<p>Thanks, we will keep that in mind.</p>
<p>We also visited St. Mark’s on Saturday. I was impressed the most with the teaching and teachers. They seemed to be enthusiastic, thoughtful teachers who made an effort to apply their lessons to the kids, real world, and life!</p>
<p>The students were friendly and seemed to enjoy being at St. Mark’s. It also sounded like a large percentage of students participated in school trips over the spring break, either on “study” trips, community service, or preseason athletics.</p>
<p>I am still wrestling with the pros/cons of one building. Would it feel clautrophobic over a long New England winter?</p>
<p>i just came back from my revisit at exeter…
it was… tiring i guess.
the weather was TERRIBLE, but the school itself was amazing!
i loved the classes, i visited a spanish class, asian studies, english, and geometry class.
the kids that i met were all pretty friendly, my tour guide person was an asian from texas and the people that i met were mainly her asian friends + a couple others. </p>
<p>i’m going to groton tomorrow, and i’m hoping that the weather will be a lot better.</p>
<p>Phillips Andover was amazing but I don’t have time to type it all up now. </p>
<p>Sadly it was pouring a lot and the fire alarm went off twice during lunch.</p>
<p>SoontoBoard – will look forward to your Andover write-up when you get the chance. Thanks!</p>
<p>SoontoBoard, funny that you say the alarm went off during lunch at Andover. The same thing happened when I was there, but from your other descriptions it sounds like we were there on different days (there was no rain when we were there, and the alarm only went off once). Anyway, a quick story about the alarm, just demonstrating the spirit of Andover kids…
So we’re in the beautiful, brand new Commons when the fire alarm goes off. Everyone of course evacuates the building and stands outside in the freezing, drizzly climate. By the way, the alarm was not a drill, so the whole building could have been burning down three days after it opened for all we knew. Basically, this was a bad situation no matter which way you look at it. But instead of moping around and complaining (like most of the world probably would), the students come together and start cheering. Within five minutes, the entire student body is yelling, “BLUE, WHITE, FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!”
I don’t know about you, but I think that’s pretty remarkable.</p>
<p>xixohersheykiss,</p>
<p>Oh no, You never feel clautrophobic. It is not a whole one building but the buildings are connected. So you have to keep moving from one building to anotherfor different classes.</p>
<p>And students have a free period almost everyday. During the free period, they can go to library or dorm to study, do homework, or relax.</p>
<p>What? feel clautrophobic over a long New England winter? </p>
<p>I’d feel cozy inside the building. Saint Mark’s school is a great school. I agree the main building outlook is not so great. But the quality of the school is outstanding. I realized that the school has new buildings as well. It used to be “everything under one roof”. But not any more, they built new buildings and I am hearing that they will renovate the main building as well. It looks like one building, but several buildings are connected. When you move from one building to another, you have to walk out side a bit follwoing the sidewalk, They are also building two turf fields. My sister is thinking about going to Saint Mark’s next year and my relatives strongly recommend the school. Once the main building renovations is completed, it willl be a big shot as somebody in this thread said because there is nothing to complain about the school.</p>
<p>I’m going to a revisit day tomorrow as a family member of my sister, and I was wondering what kind of clothes did people wear at your revisits? Spec. Lawrenceville?</p>
<p>Hi! [: So, I went to revisit at Loomis Chaffee and The Cambridge School of Weston.</p>
<p>Loomis Chaffee was a mind-blowing experience for me. Driving up to the campus was absolutely amazing – it’s truly gorgeous, with lakes a green fields and etc. The first thing we did was walk into the wrong building (whoops!) and so we were directed to the correct building. For the first 30 minutes or so, a bunch of revisiting families all piled together in Loomis’s Great Heads room (the correct name escapes me) and the faculty basically rotated to talk to all of the families. There was coffee (thankfully! My poor father had to skip out on his daily Starbucks Dopio Macciato [I just butchered the spelling], so he was thankful) and refreshments, and it helped everyone feel at ease. After that, we were invited into their chapel, and the Head of Admissions gave a really nice speech that made everybody feel great about themselves and the school. Finally, it was time for the parents to depart (they went to some mock classes) and the students were assigned to their tour guide.</p>
<p>To be honest, I was most nervous about attending the classes with my school guide, seized with the doubts any teenager is expected to have: Will I fit in? Will all of the girls be prettier than me? Will the teachers like me? Am I actually smart enough, or was my admissions an error? HELP ME! However, C (my tour guide) was grounded, goofy and nice. I felt more at ease than I had expected, and sat in on a Chemistry class. Though I took Chemistry as a freshman, the class still held my attention. The kids looked more or less like any other kids (boarding school does NOT translate to Gossip Girl! Hair was messy, clothes didn’t match sometimes… these kids ARE just like you and me!) but the difference between the Loomis atmosphere and my school was pretty astonishing. Students were asking questions; the teacher joked around with the kids; people weren’t afraid to volunteer their answers, and sometimes, they were wrong. I was feeling pretty good about Loomis Chaffee, suddenly.</p>
