<p>Well, considering that many schools have their own indivudual threads on here I thought I should also create a thread for Hotchkiss.</p>
<p>So if you have any questions at all be sure to ask ! I'll share whatever I can with you gladly.</p>
<p>What's there to do in Lakeville? The schools feels isolated from civilization. What off-campus destinations do you guys go to during weekends?</p>
<p>how are the academics? debate? mun? is there a strong sense of competition, especially in debate (because Hotchkiss is quite well known for their debate/business :) )
and is student life there alright? ie. is everyone unified in a sense and not overly cliquey?</p>
<p>Well there are a number of things to do at Hotchkiss on weekends. Firstly they bring in AWESOME DJs and so the parties on Saturday's are awesome. Also they bring in interesting acts such as this magician who was also on Jackass he was Great ! Sometimes we have jeopardy style quizzes and stuff like that. </p>
<p>BUT if all of that is not to your fancy then there are always a group of people who go down to New York on weekends to party and just tour the city. It is only like 15 bucks i think to get a train to New York that takes about an hour i believe teachers sometimes drive you to the station as well so that's cool. Also there are some parties in the country houses of various students every now and again that are notoriously fun. So it is relatively easy to find things to do if you want to.</p>
<p>I understand that the class size doubles for 10th grade. Do you have any thougths about whether it's better to start at Hotchkiss in 9th or 10th grade?</p>
<p>As for the Cliques, Cliques at Hotchkiss are essentially nonexistent. That was one of the major pulls to the school i felt. Since it is a small school with a very tight community everyone pretty much knows everyone and everyone is really friendly and accepting of each other which is a real plus. It really is like my second family. </p>
<p>Academics are obviously top notch. Our science department is VERY strong. We have a DNA sequencer that allows you to do a multitude of independent studies. The teachers are superb. Hotchkiss also has a very strong English department and a tradition in literature. That remains true today with absolutely brilliant teachers. That's one of the secrets to the success of our debate team! All of the skills we learn and utilize in debate are first cultivated in the English classroom. The language department is probably the best in the country - for Chinese anyhow. The current ambassador to China is an alum so he gets some of the best Chinese language teachers he can to go to the school and teach. I have Chinese students here tell me all the time that the Chinese class here is way better than their Chinese class is china ! </p>
<p>Lastly our video and media department is probably the top in the country as well. One of our teachers Mr.Haiko has taught here for ages. Many of his students have gone on to head media companies like fox. produce great movies like I Robot and Rocky 1 and 5 and the Dead Poets Society, and revive great ceremonies like this years Oscar ceremony producer. He really is one of the best in his field. Currently a group of students are making a video with the help of an emmy winner ! </p>
<p>The rest of the departments I have not mentioned are also excellent - on par with what you would expect of a HADES school.</p>
<p>The class size does increase by 150% (around 50 students) for the tenth grade. </p>
<p>Personally I think that coming in the 9th grade is best as it allows you to spend four years at Hotchkiss rather than 3. But that's only if money is not an issue. I came in the 11th grade and I am doing great.</p>
<p>With such a strong video and media department curriculum, how many students would you say get into USC Cinema or NYU Cinema from Hotchkiss each year?</p>
<p>I believe i was misunderstood what i meant to say was that hotchkiss' media department is probably the top in the country among prep schools (I am sure they are many arts based academies that focus solely on filming that could probably provide a better filming program). As for your question it is rare for a student to go to USC Perhaps one a year ? and 4 or 5 a year may go to NYU. </p>
<p>However the alums from Hotchkiss who go onto do great things in cinema do not attend these school. For instance Cheo Cocker the guy who wrote the script for Notorious went to Stanford not USC. As for how many get in I have no idea but I assume many do though few choose to enroll.</p>
<p>But just judging by the stream of successful directors and important people in the film industry it can be conferred that Hotchkiss does indeed have one of the best film programs in the country. Its not everyday that you get to work with an Emmy winner on films. Many Hotchkiss alums who did great things in film also choose to return to the school and get involved in various courses. For instance John Avildisen - the guy who directed the first and 5th Rocky films recently taught the students a few tricks of the trade. Furthermore many have gone on to head film companies such as Paramount, Columbia, and Fox. Movies such as Robots, I Robot, Dead poets Society, Notorious, and a whole list of others were either directed or written by Hotchkiss alums. Most of whom were taught by the same brilliant teacher - Mr.Haiko who still teaches the course today. PBS is currently paying 30, 000 dollars for a group of Hotchkiss students to produce a film on democracy. They have brought in an emmy winning documentary film maker to help guide the students but the entire thing is student run - what better way to learn the art of filming than from the very best? These are just some of the opportunities available at the school's film department.</p>
<p>concerning #4, what do you mean party? and where are the adults here? do they chaperone if you go to new york?</p>
<p>kafka-I hope they pay you for all the wonderful commentary about Hotchkiss :)</p>
<p>drool.....the media and video production programs sound absolutely amazing. thanks kafka!</p>
<p>Kafka could absolutely write the Hotchkiss School catalog.</p>
<p>kafka should have one of those page long tesimonials in the hotchkiss viewbook :D</p>
<p>I think Kafka's dorm master is an Admin Officer:)</p>
<p>First, I hold Hotchkiss and its people in very high regard. It's a classy school. But I just read something on the school's website that made me laugh so hard that nearly I peed my OshGosh overalls. It lists under the "directories" link that Hotchkiss has an "excuse office". What is an excuse office? Is that where you go to report that a dog ate your homework?</p>
<p>I'm glad to hear it mate. Well the excuse office is primarily used by people who want to be excused to go to New York on weekends or need to skip class to go to a important debate meet or college interview and things like that. Minor things really. I think most schools would probably have one.</p>
<p>Does anyone know anything about the sailing program at Hotchkiss or has anyone done it?</p>
<p>Hotchkiss has an amazing sailing team. They are one of the best sailing teams in the nation in fact: </p>
<p>Here are last years results. </p>
<p>VARSITY SAILING: 12-3
2nd in New England Fleet Championship
4th in New England Team Championship
15th in the nation</p>
<p>i <3 hotchkiss.
when i first was driving to the school, i really wasn't expecting the "gut feeling", i was just like.. ehh... another school.
but omg, it was AMAZING!!
<3 <3 <3...</p>