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Student Review

University of Cambridge, graduate of Winchester

Ratings

1. Quality of Teachers - * * * * *
2. Class selections - * * * * *
3. Extracurricular Activities - * * * * *
4. College Counseling and Preparation - * * * * *
5. Quality of Student Life - * * * * *

Academics

I arrived as a scholar at Winchester in September 2001. The reputation of the school as an institution of academic excellence preceded it, as it still does. However, the atmosphere was never one of high pressure and strenuous expectation. Although we were encouraged to do many and various different subjects, the public exams seemed to be more of an after-thought than a necessity. The class sizes varied from twenty students down to about eight in the more specific and challenging subjects, which meant that teachers always had enough contact time to explore outside and beyond the syllabus. When I was fifteen, for instance, preparing to take maths GCSE, we were already comfortable with all the basic calculus, though it was not required by the syllabus for another three years. Classes were always based around discussion, no matter what the subject, and student participation was ubiquitous in the form of projects and presentations. Almost all the teachers are hugely intelligent and very enthusiastic to share their knowledge with the boys. I ended up taking forty different A-level modules in nine subjects, but because of the way I was accelerated in different areas and held back in others, I never felt over-worked, sometimes the opposite. Those less capable at any particular discipline had access to one to one tutoring and other types of professional learning support. I understand that some things have now been changed and that fewer people are accelerated, giving all students even more time to receive a full and broad education. At the centre of this is Div, which is an unexamined subject that everyone studies compulsorily and in which the teacher has absolute autonomy over the subject matter. In my time I studied everything from medieval sporting history to the art deco movement. Sciences and maths are also incredibly well catered for, with Winchester regularly represented on at least one of the British Olympiad teams. The science faculty is in a separate building, about three minutes away from the main teaching area, equipped with all imaginable facilities. The boarding houses are at different distances from the teaching areas (maximum eight minutes) but ample time is given for getting to and from lessons. Being a few centuries old the school has had to work hard to provide good disabled access throughout but this is now at a more than acceptable level.

College Counseling

Because the school is split into boarding houses, each with a live-in house master and numerous house tutors, counseling on further education and careers was split into houses. Most of these tutors and masters were educated at a top university and many were still in touch with them. Potential courses and colleges were casually discussed as early as the third year (15-16). Because of this your 'counselor' was someone you saw all the time in and around your house and normally knew very well, making them very responsive. As a result all recommendations were expansive in how they described the student in question but also, due to the amount of contact time, personal in a way that would not be possible at many secondary schools. If extra help was required from someone else within the system who had a good contact at a particular college, or a close knowledge of an alternative, it was always given willingly and enthusiastically. The ethos at Winchester dictates that everyone receives the same amount of help in gaining a place at the university of his choice and that anyone has the right to apply for a top institution. Even the most ambitious were given two or three mock interviews, extensive tutoring for any pre-entry exams (SATs included) and lots of time to work on personal statements. Those who applied to Oxford and Cambridge received an extra hour of tuition every week in the term leading up to their interviews. As a result the school has been very successful in sending large numbers of students to Oxbridge and also quite a few to the Ivy league universities. I would say this is the section which most differentiates Winchester from many schools, who see the good exam grades as the end result. Everyone at Winchester would agree that the job of educating students at that level is not complete until they have achieved the place they deserve at the university of their choice. Sadly, because of the horribly undermined public examinations system in England, there is a certain lottery aspect to applying to a top university, but from Winchester more people achieve beyond their perceived abilities, thanks to the help and encouragement on offer, than fail to gain a place.

