Taft, Hotchkiss and Choate

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>Hi all,</p>

<p>Our P is trying to determine a fit with one of these schools. We did some research and trust that all these schools are academically and athletically competitive in general. Also, we are not very keen on college matriculation rates. In addition to P's strong love of learning, we believe that as long as P goes to a great fit school AND thrive in the environment, she will ultimately get to the college she desires. </p>

<p>Hence, we are very interested to find out about some specific aspects, as follows.</p>

<p>1/ Characteristics of student body? (diverse, open-minded, classy, elitist, down-to-earth, artistic, etc) I hate generalization and every schools can have all personalities, but I still believe that each school may possess core trait(s), something 100% distinctive, something like a spirit.</p>

<p>2/ Similarly, characteristics of faculty body?</p>

<p>3/ Does any of these schools have a particular strength in math, science, languages or a specific field?</p>

<p>4/ How well does the school promote active communication among students, parents and teachers?</p>

<p>I know it's quite many questions, but we are VERY excited to hear your insights. Thanks a lot for your time.</p>

2

<p>Have you visited?</p>

<p>I have been to all three. All three of them have put a great emphasis on new facilities -- they have very pretty buildings. </p>

<p>Hotchkiss is in the northwest corner ... rather remote for many people. Taft is in a small town, but relatively easy to get to. Choate is on the outskirts of Wallingford and town roads travel through campus -- as a driver it can be annoying if you are trying to go somewhere between classes as there are Choaties all over the road.</p>

<p>All three are thought of as very good schools, but expensive. I would say the economic profile of these schools is pretty obvious when you are on campus. (As opposed to some others where you don't really notice the megabucks of the kids' parents.)</p>

3

<p>We are familar w/ Hotchkiss and Choate as our S applied, interviewed and was accepted to both (chose to attend another school). Based on our brief interactions, following are our observations.</p>

<p>Hotchkiss facilities are much more impressive and updated. Their athletic facility was one of best we saw last year. The rural location appeared to be a negative as weekends did not appear too interesting.</p>

<p>Choate is in a nice setting but it wasn't beautiful as some of the other NE boarding schools we saw and the town really did not seem to offer much.</p>

<p>However, the kids at Choate appeared more friendly and relaxed. Their appearance (no dress code) perhaps had something to do w/ this but it seemed like a more easier place to fit in and less stuffy environment. Hotchkis was great in every respect (I liked it) but my S hated it. He felt that the kids seemed uppity and did not like the blazer/tie dress code. In addition, perhaps it was his tour guide, but he's comment was that the kids at other boarding school seemed happier. </p>

<p>Not scientific but merely one family's opinion after a brief interaction.</p>

4

<p>cnp55: & jmlbo: thanks so much for your responses. We haven't visited the schools yet because we live outside the States. We did most of the research through the website and talking to the school. This is why I <em>really</em> appreciate your insights, especially those resulting from real interaction with the school.</p>

<p>Thanks again, and I hope to hear some more comments. Anything would be appreciated.</p>

5

<p>I'm curious on what basis you chose these schools. When I looked I eliminated Choate because of too many NYC kids/cliques and Hotchkiss because of location (kids seemed bored). Didn't look at Taft. What are you looking for?</p>

6

<p>We applied from outside of US also. I suggest you look at Andover, Exeter and Milton as well since the comfort level and adaptability, at least from my S's perspective, rated higher. He passed on Deerfield also based on the same feel he got from Hotchkiss.</p>

<p>Choate and Hotchkiss both have very well off kids from NY and lower Connecticut as does as Taft. This is not all bad or unusual given the ~$36K tuition but you should visit and walk the campus, talk to other kids and parents from your country and really look at the fit from your child's perspective. Reputation and Ivy matriculations mean nothing unless your kid really enjoys the experience and gets the most out of the opportunities offered at the school.</p>

