Great strategy on many fronts!
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So, getting back to Choate 
Can someone with recent experience talk about how hardcore the 9th grade/3rd form physics/ physics honors classes are? DS has heard mixed: It’s the most difficult class on campus, and it’s not bad. DS is also concerned about learning how to effectively learn Canvas/Notability in terms of note-taking, keeping a calendar, etc. He has been using paper (finally effectively!) and is a bit nervous about having to learn a completely new system. Is there some kind of training over the summer?
The physics honors class is very hard and I would really advise against it unless your child is way ahead in math, ie. has done at least some calculus already, assuming they are true 9th grader. Most of the kids in the honors class are either way ahead in math, or older, and often both. Since the typical science sequence in US high schools is bio, chem and physics most sophomores and juniors coming in have not taken it and are in that class, having had a lot more math than your average 9th grader. And the international kids that come to Choate are typically ahead too. Mine was placed in that class and struggled mightily. If you do decide to try that class I would advise to make sure your child is willing to throw in the towel and drop down early on if things do not go well. While possible, it is not always easy because the non honors class may be in a different block and so it requires changing other classes, which can be disruptive. I would be careful about language placement as well, as the expectations are high. Some kids prep for the placement tests and then end up swimming upstream. Ninth grade is by far the hardest year at Choate, once you get used to the system and how to handle workload and are in appropriate level classes things get much easier, so I would suggest not to push too hard to begin with. Adjusting to the dorm life and rather hectic schedule with sports and clubs and all the activities kids want to be involved in does take a while.
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Thanks, @417WHB! Very helpful…
Can you speak to the notability/iPad question? How are they used in class? Do the kids get some kind of training/guidance or is it left up to them to figure it out? When do they get the iPads? In the summer? When the kids get to school? I’m not familiar with notability at all… I’m assuming it works in conjunction with Canvas (which I am also not familiar with). Do either of those apps have a calendar feature, or is the whole organization thing (keeping track of assignments, practices, ECs) on a different app? This all seems very confusing! TIA
My kid is a senior now so no idea if he still has the syllabus. I will ask and look around but we did purge a lot of stuff last summer so I do not have high hopes. If your son is already in precalculus in 8th grade he is very advanced, and may be able to handle it. The teachers in that class are also harder graders than in the regular physics, which is part of why there is such reputation. Your son may be bored if he takes regular class, but it would likely be easy A, and time to spend on the other classes. And you can absolutely do honors chem and bio after regular physics, assuming you do well in math as well. We got sucked into ‘take the most rigorous classes available’ and for our son it was not the right choice in 9th grade even though it has been since then. But every student is different.
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As for the iPads, they get them when they arrive on campus and I believe there is some basic training session during the student orientation. After they get them they keep them for the entire 4 years including summers. Not all teachers use the same apps though Canvas is most popular. There is a calendar function and their schedule and such is on the school portal, some teachers send reminders too. My kid definitely started taking more notes on the ipad but still uses paper for some things. And everyone has laptop, not school issued but for writing essays or creating presentations it works better than the iPad. Plus streaming shows or games and doing whatever personal things they want to do online which is best not to do on school issued devices.
You do not need lodging, but you may end up being there for a few hours. The dorms at Choate range from brand new through renovated to plain old, and some rooms have very quirky layouts. So it may turn out you do need to make a Walmart/Kohl’s/Marshall’s run to finish setting up the room the way she’d like. Girls seem to be more particular about how their rooms look like, and some rooms need a bit of help to look welcoming and be functional. You can buy a ton of stuff you may not need ahead of time, or you can wait and do a store run while there. And I would also highly recommend spending a few minutes finding the dorm advisor (who is typically also your child’s advisor that year), introducing yourself, and find out what’s their preferred method of contact. Some will walk around and introduce themselves but it can be hit or miss so if they do not it is worth reaching out.
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Good to know. I’m curious… is there a grade bump for honors classes at Choate? If your kid had taken regular physics in 9th grade would it have hurt their overall GPA in the end? The whole ‘most rigorous classes available’ thing is a mantra at day schools here… It’s freaking me out!
Also, since you’ve been through it, any favorites among the classes your kid took? Any classes/teachers to possibly stay away from? Such amazing information and we are so grateful to you!
They put your kids in science class based on math placement test. If your son is already precalc, most likely he will be assigned to honor class at beginning of school year, but you had chance to drop to regular class one week after midterm, several kids in my DD’s class do that. Canvas had good feature like to do list, past due notice, etc…But not very teacher use Canvas. So time management is something that kids need to figure out in their own way. Notability is just a note taking application, again, various by teacher, some use it a lot, some not at all.
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Thanks… how many kids have you heard about that still use pencil/paper for note taking, calendaring, etc?
