<p>I'm a prospective 15fall, which is to say, I'm applying for next year (2015). I'm currently choosing schools and think the Hill School seems great! Problem is, I've heard a lot of comments about how it's 'not a good school'. So can anyone tell me if it's a good school or not? </p>
<p>Oh, and good luck to everyone on M10! </p>
<p>@lukieboy225: This is one of those questions that is best answered by doing a search (the advanced search tool is preferable) within this CC sub forum for threads about Hill. Then using those threads (and I know there are at least a few), send a PM to people who seem like they are either current parents/students. Sometimes people with less than positive things to say may not post them on the public forum. Then again, sometimes people with a bone to pick with a particular school are the MOST vocal! Try to get both sides of the story and then make up your mind.</p>
<p>Welcome to CC and good luck. Note that this forum tends to focus on most famous New England Schools…but Hill is definitely among those discussed occasionally.</p>
<p>It’s certainly good enough for you to take a closer look. You write that the school “seems great”, so perhaps you are ready to visit by going to see a game or getting a tour. If you can’t or don’t want to do that just yet, visit in cyber space. Look for videos and photos, as well as transcripts and recordings/podcasts that you can get off of Hill’s website; there should be A LOT there. I used to coach in the MAPL against them years ago, and it is still definitely a “good” school as opposed to a “bad” one. Hopefully, after your introductory research, you’ll speak with current faculty and families who can tell you more and answer questions to determine if it is a good fit for you, which is the main consideration. (Learn about “fit” if you are fuzzy on that concept.)</p>
<p>It’s a good school. The campus looks great. The town it’s in is not so much. I think in terms of academics, it’s right up there with other reputable mid Atlantic BS such as Blair, Mercersburg and St. Andrews etc… So is its reputation or “well known index”. I agree with the above poster. You should visit and see how you feel about it. It’s a smaller school and I’ve heard it’s getting more selective in recent years, with more and more internal students applying as in other schools.</p>
<p>Having family and friends children whom either currently or have attended The Hill, Lawrenceville, Andover & NMH,
it is a great choice in schools. Some folks have been turned off by Pottstown as it is not the thriving hub of yesteryear, it is seeing a renaissance through becoming a center for culinary and the arts. From what I understand, The Hill School is very much involved with community development through school/student projects. As for academics, I think you will find it on par with its well regarded peers. Culturally, they are like NMH in positioning themselves as a “family school” nurturing and making help available when needed, most of the facility live on campus either in the facility village or in the student dorms while join the students with scheduled seated meals. The new Headmaster is very forward thinking and is noted for his fund raising ability. I have heard that he is actively raising the bar for facility pay to better attract the highest caliber masters available. As others have suggested, visit the school and ask lots of questions.</p>
<p>I probably have low standards, but I thought Pottstown seemed fine, especially the area near the school. Hill didn’t suit us for other reasons, but I have no doubt that it is a good school. </p>
<p>I agree it is fine but from time to time the subject of Pottstown arises on this board. In the last few years there have been uptick in good restaurants and cultural events in town. Now if the school could partner with the company that runs to power plant, they could offer some introductory nuclear science classes with real time experience.</p>
<p>Is HIll a little too down to earth? I’m also applying but I want the stereotypical boarding school experience, and I’m afraid Hill might be too homey. Does it’s location give it a negative reputation among other boarding schools?</p>
<p>While Hill may not have the same level of name recognition as Andover or Exeter, it certainly is among the top boarding schools in America and boasts a long history and many famous alumni. The great boarding schools outside of New England simply don’t get as much hype, because a lot of the feeder population lives in New England and driving past the NYC bottleneck to get south to the Mid-Atlantic states is such an extremely painful, traffic-jammed experience. </p>
<p>As far as Pottstown not offering the ambience of San Francisco, keep in mind that many of famous boarding schools are in the middle of nowhere-- hello, Hotchkiss & Deerfield…</p>
<p>With average SSAT scores in the top quintile and rejecting 2 out of 3 applicants, do not underestimate the difficulty of getting admitted into Hill. </p>