<p>I also got to sit in on a French class, and though I am technically 1 year ahead of the class I sat in on, I’d probably be attending that class next year – the class was superior to mine. The English class I went to was a Harkness Table, and the professor was brilliant, particularly because he looked like Alan Rickman, but a little older, with gray hair, which is how I always thought English teachers ought to look (and that had nothing to do with anything, but I thought it was important to add). I pronounced a word correctly, and he said, “Just so,” which my tour guide later informed me was a huge deal. So EVERYBODY, learn to pronounce “impecunious” and you’ve already started out on the correct foot.</p>
<p>The art class I sat in on seemed really fun.</p>
<p>The food there, I’d give a 7/10. I wasn’t very hungry, but it seemed mostly like standard cafeteria food, maybe a little better. The scenery and buildings, I’d give a 9/10. The teachers, an 8/10. Reading through my revisit impression, makes me rethink the fact that I chose my other school over Loomis. Loomis Chaffee truly is an amazing school, and the kids there were absolutely having the time of their lives. I’m missing out on a lot by not attending, but it’s also important to realize that just because a school is great, it’s not necessarily the right place for you. I loved LC, and as much as I wanted to fall IN love with it, the school didn’t give me that “home” vibe. Revisits are SO important. I think if I ended up attending LC, I’d have a ball there, and appreciate it and love it, but in the end, you have to go with your gut feeling and attend the school that’s truly right for you.</p>
<p>If anybody has any questions, feel free to comment or message me. This was absurdly long, and I’m having doubts about posting about my CSW revisit… maybe if people actually find this helpful :D.</p>
<p>So you like Cambridge school of Weston better?</p>
<p>I’ll write up Groton, Exeter, and Middlesex tommorow. I’ll copy and paste my Andover and Hotchkiss ones too.</p>
<p>BTW, Exeter and Middlesex have not lived up to my expectations. Probably cuz I’m critical.</p>
<p>elvee- PLEASE post about Cambridge school of Weston - my daughter is looking into applying there for class of 2014. Any impressions would be helpful.</p>
<p>Liddyb4 - I’d be happy to try and help out your daughter [:</p>
<p>When I walked onto the CSW campus for my revisit day, I felt relaxed automatically. The school doesn’t look spectacular from the outside – I mean, the foliage in the fall is gorgeous, and the campus is pretty, very green and open, but the buildings look like any other building in my opinion. So, the first place we went was their dining hall building, which also includes an auditorium and a few more rooms and hallways. They gave me a CSW notebook (which I regretfully FORGOT in my first class, haha) and then I sat down in a room with many other students, waiting for my name to be called. The people at CSW did a great job of pairing prospective students with their tour guides. I was paired with a sophomore boarder, which means that, since I’m entering as a junior, we’d be in the same position.</p>
<p>I went to one class with my first tour guide, C. She was very nice and open, and automatically I felt secure. On our way to their science building (LEED approved!) and were greeted by about 4 kids straight off. C then directed me into her Satire class, which was pretty interesting. The student body was much less homogenous than LC was, in my opinion, and I had a good time listening in and participating a little in the discussion - the kids there are not afraid to speak and be engaged, which was a nice change from my current school, haha.</p>
<p>After that, the revisit day people went to the auditorium to see some performances. They were definitely good, but it was the least impressive part of the day for my father and me. I felt like I was sitting in at a high school talent show (albeit a very good one). Then, my new tour guide, J, took me to her junior/senior level Environmental Science class, which I absolutely loved. The teacher was goofy but relatable and intelligent, the kids were so involved and welcoming, and the subject was right up my ally (I generally gravitate towards the humanities over mathematics, for example). I could envision myself in that class next year, laughing and learning with the people. Plus, the insides of the buildings are all great! The class I sat in on seemed to favor the Harkness Table method, as did many of the classrooms in that particular building, and, though this is gratuitous, all of the classrooms have many windows. Personally, I hate learning in a cluttered and cell-like environment, so it was an added plus [:.</p>
<p>After that, it was time for lunch. The boarding school prospectives were having a special banquet in one of the art galleries at the school. Unfortunately, my tour guide and I missed that tidbit, and I ended up getting my food in the regular dining hall. By the time we figured it out, I had already gotten my lunch, so I ate in the gallery like I was supposed to, with the regular food. While some may see this as a misfortune, it was fine by me. The food they served at the banquet was pretty phenomenal (good steak, salmon salad, fresh squash soup, and these little handmade cupcake desserts) but at least I got to see what their habitual food is like… pretty darn good! I’m a vegetarian, as is most of CSW (apparently) and I got a cucumber hummus sandwich and great salad and iced tea… either way, the food is great. Then, we heard from two students, and got to ask questions. Finally, we were invited for a fuller tour of the girls dorms, and that was the end of my revisit. I must say, the dorms were one of my favorite parts. The common rooms reminded me of a true living room, and the actual rooms were spacious enough for me!</p>
