<p>You will really want a laptop if you can swing it, I think most campuses are now wifi.</p>
<p>I disagree with Bifocal .This thread is "Prep school Admissions".Why wouldn't there be teenagers.Also, my opinion that Hotchkiss is considered a safety when compared to AESD is rarely disputed.There is no doubt that many kids chose it above the other four,but that does not change it's position.It also does not diminish the quality of H or the kids who choose to attend. For the parents and kids who have not visited these schools it would not be fair to voice an opinion.There just happen to be an active group on this board focusing on the top 2 (or4), because it is the only way to meet certain requirements.Never underestimate the appeal size of school population has for the right applicant.Bicoastal07 you were reported for breaking discussion rules.</p>
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There are thousands of potential prep schoolers with straight A’s and 95%+ SSATs, and I firmly believe that the most mature of them would laugh at the popularity contest that this board has become.
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<p>Many of us here have those kinds of stats, and we're not laughing. What do you mean, popularity contest? For BS? Because EVERYONE knows that Choate is like, sooo cool. I feel so intimidated by them. They're so popular.</p>
<p>that's the dumbest thing I have ever heard. I go to deerfield and we at Deerfield regard Choate and Hotchkiss as peers of our tier. I dont know why people on this board always refer to us as AESD because Hotchkiss and Choate belongs to the same league in the boarding school circle..More like AES a tier of their own, and Deerfield Choate Hotchkiss, All the 6 schools have almost identical SSAT average, acceptance rate. Francis, your idea was silly</p>
<p>and Hotchkiss is not a safety for anyone, not even the top applicant to andover, It's not even a match for them, It is a reach for everyone. At 20% acceptance rate, you cant be sure of anything</p>
<p>I know, I agree with Big Greens. Many people can choose Choate and Hotchkiss over other qualified schools.</p>
<p>It is an opinion.I should not use the term AESD.I should really be using A & E.There are plenty of students out there in top day schools with populations of 300 to 800. Most of the time there is very little diversity.If you want a LARGE population ( over 1000 ) school with average SSAT > 92%,diversity, and they happen to be ranked #1 and #1 there are only 2 choices for the qualified student.I wish there were more. Understanding the risks associated with not being accepted is up to that student.It just surpises me that so many on this board question that reasoning.I am also surprised that school size is so easily dismissed.If a kid is going to a underperforming public school,wants a small prep or doesn't have the entry requirements then having this goal would not make sense.But to call it Dumb is over the top . Thank you</p>
<p>Francis, your comment is complete bigotry. If I read correctly - and I'm hoping I didn't - then your comment was that all qualified students should go to Andover and Exeter.</p>
<p>First of all, look at the college matriculation rates. HYP graduates also went to lower-tiered schools and higher-tiered schools. Are you saying that these people - presumably the top of their class - should have just gone to Andover and Exeter? That would be impossible, on a practical level. Many kids will not like Andover and Exeter, and will prefer a more comfortable environment.</p>
<p>Overall, your post was narrow-minded, bigoted, and intolerant. I'm disgusted to know that someone thinks that Andover and Exeter are the only schools for qualified applicants. Why do you think that Blair is applyint to 10 schools, along with J, Michelle, Caroline, and me? We want DIVERSITY in our schools. I do not want to go to Andover, even if I get in. I WILL CHOOSE CHOATE. This is because CRH is a better FIT for me, and even if I end up going to HYPS, I won't regret my decision.</p>
<p>And to your comment on school size, many kids will feel "lost" in a community such as Andover or Exeter. They might want a slightly smaller school like Choate or even one like Deerfield. On the other end of the scale, they might want to go to a school such as Groton or Westminster which both have very cohesive communities.</p>
<p>Have you realized that people apply to boarding schools for reasons other than prestige?</p>
<p>you are misunderstanding. If you want to attend a LARGE prep school and have the ability only the top two have a student population > than 1000 students. I would not want to attend a school with 300, 500 or 800 students. Too small for me.PM me if don't get this</p>
<p>Choate has 850 students - not that different in size. I don't think a kid would notice the difference b/t 1000 and 850 once he arrives on the campus.</p>
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and will prefer a more comfortable environment.
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Ah. I do not wish to be rude, but this statement seems a bit biased, no? Perhaps it is the relativity of your comparison that irks me. In arguments based upon opinion, the solution does not arise from opinionated statements. ;)</p>
<p>We all strive to achieve the same goal. I think it would be best if we worked together and set aside these immortal opinions and instead looked for the commonalities within such different needs, and ultimately within different thinking. :)</p>
<p>I'm sorry, I meant that a student's ability to be comfortable in an environment should be considered more the school's ability to have higher SAT scores and according to Francis, higher than a 92 SSAT average.</p>
<p>Wouldn't it be better to just let ignorant statements go rather than respond?</p>
<p>Yes 850 is too small. why am I a bigot if i want to move from my small to meduim size school that is not diverse to two of the largest most diverse student populations in the country?It is because I want to broaden my horizons at a large school.That does not mean that Choate and Hotchkiss are not just fine.I think people sometimes kids don't understand the desire to play on a larger stage....This doesn't sound like olivia , if not ,what a waste.</p>
<p>I didn't say you were a bigot because of your preferences for school sizes. I said you were a bigot because you believed that all qualified applicants should attend A and E. If I misunderstood, I'm sorry.</p>
<p>I'll bite suze.What is ignorant about wanting to branch out from a day school with academics that compare to A & E,but isn't so diverse.Making the decision to attend a large(>1000) and divese boarding school.Narrows the search to the only two large schools with entrance requirements that meet your performance.You visit and find the schools to be a good match for you.It amazes me that this concept is so hard to grasp.Aren't you there?</p>
<p>I heard the campus was super big. Do you get lost or walk for a looooooooooooooooooong time? umm. what else.. what made you choose SPS over other schools</p>
<p>As a parent of a senior or 6th former, I can tell you that SPS is the top boarding school. St. Paul's has turned our son into a very mature, well spoken and smart young man. He has made great friends and when I look back at his old HS friends he left behind, I feel that sending him to SPS was the best desicion I ever made (and he feels the same way)</p>
<p>babouche -- I take it, then, that your son wasn't SuperAchiever when he applied? What, in your view, were some of his weaknesses (or areas in need of nurturing/development) that St. Paul's was able to deal with? It sounds like he grew while at St. Paul's -- which I'm pointing out because it's a good object lesson for those who assume the "top schools" only take near perfect specimens going in. Obviously your son needed some maturing...but in what ways did he go in to St. Paul's lacking maturity and why, in your mind, were those "areas in need of growth" not obstacles to his success at a "top school" like St. Paul's? Your answer may help relieve some anxiety among some of the kids here who are sweating out the fact that they're not already as perfect as they think the schools they've applied to want them to be when they graduate....</p>
<p>I don't know what the standard is for other schools, but for St. Paul's the standard is love of the place. The school is to some extent a family. To get a feel for what it is really about read Lorene Carey's Black Ice. ( This is a wonderful antidote to "Prep" which is also about vulnerable teenagers at an "elite" prep. The difference is that "Prep" is thrash while Black Ice is true) Most of all, I would hope you can get hold of a video the school put out a few years ago--"Mentors, Reflection on enduring faculty student relationships". Ask the admissions office if they can burn a cd for you if you are seriously interested in Saint Paul's and for whatever reasons can't afford a visit.</p>