<p>I am looking through all the posts that talk about HADES (even though users of the term are generally very, very shortsighted) and I am wondering why Hotchkiss is always the one being picked on. Why can't it be Exeter, with the highest acceptance rate? Or Deerfield, with the lowest SAT and the smallest campus (and endowment)?</p>
<p>I just realized how whiney this sounds, but this is a genuine enquiry.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about it. Every school gets jabbed at, some harder than others. While I wouldn’t have put it as bluntly as Parablane, I would agree with him/her on the enjoy your summer part. I’m sure once school starts you’ll be too busy to worry about this kind of stuff.</p>
<p>I think the reason people pick on schools (maybe Hotchkiss more than others) is the same reason why you created this post: pride. Peoples pride in their school causes them to pick on others in a sort of rivalry. If someone feels that another school seems better, they will use petty stats in an attempt to knock it down. I think that the amazing students who go on CC are competitive by nature, and this can translate to their posts about other schools.</p>
<p>So, why so much Hotchkiss hate? Because everyone else feels threatened by us! Hahaha</p>
<p>prepschoolplease, I fail to understand why users who use the term HADES are “generally very, very shortsighted”. It’s just an abbreviation! Sure, there are many more good schools than those 5, but it’s still a fair representation of top schools.</p>
<p>Maybe it’s just me, but I haven’t noticed Hotchkiss getting picked on… But, if it bothers you, why not try and post something positive about Hotchkiss for every negative comment someone else posted? I agree with the above users. It’s great you’re proud of your school (assuming it is your school), but I think you need to calm down just a tad, to put it bluntly.</p>
<p>I don’t think the term HADES is THAT bad, but the real problem is when people genuinely think that those are the ONLY good schools. On the other hand, I think there is also a problem when people think it is their duty to make every single applicant apply to a “hidden gem.” To be honest, many of these hidden gem schools are not even close academically to their HADES counterparts. That being said, some are. (Very few, unfortunately)</p>
<p>And what will happen to these “hidden gems” after many, many people start applying to them? They will become exactly what everyone seems to hate, a “HADES” school.</p>
<p>I do actually agree with you about hidden gems. You bring up an excellent point. It’s true that there are some good lesser-known schools. Unless you’re that desperate to get out of public school though, I don’t think most of them are worth the hassle. Plus, even with FA, it costs a lot of money regardless of whether it’s a top notch HADES school or not.</p>
<p>For me, although it wouldn’t have been ideal, going to the regular high school wouldn’t have been that bad. My parents and I agreed that it wasn’t worth paying tuition and going away for schools that may be only a few times better than the local one, as opposed to one that’s MUCH MUCH better.</p>
<p>Of course, I’m not saying (nor would I dare) hidden gems are never worth applying to. In fact I really regret not applying to some of the ones I read about. Just saying that not all applicants NEED to apply to a hidden gem. </p>
<p>(Thanks prepschoolplease that was a perfect opportunity for me to say all that. Been wanting to…)</p>
<p>Don’t assume ‘hidden gems’ are ‘safety’ schools. A lot of the ‘gems’ have admit rates ~20%. A 24% admit rate school is not a ‘safety’ for a 14% admit rate school.</p>
<p>The only reason certain schools are in the HADES group is that their first initials lend themselves to a catchy acronym. Some kid on CC made up the acronym only a few years ago.</p>
<ol>
<li>I think you’re little obsessed. No one is hating on Hotchkiss. A select group of elitists will consider it not on par, in terms of name recognition, with Exover (Paul’s). Which is strange because it leaves you with Deerfield which doesn’t really have the salient status of Exover either. </li>
</ol>
<p>After all, it does make a catchy acronym.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Acceptance rates fluctuate and ultimately don’t mean jack. Exeter’s rate was 16% last year. Deerfield used to boast the lowest rate of all boarding schools with 13%, but now it has risen to 16%. Hotchkiss was 16% last year, but now it’s 18% according to BSR. Thacher prides itself on having the (second?) lowest rate of all, but only rarely do you hear it mentioned in the same breath as Exeter.</p></li>
<li><p>Once you get into boarding school, no one gives a d*mn about his school’s ranking. Heck, I bet you’ll be hard pressed to find people, especially at a top school like Hotchkiss, who are aware of such a hair-splitting system, because not everyone is a CC geek like us. The consensus is that the “top” boarding schools/peers are “GLADCHEMS” (minus Middlesex because it’s a little more obscure, but I do think it should be up there). </p></li>
