2015 Revisit Day Experience

Prep School Admissions
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Originally posted by @SevenDad 4 years ago

For students and parents: please post any thoughts you’ve had from Spring 2015 revisits here. Thought it might be helpful to have a single clearinghouse for observations.

Some guiding questions to get you started:

  • Basic format/schedule of your revisit day
  • Did the revisit confirm your interest in the school or did it dissuade you from matriculating?
  • What specific things about the revisit pushed you in either direction?
  • Did you learn anything new/surprising about the school?
  • Something you wish you had learned which you didn't
  • How was the food?
  • How were the classes you sat in on?

Obviously, it’s still pre-April 10, so you may want to be more circumspect about protecting your identity/identity of school…

Refer to http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1112976-2011-revisits.html so you can get an idea of how to answer these questions.

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Cate School Revisit

Basic format/schedule of your revisit day
Revisit day was from 9:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m., parent and student checked in & had separate itineraries.
We both attended the morning assembly then DK went off with student host to shadow classes for the day, attend Clubs Fair & go to beach after classes end. Parents were able to sign up for 2 classes they wanted to sit in on, there were 5 panel discussion/Q&A presentations - 1 w/ teachers from academic areas, 1 w/ teachers of art/music/outdoor program/college counselor, 1 w/student prefects about residential life, 1 w/students of different grades/backgrounds, 1 w/ current parents. DK and I reconvened at end of day for Headmaster’s remarks
Did the revisit confirm your interest in the school or did it dissuade you from matriculating?
Confirmed interest in the school
What specific things about the revisit pushed you in either direction?
I appreciated that we were there until 8:00 p.m. - definitely gave DK sense of community and how it would feel to actually attend Cate. Students were very eloquent and answered questions honestly. The headmaster, Ben Williams, closed the day simply stating that they hoped the day helped illustrate how special Cate is and that students have a choice to make - we liked there was no “hard sell”.
Did you learn anything new/surprising about the school?
Included in packet was class of 2015 college matriculation list - obviously decisions are still coming in, but 90% of seniors applied ED, EA, or rolling admissions and had acceptances in hand. Also, the Cate chorale group performed at morning assembly and there were well over 100 kids in the group - really strong participation I thought for a small school.
Something you wish you had learned which you didn’t
All questions I had were addressed as well as some that I hadn’t thought to ask!
How was the food?
Food was very good, parent lunch was outside, buffet style. Delicious guacamole - Carpinteria is host to California Avocado Festival and area is large producer of avocados. DK had lunch in dining room and noticed there was a whiteboard that lists locally sourced items available daily. Dinner was also outside on Kirby Quad for students and parents.
How were the classes you sat in on?
Students were active participants in teacher led discussion

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8 PM! Is that normal/usual? At other schools but I’m planning to leave around 2:30/3pm to the airport. Am I too optimistic?

4

I’m not revisiting but I am doing an overnight. I’ll keep y’all posted!! :smiley:

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@payn4ward - the revisit days for all the other schools we will be attending end much earlier, between 2:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.

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Can you request to stay overnight on one of the school’s revisit days? Will they not let you because of how many kids would want to? (Specifically Exeter if any one knows?)

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My daughter was singing in the chorus. Glad you had a nice day.

8

Experience Exeter was amazing. They had little red lions on the lanyard cards for those who had already enrolled. The new principal seems nice(She didn’t say she would make pancakes for us but she did say she would buy us ice cream if she didn’t wave at passing cars.)

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I felt like they could have done more at the EE day. Mr. Gary specifically said that they did not want to have a “dog and pony show,” but what would be so bad about this? They should have had a slide show on all the awesome achievements Exeter has accomplished in its history and more on their philosophy of inclusiveness. New principal exuded a “cool mom” vibe and seemed very approachable. But I think that she has a tough act to follow.

I think that they could have done a better job at showcasing the school. Although afterwards, my son was extremely excited to be there and felt great about his decision to enroll. So, in that way, mission accomplished.

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Were you there on Monday?

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@heartburner
exeter will grow on you. There are some nice dogs who really live an campus but no ponies. Transparency was very appealing to us. Look over old “exonian” news for some interest points and achievements. You will find plenty.

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@heartburner‌
I feel the exact opposite - I appreciate being able to have an authentic school experience on revisit day and dislike the dog and pony show!

