okay so I know it’s not really ssat season and admission season and most people on here are graduating BUT - my headepace is at applications and studying right now since school is over and I have a whole summer to study and write , you get it . I’ve got a general list of schools that I want to apply to and then ones that others have recommended to me and I was just wondering if I could get a few responses to help me out!
Day Student vs Boarding?
Food?
any major problems? ( like lots of eating disorders, depression, anxiety things like that )
Sports life?
difficulty to keep up with academics?
Academics?
Wealthy vs Financial Aid kids? ( nobody really talks about this and I was wondering if there’s any real divide or avoidance when it comes to the kids who can afford the schooling and the kids who have to apply for scholarships and financial aid )
Overall community?
Do colleges look if you went to this school or a public - would it play a role in their decision making process ?
YOUR PERSONAL OPINION ON THE SCHOOL AND THE PEOPLE THAT GO THERE
So those are ruhr points i’m kinda hoping to hit and these are the schools ( in no particular order )
Choate
Hopkins
Hotchkiss
Taft
Loomis Chaffee
Suffield
Canterbury
The Gunnery
Thanks again <333
I will speak to the Finacial piece. The only time it really shows according to swim kid is when kids are going off campus to eat. Some go to the expensive sit down restaurants while other are just going for cheap eats.
There is also a difference between boarding and day. The day is very long for day students. Boarders can go take a nap in their rooms of they have a break.
@gumby01 In mentioning the tragic suicide at Kent, what exactly are you implying? If you are at all familiar with the circumstances then you must know that the casual reader of the above will likely make assumptions about it that could not be farther from the truth. And Kent was not a subject of the OPs inquiry.
" The day is very long for day students" This has never been the case for my kids or their day student friends. Kids who don’t want to socialize or have dinner with friends can get picked up right after sports practice around 5. Very few do. Lockers are available and most schools have comfortable social and quiet areas with couches where any student can relax and decompress. The library is very popular for day students who want to study - they can even stay until 9/10 if they choose to, where boarders have to be in their dorm by about 8 for study hall
I knew there would be criticism from this board. I think some going into boarding school need to realize everywhere has issues. I know the OP didn’t ask about Kent; I can read. Unfortunate things happen and no one hears about them.
Regarding the “long day” - SuzyQ7 is correct, and day students can go home after dinner if they choose. At the Gunnery they are assigned a room and can go there if they choose to decompress if they choose, or use other areas. Depending on what sport(s) are played, there can be long days. Sometimes away games are and hour+ away. Sometimes there are extra practices. It all depends. I didn’t want to give the impression it was easy.
OP: What are your interests ? Do you plan to participate in any sports or theatre or particular activities ? Have you taken the SSAT ? The answers to these questions should help to refine your school search.
@dutch2274 no one has attempted to hide anything on that subject and it has been covered in the press. A representative article from the local paper, the Danbury Newstimes can be found by googling “Suicide of Transgender Teen Shakes Kent Boarding School.” It is an accurate accounting of the event as I understand it and I understand it fairly well since my son was a classmate and friend. You are right, there are issues everywhere but sometimes there are nuances that gossip does not convey.
Now an opinion on Hotchkiss, where two of my kids attend. The kids are friendly and they have great school spirit especially with regard to their rival, Taft. These schools are very much alike with Taft having a slightly more sporty reputation and Hotchkiss having a slightly more academic one but the differences are on the margins. Hotchkiss kids tend to be self-driven and while they don’t generally compete academically with their peers they set high standards for themselves which often results in some academic intensity. The arts, and music in particular, are very strong. While all schools have some academic support, Hotchkiss expects kids to advocate for themselves and act independently. Lights out and class attendance, relative to other schools, are loosely enforced. Other schools are more structured and have a more robust safety net. Hotchkiss has its own farm and much of the food in the dining hall is sourced there and from other surrounding farms. The food is better than most, I’m told, but after a while it becomes repetitive. There are no obvious divides between the wealthy and the kids on financial aid nor the boarding and day students. Colleges do know the school but I think that the benefit of that may be more pronounced in the bottom 1/2 of the class. Top students do well with placement at “elite” colleges but the same can be said for top students who attend top publics.