7

<p>Take a look at SPS, too. It seems like a great. A few parents on CC have kids going to SPS. (paleozoic, spsdad) Maybe you could ask them question.</p>

8

<p>The kids at boarding school are generally so busy that the "town" or lack thereof, shouldn't really matter that much. All the schools I am familiar with will run a bus to the mall or other shopping and the movies on weekends. Ask for a copy of their weekend activity list -- it should show some dances, coffeehouses, concerts, movies, sports etc ON CAMPUS and then also some activities OFF CAMPUS with transportation.</p>

<p>Personally, in terms of location, I would choose a gorgeous place and bus to the mall, rather than a walk to the soda shoppe on Main Street. </p>

<p>One thing that's worth considering is how your child will get to school if you do not drive them. Is there a train? shuttle to train? Bus to airport? etc. </p>

<p>FWIW Hotchkiss is not far to the train station to NYC. Great restaurants in Lakeville/Salisbury. My S has a friend there who adores the place. My older S went to Salisbury School. He -- and we -- loved the place. I am a LoomisChaffee grad. I don't see Loomis mentioned much -- but it's way more down to earth than some of the others and the academics are excellent.</p>

9

<p>my oldest son was admitted to each and chose taft, primarily because he like the way the kids interacted--genuine fondness and respect, very open. this is his second year and the experience has exceed all of our expectations, both academically and for ecs.</p>

<p>younger son is applying now to choate, taft, loomis and kent. we didn't like hotchkiss: too far away, cold personality of tour guide and others we met. the interviewer remarked that the school's biggest challenge was integrating the female students; I though that odd since the school has been coed for a long time! We have friends with day students there who love it! go figure.</p>

<p>choate, loomis and taft had stronger academics than kent. but the kids there were great and the campus is lovely. choate is especially strong in the arts. I would be delighted to send my child to any of them.</p>

10

<p>Our s graduated from Loomis in June so we'll try to answer your questions from his experience there:</p>

<p>1/ Characteristics of student body? (diverse, open-minded, classy, elitist, down-to-earth, artistic, etc) I hate generalization and every schools can have all personalities, but I still believe that each school may possess core trait(s), something 100% distinctive, something like a spirit.</p>

<p>Our s is from the west coast so he chose Loomis because of the diversity of the student body in many areas -- ethnicity, religion, geography, academic and extra curricular interests. For an east coast prep school, he found most of the students open-minded and down-to-earth. The dress code is more casual, than some of the other schools (i.e. collared shirts, no ties for the boys) which was also his preference.</p>

<p>2/ Similarly, characteristics of faculty body?</p>

<p>The faculty members are very close to the students and many live on campus in dorm apartments and faculty housing. There was even one faculty member who lived in an apartment in the gym! Since Loomis is one of the larger schools of the group you mentioned, we found the faculty to be very dynamic and supportive of the students in both academic and EC areas. Students can even get faculty support to start new groups if they have enough kids interested in having one focused on a new area of interest. As with most NE preps, the level of faculty and staff is amazing. They really enjoy teaching their students and have expertise that exceeded our expectations. The faculty members were very well-rounded--for example our son's dorm head taught AP Physics, coached varsity water polo, conjured up special post-study hall BBQs for the kids and wrote quarterly emails to the parents that showed he had excellent composition skills. He lived with his wife and daughters in an apartment at the end of the hall and was always accessible to the boys in his dorm. We found the faculty and staff to be very caring and helpful while he was at Loomis. </p>

<p>3/ Does any of these schools have a particular strength in math, science, languages or a specific field?</p>

<p>We're not sure about other schools, but being a larger school, Loomis had a broad range and depth of course offerings in every area. A friend of ours has a son who is a sophomore at Loomis and says the courses he is taking are very intense and challenging.</p>

<p>4/ How well does the school promote active communication among students, parents and teachers?</p>

