Should I go to L'ville or Hotchkiss?

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>Originally I was deciding between L’ville and Choate… but my mom feels like she doesn’t want me to go to Choate, and I don’t really have a strong feeling about going there either, so we’re ruling Choate out.</p>

<p>I have been waitlisted at Hotchkiss, and original I thought I would just leave it since I was already accepted at three other schools, but after talking to some people I am re-thinking…</p>

<p>So if I were to be admitted to Hotchkiss, which one would be better for me?</p>

<p>L’ville:

  • close to Princeton + friend
  • larger student body
  • good humanities program
  • very big campus
  • casual dress code
  • easy transportation
  • awesome college matriculation</p>

<p>Hotchkiss:

  • in countryside
  • smaller student body
  • good chinese program
  • beautiful facilities
  • formal dress code
  • very complicated transportation
  • very very family like, nice people</p>

<p>For L’ville, before they accepted me, I didn’t really like their school. They felt really cold/unwelcoming. However, my mom liked L’ville, because her friend lived close by and she didn’t want me to go anywhere else because she felt like she ‘couldn’t keep an eye on me’. After getting accepted I did more research about L’ville, then started liking L’ville, because I felt it would be an easier transition from my current school to there. Also at that time I had this feeling that, if I didn’t choose L’ville, I wouldn’t be going to BS at all. My mom loves L’ville because of the college matriculation… and it’s close proximity to Princeton. My mom didn’t like Hotchkiss because it was in the middle of nowhere and she didn’t want to send me so far. But now that I start thinking about Hotchkiss, I remember that I had a really good feeling about Hotchkiss (before they waitlisted me). My visit there was by far the best, I loved the campus, loved the teachers, the food was good… I felt like I was already part of their school. </p>

<p>Anyways, I want to compare these two schools a bit more, especially for their Visual Arts programs. I got to see the visual arts classrooms for Hotchkiss, but not L’ville. I thought that at Hotchkiss the visual arts wing was quite small… but the classrooms were large and the student work was pretty amazing. It seems like they are strong in ceramics. I don’t know much about L’ville’s art program, but I know they have digital art, and I don’t think Hotchkiss does.</p>

<p>So anyways, which of these schools has more opportunities if I want to study visual arts?</p>

<p>Also, if you are a current student at Hotchkiss, let me know, I want to ask some questions XD (since I’ve already asked a lot about L’ville)</p>

2

<p>Email Hotchkiss. Tell them you got into Lawrenceville but Hotchkiss is your first choice. That could really really help.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/658755-hotchkiss-thread-14.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/658755-hotchkiss-thread-14.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>^^totally, that’s the right way to go about this waitlist situation.
visual arts - unless its end all be all of your life, in which case you should be in a specialized school, you are going to high school - colleges want you to take certain courses, etc, whatever time you will have to devote to your favorite (photgraphy painting etc) is necessarily a by-product.
Lville - research how empty the school gets on weekends after sports let out. Will you be comfortable with that. Will your mom be comfortable when you are constantly invited to go visit friends on overnights, and will you be comfortable missing out on a huge social component if your mom is not comfortable with that?
Hotchkiss - a bit higher on the rung of schools than Lville.</p>

4

<p>@kafkareborn and mhmm</p>

<p>I’ve been in contact with Hotchkiss, and they say they are ready to take me off the waitlist and accept me at Hotchkiss, they just need me to make my decision.</p>

<p>I’m just wondering, what would I miss out on if I didn’t go to L’ville or didn’t go to Hotchkiss?</p>

<p>Is transportation to and from Hotchkiss very hard? (I’ll probably have to fly back to China for the breaks, since my mom might not be very comfortable with me staying at a friends place)</p>

<p>How is the student body at Hotchkiss? I had a few concerns that some of them may be very rich and ‘snobbish’, but during my visit everybody was really friendly. How is their interaction with Chinese students? (do asians typically hang out together, or is it all mixed up?)</p>

5

<p>Go with your gut on this one. Choosing a school based only on what your mother wants or proximity to a friend may mean you’ll end up unhappy with the choice. </p>

<p>If Hotchkiss wants you - and you liked them best - that’s where you should go. Your mother will warm up to the idea of spending time with friends. My daughter spent a long weekend at a friend’s house. She used Skype so I could “meet” the parents and talk to them. I even got to see the family pets, the other siblings and her guestroom.</p>

<p>My daughter chose the school that won her heart and we couldn’t be happier about it. It’s not near any major towns, but you know what? There’s so much going on it doesn’t really matter to her. She’s busy, happy, and has a ton of friends.</p>

