Sorry, I guess I didn’t word it very well. I didn’t mean that it was necessarily “weird,” I was just curious about why
And with that, let’s get back to topic.
FWIW Deerfield has a great relationship with the town…ugghhh…I mean historical village-museum. It feels like the campus is the village or a historical movie set. The students can be seen walking to the candy shop and bakery off campus. Best part for us is that the Deerfield Inn is “on campus”. Students can have dinner there and pick up great food (Pizza, Chicken Pot Pie, Lobster Roll, Truffle Fries, etc) to take back to the dorm - or study space. For DH and I it’s great, because we can stay overnight 50 yards from campus, have a martini, and not worry about driving :-S
FWIW - my son and his friends at Choate frequently go into Wallingford for meals, bowling, movies, shopping at Walmart, etc. and he just told me that he’s never felt or heard of any antogonism between the community and the Choate students. Like many BSs, Choate has a student body that is very active in volunteering and community service and the surrounding community benefits from that.
Winchendon has a community dinner once a month where they invite people from the surrounding town.
@Altras I have heard the same thing from my current friends at Choate, however, we had 2 tour guides with us (I think they were teaching the new one how to give tours) and they both said that they felt that Wallingford was a little less accepting of Choate students. I think it partly has to do with it being more competitive for Wallingford day students than boarding students to gain admission as compared to a school like Deerfield where they have MUCH fewer day student applicants and accept a Large portion of them. I was surprised to here this at choate, however, after reading online articles in Wallingford papers I got the sense that Choate was pretty separate from the Wallingford community as opposed to schools like Milton or Deerfield.
I think the same thing goes for Lawrenceville which literally has fences that surround the the entrances to the campus. I guess it is just a perception that some people in the town community have.
Last year, The Choate News started a weekly column covering local events in Wallingford.
Each week “restaurant profiles, photos and articles - ranging from coverage of walkouts at the local public schools to a feature on the Wallingford Witch Trials - fills page 3”
Andover students are called “Cat Boners” by some Andover residents. The term sounds a little derogatory but I have no idea why or what is means.
Kent School is in gorgeous Kent, CT. Kids can walk into town freely. They have to be back on campus before dark. The people in town love the kids. The school and the Kent community have a special relationship. The kids hit the diner after chapel on Sundays. They can go on a real date and grab a burger at a number of places. It’s small, quaint, safe. It’s just enough for what the kids need.
So nice to hear that @Hotchymom as HopefulKid was just accepted and is over the moon!
Oh how wonderful! Big congrats to you all! My oldest graduated from Hotchkiss and I currently have 2 boys at Kent. They LOVE it. It is gorgeous!
Still waiting for my Kent admission mail, but when I was touring there, I got an ice cream right next to Kent, and the store is on the way from the main campus to their engineering building. The ice cream was really good!
Sorry don’t want to derail the point of the thread cause I find it very interesting and insightful but
@Hopeful0304 @Hotchymom I also just got my acceptance package from Kent and I am really excited. @sparkatzz I wouldn’t worry about it…It could very well arrive tomorrow…until then just keep thinking positive thoughts I really hope you get accepted.
Good luck to all. There are so many wonderful schools out there! Fingers crossed for all the kids!
Though beautiful, I always finds the Kent campus and fields frustrating since they are so spread out and i’ve Spent a lot of time driving looking for different games. However, the town is great and that ice cream place is awesome — always a treat when we’re passing through!
Kent’s academic campus is actually very compact. Takes two minutes to walk to any class. There are two different areas for the fields. Not confusing once you know what sport you’re looking for.
One of the cool things about Kent - in addition to being such a beautiful small town - is seeing hikers in the fall and spring coming off the Appalachian trail. There are some great places to eat there and a nice inn up the road if you are touring the school and must stay overnight.
@Hotchymom Agree about Kent. I’m biased though since I’m an alum. Kent considers the town to be an extension of campus and it does offer a bit of independence. Re: #27, my oldest graduated from Kent and I have two at Hotchkiss - just back from picking them up, actually.
@Golfgr8 and @Temperantia do you have a recommendation for a nice place to stay while visiting Kent? Any “don’t miss” things to see or do?
@Hopeful0304 - a couple of years ago we stayed at the inn at Kent Falls. I read recently that it may be closed, so check this out. We have dined at the Kingsley Tavern for lunch, and also Fife n Drum -old pub atmospher. We are there for an event in summer, so we get to-go food at Giffords and head up RT 7 for a picnic @ Kent Falls park. The drive north on 7 up to Salisbury is beautiful…be sure to drive over Cornwall Bridge.
Thank you so very much @Golfgr8!