Your son will be able to take notes however he is most comfortable, paper and pencil are fine, especially if that method aids him in doing his academic best (and that’s the point, right?). No one will criticize him. But, don’t be surprised if, after a trimester or two, he picks up a few other tools. Kids seem to organically absorb any technology that makes things easier (or more fun) for them, and Choate does offer assistance and training on electronics and application use, but it seems the kids show/teach other the tricks of the trade as they go along (e.g., “Hey that’s cool! How do you do that?”). If he’s stressing about this, please tell him not to. He will acquire whatever level of tech savviness serves him best just by immersion in the community. In the meantime, paper and pencil will work just fine.
BTW: When our son was in your son’s shoes, he was worried (really worried) about the sports requirement as he had never participated in one, and that’s not something easily fixed. Or so he thought. Once on campus, though, those fears melted away as he joined a team that welcomed him, taught him, and helped him become a varsity athlete. I’ve posted many times that crew was the best thing he got out of Choate. OTOH, he was one of the tech kids with multiple monitors and a full-blown desktop graphics, video/camera, and printer setup in his room. He was happy to show his new dormmates how to do things, and he let all of Mem House send homework and other documents to his printer. If your son had been been in Mem House at the time, our son would have happily helped him with anything he needed. I’m sure your son will find plenty of ChoatieKids on campus when he arrives.
I know our experience is no longer current, but I have no doubt it is still relevant.
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Thanks everyone! Another question: at our local day schools if a kid gets off the honors track then there is no way to get back on. They are very strict about that here. Is that the same mentality at Choate? For example, if a kids gets moved down from physics honors to regular physics will they never be able to get back into any honors science classes? Curious…
The official GPA at Choate is unweighted, and that is what is reported to colleges. But they do use weighted for some things too. If you can get an A in an honors class it is the way to go obviously, but it is better to have A in regular than B in honors. The best thing about Choate are the signature programs, mine did the JFK one but there are a bunch for different interests, they go really deep into the subject and do high level stuff, travel etc. There are not a ton of electives to take in 9th grade so by the time your son gets more choices he will know what he wants to dive into. There is always an option to take 6th class, not first term but eventually. Some kids always do that and while quite time consuming (especially if you play a varsity sport with a lot of games) it can be doable. The trimester scheduling makes things go very fast but also provides some flexibility since you can always have a one term class and go to something else next term. And yes you can absolutely go back up to honors if you go down in one science, or one history class. Trickier in math or language because it is a sequence but kids have done it, usually after doing extra work in the summer. I would advise to not focus on overloading with classes right away though, if you or your son is mostly concerned about college admissions the kids that do best are the ones that find time for something unique to stand out and enjoy what they do. Just from what I see this year anyway. That said nothing wrong with challenging yourself and if you/he feels he can handle it, no reason not to give it a shot.
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Hello, This forum has been very helpful and I want to thank everyone who has participated and helping us to be more enlightened about Choate.
My daughter will be entering Choate as a sophomore. How easy is it for a sophomore to integrate into the school? (Socially and academically) She comes from JBS; hence decided not to reclass. My big concern is will she be able to smoothly transition while other kids have had one year under her belt? She is disciplined and comes from JBS so she understand the nuisances around boarding school life and time management.
Also is there a huge difference in difficulty between honors and regular? We are contemplating what to do with her chem, pre calc and English as to pursue honors or regular. We don’t want to overload her off the bat but at the same time we would like to have enough rigor for college app optics.
As far as the signature program goes, how does the selection process go? We were told that not everyone will be invited so would like to know when do they get to participate in this program (Sophomore or Junior) and based on what criteria?
Lastly, she will be deeply involved in athletics but would also like to pursue two languages at the same time as she has taken more than 5 years of both Chinese & Spanish; hence would like to sit for AP exam for both languages by the time she graduate from Choate.
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I don’t think she can do both Chinese and Spanish in the same year. The max number of courses you can take is 6. She need to decide on one and do her placement test.
Or… she could take Chinese as her ‘official language’ and then take Spanish as a 6th class? Or take the language she’s the ‘weakest’ in as her ‘official language’, and her strong language as the 6th class (however that works out).
Anyone know when to expect to hear from fthe orm deans before school begins? Or does that not happen? and when should the kiddos expect to receive their class assignments? Also, if a kid is not happy with a class, who can they talk to about changing?
TIA
Uhmm, I have something to point. While the official GPA at Choate may be unweighted and reported to colleges, weighted grades are considered for certain aspects. I mean, having an A in an honors class is advantageous, but it’s not necessarily better than a B in an honors class. The signature programs at Choate may be appealing, but their status as the “best” aspect is subjective. Moreover, even if electives are limited in 9th grade, students gain more choices as they progress. Taking a sixth class is an option, although time-consuming, and let’s not deny how important time is as we get older. So moving up to honors is possible in some subjects with extra work…
Thanks for all this great info! My DS just took the math placement and got a perfect score. He is hoping to get into honors physics. Fingers crossed!
Can you talk more about the ‘time management argumentative essay’? What is it and how will it get my DS to turn into time management master?? 
TIA
Ah… one more thing… the community service requirement. Should DS be fulfilling that now (this summer) or wait until he gets on campus? and what to do? Any suggestions?