<p>Update:</p>
<p>I have been at Hotchkiss for a few days now, and it is AMAZING! I thought that it would be great, but my experience here so far has been even better than I expected. My teachers are kind, and seem very knowledgeable and willing to give extra help if needed. I do not know what more to say. If you are interested in boarding school, then you should certainly add Hotchkiss to your list!</p>
<p>hotchkiss aplication up already??</p>
<p>Here is an old thread on Hotchkiss. Hmm, good thing I forgot about this. Writing the new thread from the perspective of an alum was enriching for both me and readers I hope. But write on this thread in future since it already has momentum - or keep both thread going.</p>
<p>Here is the link to the new thread:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1090104-hotchkiss-thread-lakeville-ct.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1090104-hotchkiss-thread-lakeville-ct.html</a></p>
<p>Thank you kafkareborn and dukeofdana. I also found some latest info on Hotchkiss website.</p>
<p>[Speech</a> and Debate Team members bring home honors](<a href=“https://www.hotchkiss.org/happenings/index.aspx?StartDate=3/11/2011][color=blue][u]Speech”>https://www.hotchkiss.org/happenings/index.aspx?StartDate=3/11/2011)</p>
<p>Thought I would put everything on this thread so it is all in one place.</p>
<p>I’ve seen a few threads about some of Hotchkiss’ peer schools on here, I thought it would be a good idea to have one thread where all the Hotchkiss alums / affiliates could share their insights about the school with the general public. </p>
<p>I meant to do this for a long time, but now I’ve finally gotten around to actually doing it. Long story short, I’m a recent graduate of Hotchkiss and I am now studying at an Ivy league university. Hotchkiss shaped me and molded me into the man I am today in more ways than my words can do justice to it. Though that may be, in these next few paragraphs I will try to express precisely what I feel makes Hotchkiss so unique and such a life changing experience. </p>
<p>The Community </p>
<p>If there is one thing above all the I miss most about Hotchkiss, something that has become painfully obvious to me now that I am in college, is the strong bond I felt with everyone at Hotchkiss - staff and students alike. You see, to me Hotchkiss was and is a family. We’re a small school and as has been noted on here several times, rather isolated. The product of that is an incredibly tight community. One of the remarkable things about Hotchkiss is the fact that it almost seemed as if class boundaries did not exist. I truly feel that I had as many lower classmen friends at Hotchkiss as I did in my own year group. I knew just about everyone in the school by name and vice-versa. That feeling of belonging is something that I doubt I will ever find again. To this day I regularly meet with many of my friends from the school. Sometimes I meet people on campus here that I never met at Hotchkiss (I was only there for two years) but because of the Hotchkiss connection we bond instantly and they seek to help me out at every turn. </p>
<p>What shocked me more about Hotchkiss was the fact that you social stature and wealth was left outside the doors of Hotchkiss - inside we were all equals. Coming to college was a shock for me, the money culture in the ivy league is so pervasive that I have found myself overwhelmed by it - Hotchkiss was nothing like that. I often retell this story to illustrate that point. For nearly half a year, I assumed that one of my best friends at Hotchkiss was a poor kid from Idaho on full scholarship. Though he dressed smartly like everyone else, he was so humble and down to earth and his room so plain that I felt that he must not have been well off financially. One day in history class we were reading about the industrial revolution and the subject turned to Henry Ford’s modernization of the manufacturing process. Our teacher turned to my friend and said “that’s your family isn’t it.” I was shocked - the boy who for whatever reason I assumed was on full financial aid turned out to be a ford - his family name was on our school’s library and yet he never said a word. It’s that level of humility that I found so striking, particularly seem everyone there seemed to embody it - they were true gentlemen and ladies. </p>
<p>The Teaching </p>
<p>Though it is only my first year at a college that is among the best schools in the world, I strongly believe that the education I received at Hotchkiss was vastly superior. To merely say that Hotchkiss educated me would be a severe understatement. Lenin once said that there are decades where nothing happens, but there are weeks where decades happen - Hotchkiss gave me two entire years, not weeks - everything happened. </p>