Admission Process

Winchester has two separate admissions processes; the scholarship exam option or the normal entrance option. Every year about sixty people apply for the fifteen scholarship places on offer. These papers are as hard as any papers I have taken in my academic career, comparative to the average ability of the age group. Bu they are also there to be enjoyed. A good mark is necessarily based on an overall paper, but may be given due to a individual glimpse of genius. The top scholar normally gets five or more As from about ten papers (some are optional - I advise taking as many as possible) while the lowest on the role may only get one or two. A C grade really is the average and bearing in mind the quality of pupils taking the exams, no mark is a bad one (many scholars got a couple of Ds and Es). The scholars live in a separate boarding house at the centre if the school, but this separation is only felt by those with incredibly thin skin, or a chip on their shoulder. They are, of course, streamed in the same classes as the 'commoners'. Winchester opts out of the Common Entrance exams at 13+ and sets its own, harder entrance paper instead. A C grade on these papers probably equates to about a high B or a low A at common entrance. Again, however, everyone is encouraged to apply as it often takes just one particularly good paper to gain entrance. Winchester, though offering a broad education, delights in nurturing specialists. I recommend that parents do get in touch with the school early as some boarding houses fill up very quickly a couple of years in advance of the entrance exams. Do some research to find a house which seems to suit the child and organise a visit directly through the house master. Though there are no official feeder schools, The Pilgrims School and Twyford, both in or near Winchester, and Milbourne Lodge, in Surrey, have very good relationships with the College and often send a generous handful of boys. Though the scholarship still exists it no longer holds a financial prize. The school has rightly decided to use that money to find and fund those who are intellectually but not financially capable of attending. This means that entry from the state sector is increasing, which adds to the atmosphere as well as the competition. No certain type of applicant is preferred, as long as they are male. There are often many international students, who tend to thrive in the open environment of the school.

Extracurricular Activities

Everyone from the third year upwards does one hour of community service or CCF (Combined Cadet Force) per week. The school also has a number of musical, theatrical and artistic projects which it shares with other local schools. Though no extracurricular activity is compulsory beyond the first year, house masters are constantly on the lookout for anyone not getting involved in something. The school offers a vast range of sports, from soccer to archery, including its very own and much loved sport, Winchester Football. There are leagues for most sports in which the eleven houses compete against each other, giving everyone the opportunity to play, even if they are not good enough to represent the school. Theatre plays a large part in school life. Their is a theatre on campus which puts on up to eight shows per term, many of which are entirely produced, directed and even written by students. Each year there is an inter-house competition in which a pair or trio of fourth years from each house direct their entire first year on stage in a short performance of their choice, normally which they have written. Art is heavily funded, with studios and workspaces open to anyone with an interest. A few students have gone on to art schools rather than mainstream education. The Music school recently had a very expensive makeover, which has opened up a lot more space. Details of this are available on the website. I'd estimate that about a third of boys at Winchester learn at least one musical instrument. Those who aspire to a career in rock or pop rather than classical are free to form as many bands as they like (there are normally half a dozen or so around) and practice in the new studios. The school also has an excellent choir. There are no sports scholarships. Art and music scholarships still exist, to the best of my knowledge, and should be applied for separately. The financial benefits of these are little but musical aptitude may increase the chances of receiving a bursary to help pay the fees.

Quality of Life

The support available within the houses is extensive, as has already been described. As well as the tutors each house has a matron who is available to speak to whenever the need for a sympathetic, motherly voice arises. The school also has two or three chaplains at any one time, should students feel more comfortable talking to a man of the cloth. The culture of Winchester is hard to pin down. As it is a single sex school there is little social pressure, so everyone is much more relaxed. Tradition is ever-present but not oppressive. The school dates back to the fourteenth century so it comes with a certain amount of history attached. It was used a bed and breakfast by the royalists in the English civil war, while the library houses documents about the ownership of local land signed by king Cnut. Traditionally there is no school uniform - boys wear a shirt, tie and jacket of their choice to classes. Winchester has developed its own kind of slang language, which goes back centuries but is being constantly updated. I still catch myself saying 'up to books' rather than 'in class' and 'goive' rather than 'it doesn't matter'. There are various large ceremonies, candlelit vigils in winter and garden parties in the summer, which are very enjoyable. But there are little things as well, like the way the scholars stand up and stride over the long tables in hall at mealtimes, instead of shuffling around them. As described already, contribution from peers is a must. Even the renowned school magazine The Wykehamist, which comes out twice a term, is entirely written, edited and printed by the boys. There are numerous other more light-hearted or creative publications, none of which have any teacher involvement. Eccentricity and excellence are encouraged by the existence of various clubs, societies and prizes. There are translation prizes for most languages, ancient and modern, recitation prizes, creative writing prizes, historical writing prizes, art prizes, music prizes, theatre prizes and more. Societies range from bell-ringing to debating and bookbinding to water-polo and if you have an idea for a new one you're free to start it up. As a result of much liberal and imaginative encouragement, it is almost impossible not to get involved.The general sentiment is that no one must do anything, but they'd be silly not to try everything.

