Rye Country Day School review by Harvard University student.
Rye Country Day School has a very strong academic program. I would say they are strong in all academic areas, but that they particularly excel in history and math, in terms of rigor and the scope of material learned in these classes. The humanities education received at this school, in particular, was crucial in preparing me well for university. A large part of the coursework in college involves essay writing and RCDS prepared us exceptionally, giving us assignment where we had to research and write fairly long papers. (In contrast, many of my peers at college who struggled with essay writing had never been assigned long essays in high school). Because the school was academically rigorous, it was also very competitive. For this reason, the school discontinued the tradition of valedictorian and salutatorian. The school's teaching philosophy was lecture based but with a good degree of student interaction. The interactive parts kept me engaged with the material, but were rare enough that I was still learning all the material the teacher wanted us to pick up. Class sizes were about 16-20 people, which made learning easy.. For students with difficulties, there was a peer tutoring program, which I took advantage of. In addition, the teachers were highly accessible. All you had to do to get extra help from a teacher was ask. Some were even willing to stay after school to give extra help. For talented/advanced students there were AP classes as well as special optional classes such as "Science Research", where students worked in research labs on scientific projects.
College counseling at RCDS was excellent. We began the process of college counseling in junior.... Get the real inside story on college counseling at Rye Country Day School as experienced by former pupil and Harvard University student — Login or Sign Up to access full review
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...
I entered RCDS at a very young age (4th grade). There was an admissions test,.... Get in-depth insights and personal advice on admissions to Rye Country Day School by former pupil and Harvard University student — Login or Sign Up to access full review
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...
The quality of life at RCDS was great. The school had quite a bit of funding, and the facilities and dining plan were above average. The school offered great resources, such as an extensive library and early exposure of the students to computers (around 4th grade). The neighborhood, Rye, NY is in one of the countries wealthiest counties (Westchester County). The surrounding community was safe and quiet and conducive to socialization after and before school. Most of the student body was fairly wealthy, although there were a few of us on financial aid. (The school offered fantastic financial aid packages)..... Get the real inside story on quality of school life and extracurricular offerings at Rye Country Day School as experienced by former pupil and Harvard University student — Login or Sign Up to access full review