<p>Any questions you have about Pomfret, ranging from academics to admissions, to student life. Also anything you care to ask about any boarding school in general, not just Pomfret. I'll try my best to get back to you as fast as possible.</p>
<p>Hey! Thanks for starting this thread. I’m glad there’s somewhere to learn more about Pomfret because it’s not written about as much here!! So, my question… I know Pomfret is quite rural, and I wanted to know how that affects the students. If you feel really isolated or if you feel that helps to build the community or anything else?</p>
<ol>
<li>do new students fall into place in the system quickly? like do students warmly welcome the new kids? </li>
<li>how is the school spirit? </li>
<li>cliquey or a big community?</li>
<li>dating scene?</li>
<li>not much drugs and alcohol hopefully?</li>
<li>how rigorous are the courses? do you feel challenged while still being able to manage all your work?
Thanks!!</li>
</ol>
<p>Pomfret is definitely very rural, we are in a very small town (Pomfret, CT) in the northeastern corner of Connecticut. I wouldn’t say I feel isolated because there is usually stuff to do and occupy my time with, I really don’t feel way out in the middle of nowhere, because there is always friends and faculty around campus. We definitely have freedom at school to, we are able to walk to the local coffee shop about a mile down the road, the lake where our crew team practices (we have our own boathouse and dock) , or to a local mini mart, as long as you sign your name on a sign out sheet in your dorm. Winter can definitely be a little bit depressing, with shorter and colder days, but is usually no problem, you can always find something to do on or off campus. Every Thursday or so a list comes out for weekend activities, they can range from a late night movie trip, to open mic night. Teachers are also able to take you off campus to go out to a restaurant, or do something fun. Every Thursday we have advise-e dinners, where we usually go off campus with our advisory group, and you really get to see the town, and it really isn’t that small.</p>
<p>Btw, each student has an advisor that basically becomes one of your best friends in the faculty, if you get into a little trouble here and there, they always try your best to dig you out of it, the create a close relationship with your parents, and are great people to be around. Usually they are just faculty members.</p>
<p>I don’t think that being in such a rural place causes a feeling of isolation though. There is usually just so much to do with schoolwork and sports to, I don’t think it affects me or the rest of the students.</p>
<p>Thanks for asking.</p>
<p>Thanks for the answer! Which grade are you in at Pomfret?</p>
<p>To answer your questions prep97 I guess I’ll just put them in a list form.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>It really depends on the person. Everyone is greeted very warmly by all the kids at school, but its how outgoing you want to be the first few days that will make you a lot of friends at boarding school. No one is cold to you, and everyone will definitely want/try to get to know you especially in the first few weeks, because you have to remember usually if you’re a freshman or sophomore, a lot of the other kids are new to. But most people get to know each other very quickly and form close relationships. </p></li>
<li><p>School spirit is definitely a pretty big thing at Pomfret, a lot of it is around sporting events and what not. The hockey games are always packed out, and it goes the same with a lot of other sports here. It wont be unusual to find face painting booths for red and black colors at events. We also have a spring carnival, and something similar in the fall. Cookouts on the quad, and what not. In the beginning of the school year we have Mashmoquet day, something pretty unique to Pomfret where you basically go around campus doing fun stuff, and getting to know people in the first few days.</p></li>
<li><p>There are very few cliques at Pomfret if any, you will find them wherever you go, and anyone will tell you that. But at the same time everyone usually knows everyone, having such a small community is what makes us a big one, you’re friends with everyone, and everyone knows each others business. There is no group that wont accept you.</p></li>
<li><p>Opposed from one night hook-ups after dances, there are actually some serious relationships, you’ll usually see most of them come about in the winter months. 
You will see people cuddling near the tuck shop, and the occasional, “I’m going to make out in front of you, in the middle of the line, as I wait for my chicken tenders,” that might get annoying haha. But its usually pretty serious, most couples last a few months. I had two friends who graduated this past year who dated from freshman year, to the day they graduated.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>-You will never find alcohol AT Pomfret, I’ve only heard of kids getting kicked out for it in the past, but not since I have been here. What you hear about is people who go home, and then drink, and then smoke weed. But it will be very rare at Pomfret. We have a one strike policy for drugs and alcohol so many people are very serious about there work, and reputation, and at boarding school you never want to be looked at as the kid who smokes weed all the time. Because everyone will know. It is a very serious violation, and if the students know, the faculty does to. A bigger problem at Pomfret, much more so than alcohol and marijuana, is tobacco. Not many people smoke cigarettes, but there’s definitely quite a few guys who use dip. It’s not something you hear or see everyday, but you know that people have it. Pomfrets policy on tobacco is more lenient, and it will usually be two or three strikes before facing the disciplinary committee. With tobacco the school usually wants to help students more-so than kicking them out for a very bad problem that can be addressed. But definitely for alcohol or marijuana it is ZERO tolerance.</p>
<ul>
<li>Despite what some think outside of Pomfret, the students and I all know that the curriculum is very rigorous, and I’ll admit it is definitely hard to keep up with sometimes, if you want to get As you need to not only try hard and study, but you seriously need to organize your time well. Each night we have two hours for study hall from 8pm - 10, where all students are in there dorm, and in there rooms studying, but you have to know that those two hours will not be enough to get all your work done. If you have a free block or two you need to use them to your advantage and get work done in that time, and before study hall also. Even with all that said, you will always have down time to just hang out and vegetate lol. It can be very stressful at times, but you will always find time to just chill with friends or do something fun, or just sleep. Many people try and get credits out of the way early on in there Pomfret career so they have a more lenient senior year, but you should always be challenging yourself if academics are too easy, because there will always be something harder you can do. This past year we didn’t have Saturday classes for most of the year, but this upcoming year we will almost every other week (or so I hear.) With a new headmaster, Tim Richards, who only came to Pomfret last year, and recently worked at St. Georges, there are always changes being made to the schedule and what not to tweak it perfectly for Pomfret students’ needs. You will definitely come across free time throughout the usual school day, but its all about how well you organize your time so that you have more time for what you want to do.</li>
</ul>
<p>I might have rambled a little there, sorry haha, but I hope I answered your questions well. Thanks for asking!</p>
<p>I’m going into my junior year at Pomfret this fall. I came in as a repeat freshman.</p>
<p>thank you!</p>