Anyone else have revisit experiences to share? I’m about to post our Lawrenceville & Exeter experiences…

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Lawrenceville School Revisit Day

Basic format/schedule of your revisit day
Revisit day was from 8:30 a.m. – app. 2:00 p.m.
DK & I checked in & received information packet (with separate itineraries for parent & student).
We mingled a bit with student guides and faculty, then presentation began in Kirby Arts Center with welcome by 2 student emcees, opening remarks by current Head of School & Admission Director. DK went off with student host to shadow a couple of classes and go to lunch. Parents first stop was to sit in on a class. Then there were back to back discussion panel sessions (20 mins each). Of the four offered, I chose to attend the Academic Curriculum & College Counseling and the STEM & Global Discovery panels. The other two were Teaching & Learning at Lawrenceville and Parent Panel Q & A Session. The parents then visited a hous, had a Q&A with prefects, and headed to lunch with faculty. Parents and students were reconnected after lunch for a Life Beyond the Classroom presentation in Kirby Arts Center then DK and I attended the mini extracurriculars fair and met with athletic coaches.
Did the revisit confirm your interest in the school or did it dissuade you from matriculating?
DK has not made a final decision but Lawrenceville has been ruled out. Our initial visit to the campus was during parent’s weekend (not ideal, but was in the area visiting colleges with older sibling). Obviously, that weekend was devoted to current rather than prospective families and our interaction with the admissions office was minimal. We had a student led tour but no interview. We were really hoping the revisit would give us a better sense of the school community but we left feeling a bit disconnected.
What specific things about the revisit pushed you in either direction?
The Good: loved the houses and the house system in general, met some really talented and diverse kids as well as some devoted faculty members, nice campus and top notch facilities, felt like the college counseling office really has a handle on the college admissions process and does a great job of helping students find the right fit.
The Bad: The current (outgoing) headmaster spoke very briefly, too briefly – basically just saying she was leaving and giving the name of her replacement. Frankly, I was expecting more. I got no sense of strong leadership of the school, its history, or the direction it was heading. It was a bit disconcerting. Twenty minutes for panel discussions was not long enough – there was only time for one or two parent questions. Also, other than the charming lunchroom serenade to the parents by a boys acapella group, the performances and some of the student interactions felt contrived. Overall, DK felt that Lawrenceville was too large and impersonal and wasn’t a good fit.
Did you learn anything new/surprising about the school?
I don’t think it is a huge factor in our decision process, but Lawrenceville has a higher percentage of day students than we realized. Also, I knew Lawrenceville had the house system, but I didn’t realize just how close the bond and how loyal students are to their houses. I spoke with mostly 4th and 5th formers as my kid would be coming in as a Junior and they all had a large amount of house spirit and cited that is what they would miss the most when they leave Lawrenceville. The Hutchins Scholar program sounded great, but candidates apply and are selected in 10th grade, so DK wouldn’t be eligible.
Also, apparently Abbott Dining Hall (5th formers only) has amazing food!
Something you wish you had learned which you didn’t
I asked at the very end of the Global Discovery panel about The Island School but time ran out before I got a full answer. I thought it was affiliated with Lawrenceville in some way, but I was told that it is separate and a different application process.
How was the food?
Food was good – we ate in the dining room. As far as I could tell, it was a standard day’s offering and nothing really special served to visiting families.
How were the classes you sat in on?
I sat in on only one class – an upper level music elective that my kid will probably never be able to take, but I wanted to see how a class like that functions in a Harkness setting. The students were all actively engaged and it was obviously a highly collaborative class as students played youtube clips and referenced discussion notes that the students had emailed to each other prior to class.

14

We had similar thoughts after visiting day and my son will not be going to L’ville this fall. He wants a more rural campus, less day students. There was something just less authentic about the visiting day experience compared to the school we visited the day before (NMH). Two visiting days back to back really makes the differences striking.

15

I revisited at Phillips Academy Andover. This was nearly a week ago, so my memory is a bit tempered.

** Basic format/schedule of your revisit day **
Opening remarks from Head of School John Palfrey and Dean of Admissions Jim Ventre
Shadowing students in classes
A mini-class with only revisits while the students went to some advisory thing
Lunch and some more shadowing
Meet up with parents for Arts Department Panel and Student Panel

** Did the revisit confirm your interest in the school or did it dissuade you from matriculating? **
I didn’t enjoy most of the revisit day, but I liked some of what I saw. I’m planning to go next year. I’m excited!

** What specific things about the revisit pushed you in either direction? **
Good: The randomly chosen student panel. It was electric. The kids were all so articulate and charming. They seemed like they thought deeply and really cared about each other. There was one moment when a freshman girl said something really beautiful in response to a question. when the senior boy next to her, who I doubt knew her, took the mic, I expected him to go on and add his piece. Instead, he said something like, “Can you believe this girl? Can she get a round of applause?” I got a real sense of community from that. The way the kids on the panel interacted with each other, listening to and building on what each other said was something special.

