<p>Im thinking about applying here and was wondering if you guys could anwser ANY ofmy questions</p>
<p>What are the dorms like?
What are the dorm bathrooms like?
What is the food like?
Are the girls snooty or down to earth?
What are the academics like?
What factors are most important when applying?</p>
<p>Thanks so much!</p>
<p>I can actually answer all of your questions cause I am a junior there now!
What are the dorms like?
They are all really different, no two rooms are alike. Some have fireplaces (which we can’t use of course), closets, and sinks, one even has it’s own bathroom! The halls are all really close knit, dorm life is a blast. </p>
<p>What are the dorm bathrooms like?
Haha it depends on the hall. Some are super clean (like mine, which I only share with one other person because I live in an upperclassmen house separate from the main building), others are sorta gross (freshman hall!). But it isn’t really a big problem. </p>
<p>What is the food like?
Best school food I’ve ever had. Of course we all complain about it because it gets old after a while, but we all know it’s awesome. </p>
<p>Are the girls snooty or down to earth?
Very down to earth, there are very few snooty people! </p>
<p>What are the academics like?
Rigorous. Expect around an hour of homework per class a night (2 hours if it’s an AP). We all make it work though, time management is a must. </p>
<p>What factors are most important when applying?
I think Emma is great at really looking at the full picture. I had awful SSAT scores yet still manged to get in. I think it’s important to be involved in EC and the community. My interview was great too, which probably helped :)</p>
<p>@Samantha: your SSAT (overall 79%, from reading old posts) is not an awful score. Emma typical score is probably closer to the low 60s.</p>
<p>Dharmamom is right – a score in the 70s is not a bad score and is above the stated average at Emma of 66. For most schools the SSAT is but one piece of evidence that schools use to predict success. More often it validates what other pieces of the application suggest, rather than being the primary evidence.</p>
<p>It seemed to us that the day students brought down the SSAT average at Emma. There are some really bright day students. But, Emma didn’t seem to reject any applicants from their local rival girls school.
The facilities are really nice. Unfortunately it’s located in a dumpy city. Although, the students don’t really have to interact all that much outside of it’s walls.
If we had to do it all over again, we’d give Havergal a serious look. Great school in a real and safe city.</p>
<p>alexwoofour, do you have a child there? Have they found it to be an unsafe environment? Did you ask admissions about the accept/reject applicants to know of their decisions surrounding SSAT scores and day students? Our impression is that they have a fantastic mix of girls who make up a community that is friendly and nurturing and very intelligent and competitive (and not snooty). The curriculum did not seem to be so easy, so kids who get in, wherever they are from are expected to keep up. As for the city, we found the general area to be nice, but as in anywhere there are good sides and not so good sides. Even in the not so good side of town I didn’t feel our daughter would be particularly unsafe when compared to any other financially diverse city in the Country, not that she would have reason to go to that side of Troy.</p>
<p>We have found that the seedier side of Troy has absolutely no bearing on Emma, which is up on a hill and, without a doubt, the most beautiful campus we have ever seen. When we first drove through Troy we were definitely reminded that history hasn’t been so kind to some parts of this country, but over time we’ve come to Love many things in Troy. And it offers some great community service opportunities. Is Emma safe? Absolutely.</p>
<p>If it matters, there’s a Dinosaur BBQ in Troy now, right on the river.</p>
<p>There are FAR more dangerous cities than Troy. It’s actually a very safe city for its size. Some parts are indeed very dumpy - the aluminum siding salesmen were apparently VERY good in the 70s. </p>
<p>I know several families with very happy and very smart girls at Emma. My D was waitlisted there last year as a boarder. I don’t know about the role SSAT scores play in admissions. I would imagine they’re not very important. It is one of the only schools that will accept SAT scores in lieu of SSAT, as long as you scored at least a 500 on each section, which isn’t very remarkable. My D had very high SSAT scores and it didn’t help her so I don’t think they are trying to “improve their stats” or anything like that. Like most schools, they probably just use the SSAT as validation that the girls can do the work and have determined that a certain level will suffice.</p>
<p>To the OP, Emma’s campus is remarkably beautiful both inside and out. If you are a fan of dark wood paneling, marble, and leaded glass, you should love it.</p>
<p>The area is definitely safe. And as @neato points out, Troy now has a Dinosaur BBQ (although we don’t find it as good as the Syracuse original). Emma’s campus is really nice, and supported by several big time donors. Faculty is solid. Emma seems to have gotten much more popular lately, since one of the U.S. senators is an alum. It’s just that…there are nicer places to spend 4 years of your life than Troy. Also, for sports they play mostly against public schools; be prepared for an antiprivate school mentality from opponents and officials, which you don’t experience in NEPSAC or ISL. We did have a kid attend Emma and still stay in touch with a few Emma staff and alums.</p>
<p>I will admit Troy isn’t exactly the most exciting place, but it really is a historical place and some of the streets downtown are stunningly beautiful. I’m from south Florida though so this city/town seems safe in comparison. Like every city, there are good sides and bad sides, but we’ve never had an issue with safety. </p>
<p>As for my SSAT score, I was unaware of the average and only in talking to some of my friends here (most of which scored in the 90th percentile) have I started referring to my score as low. Here it really is about so much more than your SSAT score, which I think is great.</p>
<p>The Emma Willard campus is stunning and where they filmed “The Emperor’s Club”. Many NE boarding schools are in or near small towns with no great thrills.</p>
<p>“Scent of a Woman” was also filmed at Emma. As ops brings up, desirability of location is pretty subjective. There are some beautiful but isolated locations that may be less desirable than more urban ones, depending on what you want. As Samantha says, Troy has history and that can be very compelling too.</p>