<p>For instance, though I was never interested in pursuing science as a career, Mr. Jim Morrill, a legendary biology teacher at the school, changed my perspective on science forever. Mr. Morrill was a character. I distinctly remember his white fully hair that sat atop his balding head, the tight sweaters he would wear over his corpulent belly, but most of all his piercing light blue eyes that sat behind his oval glasses. He’d been at the school since Vietnam he would tell us. To avoid being drafted into a war he felt was morally reprehensible, he decided to go teach at Hotchkiss where his wife’s family was affiliated with, the rest is history. In his earlier years Mr. Morrill served in the peace corp - I hardly remember anything about the chemical structure of myosin, but I do remember him talking about living in the deep forests getting lost catching deadly diseases and doing any number of highly interesting things. I often wondered how true his stories where, for they seemed so amazing that they seemed improbable, but I doubt Mr. Morrill would ever say anything but the truth so I take his tales on face value. He made class interesting and taught us the material better than anyone could. At the end of the class, I believe everyone in a class of 15 got 5s on their AP exams and 750 or so or more on their SAT IIs. His passion for his subject shown through, and I learned tremendous things from him. </p>
<p>Mr. Herold is another teacher that comes to mind. Physically, he resembled Mr. Herold in many ways. He too was stocky and pot-bellied. His blue eyes lay behind his spectacles and he was also balding, but he was much younger. Look at his today, and you would never believe that Mr. Herold was one an All-American Athlete in both Soccer and Lacrosse, sports that he played at Dartmouth. Mr. Herold was an interesting character, he is the kind of guy that you either love or love to hate on, but it is quite impossible not to have an opinion on the man. The Herold was a grammar hawk. every single paper I gave into him came back with red ink splurged liberally across the page, sometimes I felt he was trying to replicate a Polk painting given the sheer amount of ink on my essay. He never let up “that’s poor sentence-construction.” “Bland. Bland. Bland. I know you can make this more interesting, make me feel her emotion.” He would criticize and correct everything I did, when I was in his class I was upset by it, but now I thank him every day for it. He helped me become a better writer and I am where I am today because of him.</p>
<p>Lastly, Mr. Fall comes to mind. Mr. Fall is quite the character. He’s short and very thin. If there is one thing I will always remember about him it’s that he was always smiling, always laughing. Mr. Fall is originally from Senegal and taught me French. Like Mr. Herold, Mr. Fall was relentless in making sure that everything I did was up to par. He would often invite me to his home after class, his wife would cook food for me to eat and we would all sit together and talk - in French. Now I was just a second year French student so sometimes it was hard to follow, but there is only one thing in the world that I know of that can upset Mr. Fall and that is reverting to English in the middle of a conversation in French. So I found myself improvising and over time I picked up my skills in the language substantially. </p>
<p>These men were not my teachers, they were so much more, they were my friends. </p>
<p>Despite the great influence my teachers at Hotchkiss had on my life and my learning, my fellow students taught me so much more. I remember sitting transfixed, watching the election of Barack Obama in Coy Hall with friends from my hall. The tension in the room was palpable, we were roughly evenly split among partisan lines with the republicans being more vocal than we were. As soon as Mr. Obama’s speech was over, the debates began. I remember debate taxes, the future of the American education system, whether Barbie should be banned, Obama’s experience or lack thereof, the future of America’s competitiveness in the world, and the great recession with my peers in my hall. It was a very interesting time to be in school, and I am so lucky to have shared it with such intelligent peers. We would discuss homework problems together, these kids were some of the brightest in the world it was a very humbling experience to work along side them. </p>
<p>More than that, during my senior year I learned something far more important than who was right or wrong on a particular political issue, I learned how to be a better person. One of my best friends at Hotchkiss, who I shall call C hence forth, is the nicest person I have or probably will ever know. He tried to make everyone feel comfortable. He befriended everyone and everyone loved him for it. He was a true people’s person, I feel that my words sound clich</p>
