<p>It depends. There are interschool dances every so often and those are fun, sometimes you get to know kids from other schools, if you catch my drift. I have a lot of friends at other schools but that’s primarily because I knew them before I got in while they were at my school or at nearby schools. I have friends at Exeter, Andover, Deerfield, Hotchkiss, and Middlesex, but they all have similar impressions of their schools. You know, the typical “lots of work, lots of stress.” It really doesn’t matter which school you go to among the top 10 because in the end you’re receiving a very similar education.</p>
<p>Haha thanks. PM me the decision come March, alright? </p>
<p>@2010hopeful,</p>
<p>He seems like a great guy. He’s very athletic, academic, and arts oriented, very much like Choate so it should be a great fit. I remember when he first spoke to us at the school meeting, everyone gave him a standing ovation after he said his first sentence because he speaks with a British accent. Not sure what’s so fascinating about the accent, but it was really cool at the moment. He’s humorous and I have a good feeling about him. Hopefully that good feeling will remain throughout the rest of my high school career.</p>
<p>You mention being on both the soccer and volleyball team, I thought they were in the same season? The volleyball coach at exeter/andover/deerfield told me that soccer and volleyball were both in autumn. Also, since you were from an international school in China I’m assuming you either participated in APAC or ACAMIS in sports. How does sports and sports competitions at your school compare with either one of those? </p>
<p>P.S If it was APAC you were involved in, my schools gotten #1 for volleyball both boys and girls ;)</p>
<p>At Choate, the soccer season is in the fall and volleyball is in spring for boys. Girls play in fall, maybe that’s what you got confused on. I don’t think we play against many other boarding schools during spring though, only NMH and public schools in the area.</p>
<p>I used to go to Concordia, and I’m assuming you go to WAB. Boys team got #2 in our division, losing to ISB in the finals. We were in different divisions this year though so I don’t think we can really say who’s team is better. Did you play in APAC volleyball?</p>
<p>LOL our soccer team sucked though. We got 6th place at SFS. Below AISG, who we all know never wins anything…</p>
<p>I have yet to play volleyball here, but my old Varsity soccer team is probably the equivalent or less of the JV team here. SFS (the winners last year) probably wouldn’t be a match for the Varsity team here, but it’s hard to say exactly.</p>
<p>Oooh Concordia’s nice, I’ve been there twice for kids lit quiz. Almost made it to Varsity D: apparently I was the next one in line, but the fact that our Varsity Volleyball team had 2 seniors that were both Libero’s (my position) so next year if I’m still at this school. This year both boys and girls got #1 again and our girls didn’t lose a single set at APAC, we beat the #2 place with our second team =p as well as whooped ISBs ass here in Beijing with our second team ;).</p>
<p>Our soccer teams about the same though =p we diddn’t lose to AISG, that about the only difference. This years soccer seasons starting up though, and this round of freshmen are pretty good so hopefully we’ll do better!</p>
<p>Hi swamped, a couple of very general ‘boarding school’ questions for you, since you know kids at other schools as well. What’s it like living at school 24/7? Does it take a lot of adjusting for some to live away from home, or are most happy to have the freedom? Do some kids feel ‘sent away’? Please understand that I never went to boarding school, so this is a whole new world for me.</p>
<p>Are you currently a freshman applying for sophomore year? What schools are you applying to?</p>
<p>@Lovelylife,</p>
<p>I’m not sure. I think it had something to do with prestige (I know, I know, shallow) or just that they didn’t have a very lasting impression on me. I vaguely remember Taft’s admission office, and remember feeling that the facilities were pretty nice, but besides that I just didn’t feel like either of those schools were a good fit for me. </p>
<p>@2kidsnoanswers,</p>
<p>I like living at school because it makes the bonds that you form during your time here so much stronger. I probably would not have become so close to the friends I’ve made in my dorm. In fact, I would never have known some of these people so in that sense, living at school is great. I do miss home though. I miss a lot of things, but what can you do? It does take some adjustment, but boarding is great and it prepares kids for the time when they won’t always have their parents holding their hands everyday. My prefect lives only 20 minutes away—closer than some day students—but when I asked him why he chose to board, he told me it was because he wanted the experience. </p>
<p>I think one of the common misunderstandings is that boarding school is a place for delinquent kids to go when they need be observed strictly. I had to deal with some of this when I told people at my old school I was going to boarding school. They actually told me they were sorry! </p>
