Questions About Hotchkiss

Prep School Admissions
1

Hi! I noticed that there were other threads for questions about different boarding schools started by current students. I am really excited about attending Hotchkiss as a lower mid next year and was wondering if I could ask some questions, even though there was no thread started?

On the calendar, I noticed there are four “marking periods” but two semesters. What is the difference?

If I am looking for a fall sport to join (thirds) with little experience but as an overall decently fit person, what sport would you say would be the least competitive, but still have a lot of team spirit and a way to make friends (the only thing I would probably not be too excited about is cross country)?

Are there sit down dinners? How often?

How much stuff, furniture and storage do people bring for their dorms?

Thanks!

2

@zeebee619 I hope a student responds. We are torn between 3 schools for my daughter and I have learned a lot on other threads about the other schools.

3

@soxmom @dowzerw is there any way you could try to answer some of these?

4

@zeebee619 @neuroticmama I’m not a student there, but my sisters are. I’ll ask them this evening and hopefully I’ll get a good response from them.

5

Hi I’m currently a student at Hotchkiss and would love to answer your questions.

So every marking period is kind of like a check-in/mid-semester thing where you get your grades for the marking period. Your semester grade is the average of your two marking period grades, and then at the end of the year, your two semester grades are averaged for your final year grade. In addition, some classes you take as an Upper Mid or Senior are only one semester long.

Thirds soccer is a pretty chill team (although I heard that girls thirds does do conditioning sometimes), but really all the thirds teams are a really great way to make friends in my opinion.

There aren’t any sit-down dinners, although in my experience they have had maybe like 2 dress up dinners for special events such as Thanksgiving or Christmas, but that would be about it.

Overall it really kind of depends on what kind of room you get (or if you have a roommate). I would recommend bringing a comfy chair, and I also found it super helpful to bring those long storage boxes you can slide underneath your bed.

6

All the girls’ thirds teams in the fall are great for making friends, and not terribly competitive. Thirds volleyball is probably the most relaxed of the three (girls also have field hockey and soccer for thirds choices). Boys thirds options for the fall are more limited, just thirds soccer and some years it’s actually difficult to make the team.

As for bringing furniture, don’t. Wait until you get there, both to see what you have room for and what you need (for storage). If you have a single, by all means, you can bring storage things that go under your bed, but other than that, I wouldn’t. If you have a double, you shouldn’t assume that the space under the bed will be yours, so I’d just wait and see. Once you know what will fit in your room, you can always order stuff from Amazon or wait for parents’ weekend (if your parents will be able to come).

7

@smartypants308 what are your favorite things about Hotchkiss?

And least favorite?

What is Lakeville like? Do you remain on campus or do you participate in off campus events in town or in NYC?
Is there a way to describe a typical Hotchkiss student or is it large enough that outside of being smart, everyone is so different from each other and that isn’t a good question?
Do parents attend sporting events?

8

I’m a current senior at Hotchkiss so I hope my responses will help you out.

My favorite things about Hotchkiss are my sports teams, advisory, and the general community. My team is very close and after most practices we’ll have a team dinner where we all sit together and bond. My advisory is also very close; my advisor is essentially a father-figure to me and has helped me through some really rough times. The other kids in my advisory are all awesome and we’ve become a family. I also appreciate the community on campus. Being surrounded by such intelligent, talented, driven kids every day is really inspiring.

My least favorite things are the weekend snackbar hours, and the fact that sometimes my dorm’s housekeeper vaccums at 8am when I have a sleep-in. Seriously those are the only things I can think of.

Lakeville is a pretty small town. For the most part kids stay on campus. However, on Sundays there are buses into Millerton, NY (15min away) which has a grocery store, coffee shops, etc. Students also often take the train into the city for the weekend.

I think a typical Hotchkiss student is very multi-faceted. We don’t have many kids who specialize only in one thing. We have basketball players who dance, football players who sing, hockey recruits who love the environment, fine artists who work on the farm, etc.

It’s very common for parents to attend sporting events.

Let me know if you have any more questions!

9

@neuroticmama for the most part, I agree with all of Lakeville’s answers. There are just a few things I’d like to add.

My favorite things would probably the sense of freedom you get and also the bond between all the students. Obviously, there is a lot of homework to do. But when you have free time, there are so many different things you can do. Being an athlete, I can just go to the gym or to an empty field and work out with friends (or alone),which I find awesome. In addition, I love the bond I have with my classmates, especially in the more challenging classes I have.

My least favorite thing is that on weekends it’s pretty hard to find a place to study with my friends (because everyone is studying!!!).

I wouldn’t say that there is ONE specific way to describe the typical Hotchkiss student, because everyone has their own interest and passions. Like Lakeville said, varsity football players that also sing and act, soccer players who play the piano or do art. There is just such a wide variety of people that have different interests, it’s hard to describe all of them.

And yes parents do attend sporting events! One of the teams I played for literally had a “gathering” of parents before one of our important games!!

