Choate

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>Hi everyone,
The purpose of this thread is to further my knowledge of Choate.
I have interviewed there already, but I feel like there is always more things to learn about a school. Can anyone who currently goes there, an alumni, or a current applicant who is willing to share loads on the school, help me out?</p>

<p>Some questions you can help answer are:</p>

<p>-What are the dorms like?
-Is there a good dance program?
-Is Choate just as good academically with course offerings and college matriculation as Andover, Exeter, Deerfield, and Groton?
-What is the town of Wallingford like? When I went there, I found it a bit barren and empty.</p>

<p>Etc.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>It’s a great school, and is in the same tier as the schools you mentioned. Wallingford is a nice town - not bad at all especially considering so many boarding schools are “in the middle of nowhere”.</p>

3

<p>I’m not quite sure Choate is in the same tier. I’m bound to be a little biased, but from what I see comparing the college matriculation lists of Choate, Exeter, and Andover, there’s a definite difference - a difference that is not proportional to Choate’s difference in graduating class size (230). Then again college isn’t everything. You attend these schools because you want to attend the schools, not the colleges that graduates often attend. And Choate’s matriculation record is definitely very good.</p>

<p>[Choate</a> Rosemary Hall: Academics » College Counseling » Matriculations](<a href=“http://www.choate.edu/academics/academics_college_matriculations.aspx]Choate”>http://www.choate.edu/academics/academics_college_matriculations.aspx)</p>

<p>[College</a> Office Newsletter - College Matriculation 2006 - 2008<a href=“Exeter’s%20list%20covers%20three%20years%20so%20divide%20each%20total%20by%20three%20for%20a%20rough%20average”>/url</a></p>

<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.andover.edu/Academics/CollegeCounseling/Pages/SchoolProfileCollegeMatriculations.aspx]Phillips”>http://www.andover.edu/Academics/CollegeCounseling/Pages/SchoolProfileCollegeMatriculations.aspx]Phillips</a> Academy - School Profile & College Matriculations](<a href=“http://college.exeter.edu/published/newsletters/College%20Matriculation_2006-2008.html]College”>http://college.exeter.edu/published/newsletters/College%20Matriculation_2006-2008.html)</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.deerfield.edu/files/2009Matriclist.PDF[/url]”>http://www.deerfield.edu/files/2009Matriclist.PDF&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>[Groton</a> School :: Academics :: College Matriculation 2005 - 2009](<a href=“http://www.groton.org/contentPage.aspx?pageId=45141&sectionId=401]Groton”>http://www.groton.org/contentPage.aspx?pageId=45141&sectionId=401)</p>

<p>When viewing the lists, keep in mind the schools’ differing sizes (E/A 1,100 students, graduating classes ~330; Deerfield 550 students, graduating classes ~170; Groton is tiny)</p>

4

<p>Does anyone know Choate´s rough SSAT average, since they don´t publish it on boardingschoolreview? And do lower SSAT scores of international applicants whose primary language is not English hurt the chances of admission a lot?</p>

5

<p>My guess is low to mid 80’s. Your other question is hard to answer. It depends on how low it is, whom you are competing a spot with, and how strong your other qualifications are, etc.</p>

6

<p>I think I heard 92nd percentile last year. That makes sense, because average SATs of this year’s senior class is over 2100. There are lots of international students- most of them seem really smart!</p>

7

<p>If I remember correctly, Choate’s 2009 SSAT average was about 85% overall. I think I read it on the school website.</p>

8

<p>baystateresident, would you mind providing the link to the source of your data? I’ve been searching for Choate’s school profile online but I just can’t find it and boardingschoolreview, outdated as ever, lists Choate’s average SAT store as 2019.</p>

9

<p>The only place I would have seen the SSAT score is the school’s newspaper. The 2100 figure was given to us by a college counselor this year. I think that the schools have to pay Boarding School Review to add their data? Maybe that’s why it’s not always up to date? I’m sure there are students who bring other talents to the school (hockey!) that they don’t want to discourage because of SSAT scores. There are quite a number of international students at Choate, SSAT scores might be more important for them because their middle schools are not as well known. But really, I’m just speculating here. I know that there are quite a few different levels of math classes and science classes so that everyone’s needs can be met.</p>

10

<p>I really don’t know about boardingschoolreview. I emailed them and provided them with Andover’s acceptance rate and average SAT score from last year’s school profile, and they promptly changed their figures on Andover’s page.</p>

11

<p>What do you guys think of GoChoate! ? I think its kind of annoying but good in a way. I also like the paper applications more so maybe I’m just old fashioned :/</p>

