Everything about choate

Prep School Admissions
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Hey @Choatie2019 Woah. I’m gonna try to answer these questions as efficiently as I can for you. Tell me if you have any more :smile: .

Sadly, there is neither a thirds lacrosse team or a thirds hockey team. Our JV girls hockey team is pretty easy to make if you have some prior experience, but I think our JV lacrosse team is pretty competitive. Varsity teams of both sports are very challenging and require a lot of prior experience. I would recommend practicing over the summer to make sure you’re ready for your season. If you don’t make either teams, there are tons of other options. This happened to me fall term, and I was just fine. You can find a new sport that you like, do an intramural for a sport that you play in a different season, do fitness and conditioning (which is actually pretty great), etc.

In my opinion, YES! I recommend trying the burrito first though.

I know you asked about overall dorms, but I’m just going to give you a synopsis of the freshmen dorms. When you get here, you’ll see the dorms for the other grades. All the freshmen boys live in Memorial House (Mem), so that’s it for them. As a freshman girl, you will either live in Squire, Pitman, or Nichols. Nichols is pretty big hosting about 40 girls. I would say it has about ten singles. Pitman hosts 14 girls, with one REALLY big room and no singles. Squire is ore like cozy house and hosts only 9 girls. I think it has 3 singles, a triple, and some doubles. All three of the dorms have a really different feel. I would say it’s unlikely to get a single, but it’s not impossible. However, I recommend getting a roommate freshman year. It’s part of the boarding school experience and will help you grow as a person. Trust me, you will learn a lot about yourself in the process.

You can totally bring a bicycle if you want. Not many people do, but feel free to do so. A lot of people make use of skateboards and scooters, but we recently got a new mandatory helmet rule for using any of these transportation methods, so keep that in mind.

People wake up whenever they want. After curfew, you technically can’t leave the dorm until 6AM for safety reasons, but that’s the main restriction. If you get up early to do work, just be quiet and mindful of others, and you should be fine. I would say most people get up between 6:30 and 7:30 depending on how long it takes them to get ready, if they have homework to do, whether or not they feel like going to breakfast, and whether or not they have a sleep-in. For reference, the first class period begins at 8AM.

Yeah, we’re really just normal teenagers, I promise. Literally everyone uses social media just like at normal high schools.

Yes, I kept in touch with my old friends. In fact, most people do. Even though we go to school at Choate, everyone looks forward to going home for breaks and seeing all of their old friends. People FaceTime, text, etc. all the time.

You can go to town after class without telling anyone. You just have to make sure that you aren’t missing a commitment (such as a sport practice or a club) and are back by study hours (7:30). On the weekend, you have to sing out for where you’ll be after 7:30, so you would literally just write “town” next t your name on the sheet in the common room and then be on your way.

I’m not in any type of math club, so I’m not sure :frowning: sorry. But I can tell you that there is a club fair at the beginning of the year where the math club should have a booth and you’ll be able to ask them all the questions you have.

It depends. Some people are in tons of random clubs. Some people are in none. Personally, I am dedicated member of about three clubs, but am technically in a few others. I recommend jointing a few clubs that you really care about freshmen year to meet people and do what you enjoy. I’m going to branch out and join some more next year. Sometimes it can be overwhelming to have too much on your plate, and the trust me, you’ll have a lot being thrown at you in the beginning of freshmen year.

Ummm I think it’s just another scholarship program. I have a friend who’s in it, and I think he just has to keep his grades up and have some meetings with Dr. Curtis (our headmaster) sometimes. I don’t know how it really works.

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Yay! Thank you! @prepschoolhopes

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@prepschoolhopes I have a couple questions

  1. I have heard from friends that go to prep schools that Choate is a party school. Do you agree with this? Why or Why not?
  2. Seeing as Choate is one of the larger Prep schools would you say that it means there are less or more opportunities? More because there are more students so more clubs, classes, etc. or less because there are more students trying to do the same things so they are hard to get?
  3. Would you say Choate is a sink or swim school?
  4. I know a lot of day students at Choate but I would be boarding how is the relationship between boarding and day students?
  5. How does the advisory system work? Do you keep the same advisor your whole time at Choate?
  6. What is your favorite and least favorite thing about Choate?
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As the mom to someone who will be a day student, I spoke to at least half a dozen parents about the integration of day/boarding students. Seems that most day students spend at least 12 hours on campus and eat all of their meals in the dining hall with everyone else. I plan on feeling like an empty-nester…So, aside from them doing the study hall time (which they could do there if they wanted) and sleeping in a dorm, does not seem that there is much difference. Let me know if this is inaccurate.

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Yep. Pretty much the only difference between day students and boarders is where you lay your head at night.

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I believe that was my quote :slight_smile:

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It probably was @skieurope and so true it just stuck as the best and final word. :wink:

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Hey @bschoolsearcher Tell me if these answers help

1.) Yeah, I heard that a lot before I came here, and still here that we get that rep from other schools. I mean we have pretty good dances and stuff and I know we’ve historically been a very fun BS to attend. However, I don’t think there’s anything that overly makes us a party school.

