I was accepted in at The Hill School and I will be going there as a fourth form boarder. Is anyone in this forum thinking of going there? And if you know any relative/friends attending (or attended) the Hill School, could you tell the uniqueness of the school?
Sorry, I was asking such a general question.
The Hill School isn’t really talked about as much as other schools such as Groton and Deerfield. Why is that do you think?
How is the quality of food at the Hill?
I heard there are chapel services and Saturday Classes, which I am not familiar with for both of them. Could you explain them a little bit more?
What do kids do on Sundays? Do a lot of people attend masses/services?
Is it possible to walk outside the school?
After the school day and the required afternoon activities are over, are there required study halls? How long are they? do you get any breaks in any time of the day?
Are the classes generally hard?
How competitive are the sports? What is the most competitive sport?
Thank you :)))
My Son has been accepted and we will be attending revisit day on April 1. I can answer a couple of questions for you - his Dad went with him to the initial visit, I went with him to the open house they had in January that spoke about the new math/science/engineering 3-year program they have. It was a great presentation, and if son decides Hill is the one, he will be taking that course.
I do know there is chapel 2x weekly. Now, I don’t know if that is prayer chapel, or meeting in the chapel and hearing a talk about something. I do know they consider themselves a non-denominational school.
I do believe there are required study halls. I think they are from 8-10.
That is all I am certain of at this point. I do know that son thought the dorms were the oldest/shabbiest of the schools he visited in the fall, but that did not deter him from applying.
My HB has 2 employees that work for him that attended Hill, and they both think it was the best experience of their life. That said, Hill students are only required to board for one year, both men attended Hill when it was transitioning from all boys to co-ed, and moved back home when that happened and attended as day students. One of them got a baseball scholarship to college, I think baseball might be a big sport. Both are very active alumni.
Many of these answers can be found in most school’s handbooks. I recommend seeing if Hill’s Student Handbook is online and, if so, reading it from cover to cover.
Answers from what my kid has told me:
How is the quality of food at the Hill? It was really good at the beginning of the year, but the quality has gone downhill. There was a recent incident involving chicken fingers and the popularity of such resulting in a dislocated shoulder. So, I guess the chicken fingers are really good? When I’ve been there, as a parent, the food has always been really good.
I heard there are chapel services and Saturday Classes, which I am not familiar with for both of them. Could you explain them a little bit more? Saturday classes are being phased out. When they do have them, they have four classes for 45 minutes each. Which classes you have on Saturday rotates. They also only have three classes on Wednesday and four classes on Thursday. All seven classes M, T and F. Or, I guess I should say 7 periods, as one is free/campus service (your “job”) Chapel is on Monday and Friday, and anyone can give a chapel talk on pretty much any subject. I think they may sing a hymn or two, and there is a prayer. And, of course, the school song. (To the tune of “Oh, Tannenbaum”…Many hands have labored long…
What do kids do on Sundays? Do a lot of people attend masses/services? They have shuttles to area churches on Sundays, and communion in the Chapel. There are TONS of weekend activities. College basketball games, other sporting event attendance, restaurant trips, museums, plays, ice skating, cultural activities, the Crayola Factory, the Jersey Shore…my kid’s personal favorite is hanging out at the King of Prussia mall.
Is it possible to walk outside the school? Yes and no. Here is the official stance in the handbook. “When departing campus, always sign out, take your cell phone, travel with others, and observe
the School’s curfew rules. In Pottstown, stay on well-traveled streets like High and Beech
Streets. If someone harasses you, don’t be embarrassed to loudly say “Leave me alone!” Avoid
the streets to the west of The Hill campus and never travel by foot into Pottstown after
nightfall.”
After the school day and the required afternoon activities are over, are there required study halls? How long are they? do you get any breaks in any time of the day? Study Hall is 7:30 - 9:30. Breaks…well, I already mentioned the free/c-serve period above. Honestly, when my kid doesn’t have a commitment, I think he is either studying or playing games on his phone. He really doesn’t have a ton of free time…but then I don’t think any boarding schools do.
Are the classes generally hard? I would think that would be an individual opinion. Mine says one class moves really fast and therefore is hard, but he’s getting an A. He usually has a lot of homework, but it seems to be mostly reading and taking notes and writing down questions over what he has read. He’s had several “big” projects to do throughout the year, too, but the teachers always seem to make it fun for the kids. At least that’s was he tells dear old mom.
How competitive are the sports? What is the most competitive sport? Competitiveness…depends on what sports. They had 70 kids try out for soccer this year, and also a lot try out for Lacrosse. Obviously, not all those kids made a team. On the other hand, they only had maybe 14 JV football players, some of which also played on the Varsity team. All the teams (according to the kid) try their best and play to win. Most competitive in game play (the best) in his opinion, is by far the Ice Hockey team. There is also a group working with the athletic department to get approval for a varsity ultimate team next fall, if your into that sort of thing.
