<p>So I understand that many of you Deerfield applicants have or will receive your decision in a few days. I had posted some answers to questions in the "Ask a Freshmen" thread, but I just wanted to make a new thread title in case any of your were ignoring the freshmen threads and want the thoughts from a recent graduate. So good luck on your decision and feel free to ask away. Nothing is off limits.</p>
<p>Below are the old questions/responses to avoid redundant questions</p>
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Honestly, how much partying/drugs/alcoholgoes on?
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<p>A moderate amount. There will always be a group of students drinking before dances. The two biggest drugs used are weed and adderall/ritalin (mainly by the male students). There is not drinking and partying in the dorm every weekend as many students find it is not worth it and amuse themselves in other ways. If a student wants to be part of it, they likely can, if they want to avoid it, they can as well.</p>
<p>Now away from Deerfield is a different story. Students from many different backgrounds and many different social groups at school get together on long weekends/vacations and party. There are many students who refused to drink or do drugs at Deerfield but feel perfectly comfortable doing it on these weekends. Some parents knew this and sheltered their kids from these breaks. Ultimately they did their child a disservice in two ways. First, they removed them from their classmates during times when everyone was relaxed and bonding. They therefore missed out on many great stories and shared experiences. Second, when some of these kids wound up on college campuses the results were disastrous. I know many parents think their children won't binge drink because they have been raised well, I can tell you that is a naive view to hold. Let you children get exposed to drinking in high school with their friends, not when they show up to college with many unknown people in an unknown environment.</p>
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How many people get "straight A's" all four years? Would it be around one-fifth of the students?
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<p>Not many at all. I'm not sure where the freshmen are getting there numbers but while 88-91 is the average range, above 93/94 is generally top 5% of the class. I believe our classes top two students were 95% or 96%. Basically it's hard to get below an 85 but hard to get above a 93.</p>
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What about the kids that don't [have money] . . . do they tend to be excluded from much of this off-campus social scene?
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<p>Very fair question and one that the answer will vary slightly by year. First of all, there is a limiting factor that there won't be any venue or house that can hold all 150 students on a long weekend. Tho two times that generally all can be accommodated are senior spring break (Nassau) and the first clump of senior parties. Sadly these come at the conclusion of ones Deerfield tender. Nassau is also generally limiting but we were lucky to have 3 students with homes there, so that helped to alleviate some of the parental tension and financial tension for their friends. </p>
<p>The second limiting factor is that if a student has an empty house or parents that are willing to let them make use of the house they tend to want to keep the numbers down (especially if their parents are monitoring) and like to limit it to their friends. The largest event I can recall was a 100 student (combination of two grades) get together at a bar/restaurant followed up by a few smaller more exclusive parties.</p>
<p>Finally it is important to note that while everyone is quite friendly at Deerfield and I think its one of its best attributes, when people tend to have close friends, they tend to come from similar backgrounds. There was not one group of friends; however, I can point to that came from all one background or one region. The largest group of friends, in our year, was dominated by boys & girls from the NYC,CT&LI geographic areas. Included however were students from California to all the way to Bermuda. That group was also fairly close with a group of lower income boys from the same area and I felt they always treated them with respect. The lower income girls did not appear to ever be close with the girls in that group of friends.</p>
<p>So when it came to these parties and vacations the initial factor was friends. If a party had a limit it was filled with one's close friends first. Now these parties were initiated by many different groups of friends so it was always possible that the larger or popular groups were excluded. People generally were very loyal to their closest friends and there is very little social climbing as most students feel very secure with their friends and their place within the Deerfield community.</p>
<p>I apologize for the long explanation, and I realize I may not have gotten my point across. Let me try and conclude. Lower income students who left for the long weekends could almost always find a party or event to go to. There failure rate to find a party was the equivalent of the wealth students. Was there always one big party or one city that everyone conversed on, no, this only happened occasionally. That said I never felt that income or friend group was a limiting factor on the fun one could have on a long weekend. Friends were always sharing rides and Deerfield offered buses back to NYC. Did certain group of friends not want to party, yes, they would go home and they enjoyed that too. Effectively a lower income student never was excluded because of their income.</p>
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And how do these differences in family background/wealth impact the less affluent kids' quality of life at school?
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Extremely little. This was actually one of the ironies that came up frequently on campus with the administration. They wanted to take away large monitors and projectors as they felt they were items of have/have-nots. Yet there were about equal number of students that came from low income backgrounds and high income backgrounds that had these devices. Eventually it was dropped our year (although I believe later reintroduced).</p>
<p>Another item that comes up is dress code and this applies more to the female half of campus. For the men it can be quite had to distinguish between somewhere wearing a $500-1000 outfit to class or one wearing a $100-200. For the girls, it becomes much more apparent and I believe actually affects them more. The boys can wear the same blazer and tie all week without anyone noticing, caring, or saying anything. The girls cannot get away with wearing the same top or dress all week. The school does provide funds for those who need it for uniforms but it tends to only solve the situation for the boys not the girls. Sadly I'm not quite sure how to fix this as even if the school provided more to the girls on FA, the wealthy girls would certainly go out and buy more expensive clothing and jewelry to distinguish themselves.</p>
<p>I also should clarify that with both of these answers I'm not trying to pick on the girl subculture at Deerfield but it is generally harder to fit into and I have known multiple girls (from all walks of life) that struggled with it. Possibly because all girls can somewhat feel like they are always trying to fit into the male dominated Deerfield culture. The boys all tend to mesh better regardless of the backgrounds, its not exceptional, but its pretty good.</p>
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Quality of life - Certain other schools oft-mentioned on this board have a reputation of being "pressure cookers." Would you describe Deerfield the same way?