<p>Don’t turn your nose down at a Jaguar because it’s not an Aston Martin, and don’t presume these top boarding schools will regard you as worthy of being a 007 agent.</p>
<p>“Is Hill a little too down to earth” I would tend to think Traditional but not stodgy… As for “too homey” definitely not a touchy feelie type of school, but there is a huge amount of peer support if you want it… To ensure your desire for a traditional experience if you are accepted, be sure to take Dr. Lake’s classes in Latin and Greek. </p>
<p><a href=“https://www.thehill.org/RelId/1114424/pagenum/3/ISvars/default/Chair_of_Classics_Department_elected_to_board_of_Classics_association.htm”>https://www.thehill.org/RelId/1114424/pagenum/3/ISvars/default/Chair_of_Classics_Department_elected_to_board_of_Classics_association.htm</a></p>
<p>I would not worry about the town, it’s a bit old but on the mend, besides, you will be too busy at school and if you do want to go out, there are weekly shuttles to King Of Prussia and a group of outlet stores near by.<br>
The Pizza shop across the street from the front of the school is quite good…</p>
<p>I always find it amusing when people judge a school by the town it is attached to. I’ve certainly heard this concern as it relates to SAS. Has anyone been to Concord, NH lately? And certainly Exeter, NH is nobody’s Princeton (that’s a vote of confidence for Lawrenceville, btw). Unless you are talking something like Milton or Andover or Episcopal (or The Masters School just north of NYC), where it’s relatively easy to get into a major city…I don’t think the town a BS is connected to really matters that much. How much does the average teenager venture into his/her own town without her/her parents anyway?</p>
<p>And then there’s the “Well how big/how nice is the town you are coming from anyway?” question. I can understand that kids from NYC or LA might find going to a school in a small town a bit of a let down, but if you are from Suburbia USA…what’s the diff?</p>
<p>I apologize if my one line comment about the town the school is in has led the discussion to the wrong direction. I certainly didn’t mean to “judge a school by the town”. And I admit that it has been a few years since when I lived in the Philadelphia area and I may be missing the changes that have taken place in recent years. Hill School is in the suburbs of Philadelphia, which is actually more convenient than many other boarding schools. </p>
<p>I sense that a major purpose of OP is to get a survey of “public opinions” on the school and find out how it is perceived and received. Here’s how I see it. As GMT said, Hill school is a BS with a long history, and it is part of TSAO. As a result, it is probably one of the best known and arguably the best in quality BS in the mid-Atlantic area, maybe following Lawrenceville and Peddie. That said, it seems the gap in the name recognition among boarding school consumers between Hill and other top boarding schools is still pretty obvious, and this reality has a negative impact to the school. The major market for BS in mid-Atlantic is at NY and NJ, but the prospective BS families tend to “move northward”, from Lawrenceville/Peddie, up to Choate, and all the way to Andover, Deerfield and Exeter, and Hill is just not one of the highly pursued after destinations and in many cases is not in the radar of strong candidates. As a result, it seems Hill is not be able to attract the best BS candidates, and it is rare, as evidenced on this board, to see kids/families agonizing between the choices of Hill and Deerfield, for example. Locally, Hill is considered <em>one of the good</em> private schools, and it’s not considered a better school than schools like Haverford, Episcopal Academy, Germantown Friends, etc. And partly because of its location, the day student area is relatively limited as well. For the same reasons, “one of the good private schools” is how the regional college AO’s consider the school as well. It’s right up there competing with the local private schools for college AO’s attention and doesn’t have much of an advantage.</p>
<p>So in summary, I think Hill is a very good school in terms of academics and probably boarding school experience, but you’d hold your breath for a little while before its names comes up as a top boarding schools in the country. </p>
<p>My husband attended Hill and now my son is there. Needless to say, we love it!!! The classes, teachers, sports, extracurricular activities are wonderful. The boys’ soccer and basketball teams were pa private school state champs this year. And girls’ soccer and field hockey were mapl champs. There are many interesting events on campus as well (speakers, plays, concerts, art shows). I attended a New England Prep School and agree The Hill is not in an ideal picturesque town as some of the NE Prep schools; however, Pottstown and areas nearby have desirable shopping (KOP), restaurants, museums (Barnes), skiing, etc which the school provides shuttles to. The school also has an energetic Head Master who attended Exeter and has huge visions for the school- STEAM program & building, new pool, new dorms… You should visit and spend a day on campus to get a closer look, talk to the students and faculty. Clearly, I am a bit biased:) And, for what it is worth, my son scored a 98% on his SSATs and had excelled in middle school- we never considered any other schools for him.</p>
