<p>Dear all - anybody have good knowledge about Linden Hall? Is it a good school? Seems not a lot of endowment and size (# of students/camps) is relatively small compared to others. Would love to hear any insights. Thank you!</p>
<p>There’s another recent thread on Linden Hall. Strengths include: reputation as oldest boarding school in America, all women’s with great potential to provide leadership training and role models for women, equestrian team for those with this interest, great endowment, good FA and a chocolate factory within walking distance.</p>
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<p>I saw this mentioned in a recent thread - the student mentioned it as being one of the “pluses” of attending her school! I’d have to agree . . .</p>
<p>I think it’s really strong academically, and a great environment to develop yourself in, the downside (for me at least) is that it’s a pretty small school.</p>
<p>I’m going there next year. It seems nice, the teachers and class sizes are really good, a ton of FA (I’m going on a $38,000 scholarship), and an equestrian program. They also boast an SAT score that trumps schools like Andover and Exeter (average score is 2095). The downsides are that the colleges the students attend aren’t great (It’s rare to see ivy leagues) and the campus and student population are small. However, from what the headmaster and students told me and what I saw on my visit, it seems like a rapidly growing school that is working hard to try and make a name for itself. Personally, I’m looking forward to seeing how I like it.</p>
<p>My d attends right now. I like all the teachers and AD is great along with the coaches. I was unhappy with the class sizes as most freshman classes have 12 to 15 in them according to my d. In the dorm that my d stays she is in the minority (english speaking) because there is a large % of asian students. Even though they say english is required in the dorms it does not happen. She often feels left out not understanding chinese or mandarin. According to my d, International students come and go through the year which are two issues that I think reduce the family atmosphere. Their day student population has grown signficantly in the last couple of years and are adding 5th graders next year . Alot of emphasis is put on taking and practicing standard tests (SAT Subject tests,etc) which should lead to higher test scores. They are working hard to improve their image and I think it does offer great academics but I am not convinced yet that it is the right fit for her. So</p>
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<p>That seems odd . . . can you explain?</p>
<p>I am taking my d’s word on this - she says to that some of the girls are sent her for part of the year and we know that sometimes they view things incorrectly. But she says that some of them only come for part of a year to practice english. I was involved in a conversation of girls discussing one who left because her parents were unhappy that she wasn’t speaking english enough of the time, then another left because of family requirements and had to go home (Oldest daughter taking care of sick family members). She said that several packed their rooms up before Christmas but didn’t know the reasons. I specifically asked about % of international students and they wouldn’t providean answer at the school.</p>
<p>Hi, I think I can give you a clear answer about Linden Hall. First, I have a friend who sent her daughter to Linden Hall. She told me school tries hard to send students to Ivy league schools but simply can’t because LH is not famous to the admissioners. Okay students at LH gets good SAT scores but the score is what school says, so how do you know that is not true? Students might get good SAT scores but not a good GPA. That is why they fail to go to top universities.
If you are a student from English speaking background, go to LH because the school will give you a huge amount of FA. My friend told me it’s kind of sad because the reason why school distributes FA to American students is that there are simply few Americans.
80% of the students are from Asia. What else I can say.
Interntionals/Asian students do not get FA that much although they get higer score in SSAT and middleschool GPA. My friend told me school gets money from the international and spends it for the non-internationals.
You can understand LH’s reputation if I explain it in this way.
If four students apply that school, school accept them all, gives scholarship to only non-internationals, and eventually, one student goes that school.
I personally don’t believe LH is a good school. So many horrible stories I heard.</p>
<p>I was accepted to Linden Hall with a very generous scholarship, but have decided not to go. Here’s why:
- They never asked for an interview, which just felt strange. The other schools I applied to wanted an interview so that they could get a feel for who I really am.
- They told me that I was accepted and what my financial aid situation was way before the rest of the schools gave out their letters, and required a response BEFORE I heard from the other schools! That sure gave me a headache. It was also way too soon for me to go out to see them, and I really didn’t want to commit without seeing the place first (I live in California).
- When we told them that I couldn’t accept the offer, the headmaster emailed my mom back and told her that he would give me a FULL scholarship, but only if I told them I’d go by March 7th. That’s just three days before I would have heard from the other schools. Would it really be that hard for them to wait the extra time? It felt like they were trying to get me to commit too soon…preying on my insecurities? I don’t know, it felt weird though. When we didn’t accept THAT offer, they said I could have the original offer if I told them the day I visited.
- When I did visit, the girls were not especially nice and my guide ditched me on several occasions. During lunch, the girls talked about doing drugs and having sex on the weekends, and that their parents were alright with it! That was definitely not a plus in my book.
- I have nothing against international students, but like some other members already said, it seemed like native English speakers were almost a minority. I feel like this would get in the way of learning effectively, as the teachers would have to spend even more time on the material to be sure everyone understands what they are saying.
