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Menlo School

School rating 5 / 5 by

50 Valparaiso Avenue Atherton CA 94027 United States
Day
6th to 12th
Gender
Coed

Academic

Menlo School review by .

Menlo School has terrific faculty and academics in all subject areas, including the sciences, mathematics, social sciences, humanities and arts. Class sizes were small, and there was plenty of support available for those who were struggling. Though it is often difficult to place into higher-level classes without taking prerequisites (eg. placing into advanced mathematics classes without taking sequence of geometry, algebra, pre-calculus and calculus), I generally found the academic program very flexible, and was able to take basically all the classes I wanted to take. Menlo prepared me extremely well for Princeton, particularly in honing my writing, confidence in public speaking, and independent work skills. Even after having been away for a couple of years, and experiencing many great professors at Princeton, some of the finest educators I've ever had are Menlo teachers, and I am extremely grateful to them for giving me a foundation of education that has prepared me for college and for life beyond it.

College Counseling

I personally had a terrific college counselor at Menlo, though perhaps not all of my....

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...

Admissions - Getting Accepted

As far as I can tell, Menlo tends to factor in all aspects of a....

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...

School Life

Menlo's cafeteria is pretty good, its facilities are terrific, and its people (students and faculty) are wonderful. It's a great place to go to school, in a beautiful part of the world (doesn't get much better than Atherton, California), and I highly encourage you to consider it for both middle school and high school. Most people who go to Menlo have pride for their school, and love it - and for good reason!...

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