<p>I hope it helped . [: If anyone has any questions about either CSW (mod system, etc.) or LC, feel free to comment or PM me, and I’ll try to help the best I can!</p>
<p>Great report elvee.</p>
<p>Just came back from Choate and Andover revisits. Both were amazingly wonderful. The whole process was very well organized. The administrators and faculty members were friendly, welcoming and helpful. Marketing strategy or not, it does show the schools thougtfulness in helping the incoming students/parents make often difficult decisons. At Choate, I talked to a student of second generation immigrant, an international student and an “all american” guy. They were all doing well, enthusiastic about the school, and truly happy to be there. Anodver’s dean of admission’s talk about the process, her experience as an experienced admission officer and as a parent is heart warming and yes, inspiring. The only not so good part about the Anodver revisit was that S was paired with a host who didn’t seem to like the job. He felt unwelcomed and ignored. Also generally he felt the faculty and students at Choate are friendlier. We haven’t made up our mind yet.</p>
<p>Watertester… I agree wholeheartedly about Choate, we were able to gauge the faculty and student body really well, because they made themselves truly available. They provided a good opportunity also to look at a student’s special interests, for clubs, and athletics, and we visited as many areas we could squeeze into the allotted time. The food CHOICES at Choate were excellent, with healthful varieties and also tasty. We were able to observe some sports at the end of the day. My child met many students, boys and girls, all ages, friendly and interested (even with limited time to say hello), and that made her very comfortable PLUS the host was fantastic. </p>
<p>We also went to L’ville too, but it was the complete opposite experience! (very limited “cafeteria” food choices), not much opportunity to get answers (“you can always send an email to…”), look into any special interests, etc. The host was shy and NONE of the students were interested in introducing themselves - amazingly, some of the staff didn’t know it was a re-visit day - Huh!</p>
<p>Also, unfortunately, and I really hate to say it, my child noticed a social separation (read “segregation”) in the cafeteria, and throughout the school, which was not present at Choate. I tried opposing that observation, to play devil’s advocate and give it a chance because of it’s great rep. I found my argument was very weak, since I’d noticed it myself, as did the grandparent. Grandy said CHOATE all the way. This is someone who has absolutely no knowledge of BS and just went on observation of the faculty, students, and the interactions, so received that with some guardedness. </p>
<p>So… that was our experience.</p>
<p>As an applicant for class of 2014, I find this thread so helpful! Thank you!</p>
<p>Also-- I have a sibling at Exeter, and though I didn’t attend a revisit, I have gotten to attend a bunch of plays and parents weekends, as well as some classes, too. I was up there for a weekend recently, and I just found the atmosphere so refreshing. All of my sibling’s friends were having joking debates with each other, and even I (four years younger) got to join in. I loved the way they were so interested in talking about religion, and words, and just having fun with it. They were all so inquiring. I spent a night in a dorm and everyone was laughing and going into eachother’s rooms and talking. It was great. </p>
<p>The class that I attended was Black Experience in WHite America, and I LOVED it. The teacher was very welcoming to me as a younger sibling, and I had a great time. I love the way Harkness is discussion that is lead by the students, but melded by the teacher. Everyone had amazing input and it was fantastic. I really, really loved it.</p>
<p>So, that’s my experience at Exeter. It wasn’t a revisit, but I figure it might be helpful, because it’s a more candid picture of the school.</p>
<p>My daughter got to experience revisit day from the other side this year, as a tour guide. The first revisit day was heavily attended and people made a big fuss over the visitors. The teachers were more exciting, the cafeteria food was better than usual, and the students were trying to make a good impression. </p>
<p>The second visit day (a week later) was less well attended, and people behaved like it was a normal day. My daughter thought the second group got a better picture of real life at the school, normal classes, food, conversations, schedules, etc. Paradoxically, she thought the school came off better on the second day.</p>
<p>Grejuni, I see your point. It was the last revisit day (for Andover, it was the fourth). I can understand how the revisit could’ve become some nuisance to the current students/teachers. On a normal day, you wouldn’t expect to be greeted and welcomed by everyone on campus - so yes in that sense this was more real. Even S agreed that it was not as bad as it sounded. It was still wonderful experience overall.</p>