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Springside School

School rating 4 / 5 by

8000 Cherokee Street Philadelphia PA 19118 United States
Day
PK to 12th
Gender
Girls only

Academic

Springside School review by .

Springside School is a small private all-girls school located in the affluent Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia. It is across the street from its "brother school", the all-boys Chestnut Hill Academy. Classes at the two schools are completely separate from one another until high school, where gradually students start having coed classes. In freshman and sophomore year, arts, music, and languages classes are coed; while the remaining classes are single sex and taught on the home campus. Junior and senior years, all classes are coed and students flock between the two campuses for class. Being a college preparatory school, the academics are rigorous and the teachers are very good. Teachers place high demands on the students, preparing them adequately for college level courses. Starting in 7th grade, the distinction is made between honors level (advanced) and regular mathematics classes. These students, once placed in honors usually remain in that section until graduation. Students who prove exceptionally well in regular mathematics may then be recommended to move up, yet the majority of students stay in the section they are placed in. Starting in 9th grade, the option of being in honors history is added. Students are selected based on their performance in 8th grade, and again, they usually stay in honors once put into that level. Starting in junior year of high school the difficulty level breaks down further - into a regular, honors, and advanced placement (AP) level for most classes. Many students choose to take AP exams and students who do, score very high. Classes at Springside are not competitive. If you do well on tests and assignments, you will do well in the class. Point blank. There are no instances of foul-play on assignments, teachers are generally fair, and there is a good support staff from the administrative body. The atmosphere is very caring, and since classes are so small (roughly 12 - 18 students per section), your teachers not only know you, but monitor your work. This allows for the development of close relationships with your teachers, administrators, and a great environment. It is a school where everyone knows everyone by name, since most grades have at a maximum 60 students. Springside is not an "exam factory." Administrators stress the importance of learning for its own sake, there are several tests per quarter (they are on the quarter-system), and a student who demonstrates a marked improvement will often do well, even if they had a rough start. In high school, there are two "finals" periods - once at the close of Winter and at the end of the year.

College Counseling

My college counseling experience at Springside was incredibly positive. The first introduction to counseling that....

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

Springside School is an all-girls private school that is from Pre-K through 12th grade. Having....

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

Springside School is one of the most beautiful campuses and buildings you will ever see. The grounds are luxuriously manicured, there are plenty of trees, open spaces, and an extensive playground for those in Lower School. Inside, the school is divine as well. The halls are decorated with paintings and photos of previous Heads of School, there are many framed paintings, and in between all of this, students' artwork hangs in nearly every gallery of the school. The lighting is warm and bright, there are many skylights allowing for natural light, and the hallways also look like the foyer to....

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