Hello all,
I’m a rising freshman, admitted into the above three schools.
I swim and play piano, though I consider myself more athletic than artsy.
I’m an international student, and I’m Asian American.
I’ve heard that Deerfield is by far the most white - does this change the culture of the school?
If anyone has advice, please share!
Thanks
My daughter is a junior at Deerfield and swims as well. She’s white but her closest friends are from all backgrounds. She didn’t apply to Choate so I can’t speak to the culture there, but she revisited at Hotchkiss and I’d say Deerfield is more diverse.
I hope that you will have the opportunity to visit the schools before making your decision, rather than basing your decision on what “you hear”. I think you will be surprised to see more diversity and a greater international presence at all the schools you list.
FWIW, when I was interviewing at another school last summer, I met an athlete from Hong Kong who was gushing about Deerfield. He had just come out of the Deerfield summer program - loved the school, loved the people. was so excited to maybe go there, as an international summer student, he just loved his Deerfield experience. Hope this helps.
My mom has a close-ish friend whose daughter attends Deerfield. She speaks very highly about her experience—loves the school! She is Asian, I believe.
Personally I would choose Choate (as I have lol), just because I prefer the campus, feel as though the class selection is better, and just the general vibe is a little chiller.
To @ellelie - one of the reasons we decided on Deerfield was because of its diversity and the number of international students. It’s a smaller to mid-size school, so it may seem on first glance that there are fewer international students or Asian students compared to other schools like PEA or PA because there are fewer students in total at DA. One of the wonderful traditions at DA is their seated meals. You are assigned to a table during several meals per week (not seats) every 5 or 6 weeks, where you sit with students across nationalities, ages, and culture. My kiddo has become friends with students in different grades and from different countries thanks to this tradition. This eliminates (IMHO) kids bunching up by cliques at every meal.
Choate is a great school. Different from the other schools you mentioned in culture, but I don’t think this is based on demographics alone…it’s a great community and I sense it has its own unique vibe.
No matter where you decide to attend, please keep an open mind to making new friends. At some point (hopefully) you may even identify as a Choatie as much as a person from your country of origin. Good luck to you!
My spouse worked for 20 years at a boarding school, and the word on the street – which may or may not be accurate! – is that Deerfield is the least diverse of the three schools.
Hotchkiss is very diverse; there was a big international focus a few years ago (2 Heads ago) and there are kids from a very wide range of countries, from Afghanistan to China, to the Palestinian territories (not currently), Ghana, Nigeria, to the UK, China etc.
Also the international kids are well integrated into the school. My child’s closest friends are from Shanghai, Ghana, Canada and America (of Korean descent).
Those are 3 great choices - you are so lucky! I’m sure you would like any of them; but I would decide more based on size of school, location, school culture, academics and activities rather than skin color or country of origin.
For instance, Choate is a much bigger school than the others; so there may be more programs, “diversity”, etc based on size, but perhaps the smaller schools offer special programs you’d like. Also Choate is closer to NYC; the others are more rural, etc. This will impact experience.
Deerfield feels more traditional, which has its own charm, and is much more structured in its approach. Choate feels more modern and seems to give kids more autonomy (no mandatory formal dinners with assigned tables, for example). Both have enough critical mass of African-Americans and Asian-Americans that individuals in those groups won’t feel isolated or tokenized.
@cinnamon1212 , That was my take on Deerfield as well but it may be outdated. Hotchkiss definitely has kids from all backgrounds. I do think that you’ll find diversity at each of these schools and I agree that they are each different enough from each other that, beyond diversity, I think that a preference should emerge.
OP: Congratulations on being accepted to three outstanding prep boarding schools. You should fit in at all three schools especially since you will be an important part of any school community as an artist, academic & athlete.
These are three of the most elite boarding schools in the country with sizable international student populations. You will be fine.
I agree with @cinnamon1212 . Here are some fast facts @ 2017 school year from the Deerfield website.
Students = 650 (9-PG)
US enrollment: 38 States + one swamp (LOL!)
International Enrollment: 38 countries
@ellelie Congratulations on your admittances to these 3 excellent schools.
They are ALL ethnically diverse. Splitting hairs a tad, but Choate is ever so slightly more so than Deerfield and Hotchkiss.
Choate has 36% domestic students of color, plus 18% international students from 41 countries (school website)
Deerfield has 32% domestic students of color, plus 12% international students from 38 countries (school website)
Hotchkiss has 33% domestic students of color, plus 15% international students from 35 countries (school website)
We have/had family at all 3 schools, and know them fairly well (as do many people here on CC). We have found Deerfield to be the least culturally diverse of the 3 schools - it’s pretty preppy and focused on athletics, but it still has a LOT of cultural diversity. All 3 schools have tremendous school spirit. Deerfield and Hotchkiss are more rural, and IMHO Hotchkiss has the more bucolic campus setting of the 3. But Deerfield looks pretty on a Christmas Card!