<p>In reality, that “sent away” feeling doesn’t really exist at the top boarding prep schools because kids feel lucky to be here. Often the decision to go to boarding school is the student’s. You have to go through such a rigorous process to be accepted that if you eventually do end up at a prep school, you’d be ungrateful not to take advantage of all the wonderful opportunities available here. :)</p>
<p>Can you tell us how Choate and the other schools notified you of acceptance and rejections for admissions? When and how did you receive this news.</p>
<p>Is Choate more expensive because their endowment is lower than other schools? My jungle math indicates that Choate could cost about $30M more than several other bs over 4 years.</p>
<p>While interviewing I noticed MOST of the students were asian. Are there a lot of asian students at Choate? One boarding school thread noted that since there were so many Chinese, Japanese and Korean applicants that it was a disadvantage to be an asian applicant. </p>
<p>How much time per night do you spend on homework to achieve your 3.3gpa? Thank you for helping all of us learn more about Choate.</p>
<p>Hey i am applying for 8 schools going in as a sophomore
My top choice is Taft because they promote all the ECs i do competitively
and the golf coach contacted me and said she would like to have me in the team
so ANYWAYS, taft being my first choice, I wonder how much they count the SSAT
scores. I took one in Feb and still waiting for my result
and am not feeling so good about it (maybe high 80s - low 90s)</p>
<p>My gpa essay recs ECs interviews were all good
But its just tat SSAT score i really worry about. :/</p>
<p>Any ideas how the school really consider the SSAT scores?</p>
<p>Sorry, everyone, I was extremely busy and didn’t have time, but I’m on spring break at the moment. :)</p>
<p>@pittsburgher,</p>
<p>Like every school, there are different sized dorms, and some that are older/newer than others. Each dorm is unique and provides a different experience. Doubles generally have two beds (typically a bunk, but you can take them apart), two drawers, two closets, and two desks. </p>
<p>@Zenrose,</p>
<p>Well, I received my admissions information through an email at like one o’clock in the morning on the 11th, but I live in China and that would be about 1 pm over in America. Now that it’s already March 10th, I’m assuming the suspense is over now for the most part.
Yes, endowment could be part of it. It also could be because we’re smaller than some other schools. For example, I know Exeter and Andover have 1,000+ students, and their tuition is a couple thousand dollars lower.
There are lots of Asian students here, I agree, as well as other students of color. Choate is quite a competitive school already for anyone, let alone Asian applicants, but you also have to note that the same is true at other top prep schools, where Asians are potentially even more prevalent in the community.
My 3.3 GPA was last term, which was also my first term at the school. I had to adjust and it took a while to bring my grades back up, but my GPA at the moment is around a 3.7-3.8. I generally work 2-3 hours on a normal day, 1-2 hours in a light day, but at times I’ve had to work 5 hours in order to complete assignments.</p>
<p>@inosheir,</p>
<p>It seems to me that the SSAT has become much more competitive in the past two years. My understanding has always been that schools use the SSAT in order to preliminarily group applicants into certain categories. For example, an 80-85 group, 85-90 group, etc. etc. They they proceed to look at each students credentials. As long as you get within a certain range, you should be fine and you won’t have to worry. What did you get on your SSAT, and do you know where you got in?</p>
<p>Hey! I know you’re really busy – swamped, even – but I’d really appreciate it if you could answer my questions. I’m a prospective sophomore at Choate. This year, in Grade 8, I applied to Choate but was sadly rejected (perhaps because I applied for financial aid?). Could you please chance me??? You seem really nice and maybe we’ll meet if I go next year ;)</p>
<p>GPA: 3.9 UW
SSAT: 2334 (just like yours!! hehe)
Extra-curriculars: President of NJHS, captain of Select Soccer (I play keeper!), captain of Select Volleyball, president of the Student Council, and I run my own charity.</p>
<p>Do you think I’ll get in?!! I’m fluent in Chinese, French, and English. I’m working on my fourth language-- Spanish! I’m also an avid chef, specializing in local dishes. :)</p>
I have a lot of friends at other schools but that’s primarily because I knew them before I got in while they were at my school or at nearby schools. I have friends at Exeter, Andover, Deerfield, Hotchkiss, and Middlesex, but they all have similar impressions of their schools. You know, the typical “lots of work, lots of stress.” It really doesn’t matter which school you go to among the top 10 because in the end you’re receiving a very similar education.</p>
it’ll definitely be an honor to meet you someday</p>
and our girls didn’t lose a single set at APAC, we beat the 
– but I’d really appreciate it if you could answer my questions. I’m a prospective sophomore at Choate. This year, in Grade 8, I applied to Choate but was sadly rejected (perhaps because I applied for financial aid?). Could you please chance me??? You seem really nice and maybe we’ll meet if I go next year ;)</p>