Bad: Everything else :-S I have been told the campus is lovely, but I will just have to take everyone’s word on it, because, at the time, the trees were bare, and the ground was muddy, and there were piles of snow everywhere. The classes were a snore. Lots of lecturing! All the classes I went to had just started a few days before for the new trimester and I was following a sophomore, so the kids may not have been comfortable with each other yet. I think a lot of the issue was my host girl. She seemed out of it, and I felt like a burden to her. I felt that she didn’t try to include me when she talked to her friends. Some of her friends were very sweet and likeable, though. I guess I’ll have to find my crowd.

** Did you learn anything new/surprising about the school? **
Social movement-esque things seem strong. Seen on a whitboard in the foyer (?) of the math/multicultural building: “The Gay Agenda: Dismantle the patriarchy”. I thought that was cute and the sort of thing you wold expect to see in a college, not in a high school. I can see myself hanging out in the multicultural center room thing, doing homework and chatting with friends. Thumbs up for Blue Key guy in a pleated skirt (the senior on the student panel I mentioned earlier).

** Something you wish you had learned which you didn’t **
The classes don’t seem as discussion-based as I had hoped. :frowning:

Clubs are very competitive. I’ll have to work hard to break in (entering as a sophomore) and get leadership roles. I don’t know if that’s a bad thing, though.

** How was the food? **
My mom told me she was impressed, but my host pulled me through the burger line. I’m a vegetarian :neutral_face:

** How were the classes you sat in on? **
The math class I was in was a bit for kids who weren’t very mathy, I think, which was hard for me to sit through because I love math. They also used technology a bit too mch for my tastes. I am very much pencil-and-paper oriented when it comes to my math. Even playing dodgeball in PE was boring. It wasn’t as competitive or fun as I would have hoped. English was reading short stories out loud, but my host girl was super excited and smiley going in. She told me English was super fun. She was disappointed coming out because the class had been so boring that day. For Spanish, my host passed me off to a friend. It was literature class a year ahead of mine. It was very in depth and the teacher seemed extremely knowledgeable. I was only able to keep up for the first half of the class until I was saturated and couldn’t take in anymore. My mini-class was Intro to Russian. It was only revisits in the class, whcih simulated the first 25 minutes of the first day of Russian class. I liked the approach. It was immersive and the teacher was great. But…I don’t know. I wanted to be amazed.

The parents were in all-parent groups for the classes, so they didn’t sit in on any real classes. My mom went to the Bio 600 class in which students designed and carried out their own experiments/research project. She is rarely effusive with her thoughts, but I could see she was impressed. (She is a doctor.) That’s a shame, because I don’t like science. My dad went to a Capitalism/Economics type class. The parents in that class had a good discussion and he was impressed with the teacher.

  • All in all, I don’t think my experience on the revisit day was representative of the experience I will have there in the next three years. *
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Do we have to stay for the entire revisit day or can we leave early? I’m trying to make it back to a concert in which I am the only pianist…

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Taft School Revisit Day

Basic format/schedule of your revisit day
Revisit day was officially from 8:15 to 3:00, but I came late due to traffic (around 9:30) but I didn’t really miss much. We listened to both the boys and girls acapella group, and then we were herded into the auditorium. We were given a speech by the headmaster who was really funny, then the students were given off to our hosts for the day where we attended five blocks, including lunch. Then we went back to the main lobby and listened to the choir, then there was the EC fair. Revisit day was officially over, but you had the chance to watch practices or take another tour.

Did the revisit confirm your interest in the school or did it dissuade you from matriculating?
It confirmed my interest!

What specific things about the revisit pushed you in either direction?
The people! You could really tell how much everyone pretty much got along, no matter what race/ethnicity/socioeconomic background. Oh, and the dorms were amazing! Both of the freshman girls dorms were recently renovated (the one my host was in being the newest) and they looked like literal hotels. Everyone’s were pretty much about the same size, but I was happy to find that there were more bigger dorms than smaller ones. I went into my host’s friend’s dorm and it was a pretty decent size for a forced triple.

Did you learn anything new/surprising about the school?
The school isn’t as formal as I thought it would be, which is a good thing. The most common outfit was a flowy blouse, black jeans, and boots, which was what I was wearing so I fit right in.

Something you wish you had learned which you didn’t
How their dance practices were. I went in the studio and practiced some turns but no one was there, so…

How was the food?
The food was better than I thought boarding school food would be. There were burgers and fries (plus the option of pasta, salads, sandwiches, etc) and I liked the fact that they didn’t whip up a fancy meal to impress us, because that’s what they did at my brother’s school. There were also desert options, like cookies (which were insanely good), brownies, froyo, etc.

How were the classes you sat in on?
They were alright. I could tell some students were still disoriented from spring break (BS kids get literally three weeks off), but I appreciated they weren’t acting “fake”.

Overall, I had a pretty good experience and I can’t wait to attend Taft in the fall!

