<p>I graduated about 8 years ago. I’ve never heard anyone call Choate a “party school” but I can only imagine that it’s a person that’s never been to a party before, at least for boarders, or attended Choate. At any rate, if a person wanted a party school, then a public high school would be both less expensive and more fun in that regard (excepting, of course, living with your parents). Drugs are fairly pervasive, but it’s more of a joyless kind of hobby some people take up - there’s coke, adderall, painkillers, cigarettes, and alcohol but it’s all fairly hushed up - it’s all basically for escapism and not really celebratory. I sincerely doubt Choate has changed much. The rules and penalties will still be harsh. Much of the student body will be intolerable as cliques are pervasive and stress levels are extremely high - all this coupled of course with an almost unsurpassed arrogance that both the school and age foster in the students. I don’t except myself from this criticism, at least for when I went there.
Academically, Choate is very difficult but someone of prodigious abilities might find it easy (just as they’d find anywhere else easy). There’s a lot of work and much of it is at a college level of difficulty or beyond qualitatively. As I mentioned in my prior post, a person might find Choate easy if they don’t mind the curfews and regulations - if, in essence, they’ve got a child’s or religious adherent’s willingness to conform to the rigid restrictions of authority and an atypical adult’s vigorous work ethic. A person might also find Choate easy if they’re totally apathetic and comfortable with very poor performance which, if you go to Choate and your parents haven’t donated your way in, you’re probably not.
I don’t think Choate has changed because the problems with the school were systematic. They couldn’t have changed without a massive overhaul of the environment and such an overhaul is simply too grand and too unrealistic.</p>
<p>As a piece of advice to prospectives and looking back at something I wish I’d done:
If you’re wealthy enough and your parents are trusting enough, I’d recommend that you rent a place off campus, particularly in your later years (5th and 6th form). Having the power to come and go as you please, to set your own schedule (e.g. when you eat, for first years - when you go to sleep) and having better food might not seem like much, but it would, I think for most people, eliminate some of the stress and at least reduce the probability that you’d be suspended or expelled or placed on restriction later, if or when you, as at least a susbstantial minority does, decide to break some of the more major rules. Essentially, you’d have privacy and some measure of freedom. (As a warning: at least some of the teachers, I swear, make it their life’s work to try to catch people breaking the rules, so be careful if or when you choose to do so. You’ll know them because much of the student body will hate them.) </p>
<p>I think that should clarify my post and this will be the last I have to say on the subject. I figured some warning was owed to anyone considering the school, so they can at least begin to prepare themselves mentally. Just remember, if you’re already intent on going and you happen, in the stupendously unlikely event, to think back to this post during the tougher times, your time there is finite - it’s only four years and you won’t remember much of it because it goes so fast and because of sleep deprivation. I promise college will be different and, if you don’t believe me, take full advantage of the prefrosh opportunities lots of schools have your senior year, particularly if you can stay with graduates on your college visits. Really, as I recall, for me prefrosh was just parties, drinking, and women. Good luck.</p>