<p>Internationalism</p>
<p>Though I am an American, I also have roots / have lived in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. I thought I knew what being international truly meant and I felt that there was nothing I could possibly learn from any new culture that I did not already know, Hotchkiss proved me wrong. In recent years, Hotchkiss has purposefully tried to recruit students from literally all around that world. I do not know these figures for sure as I saw them a long time ago, but on a percentage basis, Hotchkiss has twice the number of international students as its peer schools. That’s the niche Hotchkiss has tried to take hold of and own. I’m glad they did. I’ve made friends with kids from the Netherlands, Palestine, Israel, Ghana, Jordan, Botswana, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Colombia, Uganda, and many other places. Far more than just being a figure to be shown off on leaflets, I received an incomparable education from these students. Ten years from now I will probably forget everything I learned in school, but the lessons I learned from my peers will stay with me for life.</p>
<p>Two anecdotes come to mind to that illustrate the value of an international student body. During the recent siege on Gaza, one of my close friends chose to give a talk to the entire school about her experiences living in Palestine under occupation. She told us things that you never hear on the news, she gave the issue a human face. I remember her telling us how one day she saw one of her close friends, a teenager, get sawed in half by shrapnel. She told us about how she was shot at and was scared whenever she heard planes fly above her house. She told us how she narrowly escaped death by not sleeping in her bed one night, her neighborhood was bombed and the windows impaled her bed. She told us how children, literally had their skins burnt off with white phosphorus. But more than that she told us the fear she had, the knowledge that nowhere she could run to would be safe. She had no home, no country. The emotion that she expressed made her story ever more real. That is a lesson I will never forget.</p>
<p>There was another student that changed my perception of the world as well, you may have heard her story on Oprah. This second student was a refugee from Rwanda. She had most of her family killed in cold blood and she had been separated from her parents during the Rwanda genocide. She told us about how she would travel from country to country and refugee home to refugee home. She told us of the pain she felt not knowing if her parents where alive or dead. She told us that she had no hope for the future, no aspirations. As an African, her story hit me at my core. I realized that whatever I did in life, I owed it to my continent to go back someday and fix things, that’s a promise I shall keep. Though I am at Wharton now and will probably end up on Wall Street, Hotchkiss made me realize that I have an obligation to return someday and to use my money for the good of my people. To help the [her name]s of the world. </p>
<p>She was reunited with her family on Oprah and now lives a very happy life, but I can see that her experience changed her forever.</p>
<p>Debate</p>
<p>My experience on the Hotchkiss debate team is, without a shadow of a doubt, the most important and meaningful thing I have done in my life so far. If Hotchkiss was my family, the debate team were my twin brothers and sisters. I remember going into Hotchkiss with relatively poor English skills and zero debate skills. I joined just because I thought it would be interesting, that was the best decision of my life. You have not debated until you’ve debated a Hotchkiss debater. I remember being grilled by my coaches, the legendary Vavpetics “Where is the inherency in that argument? Appeal to their heart-strings! More, more! That’s not logical, try approaching it in this way” They would demand, we would deliver. They taught me how to speak with confidence and how to write fluidly. They taught me how to appeal to emotion. How to think and argue logically. They taught me everything. </p>
<p>The Hotchkiss debate team is an institution into itself. For the past 12 years at the world debate tournament, Hotchkiss has come out as the top American school 12 years in a row. We normally place between 3-5th in the world (those bloody Canadians drink something special, they are godly). In debate, in the past 5 or so years we’ve had two of the No. 1 debaters at the world tournament. In Model UN, we’ve won best school twice in a row at Yale and for the past 8 years we have come in either 1st or 2nd (I think we came in second thrice). Overall, I feel confident in saying that we’re without a shadow of a doubt the best debate school in America. I will remember travelling up to Halifax to debate and traveling to my fellow peer schools. I developed a love for oratory of crowds. It developed my passions in more ways than I can tell you.</p>