<p>@Benley: You were not the only one who mentioned Pottstown, don’t worry. It’s a reservation I’ve seen expressed on many threads over the years. </p>
<p>I do think you raise an excellent point that Hill suffers the name recognition thing. SAS is in a similar boat, and I find it frustrating that many prospective families do not consider schools like Hill or SAS because “they’ve never heard of them before”. As phillies2028 notes, plenty of smart (98%-ile not too shabby!) kids go to these schools without regret.</p>
<p>My one opinion on Hill is that it has always struck me as VERY waspy (we know a family who sent a kid there and I played against Hill teams in HS)…maybe this has changed.</p>
<p>Trust me, sevendad when I received his ssat scores, I thought about having him apply to other schools to see if he could possibly get in but I decided it was a waste of time, money and recommendations. Your waspy comment made me laugh…at one of the first football games I attended there, the mom next to me was needlepointing. I agree with you on the frustrations of name recognition; however, I’m happy to keep hill as a hidden gem…</p>
<p>Sidebar, Counselor.</p>
<p>St. Andrew’s is a mid-Atlantic BS that does indeed draw somewhat more than 20% of its students from New York and New Jersey. Refreshingly, the demographics diverge from Benley’s description (of mid-A. BS) after this point. The absolute core of L’ville and Peddie are NJ students, with NYC area strongly represented after that, and Bucks County trailing. L’ville is more geographically diverse than Peddie, with a smaller percentage of NJ kids, but the NJ day students there are 25% right off the bat, with some more NJ boarders thrown in for good measure. While L’ville may be more diverse than St. Andrew’s, by volume and the percentages, what I want to point out is that SAS probably has a more “southern” feel than Lawrenceville. SAS draws heavily from the southeast, especially Charlotte, NC. Georgia, Florida and Texas have grown in representation, though their percentages may have maxed out at this point. The kids from northern Virginia and tidewater Maryland also strike me as more southern-like than yankee. As I’ve said before, at 300 students, this southern percentage feels outsized. There is a gentility or respectfulness that seems to come with the southern tilt, and informs the “sense of community” that is often commented upon. Certainly, the Episcopal spirit of inclusivity and Mr. Roach’s cultivation of a particular ethos also contribute to the SAS community, but I will continue to admire and geographical spread that helps to make this small school feel so rich in spirit. Additionally, the conservative kids and the liberally minded seem to have decided to check politics at the door when hanging out socially as friends. I think that the everyday groupings are pretty malleable and fluid, which may be the case more at the small schools than the large ones. </p>
<p>
Totally understandable. And I think that could easily be the school talking too. Not every school is trying to position itself to be appealing to a wide demographics, and that’s perfectly fine. Hill is a school of tradition, with 36% of its 500 students having legacy connections. I am not sure how St. Andrew’s is like, but it seems to me in terms of “market share” and reputation or name recognition, it shares some common characteristics as Hill. To me, SAS is such a small school that it should justifiably be appealing to a “niche market”. They don’t and won’t have a problem filling their small classes with the students they like. </p>
<p>Hahahahha safety school. They suck at everything but soccer.</p>
<p>@MBVLoveless,</p>
<p>I realize The Hill School is your rival school, but there is no need to rudely denigrate Hill to prospective applicants. Considering that Hill rejects 2 out of 3 of its applicants, it is very far from being a safety school. Your arrogance does not reflect well on your character. And your effort to discourage fair consideration of Hill does not reflect well on the ethicalness of the students at Lawrenceville. </p>
<p>Consider yourself very lucky to be at L’ville. You could have been just as unlucky to not be admitted, as there as there are far too few available spots for all the qualified applicants. </p>
<p>Humility is an under-rated quality… </p>
<p>@Benley,</p>
<p>Hill is definitely NOT a “smaller” school; it has 500 kids. The average size for BS is 300 kids. I guess to someone in China or India, the United States is a “smaller” country. </p>