<p>In our experience, the Loomis faculty and staff were very open to communication with students and parents. The classes are fairly small and involve a lot of student interaction and discussion. Teachers are always open to helping students almost 24/7 since most live on campus. Students could get help in the evenings as well as during the free periods by their own teachers or teachers who lived in their dorms and taught the same subjects. When our son missed a class due to illness, the math teacher stopped by and pinned the math worksheet giving out in class on his dorm door later that day.</p>

<p>The athletic director (a Loomis alum) lives and breathes the motto, "Kids come first." His door is always open and he seems to always find the time to help kids sort things out if they seek his advice. (We can't think of any better role model than Bob Howe for our son.)</p>

<p>The lacrosse coach has been at Loomis for over 30 years, is the freshman dorm head and teaches a tough economics class. What amazed our s was how Grim was still as enthusiastic and energetic as though it was his first year at Loomis.</p>

<p>The activities director plans a lot of optional weekend trips to sporting events, shopping bus trips to NYC, shuttles to the malls or theaters, etc. There are also hundreds of on-campus activities during the school year and the small historical district of Windsor is just a 10 minute walk from the dorms where students can get to a grocery store, pharmacy, cafes, post office, etc.</p>

<p>The kids are pretty relaxed and it was hard to tell who was full-pay and who was on FA and it didn't seem to matter anyway. The campus is beautiful and an added bonus for us was that the Hartford International Airport was only 15 minutes (a $15 cab ride) away. Often a teacher or staff member would give our s a ride.</p>

<p>The college guidance department was excellent and helped our s through the process of finding the best fit for his academic record and interests. The range of colleges to which students in his graduating class matriculated ran the full gammit (Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Yale, Middlebury, NYU, Cornell, Skidmore, BU, BC, Northeastern, Springfield College, etc.), but the guidance counselors seemed to focus on helping the students find what was really right for them rather than choosing a college by prestige. </p>

<p>The other aspect that was important was the graduated steps towards becoming independent that the Loomis guides freshmen through seniors thorough. The structured living and learning environment evolves throughout the four years of high school. As privileges increase and restrictions decrease, the kids gain the confidence they need to live more independently in college. They learn to handle the ups and downs without their parents there and keep moving ahead and figuring it all out.</p>

<p>(Due in a great part to his year at Loomis, our s is having a wonderful freshman year in college in Boston.)</p>

11

<p>loomis is of a different league than choate,taft and hotchkiss in terms of academics, colelge placement and endownment..just note that...but loomis is also a gorgeous place</p>

<p>of the 3...i would say choate and hotchkiss's curriculum is more rigorous than taft...</p>

12

<p>speaking as a student of hotchkiss, so is "tuftsucks"... i think most of us consider loomis and/or taft a notch lower in terms of academics and prestige, and resources..but those are awesome schools too so dont miss out just becoz of prestige</p>

13

<p>Hotchkiss' reputation will never surpass SPS, Andover and Exeter if some of their less considerate students and alumni continue to belittle others. However, its reputation as a bunch snotty rich kids will continue to be validated. A Phd. in Psych is not required to observe the fact that "taftsucks" and "bearcats" comments about Taft throughout CC reveal serious self esteem issues. Perhaps the reason for this verbal venom can be traced back to a loss in a sporting event.</p>

14

<p>I just visited both Taft and Hotchkiss in the past two days as well as Loomis, and I thought the kids at Hotchkiss did seem a bit snootier but that probably just comes from the fact that they’re wearing such nice clothes! At both Loomis and Taft, kids seemed really nice and open to letting you try new things and my tour guides were amazing. I really felt a lot of school spirit at Taft, probably because my guide was a pretty enthusiastic junior girl.</p>

<p>To LaxCoach- After visting both and considering attending both currently, I really don’t think its self-esteem issues. My guide at Taft told as that their motto during sports season and events like ‘Hotchkiss Day’ where all their teams play each other is actually ‘Kill the Kiss’ so its not a one-sided thing and seems pretty much like a normal friendly rivalry.</p>