<p>Alumni</p>
<p>Some people on here are obsessed with seeing how many students went to the ivy league to evaluate a school. As a Wharton students at Upenn, I think that is a very poor metric. The Ivy league has a lot of people who never do anything in their lives for themselves or for others. Though I love my college and would not trade it for any other school, I recognize that just showing how many kids went to the ivy league is non-nonsensical. Rather, judge a school by the impact its alumni have on this world. That is the ultimate goal of a school, to produce people that change the world for the better. Who cares that Steve jobs went to Reed when he invented Apple ? </p>
<p>On this front, I think Hotchkiss has done some incredible things. Before I talk about specific alums, let me just say that the alumni network itself is incredible. Hotchkiss, as I have said, is a family. Once a Hotchkiss student, always a Hotchkiss student. There is something intangible that links us to one other. I know I would go all out for another Hotchkiss grad and I feel that is true for most Hotchkiss graduates. I met a few Hotchkiss alums here that I did not meet at Hotchkiss; once here though, the Hotchkiss connection was all we needed, we bonded instantly. One of my friends went to UVA but wanted to transfer to Wharton. He called up a Hotchkiss alum who said he would make it happen, and it did. This was someone he did not know at all and had never met before, all he did was send an email out. I could go on and on about Hotchkiss alums, but you can see them here: List of Hotchkiss School alumni - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</p>
<p>or The Hotchkiss School - About Hotchkiss - Alumni Accomplishments</p>
<p>An interesting fact, Hotchkiss produced a third of all the US ambassadors to China. And one of our more famous alums, Robert Bork, was infamously denied a seat on the supreme court in what became on of the most partisan moments in American history. This year, a Hotchkiss alum has two films up for six awards at this years oscars.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.hotchkiss.org/news/daceta...D=48&NEWSPID=1[/url]”>http://www.hotchkiss.org/news/daceta...D=48&NEWSPID=1</a></p>
<p>Sports</p>
<p>Hotchkiss sports have always been very strong. When I was there, we won 7 New England Championships, a record number for any school anywhere. Our football team just crushed our opponents, I think our soccer team has won three championships in a row, our field hockey team has won ten championships straight - that’s right, an entire decade. our swimming team is very competitive. Our squash team is very competitive and I could go on, the message is that almost across the board, Hotchkiss takes sports seriously. This is something that I wish I appreciated more when I was there, because the discipline that you gain from sports as well as the thirst for winning that athletics brings can be crucial skills in life.</p>
<p>The education </p>
<p>A few of you asked me what I feel sets a Hotchkiss education apart from my ivy league school. Well, I could give you the usual answer: small class sizes / close interaction with teachers / great resources and that would all be true, but it was much more than that.</p>
<p>The fact of the matter is at hotchkiss, you teachers teach you continuously. They are your coached after school and your dorm faculty at night so we are constantly interacting with them. Hotchkiss allows you to break down that rigid teacher / student relationship and to see your teachers as friends. I remember going to my teachers apartment or office and talking about politics my life and my problems. They taught me the academic stuff better than anyone could have, sure, but what you learn in school is almost completely irrelevant to your life. It is the way you learn that matters. They taught me principles, changed my philosophy and outlook on life. Made me work harder / run faster. </p>
<p>For instance, one of the people I learned from most at Hotchkiss did not teach me anything at all. Mr. John Tuke is the CFO of our school and serves as the head of the investment club. I would often arrange to meet with him while I was at school to discuss the economic crisis, business, the future of the global economy, hot sectors in industry, and I still do to this day - albeit over the phone / email. That level of dedication that Hotchkiss faculty show to their students is what made it that much more real for me. That is the advantage of not being at a school of a thousand kids, the connections you make with everyone around you become that much deeper and more meaningful.</p>
