Q's about BS Life

Prep School Admissions Prep School Cafe
1

<p>I have sooo many questions about boarding school life and anyone could anyone who's qualified to answer these questions please answer them? Because it seems like no one ever gets real answers on these boards!
Especially for anyone who's attended Deerfield, which I've decided is the school for me, so could anyone who really knows Deerfield please answer these DA specific questions?</p>

<p>So my questions are:
1) Is the community really as close-knit as the Admissions people say? Are there major cliques or just groups of friends? Are there popular kids, normal kids etc.?</p>

<p>2) How much is there to do on weekends? Deerfield's in the middle of nowhere and I'm sure there's activities on campus but what about off-campus, as in restaurants, shopping, movies in Greenfield? Are the school activities fun? ALSO, do kids host their own parties ever?</p>

<p>3) Dating! I mean, is there a dating scene? Are there plenty of attractive, intelligent and sweet guys? Do you have TIME to date?</p>

<p>4) Are there many kids that do drugs and regularly drink? I'm just curious, definitely not looking to join a crowd like that. And unrelated, how are the dorms? I love the mostly singles idea, but are the bathrooms sanitary and the rooms not cramped?</p>

<p>5) How much homework IS there anyways? Do you have time to do sports and clubs and hang out with friends AND do well in school? Is it terribly overwhelming?</p>

<p>6) Do you love it? Why or why not!</p>

<p>Thanks so much!</p>

2

<p>Let’s see what I can answer from an Andover standpoint.</p>

<p>1) The community is certainly not made of disparate parts. With that said, I spent most of my time with the people whose interests lied in computers and mathematics, like mine. Not to say that I didn’t hang out with other types, just not as much. Groups of friends happen, obviously, which is good, but they don’t stick to hard, set lines. So clique is probably not the right word. Everyone makes friends (or at least companions), and generally if you feel lonely, you can go find others.</p>

<p>3) I don’t think I knew anyone who dated. There are relationships (and not just friends with benefits), but there aren’t too many places to go on a date, and so people tended to just spend the time together on campus instead. I’m not the best judge of the caliber of guys, however.</p>

<p>4) There are some. I never saw anyone do so, but a few people were kicked out for drugs/alcohol in my year. If you don’t want to do that, you avoid those people, though.</p>

<p>5) I had anywhere from 5-10 hours a night. When it was in the upper end, I didn’t do it all - I did what was collected and necessary to my success. I insisted on 6+ hours of sleep every night until senior spring (when I spent the time talking to people instead), which many others did not. People do all of those, but one has to prioritize. If grades are most important, the others suffer, but don’t entirely vanish. And so on. Time management is a skill you learn, sometimes by overloading yourself and not living up to your expectations. It happens, but better prepares you for college. It’s overwhelming at times, but not all the time.</p>

<p>6) I enjoyed my experiences, but the atmosphere was more stressful than I would have liked, especially fueled by those around me either doing better or doing nothing but worry about courses, college, etc. It’s not for everyone, but it can be wonderful.</p>

<p>Sorry for the short-ish answers; I’m tired. Feel free to PM me for more in-depth and specific info, although having never seen Deerfield, I can only give you a general idea.</p>

3

<p>Thank you so much for answering my questions! It seems like no one around here ever REALLY answers except for GO EXETER! or something. So thanks :slight_smile:
Oh yeah, I know, Andover seems really competitive and intense, that’s why I love Deerfield because the academics are still rigorous but I really feel like it’s serene and gentle and there’s a wonderfully tight-knit community.
That’s interesting about the dating, but I get what you mean, I guess I just have the boarding school stereotypes stuck in my head: both ones of drugs, sex and parties and ones of pulling all nighters to do homework and having no freedom whatsoever.</p>

<p>Thank you agaain!</p>

4

<p>PM me in october and I will have all the answers you want for loomis (incoming freshman)</p>

5

<p>Alright, thanks! :)</p>