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<p>Will there be pressure on the students to succeed both academically and athletically, yes. Does it compare to the pressure that would be placed on the same student as Andover or Exeter, no. We highly value our accomplishments in and out of the classroom but most of the pressure appears to come from within and from parents. Different students will feel more or less stressed and pressured at different times during their tenure at Deerfield. The school is competitive but it is done in a lively manner and students don't tend to be lampooned by their peers for falling short. Everyone is going to fail at some point.</p>
<p>College acceptances certainly raise the competitiveness and anger will ensue when a student feels that they were turned down for a less qualified Deerfield student. That said, the power of the Deerfield community tends to keep this to a minimum and the community really does a fantastic job of keep spirits high. I remember talking to two students who were displeased with their final choices and I believe I was able to help both of them. I also know many others who did the same. So yes, pressure will exist, but it is certainly not a pressure cooker school.</p>
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Clubs & Activities - One consequence of the intense academic demands at those "oft-mentioned schools" is that even though there might be lots of opportunities to get involved in clubs and specialized activities, the reality is that ones time is so limited that involvement in any activity can rarely be more than superficial. For example, if your dream is to start a competitive synchronized swimming team (just a hypothetical), it's just never going to happen at "Big Name School X" because the school expects you to be focused 100% on your required activities (academics and school sports). What about at Deerfield?
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<p>Not a chance at Deerfield. The school and faculty are extremely accommodating for outside activities even when not connected to the school. I never knew a student who wanted to participate in any Extra Curricular and wasn't able to do so. The more you take on, the less free time you have, sure; but if you can handle it the school won't stop you. If a debate, conference, or competition take you away from the school for a week they happily accommodate. Dr. Curtis does a fantastic job of congratulating students for their outside endeavors and accomplishments.</p>
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Entering as a 10th (or 11th) grader - It's never an easy transition. From what you observed during your years at Deerfield, is there anything about the school that makes the transition either easier or more difficult than at other schools?
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<p>I've seen both. Entering as a 10th grader is standard. Half of the class does it, so it is normal. Entering as an 11th grader is a little more difficult; however, most times by the fall break they already have close friends. Living in dormitories does wonderful things for friendships. The school has mandatory class events and trips in an effort to promote class bonding, but I doubt this is any different than other top boarding schools. The biggest aspect that I feel is different about Deerfield is our community. It is an amazing feeling to walk around a campus and have everyone wave and say hi. This is not just some face that gets put on for visiting students, it actually happens. I never experienced this anywhere else. As a new student it is a remarkable feeling and makes you feel welcome.</p>
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What would you change? - If you could go back and run the school for a year, what, if anything, would you change? Why?
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<p>Oh boy.</p>
<p>I wouldnt change anything major and much of what Ill list below is a list of classic complaints from a high school student. The largest thing I would have changed would have been the removal of two faculty members who consistently made life miserable for students. One of them has already been removed/left as far as I can tell.</p>
<p>-The sexual intimacy policy: Everybody knows what goes on with students during co-ed visits. Which is why some faculty overlook this rule and let it go on. Other dont. So as youd imagine the students know when and where to do certain things. It becomes a somewhat comical joke and a game. I understand the school needs the rule for legal reasons and to somehow ease the nerve of protective parents but it is impractical and needs to be addressed. When a student is caught in violation of this rule the book is thrown at them. There is also a policy on lights/lighting during these visits, dont get me started </p>
<p>-Housing: It should be simple, but its not. Every year there is a flaw that allows disgruntled students to claim the process was unfair or not transparent enough which is why they claim they were giving bad housing. Have a open lottery and let students pick their room.</p>
<p>-Internet: It shuts off at 11. This is silly considering most students have smartphones with internet. There was also a group of students that managed to hack the internet so it worked all night for them. Another outdated rules that just irritates students.
There is probably more to add, but I just cant think of it right now. If I do later, I will post it.</p>
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So how do the kids find out if a student is on FA? I would like to think they don't talk about it. Is it an assumption based on where they live, or the clothes they wear?
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<p>People will know who is on Financial Aid and who isnt. Its a small community and many openly talk about it. Quite honestly it would be more awkward if there was a conversation going on about Financial Aid and a student people knew was on it, kept their mouth shut. It would seem they were ashamed and Deerfield respects openness. There are plenty of ways people will know if you are on Financial Aid, its not a big deal, and nobody is going to say anything about it. I never once overheard a student being picked on in public (or in private) for being poor or on Financial Aid.</p>
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At these parties do you think the parents have knowledge of the drinking but turn a blind eye?
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<p>If they are home they absolutely know. Ive seen parents provide the alcohol. A word of advice: Youre children WILL drink in high school. Provide them an environment that is safe and controlled for them to do it. As I said earlier, the parents that did everything to protect their children in high school ultimately failed them. The most protective parent I knew, her child was in the hospital first semester of college. Enough said.</p>
