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Havergal College

School rating 4 / 5 by

1451 Avenue Road Toronto ON M5N 2H9 Canada
Boarding
9th to 12th
Day
K to 12th
Gender
Girls only

Academic

Havergal College review by .

Havergal was very good for training students to be extremely focused and efficient in their work. While attending university I found that this focus was invaluable. The ability to be disciplined was very important while in an environment with so many distractions. Havergal very much emphasized grades. Although the environment was not competitive and teachers were extremely supportive and ready to give their time to help students beyond classroom teaching, there was still a strong enough push to aim for high grades and not to settle until one was achieving as much success as possible. This was helpful in university because there is absolutely no one on your back to push you towards reaching for the top, however, if you become used to extra help and individual attention (as Havergal provides) one might feel discouraged or helpless in a university environment were such close attention to students is not provided. Havergal was lecture based in upper level classes (gr 11 and 12) this was excellent in preparation for university - however it was still very much at a highschool level as there were a great deal of projects and creative in class assignments. Lower level classes and some gr 11 and 12 classes were focused on discussion with peers which was great - team work is important for life after university, although it may not be a skill utilized in university level classes especially in the arts and sciences -- it is more so used in business. Havergal class sizes were approx. 22 students - this was a good size, lots of teacher attention and lots of extra help available if requested. Teachers would also advise students to get extra help if they felt they were struggling.

College Counseling

My guidance counselor was great, she really helped me through the process of applying for....

Sample insights on college counseling

  • They have contacts at most of the major universities and feel perfectly comfortable picking up the phone and advocating for a student to get accepted somewhere they feel is a good fit for that student. However, these counselors are certainly not magic bullets. They cannot guarantee that a student will get into an Ivy League university...
  • For those wishing to move on to Oxford or Cambridge, the provision is second-to-none. In the months running up to application and interview, every subject faculty offers classes (often run by former Oxbridge tutors) exploring further areas of their subject as well as offering advice on personal statements, interview technique and more...

Admissions - Getting Accepted

Students that do well on their SSATs and have a good interview are accepted into....

Sample insights on admissions

  • For the interview, dress conservatively. Try to be very clean and put together. Also, I was a tour guide for two years and at the end of every tour, we were asked to evaluate the candidate so if you think the tour is not apart of the process, you are very wrong. Ask questions and be interested. Also, tip for the parents: the kids speak on the tour. Do not ask their questions for them...
  • Most younger siblings have an easy time in the admissions process. I can only think of one case of a younger sibling not being admitted. About half of the students who entered with me had come from public schools. The remainder came from private K-6 schools, or had transferred from other New York private schools The Elizabeth Morrow School and St. Bernard were two of the larger feeder schools...

School Life

Havergal is all about community. Everyone is willing to contribute to community life to make it a fun and supportive environment. There are assemblies 3 times a week and are applicable to all people of all races and religions. The school is divided into 10 houses. Within the houses there are teacher-advisor groups each with approx 7-12 students from grades 9-12. There is alot of emphasis put on leadership so older students help to advise younger students within this group. Students stay in the same TA group from grade 9-12 and it gives the teacher a chance to track....

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