- The classes were much larger than at the other schools I visited. They all had about 15 students (I shadowed a freshman).</p>
<p>So all in all, I was not impressed with the school. I’m sure that it is a good fit for some people (especially if you enjoy partying), but the learning environment did not feel engaging to me. Of course, I am the kind of person who believes that test scores aren’t the best indicator of a school, and that grades aren’t even the most important aspect of highschool. I get all A’s, but I think that I shouldn’t be JUST working for the grades, and that I should really be learning along the way.</p>
<p>I totally agree with everything you said about Linden Hall. My grandaughter attended there for a very short time before her father took her out. She was a 7 day boarding student in a dormitory with only one native speaking girl there. The remainder of the 30 girls were Chinese and unable to speak English. Only languages offered were Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. The high SAT scores were owing to the high math scores that Asian students typically have because they have been intensively tutored. One Chinese girl expressed her dissatisfaction with the lack of American girls because she hoped to improve her English by associating with them. She said of the Headmaster, “He Lie”.
I agree with that because he assured my son that the international students were not going to be more than 40%. They are about 80% and 95% of the seven day boarders.
BEWARE of this school.</p>
<p>I would definitely be aware of the girls who say they take drugs there… and the parents are okay. Definitely raises questions.</p>
<p>I go to LH now so I can tell the truth about it. Some of the problems said here are legitimate and some are not. LH is definitely a mixed bag and it may or may not be a good fit for you. Always be careful with what you are signing and saying to Linden Hall because I agree with Erin that the headmaster, admissions office, and financial office can be a bit sneaky. It is also true that there are A LOT of asians, I would say about 70% if you include day students and 90% if you don’t. It is almost all Chinese girls, there are only about 7 or 8 koreans and no japanese. Some of them are nice but of all of them I would say only about 30% speak very good english, and about 3-5% of them know almost no english at all, to the point where it is difficult to communicate. </p>
<p>I strongly disagree with the person who said that the people here are mean. The people at Linden Hall are amazing. They often stick the tours with day students which I think is a mistake. I have never witnessed bullying at Linden Hall. There is no “popular” group, everyone is friends with everyone. There is no divide between the grades. I’ll sit with some middle schoolers at breakfast, some day students at lunch, and some seniors at dinner and it isn’t weird. There is a bit of a divide between day students and boarding students, but it isn’t a rivalry or anything. I also disagree that the classes are big. The larger classes have larger class sizes. The freshman class right now if very large. But it is usually only classes like history that have a lot of people. The sophomore honors english class has only 6 or 7 people. Also, my foreign language class only has one other person in it. I love the small class sizes. Also, having a lot of Asians does not really cut into class time because they split into honors and non-honors, and the Chinese girls are usually put in non-honors because they don’t speak very well. </p>
<p>The thing I find most appalling about what Erin said is when she said that Linden Hall might be a good fit if you “enjoy partying.” That is pretty funny to me since drugs and alcohol aren’t a problem at Linden Hall. There is the occasional girl who claims to drink on the weekends, but I only know 2 or 3 of those girls. I haven’t actually seen anyone drunk or high, nor have I seen someone drinking or smoking. I know Erin says she heard people talking about it, but I can’t imagine that and since I go here you should believe me. It was rude for someone who doesn’t go here to come to the conclusion that our school is a fit for someone who “enjoys partying,” just by a lunchtime conversation that could have been a joke. </p>
<p>Overall, I think the benefits outweigh the negatives for LH, but it does have to do with whether or not it is a good fit for you. If you have any other questions about LH just send me a message.</p>
<p>I go to LH now so I can tell the truth about it. Some of the problems said here are legitimate and some are not. LH is definitely a mixed bag and it may or may not be a good fit for you. Always be careful with what you are signing and saying to Linden Hall because I agree with Erin that the headmaster, admissions office, and financial office can be a bit sneaky. It is also true that there are A LOT of asians, I would say about 70% if you include day students and 90% if you don’t. It is almost all Chinese girls, there are only about 7 or 8 koreans and no japanese. Some of them are nice but of all of them I would say only about 30% speak very good english, and about 3-5% of them know almost no english at all, to the point where it is difficult to communicate. </p>
<p>I strongly disagree with the person who said that the people here are mean. The people at Linden Hall are amazing. They often stick the tours with day students which I think is a mistake. I have never witnessed bullying at Linden Hall. There is no “popular” group, everyone is friends with everyone. There is no divide between the grades. I’ll sit with some middle schoolers at breakfast, some day students at lunch, and some seniors at dinner and it isn’t weird. There is a bit of a divide between day students and boarding students, but it isn’t a rivalry or anything. I also disagree that the classes are big. The larger classes have larger class sizes. The freshman class right now if very large. But it is usually only classes like history that have a lot of people. The sophomore honors english class has only 6 or 7 people. Also, my foreign language class only has one other person in it. I love the small class sizes. Also, having a lot of Asians does not really cut into class time because they split into honors and non-honors, and the Chinese girls are usually put in non-honors because they don’t speak very well. </p>
<p>The thing I find most appalling about what Erin said is when she said that Linden Hall might be a good fit if you “enjoy partying.” That is pretty funny to me since drugs and alcohol aren’t a problem at Linden Hall. There is the occasional girl who claims to drink on the weekends, but I only know 2 or 3 of those girls. I haven’t actually seen anyone drunk or high, nor have I seen someone drinking or smoking. I know Erin says she heard people talking about it, but I can’t imagine that and since I go here you should believe me. It was rude for someone who doesn’t go here to come to the conclusion that our school is a fit for someone who “enjoys partying,” just by a lunchtime conversation that could have been a joke. </p>
<p>Overall, I think the benefits outweigh the negatives for LH, but it does have to do with whether or not it is a good fit for you. If you have any other questions about LH just send me a message.</p>