<p>Love the school that loves you and you won’t go wrong.</p>

<p>Sounds like Hotchkiss is the school for you. Despite the fact that it’s my daughter’s school’s chief rival I still highly recommend it.</p>

6

<p>@ExieMITAlum</p>

<p>Thanks for the advice!</p>

<p>But the problem is, I also really want to go to Lawrenceville! I’m torn between the two schools… D: I feel like the decision I make will affect my life forever (which it will), and I just don’t know which one to choose…</p>

<p>Anyways, my main concern for each school right now:</p>

<p>Hotchkiss - too many ‘rich’ families? Will I feel left out (I’m Chinese)? I noticed that there were A LOT of Caucasian people, and very little Asians. And I also know that there are a lot of legacy families at Hotchkiss… will it be intimidating? And the dress code is formal, which may take a while for me to get used to. (I’m a t-shirt and jeans person)</p>

<p>L’ville - College Matriculation is a trick? I feel a little suspicious because L’ville’s college matriculation is just TOO good. Are most of those students athletes/legacies? Or do colleges just really love Lville students? Will I stand a chance against other Lville students? (in terms of applying to the top colleges)</p>

<p>And yeah, being Asian, I guess college is pretty important. But I feel like I don’t want that to be the main focus of my life (I don’t want to spend all 4 of my high school years prepping for SAT’s and all that stuff)</p>

<p>I know most of you will say “you can’t go wrong with either of the schools” etc, but I really need to make a decision right now =/</p>

7

<p>If I were you, it would come down to the size of the school. Do you want to be at a larger school with a house system, etc., or do you want to be at a smaller, more intimate place tucked away in a bucolic setting? BOTH schools are great and will afford you opportunities to matriculate at top colleges. It’s about which environment is a better fit for you NOW and for the next few years…</p>

8

<p>I totally agree with Exie–go with your gut! You have to live and be happy with choice. You will met fabulous students at each place. I love L’ville, my d not so much. We didnt consider Hotchkiss, but from all the research the schools are very different. </p>

<p>I would reflect and consider what you really want like Prepin stated: school size and location (nothing to do with your mom’s friend), classes comfort and fit.</p>

<p>Choosing either one will be a success story! Good Luck!!</p>

9

<p>Ehhh I’m not sure… but I think I would feel more comfortable at L’ville.</p>

<p>My mom still thinks L’ville is the best.</p>

<p>I’m still stuck. One side of me agrees with her, the other side wants to tell her to actually look into Hotchkiss (right now all she thinks about Hotchkiss is that it’s in the middle of nowhere and the teachers bring pets and babies to class… sigh)</p>

10

<p>Go for Hotchkiss. I turned down Lawrenceville for Hotchkiss, I never thought about it for a second. Read the thread I wrote, I made a few points about the culture etc, I have found through interaction with other prep school people at Penn that the Hotchkiss culture is really unique, we’ve got double the proportion of international students than pretty much any other school, and everyone learns from each other, read my post on internationalism and on culture, it was really the best experience of my life. Just do it. Good luck with your decision !</p>

11

<p>Thought I would post this here so everyone can benefit:</p>

<p>You are going to school not your mom. You should not ask me how to convince her, what you should ask is are you convinced ? if you are, case closed. </p>

<p>Look at hotchkiss alumni acomplishments, and then look at Lawrenceville’s. Show her that. We produced presidents of Goldman, Citi, the Lehman family members of lehman brother, the founder of morgan stanley, the Fords of ford cars, the crane’s that own the company that produces all the paper for us currency, the Watsons that own ibm, the guy who inveted rom, the Mars family of mars bar and skittle bar fame. the list goes on. </p>

<p>[The</a> Hotchkiss School - About Hotchkiss - Alumni Accomplishments](<a href=“http://www.hotchkiss.org/Alumni/Accomplishments.aspx]The”>http://www.hotchkiss.org/Alumni/Accomplishments.aspx)</p>

12

<p>vivsters: Just pm’d you.</p>

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<p>I have read pretty much all there is on prep schools, college admissions as I began this journey for my son. Everything I have read leads me to believe that the college matriculations posted by prep schools are legacy/development candidates. I believe that there may be a few exceptions, for instance if you are the “national judo champion” a Siemens winner etc. Also, if you stand out as an athlete. Therefore I think that you should choose to go to boarding school and select the best one for you for all the intangibles, experiences, opportunities that these wonderful schools have on offer.</p>

<p>I do believe that if you succeed and flourish at these schools you will get into a selective school (e.g., the selective liberal arts colleges or LACs)</p>

