Congratulations to all and I hope M10 is coming along well for all.
For those wondering more about The Hotchkiss School post-M10, please feel free to ask questions about anything.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
Any student/alum/parent/friend/staff is free to field questions as well.
Hi there. My son was accepted and I would love to know more about the overall culture. Is school spirit high? Are kids generally happy? What do you think sets Hotchkiss apart from other schools? Thanks!!
@bc12345
Hi! I’m not the original poster, but I am a current Hotchkiss student and I can answer your questions.
As someone who is spending her first day of spring break on College Confidential hoping to help prospective students choose Hotchkiss so that they can have the same fantastic experience I have had, I think that it is fair to say I love Hotchkiss. I have heard so many alumni who are in college say that they would do anything to be back at Hotchkiss, and as a tour guide, we always have at least double the amount of volunteers needed to give tours at any given time, because so many students want to tell others about their love for the school.
I know that you might have many schools to consider before you make your decision on April 10th, but I hope you will take some time to read about some special things that Hotchkiss students love about our school.
The Campus
Hotchkiss students definitely do not take the beautiful campus for granted. We have a lake that is a five minute walk from the main building (if you luck out, you might get a dorm room with a lake view!), a nine hole golf course that students can use at any time, a farm that provides a lot of our meat and produce, and I believe about 500 acres of woodland. In warmer months, teachers love to hold classes outside, and you can always find a group of kids passing a lacrosse ball or a frisbee on Bissell Quad. Our rural campus provides other benefits besides just beauty, as students tend to leave campus for the weekend pretty infrequently, creating an even more tight knit community, which always has an activity on Sunday night.
The Humanities Program
Whether or not you love English, History, Philosophy and the arts, most students look forward to Humanities classes. The same group of students will be in your English, History and Philosophy classes, which allows everyone to form a special relationship, facilitated by the open ended discussions that happen around the Harkness tables.
Living in a Dorm
Personally, I know that I was really curious about what dorm life was like before I went to boarding school. I can assure you that it is one of the most fun experiences I have ever had. While the amount of students on a floor can vary from six to over twenty, no matter the size, your floor will get very close. Each floor has two or three proctors, upper class students who have a leadership role in the dorm, who are always there if you need someone to talk to, or just want to hang out. “Feeds” are awesome snacks that your dorm faculty member will sometimes provide for your floor after check in, a great thing to look forward to at the end of a long day.
Holidays
Hotchkiss gets three holidays a year. If you aren’t familiar with the tradition, a holiday is a secretly planned day, announced the night before, when no classes are held. While we do have Sundays, and some no class Saturdays to relax, there is something about holidays that encourage students to unplug and relax by spending time outside and with fellow students. The administration knows that students work hard, and always seems to plan holidays just as students begin to start feeling overwhelmed, giving them a day to slow down.
Of course, I could go on forever, but I hope this list gives you a glimpse at what an amazing place Hotchkiss is. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask (I’ll try to be a bit more succinct than this, I promise).
Thanks so much @hotchkissbearcat ! That was definitely the feel we got on campus.
Are there many math focused students there? Also how rough is the one strike policy. Having a son, I am always worried about possible calamities:)
Hi @bc12345 sorry I was unable to answer your first question but @hotchkissbearcat hit it out of the ball park.
Now to answer your two most recent questions.
1.) At Hotchkiss, we have vast diversity in terms of passions and interests for the future. There aren’t too few students that are math-centered nor too many. Honestly, I think Hotchkiss does an exceptional job at assembling a good mixture of students and it is easy to find students that have similar interests.
2.) Like you, my mother was worried about the one-strike policy. However, we as a student body are aware of it and as a result, there is far less peer pressure to engage in behavior that would violate the policy.
Hopefully this gave you a little more insight into Hotchkiss life.
Feel free to ask more questions.
How is the homework load? Are you able to get it all done with their lights out policy? Do you have enough time left over to have some fun with the kids in your dorm? How much of a social life are the kids, especially preps and lower mids, able to have? WhT are weekends like?
Thank you for this thread. I am interested in the answers to Korab1’s questions. Hotchkiss was our reach and after being accepted, we are wondering about the workload and the competitiveness. What % of students are the “cut throat” type?
@Korab1 The homework load definitely varies depending on the night, but on most nights, while I can’t speak for the amount of work for AP classes, as long as you use your time productively, you’ll be able to start work after dinner, clubs and sports and be finished by 10 (by the spring, most have learned to use their free periods to work and many don’t have to start work until study hall actually starts at 8). If you do have an abnormally large amount of work, you can ask your proctor for “late lights” and they will give you permission to work past 11.
Dinner is definitely a great time to socialize since you can talk with people outside of your immediate friend group, and clubs usually happen sometime between 6:15-7:00. After check in at 10:00, most choose to use the time until 11:00 (lights out) to socialize in the dorm.
What you do on Saturdays will definitely depend on if you have a home game, away game, or none at all, but most students’ Saturdays look pretty similar once dinner is over. People will usually hang out with friends in the dorms or main building for a few hours, and there is usually something going on at 8 or 9 to watch or do (a play, dance, or a performance or activity Hotchkiss brings in like a hypnotist, magician or laser tag and segways). After that, you can go to the snack bar or hang out in main building until 11:00 (check in). If you want, you can request to sleep over in a friend’s dorm.
