Choate Rosemary Hall

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>Good morning all..
New poster, but not exactly new to the forum. Have lurked reading the objective and subjective, and very informative. </p>

<p>Having searched through previous discussions, I feel it would be interesting to read more from the students/parents prospective or actual, of Choate, and hear their positive and/or negative experiences. </p>

<p>There wasn't a multitude of chatter that I could find, and it would be helpful to get the feedback as a prospective parent. </p>

<p>Topic suggestions:
Courses - Arranging the student's schedule and any pitfalls to be careful of..
Clothing - though it's informal dress code, anything in particular NOT to wear, or what is popular?
Academics - is course load typically manageable, and the environment amongst the students
"down" time - is the school very cliquish? where do students "hang"?</p>

<p>I did read that the school is overall "great" and that's lovely - but some specifics would serve well, as would more realistic not-so-wonderful characteristics of anywhere one would send their child. Please elaborate if you desire. </p>

<p>A couple of the schools have long threads with informative insight; I am inclined to believe this inquiry would, perhaps, be useful for us as well as other "lurkers". </p>

<p>With much appreciation.. nes</p>

2

<p>I’ll bite! Course selection- there are lots of different “levels” and they seem to do a wonderful job of placing the students correctly, usually through placement tests. Dress code- the boys don’t seem to care, or be very brand conscious. The girls dress in a range from very preppy to eclectic. There’s a very diverse group of kids there, although they all seem very bright. Not too cliquey! Nice group of kids. Lots of supervision from caring teachers and advisors. Does that help?</p>

3

<p>Thank you for responding! This is helpful, I suppose maybe I am asking too much at this late date in the season. </p>

<p>Could you approximate when the placement tests are administered for an incoming prep?</p>

4

<p>I definitely would agree with all that Baystate said above. We were particularly drawn to the friendly, diverse, and academic community, and liked that there are a relatively large number (about 25%) students from abroad; 75% of students board. </p>

<p>Placement tests are given during the summer for math and language, of which there are many levels. Most all 3rd formers (9th graders) take physics for science – this is typical of many of the BSs now. Whether one is placed in honors or not depends on math placement. There is only one level of English - all 9th graders are in the same level, and this continues for English in 10th grade as well. </p>

<p>Courseload is manageable, and students can choose to take 5 or 6 classes, and can also choose to substitute participation in a performing arts production for a sport for one semester. But I would say that students do work hard, and its probably typical to spend around 4 -5 hours (depending on courses) per night on homework (though maybe less for 3rd formers, particularly during beginning of school year). Of course, the amount of time needed depends on the rigor of courses that each student is taking (which would be the case for any BS).</p>

<p>There are lights out policies for freshman (by 10:45), as well as internet access limits (shuts off at 8:00 pm), and required study hours in the evenings. These requirements decrease as students mature, with no such limits for juniors or seniors. </p>

<p>For down time, on weekends there are a variety of activities organized, from movies on campus, to dances just about every weekend, to offsite outings for restaurants. There is also an activity center on campus with pool tables, big screen tv, food area (that sells burgers, fries, quesadillas, shakes, etc.). The center of Wallingford with many more restaurants and a movie theater is a short walk from the campus as well. I think they spend alot of time just “hanging” too. (Whatever they are doing, I can’t get my S to come home unless the school is physically closed :).)</p>

<p>As the years go on, there are an abundance of AP courses, but there are also honors and basic courses for math, science, languages as well, so each student can find the right level for them.</p>

5

<p>Agree with Baystate and Skibum. I personally found the student body more diverse than at some of the other schools. Basically I think lots of different types of kids will be able to find a group they fit in with. Students also seem to be genuinely friendly.</p>

<p>Course selection is excellent. From what we’ve observed with our son Honors courses do tend to be very challenging and a lot of work. I know school offers Honors sections in most math, science and language classes. I had thought they also had Honors sections in English (even in 9th or 10th grade) and History. However, I’m not 100% sure on this and Skibum may be correct.</p>

<p>As for free time, if you don’t have class during the day you can go to your room, the library, hang out with friends, etc. Otherwise, students are kept pretty busy between classes, meals, sports in the afternoon and study time in rooms during the evening.</p>

<p>On weekends kids hang out with their friends, go to the student center (which has dances/activities every weekend), watch movies on campus (although my son complain they have too many “arty” films), go into town (Wallingford has lots of restaurants, a movie theater, a Walmart, etc.). We live about 2.5 hours from the school, but my son usually only comes home for long weekends. Also, a couple of times a term Choate does have Saturday classes, so that keeps them pretty busy.</p>

<p>Not sure what the dating scene is like (son doesn’t volunteer much information on this front). I have noticed in classes that I’ve attended that the boys all seem to sit on one side of the table and the girls all seem to sit on the other side. :slight_smile: Otherwise boys and girls do seem to interact with one another.</p>

6

<p>As far as I know, they do not have Honors English in 9th or 10th grade. They definitely have Honors in 11th and 12th, the kids take the AP Literature test after 11th and the AP English Language (?)- the writing one- after 12th.</p>

7

<p>Here’s the teen-girl perspective, which, as we all know, is one-sided, vain, and yet still informative. :slight_smile:
The guys were hot! Lots of good looking, neat, smart, and very kind guys all around. I saw a few new 9th graders (2013 students) who were shy and awkward looking, but nearly everyone at Choate right now was talkative, kind, and happy.</p>

<p>The classes were insanely engaging- by the end of my first class, English, on my revisit day, I was participating. I couldn’t really help it! And Spanish, a subject I HATE at my current school, was fun and I learned more in 50 minutes than in a typical week at my school. The work load seemed very manageable- in English, the kids had vocab words and a quiz the next day with an essay due the Wedneday after (that was about 5 days later). In Spanish, they had an activity from their textbook. In chemistry, they had a lab and quiz that day with no homework.</p>

<p>The teachers were great! And the food was SUPERB. Restaurant quality. And from the impression I got from current students, the food was like this almost all the time. Of course, near breaks the quality deteriorates a little, but not badly.</p>

<p>More later, if you like. Any specific questions for someone who is attending next year, and revisited?</p>