Our son is applying to just two schools- Hotchkiss and Choate for Fall 2023 as a grade 10 reclass coming from a good public school in CT.
We loved the Hotchkiss campus. The close-knit feel, the traditional yet diverse vibe, the athletic center etc. The in-person tour and interview process was excellent as well—parents were interviewed separately.
It is secluded, with an immersive environment. 2 hours drive for us from home. Tons of nature around. That is a plus or a minus depending on the student needs. Less distractions perhaps. Farm, Ski, Lakes, sailing, crew. Smaller student body size. New coaches are building the baseball and hockey programs up. Getting to the games and parent events will be more driving for us.
We loved the Choate campus tour. The two student guides were fabulous. Lively vibe. Modern facilities including robotics lab! Young, new, dynamic head coach is going to build the baseball program. Great athletic center. One hour drive from home. Easier for us to be more engaged at Campus. More day students and more access to off campus activities changes the feel- plus or minus again depending on the student need.
We will be delighted to see our son accepted at either schools.
Choate may not have the endowment of Hotchkiss but the school is not afraid to spend money on infrastructure. Choate just bought the Wallingford Victorian Inn (55 N Main Street) to serve as a lodge for visiting parents and guests of the school. On the drawing board is a brand new admissions center (pending zoning approval). The renovation of Hill House is top notch.
Hotchkiss, on the other hand, offers superior athletic facilities particularly when it comes to hockey and swimming.
Parent of a daughter (Williams '22, Hotchkiss '18) who did a thorough search and ended up choosing among offers at Exeter, Andover, Deerfield, and Hotchkiss. Choate wasn’t on the list; she was raised in the Midwest and very much didn’t care for the Stepford air of the eastern Connecticut 'burbs or the whole “Choatie” nonsense. (She’s consistent, at least; Swarthmore got the axe because of the self-referential “Swattie” BS.)
Here’s what I’ll tell you about Hotchkiss: tour guides, revisit day swag, townies, playing fields, preppy vibe, and all the other blah-blah ephemera aside, it is impossible for me to imagine a place that would have done a better job of cultivating in her a passion for and a true joy in learning, that would have put her in better proximity to first-quality human beings (students, staff, and faculty), or that would have better prepared her for her extraordinary success (honors graduate, All-American athlete, campus leader) at Williams College. The Hotchkiss School took a bright kid from the provinces and, in a supportive environment populated with people at all strata who know what really matters, sharpened the many tools that brought her success at Williams.
I paid a ton of money to send her to Hotchkiss. I would do it again in a flat heartbeat. She will take a piece of that school with her in meaningful ways through every single day of her life. I can’t imagine having given my daughter any more valuable legacy than her time there. If that matters to you, you would do well to chose it.
Huh…I’m going to assume that is just playful banter. Mostly, because none of it is true.
Our kids were raised in the mountain west on healthy servings of hiking, climbing, mountain biking, skiing and just about everything else that the outdoors has to offer. My oldest had the most amazing four years of his life at Choate and was shaped into a person of character, service and leadership who is now at the US Air Force Academy (not so Stepford…). My youngest has similarly grown in ways we could never have imagined and is on his way to his own non-Stepford life after Choate.
Fact is, both schools are amazing. You can’t go wrong choosing either. If schools were ice cream, these would be two different flavors that both taste incredible.
So happy to read this, albeit several months later! DS will be a prep at Hotchkiss this fall and we are thrilled for him. It’s the Goldilocks school as far as I’m concerned–everything we were looking for in the “just right” measure. Academically rigorous, but with a super supportive Teaching and Learning Center; a rural campus (with it’s own farm!) but only two hours from our home in NYC; the perfect mix of traditional and progressive; global in outlook with a warm, supportive community; foreign students who come from a wide range of countries, not just the 2 or 3 usually represented at US boarding schools; kids who are brainy, sporty, and artistic in seemingly equal measure; not too big, and not too small… just the right size at just under 600 students … I could go on and on.
So funny how people can have such different opinions. I would have 100% said that Hotchkiss is Stepford and Choate had a more urban feel to us. My daughter is going to Choate this fall. Bottom line - both are great schools and our children are lucky to have this opportunity.
Hotchkiss needs to be a little more aggressive when it comes to football recruiting. More than a few NEPSAC football playing schools are passing it by…most recently: Exeter
No. With only about 300 boys, Hotchkiss could not hope to compete well in football against bigger schools without lowering its standards in other areas, especially academic potential and fit. Schools of the size of Hotchkiss can not be great at everything.
All schools pick their sport “areas of excellence”. Hotchkiss isn’t going to actively recruit for many football players, and this is a deliberate decision. Most of the team is composed of multi-sport athletes, and football is for fun but not their primary athletic pursuit. A lot of hockey players, lacrosse players, etc.
Even Exeter and Andover, with their large student bodies, emphasize and recruit in certain sports over others.
That having been said…Hotchkiss football is trying to rebound from near the cellar to at least field a somewhat competitive team.