On Sundays, Hotchkiss runs a shuttle to Millerton, NY, where you can get something to eat or buy things at CVS or the grocery store, but to be honest, most just spend Sunday doing work and catching up on sleep.
@hardy8635
While there is no straightforward way to measure “cut throat”-edness in the lower grades, about 20% of the grade is on first honor roll (A or A+ average), and closer to 1/3 are on it Junior and Senior year.
At Hotchkiss, most students hold themselves to a pretty high standard, while your peers, instead of being competitive with you, are the ones that support you when you don’t do as well as you could have (and of course, celebrate when you do well).
Thank you for the response. Also, can you give any insight to the new head of school? Does anyone have any perspective as to why there has been so much head master turnover in the past years and if that issue has been resolved? Also, it seems that sports have taken more of a back seat. Is that the new vision or is that a past head’s vision that is now being reversed?
Is Hotchkiss clique-ey at all? If so, along what lines are the divisions drawn? Socieconomic? Race/religion? Athlete/non-athlete? Are athletic events big campus gatherings? Is there a lot of “school spirit”, however you define that?
@hardy8635 I am unable to answer some of your questions about the multiple headmaster turnovers in recent years, but I can speak a little about our new head of school Mr. Craig Bradley.
Up to now, Mr. Bradley has been an accessible figure that can be seen about the campus quite often. He has been very liberal in his interaction with students, allowing them to express themselves and speak their minds. I, personally, think Mr. Bradley has done a fine job at maintaining the school’s overall mission and I envision him staying. On your question about sports, at Hotchkiss we believe that sport is an integral part of the Hotchkiss experience. It certainly hasn’t taken a backseat nor has it overwhelmed our culture.
On cliques: Hotchkiss, like all other secondary boarding schools, is a high school. Thus, of course there are going to be people that gravitate towards others that have shared interests, but at the same time these shared interests and groups do not create sharp divisions.
On athletic events: On Wednesday afternoons, Saturdays, or any other day in which there is some type of athletic match or game, you can expect Hotchkiss students to show up and represent their school. During the winter (mostly), we “Pack the MAC (the athletic center)” and either the Varsity basketball or Varsity hockey games will see great attendance depending on who is home.
On school spirit: I would say that Hotchkiss students have a strong amount of “school spirit.” Outside of athletics, as I just went over it, students often times show up to dance performances, musicals, or plays, etc. to support their friends and school community in general. When speakers are brought in to discuss anything from world events to even local issues, we listen and we analyze. Hotchkiss students are bound to show up and to represent.
@hardy8635
While I don’t think it is directly related to our new headmaster, I have definitely noticed Hotchkiss making a real effort to bring in strong coaches for our athletic programs, and turn around some of the weaker ones. Just last week at all school assembly, our new swim coach, Tyler Clary, who is an olympic gold medalist for the backstroke, talked about how he really wanted to make an effort to improve our swim program. I was quite impressed that Hotchkiss attracted such a qualified professional who is so invested in improving the swim program!
My daughter recently got accepted to Hotchkiss and Choate. She is an avid ski racer and although neither school has an alpine ski team she is open to continuing on her own. Choate is willing to help my daughter continue ski racing, however, there are few good mountains in the vicinity. Hotchkiss has several ski resorts where she could continue her training. How much support would Hotchkiss provide so she could continue racing ?
Also I would appreciate information which might highlight differences between the schools. We are well aware of Hotchkiss being in more rural location but would like more information as to differences of a Hotchkiss vs Choate student.
Do you guys hang out with Kent students a lot because of the close proximity? One of my friends is going to hotchkiss and I am going to Kent so.
Hotchkiss has the Classics diploma along with Exeter. Few other boarding schools do. Having two students go through Choate, I think Choate is stronger in Math and Sciences with a brand new state of the art Math Building, pretty state of the art Science Bldg, and Kohler Enviormental Center. Hotchkiss has one main school building with several branches. Choate is much set up like a college campus. Both school are nice, but of course, our hearts are with the school upon the hillside. Go Choate!
@SherBran67
Many students at Hotchkiss pursue independent projects as their after school co-curricular. You just have to write a short application to prove that you will actually be spending a decent amount of time on the activity (not a concern for you), and pretty much all of the applicants I have known get accepted.
@SherBran67, in terms of the logistics on how your daughter continuing her ski racing, I think you’d need to speak directly to the school to figure it out. But I can tell you that it’s not uncommon for there to be students who pursue an extracurricular activity (usually sports) outside of school. There are some kids who continue to play on club sports even while participating in those sports at Hotchkiss, and kids who do sports the school doesn’t offer, like riding. I think you’ll find that the school will be very supportive of her pursuing her interests in terms of allowing her to do it and working out any schedule adjustments that might need to happen. Logistics are usually the challenge, unless you live nearby. But if not, the school may have some suggestions for you, such as a faculty/staff spouse who you could pay to drive your daughter to skiing on a regular basis. There has been a club ski team at some points in the past, maybe she could even be the one to revive that program!
My daughter is determined to continue with skiing. Although she will be boarding, we live within an hours drive of the school. So we are happy to try and drive her but she is hoping to find other skiers currently at Hotchkiss or considering Hotchkiss so she can ski with them. Thank you for mentioning that skiing was offered as a club team because she may have to start small and revive this first rather than trying to plead for a varsity ski team.
How is food?