Student Review

University of Oxford, graduate of The King Edward VI School

Ratings

1. Quality of Teachers - * * * * *
2. Class selections - * * * * *
3. Extracurricular Activities - * * * * *
4. College Counseling and Preparation - * * * *
5. Quality of Student Life - * * * *

Academics

The King Edward VI School (Southampton) is academically outstanding in all areas but is particularly well equiped in the sciences, sports and music. The school also devotes a significant amount of time to mathematics and modern languages, a minimum of 5 hour a week of class time for the former and 4 hours a week for the latter. The school also recruits only specialist teachers (i.e. those with a related degree to at least degree level) to teach at GCSE level and above. The school does very well in focusing on each student's strengths and ensuring that his/her particular potential in a given area is fully realised. With 1 hour - 1.5 hours a day homework at pre-GCSE level and up to 3 hours a day at A level, the school manages to encourage a high level of work from its students while still doing very well to take students' welfare and their life outside of academia into account. The extent to which work and deadline are enforced does, however vary greatly between teachers. The strong work ethic prepares students well for university and future life. Classes are small and invariably well organised, ensuring that large amounts can be covered very quickly and in great detail. This and comprehensive planning and monitoring ensure that syllabuses are covered comprehensively and early, leaving plenty of time for revision at the end of term prior to external examinations. Yearly examinations and streaming ensure that pupils learn with others of a similar ability after the second year in all disciplines in which numbers make more than one class feasible. Teachers are invariably entertaining and inspiring and encourage an enthusiasm in the subject by showing a willingness to answer questions and fill in background information that goes beyond the syllabus, while also being careful not to be distracted from the task of ensuring students are prepared for external examinations. With a significant number of examiners employed as staff, the school also does well at ensuring that pupils know exactly what they will be facing come their final examinations. Perhaps the only criticisms of the school I could offer is that it has a tangible competitive and boisterous atmosphere, and those who do not keep up occasionally end up giving up as a result of this. Pupils are expected to keep up, even if this means working twice as hard as the rest of the class to do so, which for some can be too much. Also, particularly at A level, independent learning is not depended on as much as other sixth-form colleges, which means that some may struggle following leaving a class environment and entering university. Invariably, however, this is as a result of the fact that class sizes are so small and teaching so well-organised and comprehensive that students are rarely required to learn things for themselves. While work outside of class is heavy, it is often for the purpose of assessment and development of writing style than for learning outside of the classroom.

College Counseling

University admissions were emphasised throughout sixth-form and addressed well over a year before applications needed to be made. A very efficiently run careers department was always open for drop-in sessions and advice and students were made aware of this resource. With between 10 and 20% of students going to Oxbridge each year, the school deals very well with those heading for a place at the top two universities and has good connections and relations with several colleges. The school also organised open day trips to a significant range of universities. The careers department were incredibly helpful with the application, with detailed feedback on several submissions of my personal statement (to the point where the final thing hardly resembled the initial draft) and compulsory sessions to go through UCAS application. Two sessions of interview preparation, both with externally brought in professionals, one free and one heavily subsidised, were also invaluable in informing one what the process would be like, providing exceptionally good positive feedback and reducing nerves for real interviews. Interview and entrance examination prep was also conducted with me by the head of economics(the subject i was applying to read) in his own time, after school, during which we went through past entrance examinations and held discussions that proved exceptionally useful. He also went through my personal statement, providing constructive criticism and indicators of potential questions in an interview. Overall I felt the school took an incredibly deep and genuine interest in my application, though I would speculate that it would not have been so had i not been applying to Oxford or Cambridge. This is somewhat symptomatic of the schools efforts to make sure that the top fraction excel, occasionally to the negligence of the rest of the school. Perhaps the most significant criticism of the counselling service is that it was invariably the case that students were all too often encouraged to apply to colleges and universities that were 'below them', and discouraged from making ambitious applications, particularly to Oxford and Cambridge, for which students failing to attain 7 A*s at GCSE level were refused any help with their application. I would speculate (perhaps cynically) that this was to make success rate statistics look better. My (successful) application to Merton, the most academic and one of the most selective colleges in Oxford was more despite, rather than because of advice I had received, with both my careers advisor and headmaster telling me I would not get in if I applied there. Having been at Merton for a year, I know that this was definitely not the case, and that I was not just lucky. This appears to be the general case for prospective applicants to top colleges in Oxford and Cambridge, though it must be noted that once I insisted applying to the college in question (after an open-day visit), the school got behind me entirely, offering far more support and help than I would ever expect.