12

<p>I LOVE GoChoate! I wish all applications were like it. Even the recs are online 8D</p>

13

<p>not sure if you’re still here, but PM Saer. she’s a current student there and i’m sure she’d be glad to help (or look through her old posts on this forum, she’s basically a choate cheerleader!)</p>

<p>choate got brand-new grade 10 dorms. i heard they’re pretty awesome. here’s a picture of a dorm room at choate (LOL THANKS SAER): <a href=“http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs238.snc1/8531_1218384013481_1045318046_707919_6074722_n.jpg[/url]”>http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs238.snc1/8531_1218384013481_1045318046_707919_6074722_n.jpg&lt;/a&gt;
pretty awesome! also, there’s a large window which you can’t see in that photo.
oooh, and there’s a little closet hanger nook thing! how awesome.
<a href=“http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs218.snc1/8531_1214468315591_1045318046_693875_2817233_n.jpg[/url]”>http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs218.snc1/8531_1214468315591_1045318046_693875_2817233_n.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>hahaha, good luck :P</p>

14

<p>those new dorms WERE really nice. i saw them on my tour. hehe i love the facilities :D</p>

15

<p>Haven’t posted in a while so I’ll disclose my qualifications to answer your question (and biases). I am a Choate alum. with a child who has been there two and a half years and is a junior. So I am obviously somewhat biased.</p>

<p>Dorms at Choate are pretty nice. As another poster has mentioned, the school has just completed two new dorms - one for girls and the other for boys. Houses primarily 10th graders. Remaining dorms are a mixed bag. Some large houses, some smaller and somewhat funkier dorms. Mix of doubles and singles, with a few triples. Room assignments are by a complex lottery system.</p>

<p>I believe Choate has a top notch dance program (although I don’t have personal knowledge about this). PMAC (Paul Mellon Arts Center) is a multi-million dollar, I.M. Pei (Sp?) designed performing arts center.</p>

<p>Academically I think Choate is as strong as any top tier boarding school. Moreover, because it is larger than a school like Groton or Deerfield will have a larger course selection and more electives. I will admit that Andover, Exeter and Deerfield do SLIGHTLY better in college matriculation than Choate. However, a look at matriculation data for last five years shows that the schools Choaties are most likely to attend include Yale, Georgetown, NYU, Penn, Harvard, Princeton, Johns Hopkins, Cornell, Columbia, etc. - which is not too shabby. Also, you do need to be a little careful when looking at this data. All these colleges favor legacies. It is my belief, although I admittedly have no data to prove it, that Choate tends to be more diverse than schools like St. Pauls, Deerfield and Groton and is less likely to have students whose parents attended an Ivy League college.</p>

<p>As for Wallingford - I see that as a plus. The school is within walking distance of a couple of nice restaurants, Walmart, and a movie theater. A 25 minute train ride gets you to New Haven and a 2 hour train ride gets you to NYC. Some of the other top schools (Deerfield, Groton, Hotchkiss for example) are kind of in the middle of nowhere.</p>

16

<p>Hey, former student here.
Dorms are pretty good. If you’re a freshman, you’ll be in Nichols or Squire. I would personally have preferred to be in Squire as a freshman, but you meet more people in Nichols.
There’s a great dance and theater program. I’d venture so far to say that Choate has one of the best art programs in a boarding school. We have an entire building dedicated to art (two buildings, really), and besides dance, there are a lot of art programs and classes you can take even if you aren’t experienced.
Yes, they’re all in the same rank.
Because it’s a bigger school than Deerfield and Groton, it has more course offerings. I took Fantasy and Fiction last winter and Music of the 1960’s last spring. The latter was my favorite course I’ve ever taken. There’s a wide breadth.
Wallingford is … small. There’s a Main Street, really close to campus, where I spent a lot of time at Half Moon. There’s also Archie’s. Those are the two main restaurants, and Michael’s Trattoria for Parents’ Weekend or fancier stuff. The best part, though, is that New Haven is 15 minutes away. My dad was from New York, and he visited often; when he did, I always went there with him and a friend.
PM me if you need.</p>

17

<p>Thanks guys! Those of you who applied to Choate this year, what did you think of the short answer & essay questions? I liked them even though it was a bit tricky to come up with creative and original answers to all of them.</p>

<p>Were there ones you especially liked or disliked?</p>

18

<p>olivia, so I assume you graduate from Choate. Where are you going to college? Did you find the college counseling at Choate helpful?</p>

19

<p>bumping this thread!</p>

20

<p>average ssat last year was an 87 according to my interviewer. love this school</p>