<p>My daughter is at the point to choose her next school. She is good at the arts including theater, sculpture and chorus. She is an A+ math student and has gotten top score in both private school tests ERBs and ISEEs. She is best with small groups but is social with kids that have academic interests and has friends from preschool.</p>
<p>We are considering Hopkins versus Choate. We have received extreme opinions on both. For example Choate people say Hopkins is just a prep school for college whereas they are well rounded. I have, however, heard from some non-boarding students at Choate who feel the social atmosphere is very bad for them. My daughter is very not into sports she swims but is not interested in team sports. People say that that would not be good at Choate. Also my niece and nephew are very into CT sports and say that Choate students are very bad sportsmen (say most cheating of any school they play).</p>
<p>You can see we are leaning towards Hopkins. I am interested in Choate still because of the greater focus on the Arts program. I am a bit afraid to condier it though because my daughter is not outgoing in large groups and I do not want her to board.</p>
<p>I think you need to chat with parents of dayhops at Choate. What do those parents think of the Choate experience for day students?</p>
<p>Another point: Choate is a great school but you need to look at their athletic program and how you’ll balance that with your daughter’s arts interests. </p>
<p>Hopkins gets great reviews and I hear of several kids that commute from lower Fairfield County to attend. I’ve not heard that about Choate …</p>
<p>(I was a day student at Loomis-Chaffee in the days before girl boarding at LC)</p>
<p>Actually, we know several students who commute from Fairfield County to Choate. I have found that the school places a great deal of emphasis on character and sportsmanship, but can’t speak for the rowdier sports like ice hockey where the crowds are no better or worse than any of its peer schools. Ir sounds like you might be happier at Hopkins though. Good luck!</p>
<p>I know several current and former day students at Choate and all of them agree that the social atmosphere is different for day students than for boarders. Day students miss a lot because they just aren’t there much of the time, so they miss a lot of the social connection. A few described feeling like outsiders. One of them disliked it so much that she decided to board after her first year, despite the fact that her parents live 25 minutes from Choate. She was much, much happier after doing so and told me she finally felt like a real Choate student.</p>
<p>All the current/former Hopkins students I know love/loved it.</p>
<p>This is for “firelady”…As a mom of 2 that currently attend (and board) at Choate, I can firsthand tell you that it is an incredible experience (educationally, athletically, artistically, socially etc…). Every faculty member knows every student and the campus is warm and inviting (it is truly a home away from home). Students forge friendships for a lifetime with other students and faculty members. I have to disagree with the comments regarding Day students not getting the full benefit of boarding school and feeling like outsiders. To the contrary, most day students arrive on campus around 7 am and do not leave until late at night (some go to the library for study hours), crash in friends rooms during the day etc… Most if not all day students eat every meal on campus (even though they do not pay for meals in their day student tuition). Some of my kids closest friends are day students. As for the arts program at Choate, some noted alumni include, Glenn Close, Michael Douglas, Paul Giammati and the list goes on and on. If your daughter wishes to concentrate on the arts, there is an arts concentration program. Here is a link from the Choate website [Choate</a> Rosemary Hall: Academics » Special Academic Opportunities » Arts Concentration](<a href=“http://www.choate.edu/academics/special_artsconcentration.aspx]Choate”>http://www.choate.edu/academics/special_artsconcentration.aspx)</p>
<p>Choosing a boarding school can be difficult. I definately recommend visiting any prospective school that you plan on applying to. Something else to consider is the location of the school. For example, Choate is right in Wallingford, it is not set back and isolated out of the city (like Hotchkiss for example). Students can walk into town to local restaurants (a favorite is Half Moon or Archie Moores) etc…</p>
<p>Hope this helps a bit, let me know if you need any other info.</p>
<p>Well my daughter will be going to Hopkins in September. She is very excited and
I am hoping she will enjoy it. Many people have commented about how they love Choate but I did not want her to board. We live nearby both but people whose kid’s were
day students at Choate felt problems with the social atmosphere unless they spend weekends and evenings there.</p>
<p>I know Hopkins made the most recent Forbes List, and its one of the oldest schools in the country, but I don’t think it has the same reputation as Choate, esp outside of NE. But more importantly, you’re also trying to compare apples to oranges, boarding school vs. day school. At Hopkins, where everyone is a day student, your daughter will be in the majority. At Choate, most kids board, so day students are in the minority, but can get the full experience by spending all free time there. But it will be a different.</p>
<p>Given that Choate is a boarding school, there will be more diversity from kids coming from all over the country. At a day school, by necessity all kids are local, i.e. less diversity. I think you have to figure out what you want. Hopkins is a great day school, I’m not dissing it, but aside from Yale matriculations, I also think another difference lies in matriculation to HYPMS and other IVIES. Hopkins also selects 40% of applicants, Choate is more selective at 23%. Although they both have academic rigor, that may be where the similiarities end.</p>