<p>This is my first non-chance tread here on CC, so many of you on here might not know much about me. This year I applied to Choate Rosemary Hall and the Hopkins School(day student at both) for 9th grade. I was wait listed at both because of FA (I think). I am considering reapplying and am not sure if I should. This year I applied as a day student so I was hoping that if next year I would apply to some schools as a boarding student. I still have to convince my parents to let me apply and that seems pretty farfetched. Another concern I have is FA. Applying to prep schools was pretty time consuming this year so I want to narrow down my list to about 3-4 schools. My interests are musical and humanities related, yet I am strong in other subjects as well. I would prefer the schools to be in CT. Some schools I am considering are..
-Choate Rosemary Hall: Day Student
-Hotchkiss:Boarding
-Kent:Boarding
-Loomis Chaffee:Boarding
-Taft(Maybe):Boarding
-Hopkins(most likely not;FA is not very good):Day Student
Any other schools I should consider...</p>
<p>of these schools i am familiar with hotchkiss and loomis and hotchkiss seems to have a wonderful music program. They had lots of concerts and a lot of musicians around campus when i went. Loomis however did not seem very musical though, and more about theater. If you are a girl you should consider Dana Hall near Boston. I know its a little over an hour from Loomis so it wouldnt be too far but you’d want to board.</p>
<p>You should definitely reapply. Last year, I applied to Andover as a 9th grade day student and did not get accepted. I did research over the summer for other prep schools around the New England area and found Choate, Hotchkiss, Exeter, and Taft. My main interests are music and science. I went for tours around these five schools and ones that stood out to me were Andover, Choate, and Exeter. </p>
<p>Hotchkiss was too “small” for me in my opinion. Even though the campus is HUGE, all the classes are in one building and the rest of the buildings are mostly dorms (except the gym). Hotchkiss has a very strong humanities program, but I did not feel content with their music program in my opinion. I also did not like their dress code since I don’t like formal that much. </p>
<p>Taft was also too small for me. They have multiple buildings for classes, but their music program also didn’t stand out to me. I didn’t end up applying.</p>
<p>I liked Andover because I had friends there. Andover also had a very strong science program.</p>
<p>I did not get to tour Exeter, but I got a good feel of just being on campus…</p>
<p>Choate was my favorite school by far. I loved the campus because of how open it was, and the science research program was amazing! I also got to meet Mr. Ventre, a music director at Choate and got to learn so much about Choate’s music program. It’s wonderful! </p>
<p>I ended up being denied to Exeter, wait listed to Andover and Hotchkiss, and accepted to Choate. </p>
<hr>
<p>If you need help convincing your parents, PM me hahaha.</p>
<p>If your preference is BS rather than Day S, does it really matter what state the school is in? CT is not a large geographic area-- why limit your pool of possibilities so narrowly?</p>
<p>It probably doesn’t make too much sense but because it will be easier to convince my parents to let me board if the schools are in CT. However, I would be open to applying to schools outside of CT, just that it would be even harder to convince my parents to let me.</p>
<p>As you hint that FA is a make-or-break issue for your family, I would focus on looking at schools that are historically generous w FA, rather than just schools located in CT. </p>
<p>If the underlying concern about the CT geographic constraint is the FLY vs DRIVE commuting cost to the schools, then I suggest getting a map and drawing a 50mi, 100mi, 150mi, 200mi radius circle around your hometown to help you (and your parents) look at the driving distance objectively.</p>
<p>I disagree about Loomis’ music program. We went to their revisit day and were blown away by their music program. They have a gorgeous new music concert hall (not used for theater, only for music) and the music directors seemed very enthusiastic and dedicated. They have separate directors for concert band, jazz band, chorus, and orchestra. Lots of practice rooms for groups and solo. We were very impressed!</p>
<p>Choate is a fantastic school, I applied there this year. I recommend reapplying–it will show the admission officers that you truly care about that school. </p>