<li><br>
<br></li>
</ol>
<p>This and what weijian said. Hidden gems (tier 3-4 schools, acceptance rate >28, so I’m not talking about popular schools like Loomis or Taft) are worth applying to if 1) you need financial aid AND don’t have a cheap and/or academically viable option back home 2) you’re a good student but not hyper/ivy-level competitive 3) you’re interested in a few ECs that are unique to the hidden gems (can’t think of any specific examples atm).</p>
<p>It’s hard not to get worked up easily when you study 8 hours + a day. (Weirdly enough, a lot of it is self imposed, unlike most people think!) For some reason, if I am not achieving something (getting stronger, getting better at saxophone) I can be pretty hard on myself.</p>
<p>I am starting to worry about myself. :-)</p>
<p>Converge12, you are correct about the hidden gems. I think that parents are correct in one sense, a school like Hotchkiss or Lawrenceville has a very different learning environment compared to say, Tabor, and both are clearly not the perfect school for everyone. I am not by any means saying that Tabor is a BAD school, but just that at a school like Andover, I can tell you that 99.9% of the time, the student body will be more motivated and I daresay often even more intelligent than their hidden gem counterparts. I realize how cocky all of this may sound, but I hope you guys understand the point I am trying to make. After all, teens are very, very different (and often very complex, contrary to our parents beliefs) creatures.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t go so far as say 99.9%.
Academically, the top 5-7% of a tier 3-4 school should be able to handle HADES rigor and end up at least in the bottom 10-30%, perhaps even higher. You can easily construe this by comparing the SAT scores (top quartile of hidden gems tend to have the SAT score approximate to bottom quartile to decile of GLADCHEMMS). I know SAT scores alone don’t speak volumes for intellectuality, but they are the only objective data with which to compare between schools.</p>
<p>The top students at the hidden gems also could have been waitlisted at HADES for FA or somehing, which means they are more or less HADES material in terms of achievements and intelligence.</p>
<p>But yes, on average, HADES students do tend to be more motivated and accomplished than their hidden gem counterparts.</p>
<p>inb4 hidden gems parents storm in with stories of how motivated their kids are etc. Note that I said “on average”.</p>
<p>+1 Parlabane </p>
<p>Humility is a well-regarded quality. Jaw-dropping that some applicants can get off a waitlist (they’re not even in the primary pool of admits), then turn around and start putting down other schools and students…</p>
<p>@GMT I understand what you’re saying completely however, at the end of the day whether you’re off the waitlist or in first round, I think you get so excited about being a ______(insert any school mascot here) that you want to defend the school whether or not you go there or not. this is just my interpretation. I’m not saying that I disagree or agree with prep’s choice to post this, but I do understand where he/she is coming from because I saw it at my previous schools. Not trying to defend any certain side just explaining my reasoning.</p>
<p>No one is denigrating other schools and students. Just simple facts. So much inferiority complex here. Why can’t one just admit that an average student at Exeter is more capable academically than an average student at, say, Salisbury? Ask those Salisbury students and even THEY will agree. The same sentiments are already shared by some of my friends at Taft and Hill, who refer to Exeter kids as “nerds” (which insinuates jealousy), and Taft and Hill are not even hidden gems. But does that mean the kids at the hidden are lesser people than the kids at HADES? Nope. I’m judging no one as a person–I’m merely speaking from a purely academic standpoint. </p>
<p>Just a personal experience–take is wih a grain of salt as you should with all CC anecdotes. A GOOD friend of mine got 44% on the SSAT and is currently enrolled at a hidden gem (one of the two schools ExieMitAlum’s daughter got accepted into–you know it). He’s getting a 4.0++ GPA there and even says the school’s academics is a lot easier than that of our old school. I can attest to this–back at our old school, he was a B+ student. Would you ever hear a story of a B+ student from a slightly mediocre school claiming Exeter academics to be easy? I don’t think so.</p>
<p>It’s like saying that MIT students are not, on average, smarter and more academically able than Ohio State University students. Reality-effacing and just ridiculous. Sure, not everyone at MIT will graduate to become more than everyone at Ohio State Uni, but you can’t just repudiate the brain power of MIT students.</p>
<p>Converge12, I think if anything, you’ve proven you are thick-skinned. 