<p>So it was not what i learned that meant a lot to me, it was the way I learned it and the connections I made along the way that made all the difference. I know I’ve said it many times, but I will say it again, Hotchkiss is a family. Your family members may not teach you chemistry, but they certainly will teach you a lot of things more valuable to living a better life and becoming a better person than that. Did Hotchkiss prepare me academically? Without a shadow of a doubt, but to focus on that only touches the tip of the ice-berg. That is what I love about the school more than anything.</p>
<p>You will almost certainly not remember anything you learned in school, and probably not a lot of the stuff you learn in college for that matter. Find a community that you feel you will fit into and feel comfortable in. What you learn outside the classroom from the members of your community is a lot more valuable in the long run.</p>
<p>**The Hotchkiss Culture **</p>
<p>This is probably the single best thing about Hotchkiss and it truly differentiates the school. I touched on the humility Hotchkiss students had earlier, but that is only part of the story. They ethos of a Hotchkiss man or woman cuts much deeper than that. I can truly say that Hotchkiss changed me as a person and the way I approach the world, I am forever grateful for that. </p>
<p>The longer you stay at Hotchkiss, the quicker you begin to realize that Hotchkiss is a family. It feels and behaves like one. That is one of the advantages of going to a smaller school (but not too small that it limits the amount of people you meet). Everyone says hello to everyone else every morning. You know most people’s names, no one is a stranger. You’ll find lower class-men and upper class-men sitting on the same table at lunch talking to each other. Most of my closet friends were underclassmen, I cherish the fact that Hotchkiss’ small community allowed me to develop that. </p>
<p>Though some have pointed out that Hotchkiss is in the middle of nowhere (which is not entirely true, Millerton has a cinema, shops, a Mc Donalds, and everything else you would want in a small town, and NYC is a train ride away). Though I was upset with that at the time, I cherish it now. I spent my time at Hotchkiss exploring nature in ways that I wish I could do now. My friends and I would trek through the hills of berkshire, swim in the lake, and play a few rounds of golf on our golf course. It was great fun, and I am a happier man for it. Hotchkiss also has a main building - a very distinguishing feature. The entire community congregates in the same place after class and that fosters the opportunity for you to interact with your peers and make the friendships that make the relationships I talked about earlier possible. No school I know of has a similar set up, I really feel that it adds tremendously to the culture.</p>
<p>I already mentioned the humility of Hotchkiss students so I will not repeat myself on that point, but one other remarkable thing I found about Hotchkiss was the lack of cliques. If you go into the Hotchkiss dinning hall, it is almost impossible to find a table without more than one race sitting down. Many will have mixed age groups as well. Hotchkiss prides itself of its internationalism, but that internationalism is made meaningful because people interact with each other regardless of race, creed, and color. It is a utopia that I miss and have not observed anywhere else. </p>
<p>Hotchkiss students are very industrious. Hotckiss works you hard, that is no secret. I think that our motto, moniti melioria sequamur - after instruction, let us move onto better things, encapsulates the Hotchkiss attitude towards work perfectly. I remember being worked very hard and not liking it at the time, but looking back that is one of the most valuable skills Hotchkiss gave me - a work ethic. Now that I face my peers that did not go through a similarly strenuous experience, I have an advantage. BUt you learn together. It is not uncommon to see a group of friends helping each other the day before a difficult test late into the night.</p>
<p>**Theater and arts ** </p>
<p>Hotchkiss has a very strong theater and arts program. I’ll start with music as that is probably most obvious. From our 100 thousand dollar fazioli piano’s to the brand new music wing, the fact that Hotchkiss takes its music seriously is visibly apparent. One of my close friends used to go down to julliard on the weekends to play. He told me that Mr. Witkowski, the head of the music department is comparable to the best of the best. I remember numerous students won awards and things of that nature. We also brought in grammy winners and performers from all around the world from all different musical backgrounds to play for us, these guys were at the very top of their game, it was a real treat. </p>