2.) I would say the answer to both of your questions is both. Because of our large student body, there are a lot more clubs and groups for people to join. It’s often easy to find like-minded people to pursue your interests with. However, sometimes the exact opposite can be true. For example, when it comes to sports, it is harder to make a JV or varsity team when you are going up against so many experienced people. It all balances out though.

3.) No, I wouldn’t say that at all. There are so many ways to get help when you need it. teachers actually are dedicated to helping you. Your advisor will go out of their way to help you. Even in sports, you can ask someone to train you for your upcoming season. Some people will find it easier than others and some people will find that it isn’t the right environment for them, but there is a large in-between.

4.) For the most part, what @mexusa said is correct. However, as I said a few comments earlier, there is a pretty distinct divide between the boarding and day students freshmen year. When you think about it, it’s quite natural. The boarding students are having a lot of dorm-bonding experiences. The day students spend most of their free time in the DSL (day-student lounge). It’s quite natural that the groups are a little separated. This is not to say that you won’t have plenty of day student friends though. You’ll be fine.

5.) Boarding students get new advisors every year because their advisors live in their dorm. I think day students keep the same advisor for all four years. Boarding students also have mug nights (eat in your advisor’s apartment and chat with your fellow advisees) with their advisor about once every two weeks. There is such a thing as day student mug nights, but I don’t now how they work. Otherwise, you can meet with your advisor whenever you need to/want to by shooting them a quick email or just going to their apartment (if you’re a boarder).

6.) I get asked this question all the time, but it’s still extremely hard to answer. I would have to say that my favorite thing is the overall Choate experience. Going to boarding school and being with your friends all the time is actually really amazing and fun. I thoroughly enjoy it. My least favorite thing would have to be cliques. I know this is a typical high school things and is basically impossible to avoid at a very large high school, but I come from a small middle school and never really experienced it. It does seem to be less of an issue in the upper grades though, so we’ll see.

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Thank you for your answer @prepschoolhopes . I am really starting to lean towards Choate. Today I was looking at the Course Catalog and their are so many amazing classes that I would love to take. I was wondering if the younger grades are able to take the really specific elective classes or if these are mainly for the upper grades. Could you list the courses that you have taken as a freshman at Choate and how all of that works.

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In terms of the cooler classes, you can’t really start taking a lot of them them until you’re an upperclassman (11th & 12th grade). Freshmen year most people only take five classes each term while some people get the dean’s permission to take a sixth course. You have four mandatory yearlong courses: English 100, your math course, your language course, and physics. You have one spot left for an elective. You will most likely take world religions for a term, contemporary issues for a term, and an arts class of your choice for a term. The first two are graduation requirements. You also have to take three arts courses as a graduation requirement, so most people get one over with freshman year.

By sophomore year, your options open up a bit more. I recently finished making my course selections for next year. I still have some mandatory year-long classes (english, my math course, chemistry, and world history, and my language) but I’m taking six classes for two terms to allow myself to take some of the more interesting electives. Some people have less mandatory classes (they may have already competed level 300 of a language or are taking the two-term precalc class) which gives them another free period to take an elective.

I’m happy to answer all of your questions. Will you be coming to one of our revisit days? @bschoolsearcher

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I am coming to a revisit day however I don’t feel comfortable disclosing which date on here. I would be happy to PM it though.

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thanks for all the help @prepschoolhopes

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Hey guys. There is no dress code at choate rite. But is their the “line” that you should never cross with clothes? What kind of clothes should i bring in the beginning of the school year. Also, I play an instrument that is quite big. Should I bring it with me?

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Choate does indeed have a dress code;check the handbook. Leave the piano at home. :wink:

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@ChoatieMom‌ how about an alto sax?

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Dress code for guys is called “class dress.” Needed for class and dining hall. No shirts without collars, so go get those polos/button downs. Normal length shorts are fine (not cutoffs), khakis are the norm. IDK about jeans. As @ChoatieMom says, check the handbook. It is more casual than some other BS, but still has a code.
Girls have it easier, more flexibility. Just leave your Daisy Dukes at home. My DD plans on wearing a lot of skirts with leggings. Comfortable shoes are a must for all. Lots of walking!

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@madswimmer132: Contact the music department about your sax.

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Article about the dress code: http://thenews.choate.edu/article/dialing-down-dress-code

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@Choatie2019 I saw your question about the math team and got super excited… I absolutely love the math team at Choate; it is one of things I look forward to most. It is not terribly difficult to get on the JV math team (it is split into JV and Varsity), but even if you don’t, you can still participate in practice and some competitions. We go to competitions at other CT high schools several times a year, participate ~weekly in online competitions, and go to a few bigger (all day) competitions once or twice a year. Hope that answers your question?

The other people on this thread are obviously doing an amazing job of answering questions, but if you (or anyone else) have any questions about STEM related stuff, I’d be happy to try and answer them!

40

Parent here: wondering if it takes forever to get back grades. Pet peeve of mine is when teachers are adamant about due dates and yet take months to actually grade the students’ work! Makes it very hard for student to get a read on how they are doing.