Hey guys. I was luckily admitted into Choate. I have so many questions about Choate and was wondering if there is anyone out in CC that can help me out.
I read all the “all about chiate” in its website but really, how is it? (generally) as in lifestyle.
Also, how do you guys shower every night lol
How good is the WIFI.
All the eating stuff. what food is available and are there shopping malls?
Haha anything about choate will help.
Search for posts from @ChoatieMom. She has posted tons of useful stuff.
I can tell you about the town area: typical CT town, not very diverse in population, latina part in south, closer to school, which brings some fun Mexican/PR restaurants and groceries to the area. Nice downtown area, very close to campus, with some popular Italian and yuppy type restaurants like Blue Moon, Jakes, Gaetanos. Walmart is close by, about a 12 minute walk from campus. Shopping malls are not close to the campus, plan on ordering online! IKEA is about half hour away driving.
Amtrak and Metro North train station is close to school, about 12 minute walk (not sure if there are taxis?). Both trains will bring you to NYC within 1.5 hours. Boston is 2 hours away, DC is about 6 hours away. Beach is about an hour away.
Campus is really beautiful. Buildings are mix of very old, traditional, brick/ivy/columns and new Leed buildings that look more modern. Just finished a new Math building, very nice.
Kids are genuinely nice, they smile, wave, and say thank you as you let them cross the street. Campus is always busy with something going on, whether it is Choate related or the space is being used by town or something.
Students are encouraged to volunteer in the community, so they get to know the town.
School has about 35-40%(?) day students from surrounding towns, who stay on campus all day, about 10-12 hours, doing their activities and study groups and hanging out with friends in the dorms. From what I heard, good mixing of boarders/day students, and sometimes day students host study groups at their homes. Most day students have Yale connections, as hundreds of local residents work there (only half hour away) and there are two feeder schools that are very heavily populated with Yale children.
Cafeteria smelled delicious when we went, broad assortment of food available. Nice sports facilities: ice hockey rink is the coldest in NE, pool is beautiful. and performing arts center is gorgeous.
Does this help answer any questions?
Hey. Wow, I haven’t been on CC since like April of last year, but I’m a current third form girl at Choate and would love to answer any questions you have.
It’s kind of hard to sum up the lifestyle of the school because there are all different groups and types of people. It all depends on what group you fit into and what people you get close to.
Ummm…the showering thing is kind of weird. Most girls shower everyday but the guys…well, they go more off of a “do I stink yet?” basis. Honestly, it all works out. Some people shower in the morning, some during the day, and some at night. Sometimes you’ll have to wait for a shower but I’ve never had to. Honestly, you ca just go shower in another floor’s bathroom if you don’t feel like waiting.
The WiFi is pretty good. They extended the hours for third formers (that’s freshmen btw) so it stays on until 10:30 on school nights (Sun-Thurs.), until midnight on Friday, and it doesn’t cut off on Saturday nights. Most of the time you can still get LTE if it’s already cut off and you have something to do. Most people use LTE to go on social media after lights out tbh.
Well, we switched dining services this year to a company that’s more eco-friendly. The food is pretty good. I heard the old service was better but I don’t really know. We have “burger and fries day” every Thursday and we have community lunch most Fridays, so you get an assigned table with a faculty member for the term. It’s actually not that bad and community lunch food is AMAZING. Our new math building just opened, and it has a cafe in it that is basically like a Starbucks. The coffee is great (lattes, capuchins, frappes, etc.). You can always go the tuck shop after school if you aren’t feeling the dining hall food. Most people order in Thai food, Chinese food, Indian food, or Domino’s pizza. And in terms of restaurants in town, my personal favs are Half Moon, Mr. D’s (a great candy and dessert place), Archie’s (they were voted the best wings in CT), and this Mexican place I forgot the name of.
There are a lot of mall trips to Westfarms (richer, more upper class) and Buckland Hills (more middle-class, teen stores) malls. In general, those are the malls they go to, and this other one that I’ve never been too lol. Walmart usually gets the job done though for most supplies and snacks.
Hope this helped. Do you have any more questions? I’d be happy to answer them.
Yes, the restaurant is Half Moon, not Blue Moon (the beer, I am over 21!). Mexican restaurant is probably Las Mariachis or Tata’s, which has a more Caribbean feel. Rivas market has good (authentic) tacos.
The mentioned malls are very far away, like 45 minutes driving.
So you are a swimmer? Will you be swimming at Choate? My DD also is a swimmer and will be on the team.
@madswimmer132 (and others): I’m always available for questions and am happy to help if I can.
Yes, the malls are a good distance away, but these are school trips, so you are brought by a Choate bus. It actually isn’t that bad of a ride when you’re with three or so friends and a group of Choate students.
However, don’t fall into the “you can walk to Walmart trap.” I mean, you can, but I would recommend taking the taxi. The walk is more like twenty-thirty minutes with no sidewalks if it’s winter and snow hasn’t been shoveled. The return trip is even slower when you’re weighed down by five or six bags. The only people who actually walk to Walmart are the innocent freshmen who haven’t been warned yet. Luckily, a sophomore friend (my revisit guide) saved me from that mistake.