Admission Process

The school mainly takes at 11+, though they also have been known to take at 13+. I am not sure about the admissions criteria of the latter of these entry points, though I have no reason to believe that it is any easier or harder to enter at 13+, subject to capacity; the school is more interested in maintaining standards than having a large number of fee paying students. Entrance at for A-level is significantly easier, with no entrance exam and relatively low GCSE requirements, though as a result, many students who join at 16+ have been known to struggle and not to enjoy their A-level course. At the time when I took the test, the school tested English, Maths and Reasoning, each taking 1 hour and all one after the other with a ten minute break, so it can be quite exhausting and timed prep is a must. Much of what one can expect can be found using 11+ CE sample papers. I covered these before taking the exam and found them a really useful guide for what to expect (in fact the actual exam was slightly easier). The time given to do each exam is more than adequate, so pupils should be coached to check their work after completion. Maths focused entirely on short-answer, sometimes multiple choice questions that would be standard for an intelligent child of 11 to know, without anything really complicated. These included fractions (e.g. which is the largest and which is the smallest: 1/2, 9/4, 0.47, shade 2/3 of this shape), long arithmetic, identification of different forms of symmetry, calculating averages and areas, converting verbal problems into simple arithmetic problems (John, Mark and Caroline get £45 between them for Christmas. John pays Caroline £7 which he owes her. How much does each have?) and very simple algebra (e.g. 4x=36; what is x). English had a set of comprehension questions in which the examined had to read a short story/chapter and answer questions on it, then a second half in which we were expected to write a longer piece on a single question. When I took the exam, the two options for this question were: 'What do you want to be when you grow up and why?' and 'What was the most memorable moment of your life?' The reasoning paper has a variety of verbal and non-verbal problems that. It is difficult to 'learn' how to do this paper well; most are naturally good or bad at it, though it is worth doing a few practices so that the student knows what to expect. I do not know what the exact requirements are for entry, but from what i gather, a very strong result in one test can make up for an abysmal result in another; it is not the case that each test has to be individually 'passed'. It is quite possible for a very bright child to get 100% in any of the exams. The school interviews all applicants, regardless of at what level they are entering. The main point of these seems to be to ensure that the child conforms to basic standards of politeness and attitude and is able to maintain a mature and appropriate conversation with an adult. It probably doesn't matter if he is an 11 year-old grandmaster at chess, plays rugby for England, or just enjoys playing football and computer games with his friends in his free time, though it is good to have an interest that the interviewee feels comfortable talking about in detail. The interview is basically a casual chat between the interviewer (a teacher at the school) and the pupil, rather than a probing and intellectual challenging grilling, usually about subjects such as 'what do you want to be when you grow up?', and 'what's your favourite subject'. I was also asked why I wanted to go to the school. It's probably best to ask this beforehand, just to check the answer, but it's also best if the response is genuine. They are likely to see through a rehearsed one, particularly on asking further questions. Generally, preparation is unlikely to help; I received none before mine and didn't feel any reason to feel disadvantaged or intimidated as a result. The interviewer does as much as possible to put the pupil at ease throughout, and candidates are asked to wear whatever they feel comfortable in. Of those who got in, an equal number of people were wearing a t-shirt and jeans to those that were wearing a shirt. I went after school in my uniform. At the end of the interview I was asked to read a short passage out loud from a book aimed at an 11 year-old audience (I think I read something by Roald Dahl. My brother was asked to read a passage from the first Harry Potter book), so it is a good idea to practice this if the candidate is not vary confident reading aloud. Overall, it\'s best to be honest. Giving an answer that might not be perceived as ideal is not as bad as you might think; my brother, who also applied successfully said that he didn't enjoy reading at all and that English was his least favourite subject, as he found it rather uninteresting and wasn't very good at it, to an interviewer who happened to be the head of English. The interviewer will often ask follow-up questions that will make it clear if a candidate has been dishonest (e.g. 'what have you read recently?' in response to someone who says they enjoy reading) and dishonesty will not go down well. I gather the school uses the interview as a negative tool: as long as nothing out of order is said or done, it probably won't affect the application, aside from perhaps offering a 'tie-break' for a borderline candidate. The school does not have any feeder school, with pupils coming from independent and state schools around the county, in roughly equal proportion, and I have no reason to believe that coming from an independent primary puts one in any better or worse a position. The school also have many scholarships of up to 25% for 11+ entry: sport, academic and music scholarships are all given to successful applicants each year and hardship bursaries of up to 100% are available children whose parents are on low incomes. Generally, parents are not expected to play an active role in the admissions process or communicate directly with the school, who are largely only interested on the child's attitude and academic ability, rather than how much their parents want them to go there, though the school are very helpful in dealing with queries about the admissions process.

