<p>What can you tell me about Ethel Walker? I am thinking about applying there. Anything would help, positive or negative. Thanks so much!</p>
<p>3rd or 4th ranked all girls school, i think. first being emma willard (my opinion). it's for grade 6-12. very small school, about 261 females. its in simsbury connecticut. nice suburb and is 600 acres in total with half of it being a wooded area. has a lot of AP classes and offers, of course, a rigorous education. not very diverse, in my opinion. less than half of the student body are boarders. formal dress code. $17 million endowment so im guessing not a lot of financial aid offered. acceptance rate: 3 out of every five. ssat score average: 60%. high tuition of $41,000, most likely because of low endowment</p>
<p>Bahahaha. Just say no to Ethel Walker.
You can PM if you like.</p>
<p>Well, Ethel Walker's main strength, from my experience, is their equestrian program. If you are really into riding and would like to have a good place to stable your horse, etc they would be a good place for you. However, if you're looking for an all-girl's school and you're a competitive student, I would highly suggest looking at other options in the area. Miss Porter's, for example, has been ranked the #1 all girl's school, and it is less than 20 minutes away. Miss Porter's has a considerably strong riding team as well, and academics that are high and above Walker's (although I may be a bit biased :) ) in every sense of the word.</p>
<p>If you have any questions about any school in particular, or about the single-sex educational experience in general, feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>One thing to note about Ethel Walker is that it is small and has a high percentage of day students. I'd only rarely recommend it to a boarder for this reason.</p>
<p>on the topic of digressing with all-girls schools...
look into hockaday. it's worth looking at, though it's far from the New England area and has very few boarders. =/</p>
<p>miss porters as well as emma willard are the most commonly discussed boarding schools with good reason; they are the most recognized in academics. yay for academics!</p>
<p>I don't know much about Walker's except that it kind of has a reputation for having snobby, not-so-nice girls. </p>
<p>The riding program is good at Walker's, though from my impression it has a very competitive atmosphere that some girls wouldn't like (and I would disagree that Miss Porter's has a strong riding team in terms of IEA, they don't even have a full team of riders....though they may be strong as individuals you don't really have a chance team-wise with riders in only two of the divisions, but I guess if you're not concerned about doing well as a team then it may have a strong program...I don't know much about it.)</p>
<p>Happened across this while looking at CC for another reason - but very happy to step in and clear up some major misconceptions, as I am very familiar with Walker's.</p>
<ol>
<li>280 students. About 100 are boarders, and 80 are middle schoolers, so the day to boarding ratio in the Upper School is 1-1. The day and boarding programs are extremely integrated, with many boarding students being "adopted" by day students to ensure there is not a day vs boarding mentality. There is very little distinction between day and boarding when it comes to classes, athletics, or socialization, along with extra curriculars or the arts.</li>
<li>The riding program (in which only about 1/4 of the students participate, as there are strong athletics and arts programs), has riders from beginner to high competitive levels, many having come through the ranks from novice. It caters to all levels. Whatever the student wants.</li>
<li>Academics are very strong, with AP classes, exchange programs, independent study and more. Look at the college recruiting list on their website to see which colleges look for Walker's girls.</li>
<li>Not so nice, snobby girls - NOT! Quite the opposite - the ethos of the school is very strong in terms of, for lack of a better word, "Niceness." Students who even attempt mean girl activity are reprimanded. It is simply not tolerated. "Snobby" has never been associated with Walker's - every student is encouraged to be exactly who they want to be - and in response, every student is expected to tolerate who others are.</li>
<li>"Not very diverse." The student body is EXTREMELY diverse - someone recently said they see more of the world at Walker's than they would at any public school. Check the stats on their site - Korea, Japan, China, Germany, Czech and more, as well as a very wide variety of socieconomic backgrounds, not to mention students from across the US.</li>
<li>$2.9 million in financial aid. Many students on full aid, and many in between. The figure of 60% at high tuition is extremely, extremely, incorrect.</li>
<li>Dress code - there are guidelines for dress (ie, no patterned shirts), and "formal" uniform (white shirt, grey skirt) is only required at certain events. Casual.</li>
</ol>
<p>Not mentioned in detail: very strong athletics, visual arts, music and dance programs, as well as theater. Lacrosse, soccer, field hockey, basketball, volleyball and more, extremely aggressive and competitive. New athletic director (2nd year) has put a new, and deserving face on the program. The school is very active in community service and the environment, and continues to grow in this area.</p>
<p>I suppose I've blown my cover - I do work at Walker's. Happening upon this thread and its misinformation was something I could not ignore! Feel free to PM for honest and accurate responses!</p>
<p>Marcom-</p>
<p>@ 4-- I'm sorry. They ARE snobby and loose. Thats their reputation among all of the single-sex schools. They may not show it to their teachers (they're not crazy) but I've seen 1st hand some of the things that go down on facebook, during dances, etc.</p>
<p>Yay for correcting misinformation! (It takes a village...)</p>
<p>diversity at the school is 20% and chances are their all asian....</p>
<p>diversity at the school is 20% and chances are their all asian....</p>
<p>^ YAY FOR ASIANS.</p>