Choate is more like a college campus - a lot of walking around. Some love that, but not everyone. Some prefer the more centralized campuses of Hotchkiss and Deerfield.
Choate SAT scores, 2018: 1320-1480 25th-75th percentile
Deerfield: unavailable
Hotchkiss SAT scores for 2018: 1360-1510 25th-75th percentile
Choate SAT scores, 2017: 680M/690E
Deerfield SAT scores, 2017: 680M/650E
Hotchkiss SAT scores for 2017: 700M/700E
Choate Boarding/Day: 75%/25% (865 students total)
Deerfield Boarding/Day: 85%/13% (660 students total)
Hotchkiss Boarding/Day: 97%/3% (600 students total)
About 50% of Choate boarders are admitted in the 9th grade, vs. 70% at Hotchkiss, and Deerfield in between.
Wallingford is 2-2.25 hrs. by train to NYC, Deerfield is 2 hours to Boston via bus/car, and Hotchkiss is 2.5 hours to NYC via train.
HOPE you can revisit. I know lots of people, including ours, who had their heart set on X, but after visiting and revisits, changed to Y, and then Z. It may be the students, but also the administrators/advisors/coaches/teachers you meet and just connect with, that help the decision.
You forgot to mention that Hotchkiss has its own golf course !
Statistics are important but often don’t reveal the quality of the student experience. Our DS is a European who chose Deerfield exactly because he felt that it was more welcoming and inclusive than the other schools he was accepted to. His DA experience so far (he is a senior) has absolutely confirmed the supportive vibe he felt during revisit days. Furthermore, he has made friends from very diverse backrounds, including many International Asians and Asian Americans. In short, while DA is more traditional and athletic than either Hotchkiss or Choate, it is a warm and accepting community. According to our DS, the dedication and accessibility of the DA faculty play a pivotal role in forming DA’s particular culture. Hopefully, OP will have the opportunity to visit all three superb schools. Our DS was dead set on attending another school before the revisit.
As an international student, you will undoubtedly be unaccustomed to American lifestyle. Lots of things will be different for you: eating, speaking, listening, etc. Your first instinct will be to find Asians, and hang out exclusively with them, and avoid mingling with others. But don’t do this.
Take every advantage of your great opportunity in boarding school, and learn from the cultures and advice from students around you. Don’t fall into the trap of only hanging out with other Asians. In 20-30 years from now, you’ll look back at the great friends that you’ve made around the world.
We visited all 3 of these schools during my son’s application process (5 years ago). Deerfield has a great culture, and has formal sit-down meals. The other two schools have a different vibe. But don’t judge a school based on the # of asian students. All 3 of these schools are wonderful and top notch. I think you’ll get a great education at any of them.
Totally my personal take on revisits and their importance so if at all possible it’s essential to go if you can. We found that Hotchkiss students were not super welcoming to our daughter when we visited a few years ago. They kind of stuck to themselves and pretty much ignored the students who were shadowing. Of course, just our take from just one day so ymmv.
I also personally noticed that during a recent sporting event where students from all the schools were gathered that the Hotchkiss students were not chatty with students from other schools and I was right in the middle of the action. My DD has become friendly with athletes from DA’s rival and really every other school except Hotchkiss.
Saying one is less friendly than another based on narrow anecdotes…really?
The friendliest STEM/Robotics competition kids we’ve met were at Choate.
The friendliest Varsity Sport A & Sport B and speech/debate kids we’ve met were at Deerfield.
The friendliest student tour guides and Varsity Sport C and Sport D kids we’ve experienced were at Hotchkiss.
While the above observations are fact based, they are also told in jest. Suggest kids perusing the CC Prep Forums pay little heed to “two kids at Green Hills Academy didn’t make room for us on the sidewalk, so the school seems snotty”. Choate, Deerfield and Hotchkiss have loads of nice kids, with some entitled (yet still nice ones) sprinkled in. Random anecdotes that lead to sweeping generalizations are not all that helpful.
Go Big Green. Go Big Blue (H). GoChoate!
I’m a current international student at Hotchkiss, and I think we get a very diverse experience. There is a lot of support here for international students - we have events like Snacks from Home, when we get together and share food we’ve brought back from breaks, etc. I love it here, especially our community & school spirit. I think you’ll like whichever school you choose, but I do hope you choose Hotchkiss!