Extracurricular Activities

The school has an immense range of extra curricular activities. All staff are expected to maintain some commitment to an extra-curricular activity, which means that the school's clubs and societies are incredibly well resourced. The year I received my Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award, the school gave out more such awards than any other in Britain. The list of clubs and societies one can join is massive, including every mainstream sport, card-games, role-play games, chess, young enterprise, foreign language clubs, poetry, literature (the school boasts the only school 'Byron Society ["A society dedicated to the prose, verse and life of Lord Byron"] and altruistic groups (such as hospital visiting and Amnesty International). Students are given the responsibility and autonomy to set-up and organise groups themselves in the unlikely event that they do not find the group to fill their niche, meaning that no interest goes uncatered for. A particular emphasis on sport means that the school excels in this particular area becoming county champions of both rugby and girls' hockey during my time there. The school debating society was one I became particularly involved in, being president for my final year, and one of the best in the area. The school this year beat Winchester College to get to the final of the Oxford Schools' debating championships and holds internal debates every week, providing an excellent platform for debating and public speaking at University level and beyond. The school also regularly enters students in public speaking competitions, in which i thoroughly enjoyed competing. Fencing was another pastime that I took particular interest in, and I was lucky enough to be offered free fencing lessons twice a week by a fully qualified expert and included kit hire, participating in one or two external competitions a term. Generally, excellent staff backing and financial support ensure that there is something for everyone, whatever their interest.

Quality of Life

The provision of breakfast as extra is a fantastically useful service that the school provides, especially from students with a long commute from within the schools remarkably large catchment area (bus services are provided for as far a-field as New Milton. Unfortunately school lunches are somewhat poor in quality, though by no means lacking in choice and costing only £2 each. Bringing packed lunches is, however, quite common should the quality of school cuisine be a problem. The dining hall is large and sociable and altogether a pleasant atmosphere in which to eat and the building and school grounds are large and attractive, particularly for a city-school, with students given the freedom to roam as they please during break periods. While the neighbourhood is not overly rough, the school is located in an urban housing estate and there have been known to be violent incidents between students at the school and students at the nearby local comprehensive, though such incidents are rare and seldom serious. The school has an active parents' association, which runs frequent social events and an annual dinner. Annual events such as speech day and sports day are also held. The school, perhaps unusually for an institution of its age and standing, attracts a large number of students from low income backgrounds, largely as a result of the generous scholarship and bursary schemes that the school offers, which helps make the school a far more representative community than other similar independent educational establishments. The percentage of white pupils, however remains remarkably high, and i can think of only three black students within the entire student body during my time at the school. Overall, however, the school atmosphere is a fantastic one, and I can honestly say that I had a wonderful time there. The social environment, particularly among the older years is sociable and welcoming, if at times a little cliquey and hard to break into, particularly if entering at a 16+ level. The school has fantastic welfare provision, with a full time councillor and fully qualified nurse, and it is apparent that both staff and students go out of their way to ensure that the members of the school are happy and comfortable. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and could think of no-where where I would have been happier.

Student Review

Harvard University, graduate of Choate Rosemary Hall

Ratings

1. Quality of Teachers - * * * * *
2. Class selections - * * * * *
3. Extracurricular Activities - * * * *
4. College Counseling and Preparation - * * * *
5. Quality of Student Life - * * * *

