Maclay School review by MIT student.
Academics are a point of pride at Maclay School, though I sometimes questioned why. The school has excellent resources with all of the amenities that one would expect of an elite prep school: a grand library, campus-wide WiFi, and small classes of 10-20 students. Teachers are equipped far beyond adequately, and should teachers or students ever need additional supplies - when a rare book is needed, say - there are people who can get them. Art, literature, and choral music are treated with great care, but perhaps because of such small demand, mathematics and instrumental music are treated with less vigor than they merit. The advanced literature courses perennially challenge future Ivy League journalism students, and it is enough to say that there are additional - and excellent - courses available in specific genres of literature and creative writing. The hard sciences receive equal attention, with several levels offered in each discipline and multi-year tracks designed for greater depth are offered. The only chink in Maclay's academic armor, then, is its lack of ambition in its treatment of mathematics. Though there are a handful of so-called junior and senior level classes available, students wishing to go beyond the AP BC Calculus level will find the syllabi wanting.
It is the fault of the blase and often bourgeois students that so few of.... Get the real inside story on college counseling at Maclay School as experienced by former pupil and MIT student — Login or Sign Up to access full review
Sample insights on college counseling
They have contacts at most of the major universities and feel perfectly comfortable picking up the phone and advocating for a student to get accepted somewhere they feel is a good fit for that student. However, these counselors are certainly not magic bullets. They cannot guarantee that a student will get into an Ivy League university...
For those wishing to move on to Oxford or Cambridge, the provision is second-to-none. In the months running up to application and interview, every subject faculty offers classes (often run by former Oxbridge tutors) exploring further areas of their subject as well as offering advice on personal statements, interview technique and more...
The single criterion for admission is the ability to contribute positively to community life at.... Get in-depth insights and personal advice on admissions to Maclay School by former pupil and MIT student — Login or Sign Up to access full review
Sample insights on admissions
For the interview, dress conservatively. Try to be very clean and put together. Also, I was a tour guide for two years and at the end of every tour, we were asked to evaluate the candidate so if you think the tour is not apart of the process, you are very wrong. Ask questions and be interested. Also, tip for the parents: the kids speak on the tour. Do not ask their questions for them...
Most younger siblings have an easy time in the admissions process. I can only think of one case of a younger sibling not being admitted. About half of the students who entered with me had come from public schools. The remainder came from private K-6 schools, or had transferred from other New York private schools The Elizabeth Morrow School and St. Bernard were two of the larger feeder schools...
There is a strong sense of community at Maclay, one that engenders a sense of belonging in those who fit the Abercrombie-driven mold and a sense of resentment in those who choose other gods. Strangely, there was no bitterness between the two groups of individuals, but rather a bitterness of ideologies, in my time there. To be sure, this is not a religious commentary - for Maclay is non-denominational, and I have fond memories of debating economic policy with liberals, social policy with communists, and the soul's eternity with Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, and atheists. The cultural divide persists to the.... Get the real inside story on quality of school life and extracurricular offerings at Maclay School as experienced by former pupil and MIT student — Login or Sign Up to access full review