10

Thank you @lakeville and @smartypants308

11

I am very excited about attending Hotchkiss this fall (2020) but I recently came across an article on Glassdoor that appears to show very poor morale among staff. Have you had a similar experience? Are teachers as negative as in the reviews? Can you comment on school morale and spirit?

Thanks for the candid responses.

(I linked the website if you want to check it out)

https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/The-Hotchkiss-School-Reviews-E263065.htm

12

@LaxPrep I would take most of that with a rather large block the world’s finest hand-dug artisan salt. Like it or not, there is a percentage of the faculty at most boarding schools that will turn over regularly. That said, small, insulated pocket universes can be annoyingly political and petty.

What any prospective student should care about first and foremost is the experience of the students. If the current students are saying the teachers and staff are unhappy, then they must be really unhappy. Then it would matter. Otherwise, you’ll find complainers everywhere…

13

@GnarWhail

Of course I take everything I read online with a grain of salt but it is concerning that teacher morale appears to be so poor over such an extended period of time. (Yes it’s a small sample group but the complaints DID seen decently consistent)

I believe a happy and well functioning school starts with faculty. I attend a very high performing public high school with a recent history of low school spirit among staff. Though (for the most part) students are very content and test scores are solid, I think the low morale does limit the school and affect the overall happiness regardless of if students are aware of it.

Hopefully the new Hotchkiss headmaster will take measures to address the problem (if there even is one)

14

The new Hkiss head is a great person, with a proven track record in competitive and comparable communities. The interim head is likewise experienced as an interim and the school year has gone comfortably. Our D is a second year and we are close w families who have been at Hkiss for multiple kids. We are not aware of any glaring issues or discontent. Is there a teacher here or there who we wish our child did not have to experience? Sure, but that would be true anywhere. Overall, the environment and community is full of good energy and kids working to be their best in as many ways as they can.

15

I am going to be at Hotchkiss next year (Class of 2019!) and I have a few questions:

How hard is it to integrate into the community as a tenth grader?

What is the workload like? How does it compare to your old school?

What do y’all usually do on the weekends (especially considering how isolated Hotchkiss is)?

How are Saturday classes?

I know there are quarters, but how do the transcripts work? Are just your final grades put on your transcripts, or every quarter?

Could you recommend any of the summer programs that Hotchkiss offers?

Thank you!

16

Hotchkiss parent here, happy to answer questions. And congratulations!

Because there is a big number of incoming 10th graders (“lower-mids”), I think they find it quite easy to integrate. Usually there are 40-45 new lower-mids, so you’ll have plenty of company in figuring out how everything works. And the orientation program before classes start seems to be a big help in everyone getting to know each other. I think that after a very short period of time, no one even remembers who started as a prep and who started as a lower mid.

As for workload, it definitely ratchets up each year. But you also get more adept at managing your schedule each year. I think of it as being akin to the saying “God doesn’t give you more challenges than you can handle.” I’d say that most kids are pretty good about using their free periods during the day to get some work done, which makes a big difference.

As for weekends, most kids really like that Hotchkiss is somewhat isolated, because it means that most kids stay on campus, so there’s always a lot going on. Saturdays are always busy, because most Saturdays there are classes, and then sports take up the afternoon. Saturday night there’s almost always some event – a dance, a magician, movies, etc. Sunday is quieter, most kids sleep in, each brunch late, hang out with friends and get some homework done. The school runs buses into the nearby town of Millerton so you can go to CVS, the grocery store, and the local coffee shop (which is awesome!). In nice weather, kids will also go for a walk in the woods, sun themselves down at the lakefront, or maybe do some extra workouts for whatever sport they do.

Saturday classes, on the whole, are looked at as being a plus. Yes, there are times that everyone wishes they didn’t have to get up for class on Saturday. But the counterbalance to that is that your classes are more spread out over the course of the week, so you have more free periods during the week than you’d otherwise have, and your homework is spread out over 6 nights instead of 5. Plus typically it means that you’ll have some other day of the week that isn’t a very hard day, so the night before that is a nice little break mid-week.

Your actual transcripts (like for external use) just shows your final grade in the class (so if it was a year long class, it’s for the whole year). Internally (and for parents) what you see is a grade for each marking period, the exam, the semester, and then the final (if it’s not a semester long course). Plus twice a year, the teachers write very detailed comments.

Hope this all helps!

17

For you fun seekers out there, the jaunts to Millerton also allow kids to get to the movies as there is a theatre there in addition to some restaurants and shops.

The girls hockey (ice) also has great camaraderie and many have joined who never played before.

Our daughter has planned to do a semester or year abroad during high school and recently announced she just doesn’t want to miss that time at Hotchkiss. Great sense of community.

18

Both my kids have said the same thing. They went into school planning on doing a semester or year abroad, and then decided there’s no way they could miss the time spent on campus. So now both plan to do their traveling over a gap year instead, which the school has phenomenal resources for planning.

19

Hi @Kato2424 ! I just finished my prep year at hotchkiss and will be a lowermid next year. I see that you will be a new lowermid so if you have any questions I would love to help in anyway I can!

20

I am in love with the amount of Hotchkiss (to-be) lowermids on this website!!!