Academics

Choate Rosemary Hall has an excellent, if not undoubtedly best, academic program and standards. First, Choate's academic program centers on the belief that the best preparation for college is a liberal arts education. Thus, there are 3 year language requirements, two year history requirements, four year English requirements, and two or three term Arts requirements. In addition, science and math are four year requirements. Second, there is a wide selection of class to choose from: from the regular level course, to Honors, and finally Advanced Placements APs. There are well over 20 APs that the school offers, and Choate is often a hub for AP takers from all over the Wallingford, New Haven, and other areas. That said, it is extremely difficult to get into the top classes. Usually, one is recommended for Honors level classes at the start, or more frequently after the completion, of Sophomore year. Grades of A- are required in regular, prerequisite courses before recommendations for the AP sequence courses can be given. Workload is as follows: from what I have heard from my peers while at Choate, Regular level courses are often medium workload courses at best. However, though one can choose these courses and excel in them with a decent amount of effort, they are not the best ones to beef up your college resume. AP level courses and Honors level courses on the other hand require a lot of hard work. Choate teachers are often merciless with the amount of work they assign in these high level course, because they expect students enrolled in these courses to have obtained the necessary knowledge, skills, and academic work ethic that is required. In other words, they can be seen as college level courses and require a lot of effort, and often out side of the classroom meetings with teachers. The teachers, from my own experience, are great. All of them have BAs - bachelor degree, most have Masters (a great percentage of which have two or more Master degrees) and a decent amount have PhD. They know their subject matter cold! There may be one or two teachers whom one may not like, or whom are perceived as unfair graders. But most are experts and truly very kind individuals. Class size is just right: no more than 15, often only 12. Teachers will definitely know you on a first name basis by the second day, and learning is swift and effective!

College Counseling

College counseling at Choate is good-but not the absolute best. First, compared to public schools and most other private schools, college counseling at Choate is far superior. There are weekly meetings. Each college counselor has roughly 30 kids to manage, and each CC will advocate on your behalf to each and every school you apply to. College counseling at Choate begins in the spring of Junior year. You engage in what are called small group meetings at this point-20 to 25 kids in a small group- to discuss the outlines of the process, what you will face senior fall, what your options and resources are, how to use web programs such as "Tcci Naviance" to look at college admission statistics, and many other useful tidbits of information that definitely should not be ignored. Senior fall you meet with advisors on a weekly basis. You make a list of Possible, Probable, and Reach schools. Choate lets you apply to 10 schools at most (11 if you include your state schools), no more than 4 of which are advised to be Reaches. Though your college counselor does not restrict what schools you can apply to (one of my peers with a 2.9 GPA applied to all Ivy League colleges/universities and Wesleyan) they strongly advise you based on what your statistical and background advantages are. In other words, they can't limit you, but they will tell you the honest-and often brutal truth- of the likelihood of you getting into your the schools on your list. In that sense, they are very helpful and very pragmatic. Also, they often maintain personal and scholastic relationships with a lot of colleges, so admission officers tend to see Choate college counseling officers as reliable and trustworthy. College counselors at Choate will always advocate on your behalf. They are your advertisers. The only criticism that I can think of is that these college counselors are often very VERY stressed. They work all day, and they have a lot to carry on their shoulders, seeing as college admission statistics at Choate is often under scrutiny by the Board of Trustees and the Headmaster (trust me, I was on the Board as a student Rep, and these trustees grill the College counselors, especially the Dean of College Counseling). Thus, their stress, anxiety, and often brutal truth may discourage some. Also, as in many endeavors, it is often your responsibility to make sure to be on top of the meetings, deadlines, etc. In that sense, a lot is required from you during this whole process seeing as you cannot use your College counselor - who is on overload and stressed out- for every single niche and cranny of the college application process.

Admission Process

Best advice is this: Pursue your interests passionately in junior high school while maintaining the best possible grades in the best possible courses. Take challenging and interesting courses, not easy and bland ones. GPA of 3.5 (88/100) and above recommended. GPA of 3.8 (90/100) highly recommended. Take SSAT; scores of 88 percentiles and above highly recommended. Advice: read a lot of books. Be engaged in classrooms. Take SSAT prep classes if required. Also, right good essays. This means being at ease and comfort to share your personal backgrounds, and even difficult and life-changing challanges and experiences. TELL YOUR STORY. They will feel that you are showing them the person in you. They will see your personality and character through your story, and this, with your excelling grades, will highly improve your admission chances. Persue your own interests: sports, music, clubs, etc. ANYTHING. As long as you EXCEL and LEAD with fidelity and integrity. Through your extra interests, you show that you are a leader, and this is what Choate looks for. Students should be highly active in admission process. Interview is important. Open up to your interviewer. This will encourage them to make the case for you when they sit at the admission table with other admission counselors.

