will then find a place where they will grow and thrive as a student and as a person. You will find a school that feels like home.

Meg Ahern
Director of Admission and Financial Aid
mahern@mbs.net