15

<p>@LaxCoach, “snotty rich kids” ? Go easy. I live in one of the towns that gets a lot of grief on this site. And when I think about the kids I know who are at boarding school, they are the open minded, nice ones who chose to go away to meet new people from other places. The truly awful ones stay home.</p>

16

<p>@prepbobcat: I can only speak for Choate, but I have nothing but overwhelming positives to say in each of your categories. I will try to be specific, though.</p>

<p>1.) Characteristics of student body? DS is a first-year from the opposite side of the country and has not found Choate students to be anything but warm, welcoming, diverse, and not very clique-ish. Though an only-child living in a single room, he has made many, many friends, feels connected, and frankly prefers to be engaged at school with his “brothers” now than at home with his boring parents.</p>

<p>2.) Similarly, characteristics of faculty body? I can’t say enough about the Choate faculty we have interacted with. In fact, over Parents Weekend, we attended two days of DS classes rather than the recommended one day because we couldn’t get enough. Teachers and students were highly interactive, the level of instruction was collegiate, and DS was so absorbed in the process he forgot we were there. DH and I were amazed at the level of detail provided by each teacher in our son’s term report which practically shouted “we really know and care about your son”. </p>

<p>3.) Do any of these schools have a particular strength in math, science, languages or a specific field? As someone else noted, Choate is strong in the arts, but our DS chose the school for its math/computer science program and has not been disappointed. It may help you to look carefully through each school’s course offerings to get a sense of emphasis and depth in each department if your child is looking for a particular strength. Contacting department heads is also a good way to get your questions answered in these areas.</p>

<p>4.) How well does the school promote active communication among students, parents and teachers? As remote parents, we couldn’t be more pleased with how connected Choate has made us feel through e-mail (bulletins, updates, etc.), their newly designed parents portal and, my favorite—the Choate webcam (DS will often call when he’s in front of it so we can see him while we talk; of course, Skype works better, but the webcam lets us see the weather and gives us a sense that we’re peeking in on campus life–and, we can look even when he’s not there). Choate is very pro-active about encouraging students to ask for extra help from teachers, and teachers obviously make students their priority. Dorm activities, like “mug” nights, and regular student dances and trips to local malls and events encourage students to interact outside of the classroom.</p>

<p>We are as thrilled with our experience as our son is with his. If you have any specific questions about Choate, feel free to PM me.</p>

17

<p>I’m a Taft mom on a tight deadline, but I second everything that @Chaotiemom says as applying to Taft as well (except I don’t think Taft has a webcam).</p>

<p>I love Taft and my daughter sometimes slips and calls it “home.” Great staff, nice kids, a lot of academic choices as well as hands-on teachers. You get the impression that the adults really like the students there - even the auxiliary staff (security, dining hall, etc.) And parents are made to feel like part of the culture too - with constant updates, emails, and very long comprehensive grade reports that include letters from faculty about my child. </p>

<p>Our D chose it and is thriving there.</p>

18

<p>I think I can safely say that Choate and Hotchkiss are academically more rigorous than Taft but there is something else to consider. At a school that is less challenging-Taft-one has the potential to be closer to the top of the class as opposed to Hotchkiss where the same kid can be at the middle of the class. The best couple of students at the top twenty five boarding schools can get into a top college regardless of the school. So I would argue that the best school to go to is the school for you. The school that has the best combination of actually learning and getting into the best school for colleges. Further more, the experience of your school should also count. If you barely get into a school, say Groton, and you go there, you will have an extremely miserable four years. You will learn how to do one thing really well-work hard. In all, the process of choosing schools should be personal and intimate. Go with your gut and you won’t go wrong.</p>

19

Hi, does anyone on this thread feel qualified to write a description of the Taft experience as thorough as Creasemonkey wrote on Loomis and choatiemom wrote on Choate? I would really appreciate it!

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