Extracurricular Activities

Choate does a good job with balancing school life with extra curricular activities. Extra-curricular activities are required each and every term, unless you are taking a 6th course, or in a school play. Choate is very proactive in encouraging extra curricular activities. Student has the option to pursue sports, plays, or other unique extra curricular such as yoga, debate, intramural activity, and many others. Community service is a key aspect at Choate. This could be your extracurricular commitment. Choate has a very well advanced and highly interactive Community Service program. In fact 30 hours is required before graduation! Of course there are school clubs, Boards, Student Counsel, Judicial Counsel, Independent projects, and other channels of extra curricular that allow you to contribute, pursue your interests, all the while beefing up your college resume! In the end, it is up to YOU to pursue your own extra-curricular activities. If you are proactive, and if you follow the Choate motto (fidelity and integrity) you will take up interesting extracurricular and naturally end up being the President/ Leaders in the club(s) you are passionate about by your junior or senior years.

Quality of Life

Choate is an tight-nit community that is safe, secure, family-like, and often a comfort zone as a second home. Housing is excellent. Dorms are first rate (especially the new 2008 multi-million dollar dorms!) dining hall service is excellent (though you may get tired of it simply because you may grow too familiar with it). There is minimal association at best with the town of Wallingford; it is as if Choate is its very own town. There is absolutely no crime; and if there be some freak incident it is often isolated to two or three people (nothing like it happened during my four years). There are formals, dances, celebratory events every term, for every major holiday, school dance, school event, etc. Choate is quite diverse for a top-tier boarding school. 30 percent student of color, and 66 percent on some form of financial aid. Also, there is the Icahn Scholars Program (ten students every year, all expenses, all books, stipends, support programs, and many other perks paid) and other newly started programs such as the Gaiko-Walton (another all expenses paid full scholarship program). Choate's doctors and nurses are on call 24/7 at the school's infirmary. Chaplain, and religious service is available for all major faiths and religions. Also, other religious/spiritual services are available for followers of other faiths. It is truly very tolerant and very open! School tradition: non-denominational, tolerant, diverse, multicultural, New England values of liberal arts education and preparatory training for the college level, American values of hardwork, acceptance, dynamic interactions with others, and strong and endearing student-teacher and student-student relationships that build academic and personal character and growth. School's approach was just right: liberal arts education with traditional New England lifestyle, tolerance, and hardwork and perseverance. Personally, I benefited from being motivated by excellent teachers to do hard-work and to persevere in my tasks. I was pushed, but it was my choice. It will be your choice as well. Make sure to have a good social time with great friends and classmates, while pursuing your own academic interests, hopes and dreams. Take good care of your time at Choate. It is a great place!

Student Review

MIT, graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy

Ratings

1. Quality of Teachers - * * * * *
2. Class selections - * * * * *
3. Extracurricular Activities - * * * * *
4. College Counseling and Preparation - * * * * *
5. Quality of Student Life - * * * * *

Academics

The academics at Phillips Exeter Academy are extremely strong. The Harkness system is remarkable; it made classes much more interesting for me, and I think I learned a lot more as a result. I think it worked particularly well in history, English, religion, and math classes (i.e. the humanities classes). Science didn't follow Harkness as closely, and that was fine, since I think the subject material is more factual and less discussion-based anyway. The Harkness math program deserves a special description. Basically, math classes at Exeter consist of problem-solving. Instead of working from textbooks, which derive all of the results and encourage students to memorize them for later use, Exeter math classes use their own "textbooks", which are sets of problems with no formulas or derivations. Every day for homework, students do about a page worth of problems (about 8-10 problems), and the next day they present them on the board in class, with the teacher helping out when they run into trouble or pointing out important insights along the way. This is, in my opinion, the best way to learn math, because students must actually make the discoveries themselves. The problems are designed to help the students make the discoveries by giving them some examples and asking questions for them to think about. The method really does depend on students doing the work though--if a student gets lazy and just copies the work, he won't learn and won't have anything to look back on. Classes are 13 students or fewer, and some classes in the higher levels are quite small. There is a ton of instructor attention; teachers are extremely helpful and willing to meet with students who are struggling, and because it's a boarding school and many faculty live on campus, students can actually go visit them in the evening for extra help. There is a fair amount of work--I'd say about 4-5 hours per night--so students will be busy.