<p>Drama is huge on campus. I think we have at least two major student productions a year and a bunch of smaller ones. A large contingent of the community gets involved, we all have a great time. I remember being wowed by the sheer talent on display. One of my friends is at Tisch now at NYU. He impressed me more than some professionals I have seen on stage. We also bring in professional actors to put on acts so that is always entertaining. </p>
<p>Where we really shine is videography and photography. Mr. Haiko is a legend on campus. He has been teaching for 40 years now. His students went on to produce / direct or have a very important role in Finding Nemo, Irobot, the dead poet’s society, Ice Age, an alum (class of 07) is making a documentary with james franco this year an alum (Eric d’Arbeloff '83 or Winter Bone fame almost won an oscar this year, and many more. To say that the department is good is an understatement, it is legendary. </p>
<p>[The</a> Hotchkiss School - Organization | Facebook](<a href=“Facebook”>The Hotchkiss School)</p>
<p><a href=“https://www.hotchkiss.org/alumni/index.aspx[/url]”>https://www.hotchkiss.org/alumni/index.aspx</a></p>
<p>[Hotchkiss</a> Alumni | Facebook](<a href=“Facebook”>Redirecting...)</p>
<p>Thank you kafkareborn for a wonderful account of the many dimensions of Hotchkiss. :)</p>
<p>Can you please shed some light on the Humanities track at Hotchkiss? Which track is the most popular among freshmen?</p>
<p>[THE</a> 2011 ADMISSIONS SEASON ECLIPSES PREVIOUS RECORD-SETTING YEARS](<a href=“http://www.hotchkiss.org/news/detail.aspx?pageaction=ViewSinglePublic&LinkID=4255&ModuleID=89&NEWSPID=1][color=blue][u]THE”>http://www.hotchkiss.org/news/detail.aspx?pageaction=ViewSinglePublic&LinkID=4255&ModuleID=89&NEWSPID=1)</p>
<p>Hello, I have some questions about Hotchkiss. Some are general type, other are kind of specific to me:</p>
<p>Is there a lot of competition and comparing amongst students?</p>
<p>Will it be hard for me to adjust to formal dress code?</p>
<p>Is the swimming pool always open for students? </p>
<p>Can I learn digital art/ digital painting at Hotchkiss? (I saw a digital media course for computers, is that it?)</p>
<p>How does Hotchkiss help students adjust to BS life? (I know that at L’ville freshman only take 5 course for fall term)</p>
<p>What is the student body like? How is it different from Lawrenceville?</p>
<p>How big are the dorms? (I visited but can’t remember/distinguish between all the dorms…)</p>
<p>How are the bathrooms? How many people share a bathroom?</p>
<p>Is there a big presence of ‘rich kids’ at Hotchkiss?</p>
<p>How do international students deal with transportation issues?</p>
<p>Thank you so much!</p>
<p>What is the current dress code at Hotckiss?</p>
<p>I believe it is formal - coat and tie for boys and dress/pants 2 layer top for girls (the girls formal code varies greatly from school to school, but is usually something like that).</p>
<p>I don’t know the dress code for girls at THS, but boys must wear a tie or a coat until the spring dress code applies. Then, they must wear at least a shirt with collar.</p>
<p>How are the economics courses at Hotchkiss? Are they AP courses or Honors level that go beyond AP? Do they cover international economics in any of the courses? Thanks.</p>
<p>Is Hotchkiss mostly upper class rich white kids? I don’t want to go to a snooty school.</p>
<p>I already wrote about this. Look a few pages back. The answer is no.</p>
<p>How are the economics courses at Hotchkiss? Are they AP courses or Honors level that go beyond AP? Do they cover international economics in any of the courses? Thanks.</p>
<p>Kafkareborn, thanks for answering all our questions! I know it’s a time-consuming and at times aggravating process, so we really do appreciate it. :)</p>
<p>I was just wondering if you knew when revisit days end. I haven’t seen a schedule of any kind yet, and I was a bit concerned because I booked a plane out of NYC around 6 p.m. on the evening of my re-visit. I’m worried that it’ll take me around 4 hours to drive there, get past security, drop off car, etc. which would mean that I will have to leave campus around 2. Do you think that this will be a problem/will I miss an important part of the day?</p>
<p>Thanks again!</p>
<p>The Hotchkiss revisit day ends at 2pm. It shouldn’t take more than about 3 hours from THS to drop off car and get to terminal. It’s only 100 miles. Are you going to JFK or LGA?</p>
<p>Thanks kraordrawoh! It’s a relief knowing that the day ends at 2. The only reason why I’m really concerned about the time (and rounding to 4 hours) is that I’m going to LGA and we’ll be driving into the city around rush hour, although most cars will be heading out of the city as opposed to into.</p>