<p>Good luck with your decision! BTW I (the mom) really liked Hotchkiss. We lived in NJ more than a decade ago, and Lawrenceville was on my radar bkz I met people at work who had kids there. IMHO I would choose Hotchkiss if I was going to boarding school, but I’m not – you have to make a guess where you might be happiest and flourish the most.</p>

14

<p>Okay - let’s have a mom talk here.</p>

<p>First - before you call a waitlist school and tell them you love them you have to be sure you want to go. Calling and getting off the list then turning them down makes it much harder for every other student who is asking for the same favor.</p>

<p>Second - let’s look at what you wrote in your first post which is very telling:</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>and this</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>So the verdict is - go to Hotchkiss. You know it’s my daughter’s rival so it has to be good for me to STILL say you should go there. My daughter is at Taft and most of her friends are Asian. It’s in the middle of nowhere too and you know what - they are having a blast.</p>

<p>If you’re going to survive it’s time to “man up” or “woman up” (I don’t know your gender) and pick the school that suits you, not your parents.</p>

<p>And don’t look at matriculation because you don’t know what variables are at play (old money, legacy, etc.)</p>

<p>So - your choice. But you’ve heard what we have to say (even if kafkareborn is a biased alum and rhino rival, he may be right this time - lol!)</p>

15

<p>@flowers123</p>

<p>“you have to make a guess where you might be happiest and flourish the most” - based on my campus visit/interview, that would be hotchkiss… BUT based on conversations with students, that would be lawrenceville…</p>

<p>right now one of the MAJOR problems about hotchkiss is transportation. it’s so far away, and so far out there… i think i’d be better off in an urban environment like l’ville (it’s close to princeton as well)</p>

<p>but then the hotchkiss admission videos and their beautiful campus is calling out to me…</p>

16

<p>Wait a minute – are you saying Hotchkiss will definitely offer you a place even though they waitlisted you? Before they even know who else is coming (the deadline is April 10) and they have not even had one revisit day yet.</p>

<p>Are you absolutely sure that you are actually accepted? It is a little surprising that they would go to the waitlist so soon. No offense, as you are probably a great candidate but there are lots of kids who are waitlisted who might go there if moved off the list.</p>

<p>You were accepted to 3 schools. Are you sure you just don’t want the one who didn’t take you just to prove you can get in? Again, not trying to be rude, but you have at least 2 great schools (Lville and Choate – and you shouldn’t rule out Choate given your visual arts preference), you never mention what the 3rd school is.</p>

<p>It sounds like you should decide between the schools that actually accepted you.</p>

<p>Love the school that loves you is the constant advice on this board, and lots of kids are waitlisted everywhere. </p>

<p>I find it odd that ANY school would move anyone off the waitlist this early (maybe someone incredibly influential), but it sound like you are just a totally capable Chinese candidate and don’t have (for example) the chairman of the board of trustees, or president of the US or China calling on your behalf (again no offense).</p>

17

<p>Transportation is not an issue. Hotchkiss has a free bus that takes you to millerton - it has a mcdonalds a cinema, some great restaurants etc. Wassaic is also just a cab call away that will take you right into NYC. So it is literally really easy to get to and fro from NYC. I went back to hotchkiss from Philly and came back the same day - it is very doable once you get on campus you will realize that. </p>

<p>there are a lot of Chinese at Hotchkiss. I grew up in asia myself. hotchkiss has produced 3 of the nine 10 US ambassadors to China. You will feel at home here, more so than any other school cause we have a higher international population than pretty much anywhere proportionally, and we really stress internationalism from the head of school on down. </p>

<p>The fact that you are still trying to get off the wait list despite being accepted at two other great schools says it all. Follow your heart. And forget what the poster above said about loving the school that loves you, you have the opportunity to go to the school of your dreams and you can only do this once so follow them. </p>

<p>Welcome to the hotchkiss family.</p>

18

<p>Kafka – she is NOT accepted yet and be careful as there are LOTS of kids on the waitlist.</p>

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<p>@ExieMITAlum</p>

<p>My first post makes it seem like I really want Hotchkiss and don’t want L’ville, but that’s not entirely true. A few days ago I had already made up my mind about L’ville, so I’m kind of worried about suddenly changing my mind and going to Hotchkiss instead.</p>

20

<p>You also said you would be more comfortable at Lville.</p>

<p>I just wonder what your motivation is here, why you would even look beyond the 3 schools that accepted you when Hkiss wasn’t even your original first choice.</p>