College Counseling

My experience with college counseling was great; my counselor and the rest of the college counseling office (CCO) staff were extremely kind and they seemed to really care about making sure that I went to a place where I'd be happy. The CCO was well-organized about handling paperwork and communications with colleges, and informing us of scholarship opportunities and upcoming deadlines. I met with my college counselor about once every month, although sometimes more often when deadlines were approaching. He was very friendly and we had no trouble having honest discussions about the future. He also had good relationships with college admissions officers and was able to update me on how they'd reacted to my applications. In the end, I applied to Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Harvey Mudd, and Caltech, and I got into all of them, so I was happy with my counselor's efforts (and the efforts of the CCO as a whole) in promoting my application, as well as in helping me decide where I wanted to go.

Admission Process

The admissions process was, in my opinion, a lot friendlier than college admissions. Mr. Gary, the head of admissions, is extremely friendly and understanding; I've actually worked with him on a number of occasions (through my work with the school newspaper) since being admitted. I would definitely recommend meeting him and staying in touch with him. From what I know of the admissions process, it is really run by the faculty members (much like the rest of the school, which is governed mostly by the faculty rather than the administration). A committee of faculty members reads applications and, in conjunction with the admissions office, makes decisions. I don't feel like the school favors a particular type of student, but I do think that some skills are easier to quantify and express than others. Math talent, for instance, is easy to show through competition results and therefore I feel like it's easy to get in. I'm not that familiar with athletic recruiting, but it can definitely help. When I was applying (as a tenth grader) I took the SSAT in the fall. I think that's the best time to take it; as for score range, I think most people score in the high nineties (97-99th percentile) but I do know people who were in the eightieth percentile. As for other admissions advice, I would recommend that students be really proactive in communicating with the admissions office (rather than having their parents do everything). One thing that Exeter really values is independence and maturity, and a student who takes the initiative to approach the admissions office on his own does stand out. Additionally, it's a good way for the admissions office to get to know the student personally.

Extracurricular Activities

Exeter's extracurricular offerings are excellent, both in terms of breadth and depth. There are hundreds of clubs, some that are mainly for fun (e.g. pirate club) and some that are serious, nearly professional, endeavors, such as the debate team, the campus radio station (WPEA), the school newspaper, the math team, and the social services organization. One of my favorite activities was my work for the school newspaper, The Exonian. It was a big operation: we published a large newspaper (generally over 16 pages, broadsheet size) every week, and we were proud of the fact that all of our content (news stories, features, opinions/editorials, sports coverage, cartoons) was produced by our own staff of about thirty regular writers and thirty editors. However, we got the job done week after week and had a lot of fun in the process; the Wednesday afternoons I spent in the Exonian office will remain among my fondest memories. Another activity of note is the math club. Exeter's math team is arguably the best in the nation, both in terms of awards garnered (first place in the American Regions Math League my senior year, and three first-place finishes at the Harvard-MIT Math Tournament in the past four years) and in terms of the training program in place. The club met twice a week (about four hours total) to practice solving problems, and the top competitors met every day at lunch to discuss Olympiad-level problems; this training schedule, and more importantly, the guidance of our coach, world-renowned math teacher Zuming Feng, helped our students train to be the best.

Quality of Life

I loved my life at Exeter; if I could go back and relive my experience I would without a second thought. The dorm experience was excellent. Students are placed in either dorms of 40-50 people, or in houses of 10-20 people. Each dorm or house (all of which were single-sex) is overseen by a group of faculty members, who enforce rules, plan house gatherings, and serve as the students' advisors in academics as well as in their lives. Additionally, responsible seniors in each dorm or house serve as proctors, ensuring that students are in the dorm on time and generally enforcing order. I lived in a house of 23 students and found it to be one of my favorite parts of Exeter life, because I formed very close friendships with my dormmates. We studied together at night in our rooms, ate together in the dining hall, hung out around campus playing frisbee or wiffleball, and generally lived our lives together. The dining facilities were also outstanding. I thought the food was quite good; and additionally, the staff there were extremely receptive to student feedback, buying new foods or sauces or adding to the salad bar if students wanted new things. The town of Exeter was quite safe; I don't recall any incidents during my three years at Exeter. Additionally, the Academy's safety and security squad was great about patrolling the campus and responding to any call. The town is quite small, although it does have a small number of stores and a larger number of eateries, almost all of which deliver. In terms of diversity, Exeter is quite successful at bringing in a diverse student body and in supporting it through cultural clubs and programming for minority students through the Dean of Multicultural Affairs office. There is less diversity in the faculty than in the student body, but this is an issue on which the Academy is currently focusing a great deal of attention.