DS27 committed to Hotchkiss last week and is happy and excited! 
We found re-visits invaluable in the decision-making process, and are especially grateful to this forum for pre-arming us with questions, considerations and talking points!
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Actually, @Across_the_Pond DS committed to CHOATE! The way the replies look on this board is confusing… anyway… thanks!
@DrPrimo my apologies! I recall that Choate was in the lead at one point - your DS was spoilt for choice! 
Choate is a wonderful school too! DS27 loved it as well and it was a hard decision to bid it farewell!
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Hello @Across_the_Pond ! DS27 committed to Hotchkiss as well! Hopefully they will meet as preps. We are super excited for him. Congrats to your DS!
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Congratulations to your son @twinkletoes1 ! I have no doubt that our boys will meet! It’s an exciting time for sure, and so nice to begin to connect with other students and families!
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Prepping for next year is starting with emails on how to set up email and anticipation for placement tests as well as the many other streams of information. It is an exciting time for sure , but I will say right when I thought we could breathe from the year of applications and decisions and enjoy our last year of middle school, we are busy getting set up for next year.
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Our family just received the first official post-deposit email this week saying to expect the onslaught beginning in mid-May and with an outline of what to expect each month after that. No placement tests at Proctor so our daughter doesn’t have to worry about that (apparently there is a section on the math recommend form that teachers filled out last fall with the application that asks them to indicate what topics the student will have covered by the end of the year this year and Proctor uses that for placement. Foreign language is simply based on the level you have attained so far in school.).
I believe it said the next thing she should look forward to is initial/preliminary course selection in May as well as the boarding questionnaire to match roommates and information on afternoon activities.
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What can we do to make sure that we get a better FA package for the next school year?
We got an email today with links to Parent Authorization forms, emergency contacts, language placement, etc…It’s starting to feel more real! I think the student email my son got also had a link to the roommate questionnaire and afternoon activity choices.
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This might be a better question to ask in its own thread so more people see it and can reply.
Unfortunately, I know nothing about getting more money in future years.
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We received an email about afternoon activities selection and a link to the roommate questionnaire as well. Course selection will happen next week (initial course selection - they will adjust levels and Honors/on-level after final grades come out and of course changes will happen in the first couple weeks of school as well)…
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Daughter is wondering on the roommate questionnaire what “early to bed” and “late to bed” might mean for other teens. 
It’s a fair question. I told her to answer as she thinks and then put her actual typical lights off time (9 or 10 pm) in the open-ended space at the end for extra things you want to share. I told her I thought 9-10 would be on the early side, but she feels like it’s late. I reminded her study hall doesn’t even end until 9:30 pm, so . . .
Sadly, it’s not really possible to go to bed that early in BS. But it’s best if she learns that now, so she can mentally prepare 
. The combination of the workload and lack of free time prior to the evening makes 10:30 or 11 the earliest anyone can get to bed, at least at our school. My daughter goes to sleep at 11:30 on a good night but usually 12 and I feel like she’s about average or on the early side.
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Exactly! I’m sure she will go with whatever everyone else is doing. My boys went to public school and they also went to bed close to 9 or 10 in middle school and it quickly changed once they got to the IB program and high expectations at their high school.
My kid went to BS as an early-to-bed kid. For a while, he’d go to bed around 9:30 and then get up at 3:00 am to finish his school work. He eventually acclimated and learned to stay up late.
What school?
Sorry, for some reason I am just seeing this question now! Williston-Northampton.
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How is everyone doing as we get closer to the start of the school year? My son has been Snap-Chatting with his roommate who is in Japan (we are on the east coast of the US). They seem to be a good match so far, very similar sense of humor and like some of the same activities. It doesn’t look like they have any classes together though.
My son is excited- he has set up a count down clock on the home screen of his phone. 
We are starting to pack up sheets and towels, books have been ordered and shipped to school.
Of course I will miss him so much but I am also excited for him!
Drop off is September 5th. How about everyone else?
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Drop off September 4th at Choate. My DS did a very clever thing: He typed in the name of his school and the year of his graduation (Choate 27) into Snapchat and up popped every person around the globe who’s going to Choate his year! I think it only pined about 40, but still… what a great way to get the ball rolling!
We just threw DS a going away party with all of his friends. It was a terrific way for them to say goodbye. Very helpful. Now we are sewing tags on clothes, ordering dorm stuff/mailing to school, etc. Happy to be busy. The hubby and I are early empty nesters… I’m not doing well with my only child going off to school 3k miles away. UGH! I’m grateful to all of you… glad we are going through this together!! I love CC!!
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Roommates, advisors, and dorms have been assigned, classes/teachers scheduled. It’s great because we can see everyone in each class and in the dorm. Daughter’s roommate isn’t in any of her classes either.
Drop off is September 5 for her as well, but they are only on campus for one night and then they head off to their 5-day backpacking orientation trip. I have said to so many people over the past few weeks - these are dedicated teachers to be not only teaching and living and eating with their students, but also heading out into the woods for five days with them! 
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