Here we can post our varied impressions of open houses, visits and tours to schools. Any single visit can be unrepresentative as we all know and yet we can’t visit each school several times. So–if we collect our (biased) impressions of our visits, we may be able to look for any trends that could help us evaluate our own impressions. We attended Loomis Chafee open house in August. Very favorable observations of well-organized and prepared team as well as polished and confident tour guides who fielded far too many detailed questions from parents admirably. Campus lovely and in tip-top shape other than large construction project of new dormitory. Dorm room that we were shown was a corner well-lit and large. We left with that good feeling that it would be an honor to be offered a spot there into the very welcoming community. Of course, would need to return when student’s were present.
Thanks @sadieshadow.
We visited Groton and Choate. Our Groton visit was well organized. I thought it was interesting that they had a listing of each student (and current school) visiting posted in the waiting room. At some point, each set of parents looked over the list (smile). Our guide at Groton was a nice young man who really gave us a very good tour and answered the questions we had. The dorms, we thought, could use refreshing. DS was not a fan of the half walls in the freshman dorms. The new addition to the schoolhouse is well done and the gym seemed very new. The school lacks a true student center. There was a small room with some ping pong tables, that even the guide seem to embarrassed to show us. Overall, I think for the right student, Groton is a great school. For our DS, the campus felt too small (most of the buildings are organized around the Circle – either you like that or you don’t) and he wants a school with more of a town.
Choate was also very well organized. We had about 15 other families when we were there. We toured on a beautiful day and Choate’s campus is really beautiful – and large. (I liked that they grouped us with other families going through the same process. We shared some insights as we walked along.) Choate’s new math and science building was very impressive and well thought out, we all thought. We learned during our tour that by spring of next year, Choate will have a brand new student center – which they certainly need. For a school with 800 students, the current student center is inadequate – a fact our tour guide also pointed out. The town of Wallingford is considered part of campus and is easily accessible from the school. Again, thought Choate is a great school, but for our DS, it was just too large.
That was a very helpful overview. I appreciate your comment about it being too large . . for your child. I think as we read visit reports we all appreciate that what was a positive for one family may be a negative for others. Thank you.
@31cruzan, I’m glad your visit to Groton went smoothly. Parents aren’t the only ones who like looking at the list of visitors… 
For anyone else who might be reading, what was said above is true about Groton’s student center. It’s a bunch of old tables and a ping pong table, not much else. It’s really only used for dances (kids cram into a small room off the dining hall lobby). But the Forum in the new Schoolhouse serves the student center purpose; it’s a hangout spot with a cafe that will (hopefully) open soon.
@sadieshadow and 31cruzan… feel free to PM me with questions about Loomis. My DD is a new Sophomore and I just returned from Parent’s Weekend. It is a wonderful school!
I would like to invite you to visit Subiaco Academy. It is a Catholic High school in Arkansas that has students from 18 states and 8 countries. It is a hidden treasure. My son and I both attended.