<p>As some of you may know I'm applying to boarding school for tenth grade. I'm already certain I'm applying to St. Paul's and Andover, but I'd like to apply to two or three more schools. </p>
<p>I'd like to know more about Hotchkiss and Deerfield because they seem like really great schools, but there are a few minor things I don't like about them.</p>
<p>1) They are both really rural. How does this affect the student body? Is it hard to get basic necessities? What about weekends?</p>
<p>2) Diversity. I've heard Deerfield is one of the least diverse of the top boarding schools and I couldn't find and statistics on Hotchkiss' website regarding students of color. Could anyone comment on the level of diversity of the students at both of these schools?</p>
<p>3) Taking two foreign languages. This is something that is really important to me. I'd like to take both French and Spanish for the three years that I may be attending these schools. Is taking two foreign languages possible while also taking concert band/wind ensemble?</p>
<p>Thanks a lot, and also random comments about each school would be helpful, as well as suggestions for other schools to look at.</p>
<p>Deerfield is rural but is about 5 minutes to a downtown that has everything you could possibly need. Busses go there ALL the time.<br>
Weekends I know that students go to a mall (about a 30 minute trip) and to a very culturally interesting downtown (Northampton, MA). Boston is about 2 hours and NYC is only 3. DA does not have Saturday classes so I think they do have a wide variety of weekend opportunities. Honestly, I have been to St. Paul's and it feels as rural to me as Deerfield. Maybe because the Deerfield Campus is part of Historic Deerfield and St. Paul's is it's own universe. At Deerfield, you are not really sure where the school ends and the town begins. You should definately come and visit if possible before you rule it out based on being too rural.</p>
<p>As far as language, I know you can take 2 languages at once at DA, but I'm sorry I have no idea how it may or may not conflict with band. Sorry. </p>
<p>My son will be applying to DA and St. Paul's too, but those are the only 2 of the "top ones" that we are looking at right now. Good luck with all your applications.</p>
<p>I would suspect the two languages will interfere with other academic pursuits before ECs, like band. They'll tell you that you can take 2 languages, but the question is what's the tradeoff? You might miss out on other courses that you either want or might need to expand your college opportunities.</p>
<p>I would be open to following the school's track. They have more experience than you planning high school careers...and if they discourage you from taking two languages, I would respect that or at least explore the reasoning behind it a little further. By the same token, if a school assures you that the second language is all peachy-keen, I would explore the downside to it instead of presuming that that school meets your needs better than the others that aren't so willing to give you comfort.</p>
<p>I know Groton is a school that's set up for 2 languages at once. The others may have to alter things and deviate from the tried-and-true path. Some will say that's no problem when there will be some headaches or regrets down the road. Others won't have encouraging words for the same reason.</p>
<p>Earlier, you named four sports that you were looking for at the schools you wanted to apply to. I think it's fantastic that you see and appreciate the amazing breadth of opportunities that the schools offer. It says much about your sense of adventure and your inquisitiveness that you want more, more, more. Just understand that time if finite. Even opportunities, as much as they may abound, will be finite.</p>
<p>And, in terms of time being finite, I think that also speaks to your "too rural" concern. I'm not sure how much city life you expect to soak in while at school. The distance from major airports or driving time from home might make a difference, but the times you do get to go off campus will be with your friends. And whether you're at the malt shop next to Floyd's barber shop or at a pizza joint next to a busy train station, the important part will be who you're with, not what the landscape is like inside a 10 mile radius.</p>
<p>I felt like Hotchkiss was too rural for me and i couldnt get signal from there but the facilities were great. Deerfield was in driving distance to a town but the campus was smaller than many schools. I walk around to convenient stores and such a lot and that is why I prefer going to a school that is in a town.</p>
<p>Then St. Pauls won't work either - it's not **in **a town.
Although technically, the DA campus is smaller, like I said, it is hard to tell where campus ends and Historic Deerfield begins. In fact, DA owns a good many of the homes on the main street in town as faculty housing and while they are not counted in the size of the campus as published, it feels like all of Main Street in many ways, IS Deerfield Academy. A small store is bicycle distance (not the town I spoke of earlier).</p>
<p>I put DA in the "in between" catagory as far as being "in town" vs. it's "own" campus of the schools we've seen. Loomis and St. Paul's were definately their own campuses. Same with NMH. Suffield on the other hand, was right in the middle of a busy street. We say Loomis and Suffield on the same day (went to a Lacrosse game at Loomis and did a drive through of Suffield) and my son was not at all impressed with Suffield being in the middle of town. He really likes the feel of a "campus" better.</p>
<p>Back to Jonathan's origianal question...there WILL be things to do and you WILL be able to get the necessities. I'm sure at Hotchkiss too. Another idea would be while on the tour to maybe ask the student guide about 2 languages. Are you taking 2 now? My son will be entering 10th grade and will have completed Latin 2 or 3 (they completed about half of Latin 2 last year and it will be a really small class this year so they hope to complete Latin 3). He plans to take Latin 4 in 10th grade and possibly start a second language then (He really wants Japanese) or start the second one in 11th and get 2 years of the second one in. That may be an option for you as well if you can test into the 2nd or 3rd year of one of the languages when you enter, you could take up to 4 years of one and then 2 of the other. Just something to think about.</p>
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Then St. Pauls won't work either - it's not in a town.
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<p>The school doesn't have to be in a town, just within walking distance to one, althoguh I heard St. Paul's is quite a hike to Concord, but most kids have bikes so I don't think it would be bad at all.</p>
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That may be an option for you as well if you can test into the 2nd or 3rd year of one of the languages when you enter, you could take up to 4 years of one and then 2 of the other. Just something to think about.
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<p>That's a good idea. For ninth grade I'm taking French II and Spanish I, and perhaps I could self study a year of each language over the summer, so for boarding school it would be French IV and Spanish III.</p>
<p>I'm a current senior at Deerfield Academy, and I think it's great that you're considering applying to our school! I'll try to answer your questions to the best of my ability.</p>
<p>1) Yes, we are a rural school; however, it seems to add some charm to the place. It's a great place to study since it is fairly isolated from urban America. Nonetheless, it is still very convenient. Weekends are packed with things to do, and everything we need is either on-campus, or a five minute taxi ride away in Greenfield. Although I am a city guy myself, I've found it to be the perfect place to spend four years!</p>
<p>2) I am a Chinese-American, and I find diversity to be all around campus. In fact, Deerfield has been emphasizing diversity for a very long time. I do not feel that it has affected my experience here.</p>
<p>3) Taking two foreign languages is definitely possible here. Many of my friends are taking Spanish and French, or something similar in nature, and I was actually considering taking Chinese and Spanish my junior year. I must warn you, however, that the workload here is intense, so I would shy away from taking two higher-language courses. </p>
<p>The school requires at least three years of a single language, although in certain cases you can take two years and opt out.</p>
<p>I hope I've been helpful, and if you have any more questions, please feel free to ask.</p>