Hi everyone!! I was recently accepted to the Taft School in Watertown CT. I was hoping people could share their thoughts or experiences relating to topics such as…
Student life
Phone policy-how much are students on their phones (actually!!)
How long does it take for friend “groups” to develop
Are teachers engaging during class/ truly want to get to know you
Were classes freshman year very overwhelming (workload/transition)
Do you like saturday classes?
Simple/Daily pros and cons a boarder might experience
Drama (Is this a huge thing?)
[Side Note]* Feel free to share thoughts that may not specificly fall into one of these single categories! I am really just looking for as much information I can gather!
Not familiar with Taft (other than having participated in a summer soccer camp at Taft many decades ago), but am familiar with New England boarding schools which have Saturday classes. No complaints as Saturday classes make day students feel even more ingrained into the boarding school community.
Yes that makes sense; and thank you so much for your response! I can’t really imagine it being anymore than a little annoying irregularly at the start. I know I will probably come to appreciate the half day on Wednesday due to the schedule.
Also, does anyone have any thoughts or recommendations on the topic of revisit days for Taft!? Will be attending one in the near term so would be helpful to hear any advice!!
Does anyone know a little bit more about the “preppiness” at taft. What are friend groups like. How long do they take to form essentially. Also how late are you staying up on a daily basis?
There aren’t a lot of Taft folks on this board and I’m sure you’re looking for data to make a decision. My daughters are seniors this year. Like any school there are a large variety of kids … wealthy Manhattanites, wealthy international students, local and international students on financial aid, etc. There’s no predominant preppy culture that my daughters or I have seen, though it is one of the cultures that’s there. We live in the northeast but my daughters are friends with quite a few international students from Africa, Asia and Europe in addition to the US. The result is that they formed their own culture within their friend group that works for them rather than adhering to any pre-existing culture.
Your experience of friend group formation is going to be unique based on your personality, what you’re looking for, etc. Those who are outgoing formed groups quite quickly, others took more time. This isn’t really school dependent.
Regarding how late everyone stays up, my daughters are relatively slow, careful workers so they are often up late. They’ve had friends who turn off the light at 10pm and others who stay up later than them. It’s also dependent on the classes that you take, which sports you participate in and how rich of a social life you want. Which is to say that it’s very much up to you how late of a night you want it to be.
Good luck with your decision, I hope your visit gave you a good sense of the school and its daily rhythms.
Can only give you anecdotal information. Good results with plenty of Ivies, LACs, top publics. Best bet is to look at the 5 year matriculation numbers on the website. Honestly, it’s about the students, not the school. Take top level classes, build a solid extracurricular resume and score well on the SAT and there won’t be any surprises.
The new head of college counseling was thoughtful and engaged with the kids; both my daughters were assigned to her. She focused on where the kids would do well given their interests and capabilities and encouraged a broad range of applications ensuring that kids didn’t get shutout because they only applied to reaches.
I can’t really imagine it being anymore than a little annoying irregularly at the start. I know I will probably come to appreciate the half day on Wednesday due to the schedule.