Also, just to clarify, the day student group is more like 25-30% for freshmen year. I believe we have about 45-50 day students (some have switched to boarding) out of a freshmen class of about 170. To be quite honest, the two groups don’t really start mixing until sophomore year. However, by junior year, you don’t even know the difference anymore.
Question on the trains - specifically getting a train to Boston - do the students walk to Wallingford and then transfer trains in new haven or is there a shuttle to the station in new haven?
I’m also a current student at Choate (been there for a bit longer than prepschoolhopes has), so shoot me a message or post here if you have any more questions! I feel prepschoolhopes did a good job answering your original questions, but I’ll elaborate on some of them:
The lifestyle is… fast paced, I would say. Freshman year is pretty chill, in terms of work. As long as you don’t have issues living away from home (which most people don’t), freshman year is a blast. Sophomore year, and especially junior year, (and I’m sure senior fall/winter as well) you’ll definitely see an increase in the amount of work. Taking a hard courseload while maintaining good grades, doing sports, and managing clubs gets to be pretty stressful and can lead to late nights. Nonetheless, there are always friends to do homework with and talk to if you need. I have plenty more to say about the lifestyle, but I’m not quite sure what you want to know. Let me know and I’ll elaborate further.
There are showers in every dorm. I think there are probably around 2 showers every… 8 people? Depends on the dorm. I very rarely have to wait for a shower, as people wake up and go to sleep at different times, so usually the showers are open when you need.
The Wifi is decent. You should have no issues with most tasks, like research or streaming movies.
There are mall trips relatively often, but I usually shop during breaks so I don’t know much about that. The food is good; I personally liked last years better, but it’s still fine. There is a pasta station, a pizza station, a salad bar, a soup station, and a deli station at lunch and dinner, along with the rotating other options. While the food at Choate is good, I think that as time goes by, it’s very difficult not to get tired of it (I believe this is a problem at most dining halls). Nonetheless, I’d say our food is on par with or even better than most other NE prep schools. In addition, there are plenty of options in town for food if you really don’t feel like eating at the dining hall.
When it’s time to go home for a break, there are Choate shuttles running to the nearby airports (Bradley, JFK, & Boston) as well as the nearby train stations. There is a fee as expected. If your child wants to go home on a random weekend, they would probably need to call a taxi to get to the station or ask an advisor if you’re really uncomfortable with that idea. Transportation is no problem. The school has it down as they are very used to transporting students to and from school several times a year/
Or athletes who consider jogging/running with their stuff back to campus part of their workout. 
Questions about Choate: was looking over packet and saw that the day student tuition includes “access to dining hall”. Also heard a tour guide (a day student) mention that breakfast is the usual meeting place in a.m., but did not ask for clarification at time. So, is food included in day student tuition?
Also, are placement tests given for Math and languages? When?
Yes, food is included in the day student tuition. They can use the dining hall however they please just like boarding students. Most day students arrive around 7:30 AM to grab some breakfast before 8 AM classes.
Yes, placement tests are given for math and languages. You should receive rooming surveys soon and then placement tests come shortly after the due date for those. The math placement test is online and the language test is a scantron packet. If your child wants to take honors physics, there will be a recommendation sheet for them to give to their science teacher. Everything is subject to change, but this is how it was last year so it shouldn’t be too different now.
@prepschoolhopes Thank you for your answers, very helpful.
In regards to Walmart, drove there today. Yeah, bit of a hike and would not recommend walking!
No problem 
. If anyone has any more questions, they can comment them or PM me. I’ll be happy to help.
Hi I’m just wondering if you know how many kids roughly are admitted as new juniors and is it easy for them to settle in? as I’m guessing most friendships groups would be pretty solid by now, and I know its supposed to be the most difficult year academically. @podslove I’m assuming your a current junior? Thanks!
More questions! 
Are there girls thirds ice hockey and lacrosse? If so, how hard is it to get into them.
How hard is it to get into junior varsity? Varsity?
What if you can’t join jv or varsity (and no thirds)?
Are the tacos at the Mexican restaurants good? Are these restaurants far away?
How big are the dorms at Choate? Are singles hard to get for third formers?
Would a bicycle be useful? Do a lot of people use bicycles?
How early do most people wake up? How early can you wake up?
Do a lot of people use instagram and other social media thingies?
Did you keep in touch with friends at your old school?
Can I just go to the town after class or do I have to sign out or something?
How hard is it to join the math team/club/something at Choate? Do the members go to competitions?
How many clubs do people usually join?
What is the Headmaster’s Scholar program?
Thank you so much! You guys are awesome! GoChoate!
@lodoner15 Although I’m a freshman, I have a pretty solid relationship with about three students who were new juniors last year or are right now. In terms of friend groups, yes, most people have established themselves socially already, but between joining new clubs and sports, you should meet people more easily than you think. It will be hard at first, but everyone goes through that awkward transition period during the beginning of their first year. Junior year is typically known as the hardest year academically. Sadly, you don’t get the easier “work-your-way-up” transition that new freshmen and sophomores get. However, the fact that Choate has accepted you into such a challenging year means that they think you can handle it. So just relax. You’ll be fine. There will be hard times, but before you know it, you’ll realize that you have a very strong support system.