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DD still sleeping in, so I will fill this out.
SPRING REVISIT DAY AT CHOATE: 8am-3pm or later, if interested.

  • Basic format/schedule of your revisit day: Welcome by Headmaster, Director of Admissions and Student Council President, Student Panel
    -Presentation of new Lanphier Math/Computer/Robotics building and how it will change the teaching/learning methods incorporating technology and hands-on innovation of students. Very interesting, clearly well planned with an eye on what current students will need to know and be able to do for college, careers, and to be life-long learners.
    -Class visits for students, who shadowed. DD very happy with her guide, who included her and introduced her around, proud to be presenting DD to her Choate community. Guide clearly loves the school and is passionate about all it offers.
    -Parents had option of class visits or informal presentations of subject areas: Math/Computer, Science, Eng/Languages, etc. I went to Math and then the Science. Science presentation helped explain what special options are available for path, but confirmed that the core program is very strong, so no need to do the “specials” to be very successful in having a great science foundation. Nice.
    -Lunch with faculty/administration for parents. Students ate with their shadows. Same dining hall, different wings of building. Parents had table cloths, kids did not. That was the only real difference that I saw.
    -Chapel with speech by alumnus who is a senior at nearby Yale. Orchestra performance, well done, large amount of students. Chaplain spoke about spirituality and reaching individual potential, seems very approachable and very inclusive. Chapel had banners with inspirational quotes from every important source/book of every religion possible. Stressed diversity and inclusiveness.
    -Arts/Clubs/Athletics Fair: DD met with coaches of three interests. She had already met the coach of 1st interest and was introduced to whole team, who basically took her in right away.
    -Tours of campus (did not do, already had done twice) and the Kohler Environmental Center: DD fascinated with Kohler, she was impressed.
    -Option to visit theatre rehearsals or sports practices: we did not stay for that, already had been to a sport competition.
  • Did the revisit confirm your interest in the school or did it dissuade you from matriculating? Absolutely confirmed interest and convinced my cynical spouse, who had not been involved in process in any way. He is now 110% on board.
  • What specific things about the revisit pushed you in either direction? Everyone was genuinely nice and welcoming, did not encounter any attitudes, talked to kids while walking to their classes and did not hear a negative comment all day. All happy to be there and up for a challenge, all eager to help, even those just on way to class.
  • Did you learn anything new/surprising about the school? My biggest takeaway (and maybe hers, too) was that there are SO MANY options available. So, before you come in Fall, look over the course catalog and study options and make a plan what you want to do, because the special programs involve planning and, possibly, applications. This was interesting, and motivated my DD to do some hard thinking about WHAT she wanted to do. She is leaning towards a Capstone Project rather than the SRP (fantastic Science Research Project), as it gives her more flexibility for her other interests.
  • Something you wish you had learned which you didn't: That there are so many options and decisions must be made!
  • How was the food? Great! Tons of choices, from salad bar, made-up salads (like Caesar, etc.), soups, sandwiches, burgers, pasta, cookies, fruit, ice cream, etc. All was very good.
  • How were the classes you sat in on? I did not sit in on a class. DD sat in on freshman Physics, which she loved and even participated in, Spanish 2, where she also answered a question, and Geometry (regular, not Honors), which she understood and also jumped into. She loved the classes and is even more excited now than before. Did not think that was even possible...!

Most impressive sight: seeing the 40 or so international flags flying in the wind as you approached the Paul Mellon Performing Arts Center for registration. Beautiful!

Best takeaway for me: meeting some very nice parents, some of whom are Day Student parents as well. Hubby says “great place!”

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Just for reference, this is how to create bold text:

[ b ] bold text here [ / b ] Remove spaces within the parentheses.

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We have just returned from the revisit at St. George’s. This was the largest revisit event ever held by the school. Massive response from admited families. K1, K2 and the whole Stanford94 clan showed up!

The visit helped both kids clarify the choices they will be making. K2 said the English class used the same edition of Shakespeare as her 8th grade. The SG students only had to finish to the next scene for homework. Geometry homework was five problems unlike the 16 K2 is used to every night including 2 word problems. We warned this was EASTER weekend and probably less homework than normal.

We all got a big shock when a portion of K1’s application was read aloud during the chapel talk. It was used as an example of the kind of kid the school is excited to teach.

For parents there was a big focus on the curricular evolution. SG is moving in amazing directions. At the core is a traditional college prep curriculum with all sorts of complimentary, integrative and expanding opportunities. We know our kids can be challenged AND supported. That is the key.

The decision to incorporate contemporary approaches to collaboration and design-led thinking into the curriculum has no analogue in secondary education.

Great international programs. GERONIMO will sail for a year through Europe from this summer.

Very good student panel including the head of the GSA!