I don’t think I could have taken so many rather unkind comments nearly as well as you.</p>
<p>Hidden gems are still great schools, but I really don’t think it would make sense to say that they are all just as good as GLADCHEMS schools. If you apply and get accepted into one you like and that matches you, though, I think it’s still a wonderful opportunity. </p>
<p>What I don’t really understand though, is why so many CC’ers recommend schools, including hidden gems, as safeties. (and I may be being hypocritical here, might have said this once myself…) Perhaps I’m just lucky and I don’t know it, but going to public school really isn’t THAT bad of an option! We’re not applying for college; there’s another school to fall back on! (really, I think that should be the “safety”) So why are we so desperate to get into a BS?</p>
<p>For those of us who don’t find their current schools acceptable, then sure, I suppose, do what you need to get into a BS. For the rest of us though, why ask our parents to pay such a huge price each year, not to mention all the time and effort used to apply, for us to go to a mediocre (in comparison with other boarding schools) school? I mean, it’s all right to apply to a school because you really like it, but I don’t think it’s worth it just as a safety.</p>
<p>Maybe I’m being close-minded. Maybe I’m being foolish. And I’m fairly certain that, although the questions marks indicated more or less rhetorical questions, I’ll get responses. Ones about how wrong I am, or what a bad person I come off as. I wonder if I can be as brave as converge12…</p>
<p>Oh, and sorry prepschoolplease… we kind of veered off topic :)</p>
<p>I apologize for making this thread. I can see how some people may interpret my first post as being rude. I guess I got over-excited about going to Hotchkiss. I really, REALLY, did not want to go my local public school. (Which has 4,000 students and some other problems) I hope I didn’t offend anyone while making this thread, and if I did I apologize for my actions.</p>
<p>You don’t need to apologize because your thread was created out of curiosity and misguided pride of a kid and isn’t directed at anyone in particular, whereas some adult posters ITT have, in fact, launched virulent personal vituperation against you for some (or no) reason, with little explication. </p>
<p>It might have made you look bad and obsessed to the parents, but I can’t see how your statements could have concerned anyone. You even said “I realize how cocky all of this may sound” in your, I think, most “offensive” post. The only crime you have perpetrated is not saying what most of the parents want to hear (“hidden gems = HADES level on every aspect, omg u kids are ignorant and close minded and soulless and obscene and repulsive to do such a terrible thing as to have a different observation!”). </p>
<p>So, good luck with your saxophone, and I hope don’t kill yourself by studying 9+ hours a day during summer break lol I mean remember to have fun. Once you’re at Hotchkiss, you’ll start to get over the deal of rankings and realize that all the top schools are more or less similar.</p>
<p>Thread closed. (I hope)</p>
<p>After reading several of these threads I find the common denominator between a hidden gem and a real gem is GEM – a robust endowment and high endowment/student ratio. GEMS have a standard, known and acceptable value and worth in the open market.</p>
<p>Historically, the real boarding school GEMS were concentrated in NE. Over time hidden GEMS have sprung up in California, Texas, Pennsylvania (Peddie) and Delaware (SAS).</p>
<p>HADES group of schools ( or the preferred acronym de jour) all have large endowments and high endowment to student ratios. Other hidden GEMS mentioned here (e.g., Middlesex, Lawrenceville, SAS and Peddie) similarly have large endowments.</p>
<p>The endowment of a school goes along way to attracting, keeping, and maintaining the rich educational resources (power and plant, students and high quality teachers, mentors and professors with advanced degrees) families shelling out $50,000/child/year value before investing in sending their children away from home.</p>
<p>In no way does this reality detract from the well known fact a child can get a transformative education anywhere – public, charter, free, home, or private day school – in America or abroad. And an appropriate institutional “fit” for a particular child is a gem.</p>