My son LOVES his house/dorm. It’s one of the old ones (in fact, his dad lived in the same house 30 years ago, and it was old then!) He’s trying to figure out how to live there all four years. (3rds and 4ths live in Dutch Village and Dell Village. Dell is brand new, air conditioned, etc. Dutch is none of those things. Dutch is closer to the chapel, dining hall, academic building…)
All I know is that Donald Trump’s son went there.
Donald Jr AND Eric. Two of them! 
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Thank you everyone, especially @gusmom2000 for an informational and a lengthy answers !
@gusmom2000 What grade is he in? Could you tell me about his day briefly so I could get a glimpse of how my life at the Hill would look like?
ex. 7:00 wake up
8:00 Breakfast and etc…
He’s a 3rd former.
Up at 6:45 because he showers in the morning. Roommate gets up at 7:30. Breakfast 7:25-8:25, 3rds have to check in for breakfast.
Classes from 8:25 to 12:15
Seated lunch from (assigned seating, faculty at every table) 12:25-12:56
Classes (M, T, F) from 1:01-3:30
Practices 4:00 - 5 or 5:30 (varies by coach/activity)
Dinner (seated Tuesdays fall and spring) 5:25 until 7:15 but you don’t have to be there the entire time.
Study hall 7:30-9:30
Light out 10:30 for 3rds, 11 for 4th and 5th, none for 6th.
(Since kid, husband, and I all currently in the same room, I now have to listen to “well, in MY day…”)
@gusmom2000 Thank you for answering my questions.
@gusmom2000 My son was also accepted at Hill for 4th form and will be boarding. We attended a revisit recently as well. Our big question for Hill is whether it is a more of a day school with boarders (like Milton, for example) or a boarding school with day students (like Concord). We were surprised to learn that their boarding/day ratio that is advertised as 75/25 includes the senior class which is required to board. Freshmen - junior classes are more 50/50 and skewed with boys. In addition, with the phasing out of Saturday classes, about 1/3 of boarders go home on weekends. We are very excited by the innovative academics of the school, but we were really surprised by these revelations at revisit. I would love your thoughts!
Hill is a boarding school with day students, in my opinion. There are a lot of boarders who live close enough to the school that might chose to go home on the weekends but the campus never seems empty and there is always so much to do. Most kids have games or other activities that keep them there on Saturdays.
I agree. My kid has also mentioned to me that a lot of the day students say that they feel left out. (From the bond that the boarders have, I guess)
Thanks so much. Our admissions officer also told me that 60% of the students live within an hour of the school, so it that makes sense. I know that there are more boys than girls at the school (60/40) - do you feel that that has had an effect on the social life? Also, do you feel the one-strike policy mostly effects the boarding population? We were surprised by that as well. Most schools with significant day populations have a two-strike system.
I am not sure if the 60:40 has an effect on the social life but I did notice in a few classes on parent’s weekend that there were a few classes with 10 boys and 4 girls…
The one-strike policy applies in most cases just to drugs and alcohol- students were dismissed a few weeks ago involving drugs.
The honor/demerit system is a core tenet of the school. Look at the website to read more but basically the honor code dictates classroom and student life policies- no cheating, lying, etc and the demerit system is what students follow for day to day rules- dress code, coming to class, seated meals, on time. Day students can get 3 and boarders can get 5 demerits per list before they are “in trouble”- detention, restrictions…
The students are really excited about the new dean, Mr Baum.
@Bulldogs1 You must talk to your kid way more than I talk to mine. I’m jealous! Since returning from spring break, I’m back to one word texts. Soon I expect one letter texts, or just grunts. LOL! There are classes that are the other way, too. One class DS had he was the ONLY boy. His favorite class, btw. As far as social life…is there time? (Only kind of joking) The small houses that first year students live in seem to lead to a bond within the house…like having 10 brothers. And then that house is within a bigger housing group (Dutch Village or Dell Village), which sometimes they use for competitions and things.
My son is considering the Hill School - we visited the school and he liked it but my husband and I are unsure about it. How does the school compare academically and in every other way to the New England schools? What is the ratio of boys to girls (I hear there are way more boys)? And what is the deal with the day versus boarding students - my kid would have to board and I’ve read posts that say that lots of students go home on the weekend. Also, my kid would be starting as a sophomore - how tough would it be to fit in as a new sophomore? Many thanks!!
I think he would be fine. My son boards, and he has a lot of day student friends. There is always about 20 things to choose from to do on weekends, so there isn’t any feeling of “emptiness” on the campus, so to speak. The school has been co-ed since the 90s, I believe? and it seems to be about even – boys vs girls. According to the Hill’s website… 54% boys to 46% girls, 75% boarders to 25% day.
Thank you for the reply, gusmom2000. How is your son liking The Hill and what made him choose it over other schools? Many thanks!