If you decide on Deerfield, the campus store -Hitchcock House - is taking online orders and will get gear to you for your celebrations!
The grade spread is available on Hotchkiss’ school profile available on their website. I’m guessing Deerfield’s is on theirs too. I can’t recall the specifics but something like 50% of the class has an A- so there are students with an A- who are in the bottom half of their class which seems really strange to me.
I love @Golfgr8 's suggestion to look at the GPA distribution. You can call up the schools and ask them. Sometimes it is on the college profile. If not then ask for the Naviance scattergrams. The scattergrams gives a visual display of the GPA vs ACT/SAT. The GPA axis of the scattergram can give you an indication of how spread out the grades are.
Thanks @sgopal2 - I like that suggestion about looking at the scatter grams of GPA v SAT/ACT. Yikes!! That will be interesting. Also, @Temperantia - there have been some articles on the topic of grade depression at BS in a couple of school papers and also on older CC threads. I just can’t find them.
Glad we are doing this public service announcement for newly minted BS students!
@highschoolperson - So, what did you decide?
I wouldn’t base anything on nichee.com. They have advertisements and most are related to the rankings. I would however, say that Deerfield seems to have a slightly stronger academic standing. That being said, you should attend the school that is the best fit for you, where you will excel. It is all about having the best experience for YOU. There were some good points made above. If any of those things appeal to you, that’s helpful to consider as well.
Sorry, going to have to disagree that Deerfield has a “slightly stronger academic standing” than Hotchkiss. I believe the opposite, but am happy to call it a toss-up.
As for Niche rankings - the methodology is opaque and probably changes from year to year just to shake things up and get some attention. Yet where is the evidence that advertising leads to a higher Niche ranking? Choate was rarely considered a top 3 school until Niche put it there a couple of years ago. Are we suggesting Choate paid for a high ranking? Not likely. Cranbrook? Nobles? I doubt they paid a cent.
There are advertisers on the site, but it’s not as if any of the schools that are advertising are that highly ranked in the Niche list.
Someone on one of the threads a while back explained that Niche includes variables such as number of countries represented, diversity, number of AP’s offered, number of students on FA, etc. These are important factors to their rankings list. Not just academic factors, SAT/ACT scores, # of AP’s taken, or where students end up in college. Maybe you all know if this is true or not?
Yes, non-academic factors are considered in Niche rankings. Some will apply to some candidates and some others may be factors someone doesn’t consider important to the schools rankings.
With all rankings, there is no definitive answer. Some might consider the highest stats, some might consider the highest SAT’s, some the lowest acceptance rate or even factors like how many kids play Div I. It’s frankly all arbitrary. All of the top 50 schools can really give you an education that very few people in the US have access to and that’s important to remember. Just like not every kid wants to go to Harvard, not every kid wants to go to the same BS. And no one can honestly say that this or that school is better. Each kid is going to have a unique experience.
Also, the lists change frequently. And to make things even more complex/complicated some schools offer specialized programs and classes that are unique to that school. You/your kid might have no interest at all. Or that might be a huge attraction for your kid. One of my kids was very interested in a specific program. The other was attracted to a coach in the sport. Both were minor factors in the final decision.
Hello,
Since it’s past April 10th, I’m wondering if you have made a decision. I know some schools gave extensions.
Hey guys, sorry for the very late response.
I had posted my decision in one of my other threads but realized that I should probably post it here too.
I want to let you know the school that I eventually chose. After a long and tough contemplation between two very similar schools, I have decided to become a part of… (drumroll please) Hotchkiss! It was a very hard decision, but I chose Hotchkiss because I felt that it would be a better fit for me personally and it was closer to home. Thank you for all of your answers over the past few weeks; you guys gave me a lot of help in the tough decision-making process. Good luck everyone, and Go Bearcats!
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Wishing you the best @highschoolperson ! Great meeting you this year on CC - and hope to see you at a game!