<p>I have little time to decide and I just found this website. I am a lacrosse recruit for both schools, and I just want input and students or parents thoughts on the schools. I am torn between these too schools. Help me out guys.</p>
<p>They’re pretty different schools. Which one do you feel most comfortable in?</p>
<p>Did you revisit?</p>
<p>The Hill is a great school - but it’s located in Pottstown, PA, not a great location IMO. Not a particularly pretty area and I just wasn’t too into the school period. That’s why I didn’t apply.</p>
<p>Choate’s location is much more scenic IMO. I also know Choate has a really good boys lacrosse program, not sure about the girls. I don’t play lacrosse but I got bored one day and saw on the Choate website that their boys lacrosse program looked pretty strong. Guess I neglected to look into the girls lacrosse…</p>
<p>I’m not of much help in comparing these schools. I know more about Choate than the Hill so it’s hard for me to make direct comparisons. Definitely dig through their websites to see what you can find and attend revisit days if it’s not too late.</p>
<p>Just go with your gut!
Good luck on your decision!</p>
<p>I’d say choate, choate has a very nice campus and arts/sciences at Choate are really top notch. Their environmental center/ foreign programs are really good. Choate offers a great curriculum and would be a great choice. </p>
<p>Honestly, I’d go with Choate as well. But that’s probably because of Hill vs Lawrenceville. </p>
<p>They’re both great schools. Choate’s campus is really pretty, almost to the point of overdoing it. It’s really really beautiful though. </p>
<p>Choate is perhaps more well-known than Hill in the boarding school community. They are very different in size and atmosphere. Have you revisited both schools? Go for whichever you feel more comfortable about. Both are great schools. </p>
<p>Congratulations! Did you go to revisit days at either school?
I can only speak for Hill (my child is a legacy attending now) the location is not as pretty as most NE schools, however, the town and surrounding areas are easy to get to for eating out, movies, shopping, etc.
The faculty, staff and students are extremely friendly- the school encourages students to get involved as much as possible in all sorts of activities and leadership positions. What impresses me the most about Hill is how the students are very respectful of each other.<br>
My son was identified as “highly gifted” at 6, scored above 90 on SSATs, plays 2 sports and loves it there- feels challenged academically, and enjoys the teams he is on- especially practices, games and seated lunches with his team & his coaches. For him, Hill has been the best fit as a “student-athlete”.
Good luck wherever you end up!</p>
<p>Yea I have revisited both schools. I could really see myself in both environments. With Hill I didn’t really like how some of the kids were not that smart and there were a lot of jokers, but I also toured with a kid who is a solid lacrosse player but not that bright. With Choate I was worried about it being too big and independent and me not getting enough help.</p>
<p>Go with your gut as much as possible-- you won’t get a second chance to redo this decision. You can also use Boarding School Review or another website to make a purely statistical comparison; I found making a spreadsheet with information off of the schools’ websites was helpful. Choose statistics that matter to you (size, percent boarding, etc.), not just the ones anyone would pick. You can also use that to make a pros/cons list for each school with how comfortable you were there, academics, and lacrosse teams. Scour the websites, glance at athletics Twitters or Facebook pages, and get a feel for the schools. Good luck!</p>
<p>Since u are a lacrosse recruit, and lacrosse may be your ticket into college, why not take a look at both schools’ lacrosse teams. What was their win/loss record last year? What is the outlook for this year? Are the star players all graduating? What will be your role on the team? Do you prefer to be a big fish in a small pond or a bench sitter in a bigger pond?</p>
<p>@gmtplus7 Choate has the better lacrosse program, but at the same time I want a school that if I didn’t play lacrosse I would still enjoy and thrive in.</p>
<p>I assume you’ve already talked to a lacrosse coach, but, if that’s what it is coming down to, you might want to track down other sources of information. I know many teams/athletic groups have Twitters and Facebook pages run by a coach or athlete- check them out to get a feel for the team. Or get in touch with a player and ask about the relationships, coaches, leaderships, playing times, etc. It’s also important to realize where you want to be. If you want to play in college, you might want the hard-core team that sends most of their players to D1 or D2 schools. But if you don’t (and just enjoy the sport), you might have fun with a more close-knit team and leadership opportunities.</p>
<p>The schools are so VERY different. </p>
<p>Bottom line is do you want a more intimate, tight-knit setting, or do you want a bigger arena? This applies to athletics, academics, social scene. </p>
<p>I felt his Freshman/3rd Form year was pretty easy for him academically & there were not a lot of classes/electives available for 3rd Formers; however, for him- he was on the varsity roster for one of the teams as a 3rd former and I guess as GMTplus7 posted above- he was a big fish and was very happy!!</p>
<p>IMO, I would pick Choate for location, academics, and they have a strong lacrosse program. Choate also has a more relaxed dress code (both guys and girls at Hill have to wear jacket and tie). </p>
<p>I have a friend who was recruited to play baseball & blew his shoulder out in his first year- (hoping that never happens to you or any other recruit) so make sure you will LOVE the school w/o the sport.
Go with your gut & good luck.</p>
<p>@needtoboard: what’s the dress code at choate (for guys)?</p>
<p>Judging from pictures it does not look like jacket and tie! Haha</p>
<p>You did not mention what part of the country / world you are hailing from. A purely logistical point of view for air transport, the Mid Atlantic have a bit of advantage over New England Schools if you travel beyond the region… You have IAD (Dulles International) to the South and JFK and Newark to the North. All three airports are Mega Hubs to several Domestic carriers as well as having a more robust schedules from the internationals. I found this very advantageous during periods of irregular operations; times when D1 would not have been able to get back to school in time due to weather and over sold flights (we are west coasters).</p>