<p>ALSO, I know you may not be interested because it’s in Massachusetts, but Andover offers need-blind admission, meaning that all applications are read without regard of financial situation. If FA is a big issue for you, you may wish to look at a school with more generous aid than Choate. I was waitlisted by CRH, and my financial situation was a major reason why.</p>
<p>Now I’ve narrowed down my list to…
Choate Rosemary Hall(Day-Most likely)
Hotchkiss School(Boarding)
Kent School(Boarding)
Phillips Andover Academy(Boarding)
Northfield Mount Hernon(Boarding;not sure about this school)
Then again maybe…
Hopkins School(Least likely; FA is very rare(not a good fit either)
Are these schools I should consider, would they be a good fit or should I remove or add schools to this list</p>
<p>Please recognize that you narrowed your list down to some of the most competitive schools in the system and this year they waitlisted a lot of qualified kids due to FA. I would cast a wider net to improve your chances. Being waitlisted one year, as it turns out, doesn’t necessarily translate into success at the same school the next year.</p>
<p>@CTPeruvian97,
I second what @DiveAlive said. In my opinion, SPS has the best music program of any other prep school. Their choral music is mind blowing. </p>
<p>Also, I’ve heard that NMH has a fairly weak FA program. They WLed my extremely qualified friend due to FA. Also, I’ve heard that they’re selling buildings on campus. So, if a school is selling buildings to make ends meet, they probably won’t have a ton of money to give to FA kids.</p>
<p>In my opinion, your list is a good list @CTPeruvian97. You have two very selective schools (Choate, Andover) and two selective, but not insanely selective schools (Kent, NMH). If I were you, I’d cut NMH from your list, and add a school like Taft or Governor’s. Also, I’d apply to a few more schools. But that’s just me. Good luck next year.</p>
<p>I agree that you should try again. I applied two years ago and much like you I was waitlisted because ‘although I qualified for admissions they could not afford me at this time’. I tried again this year and got accepted with all the FA I need, as a repeat sophomore at Deerfield Academy. If you haven’t heard of it you really should look into it because it was ranked 20 for prep schools in the country and is better than pretty much every school in CT. Of course I’m going to say this because I am going but it really is on Forbes magazine. Anyways, you would be a boarding student, but after presenting your parents with this school, they would fall in love with it (I hope). The endowment at DA is also much larger than those at most other schools. It is $315 million as opposed to $75 mil for schools like Loomis. 1/3 of the students are also on FA and the average grant is $35,000. Hopefully this helps and if you have anymore questions just message me or something. I’ll be more than happy to help you :)</p>
<p>Brooketrout,
not to be a pain, but I don’t think it is necessarily true that Deerfield is “better than pretty much every school in CT”. And besides, Deerfield is in Massachusetts, so why even bring it up? And Loomis’ endowment is roughly $190 mil, not 75. I am going to Loomis in the fall, and really excited about it! Congrats on getting into Deerfield, it’s a great school!</p>
<p>ExieMITAlum, I already know not to take the Forbes list too seriously and as for Deerfield, I have already looked at and don’t like it as much as the other schools I am considering(I know a lot of schools on the Forbes list and don’t really think they are better than any other schools). I started this tread to see some opinions different from my own about these schools and Brookfield gave his opinion(even if he/she doesn’t know what state Deerfield is in).</p>
<p>No, I know what state Deerfield is in…the great state of MA, where I am from. I was just saying that since the schools talked about where in CT, and most good boarding schools are in CT, Deerfield is better then a lot of those schools. You don’t need to be bitter or rude, I was just trying to help out.</p>
<p>I stumbled upon this thread and read all of the posts, and if you see over time, the schools this student are interested in went from CT to CT and some other states. There is no need to attack someone by telling then to not attend a school because they don’t know the state. Obvoisly she would know where the school is… Think about it. Don’t assume because it comes off as rude.</p>
<p>I think that you should definitely apply for 10th grade. I applied to Andover for 9th grade and wasn’t accepted, but applied for 10th grade to a few other schools, including Andover, and i’m going to be attending Choate this fall. Good luck to you!</p>
Congrats on getting into Deerfield, it’s a great school!</p>