Choate Rosemary Hall - Student Review

Choate Rosemary Hall

Alumni Review #11, Class of 2000

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1. Class of 2007, enrolled at Columbia
2. Class of 2005, enrolled at University of Wisconsin-Madison
3. Class of 2002, enrolled at Fordham University
4. Class of 2002, enrolled at New York University Stern School of Business
5. Class of 2002, enrolled at University of Chicago

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College Enrolled

University of Pennsylvania

Home Town, State (Country)

Years Attended Boarding School

Activities During Boarding School

Volleyball, Tennis, Riflery, Archery, Language&Cultural Organizations

1.) What do you think makes your school unique relative to other boarding schools?

Having been through all 4 years, I can only say that being at Choate is one of the best things that happened in my life.

2.) What was the best thing that happened to you in boarding school?

One of the moments I still remember well was when one of my sibilings (who also attended Choate) was ill and was admitted to Yale Hospital for about a week. Mr. Chrisholm, one of the Deans in our form (aka grade), volunteered to drive me to visit him every afternoon. Even more, Mr. Doster, my sibling's then-mathematics teacher cared so much to write down and organize neatly a weeks-worth of detailed lecture notes for the classes that my sibling missed! I certainly could not expect any teacher at other schools to care about his/her students as well as this.

3.) What might you have done differently during your boarding school experience?

Nothing really. The 4 years were definitely challenging. But now that I have graduated and been able to look back at those experiences, I cherish every minute of my experiences there.

4.) What did you like most about your school?

Diversity, opportunities to try different things at the school, and the rigor of all the classes.

5.) Do you have any final words of wisdom for visiting or incoming students to your school?

On a side note, try listening to the Boy's a capella group, Maiyeros!! They are awesome.

1.) Describe the academics at your school - what did you like most about it?

Choate definitely offers a wider variety of courses, at all levels (from the most basic to college-level courses), than other schools do. There are classes ranging from typical classes like Mathematics and History to rare classes like Marine Biology. Teachers there definitely try to push the students to excel academically (and of course, socially!) as much as they can. One of the good things is that most of the teachers (I believe over 90%) live on campus, so extra-helps are ALWAYS available and social talks on just about anything are welcome.

1.) Describe the athletics at your school - what did you like most about it?

Choate is particularly strong at Ice Hockey and Volleyball. We are also really good at other sports ranging from Soccer, Basketball, Swimming, Squash, Field Hockey, and Lacrosse as well. No matter how good you are at sports, you will find your own niche because Choate offers sports at many different levels ranging from Intramural (normally people who never played sports or would like to participate for fun), Thirds, Junior Varsity (JV) to Varsity.

1.) Describe the arts program at your school - what did you like most about it?

The end of the school year's Musical Play is one of the things I always look forward to attending at Choate. There are also private musical lessons given to students who would like to start/continue playing their instruments (for extra fees). If you are just plain intersted in theatre, there are also dance, theatres, and history of music classes for you to take (these are without extra fees) and fulfill the graduation requirements as well.

1.) Describe the extracurriculars offered at your school - what did you like most about it?

Almost all students join some types of students' organizations. There are many organizations for you to join-- visit the school's website...as there are so many of them!! Volunteer opportunities are also available. When I was at Choate, I also had an opportunity at the Albert Schweitzer Center to help document, pack, and send medical supplies to the Third World Contries as well.

1.) Describe the dorm life in your school - what did you like most about it?

Freshmen (9th grade) live in their own dorms. Seniors usually live in smaller houses. All dorms are either all-girls or all-boys, with 3-4 parent houses and several prefects (senior students).

1.) Describe the dining arrangements at your school.

The food was okay, but definitely better than that offered at other prep schools. We had a variety of choices of food to choose from everyday. Each day we have a choice of delis, pizzas, pastas, vegetarian food, salad bar, and 1 or 2 hot meals. Certain weekends like Easter or Thanksgiving, Choate also offers meals that celebrate the importance of the holidays as well. About once a month or so we have form dinner where everyone in the class meets up for formal dining.

1.) Describe the school's town and surrounding area.

I graduated a long time ago, but back then some of the places I could visit were the ice-cream shop, candy store, restaurants, etc. Occasionally, students can take trips (of course, with the school's permission) to Boston and NYC on weekends as well.

2.) Describe the social life at your school - what did you like most about it?

There are many types of students there ranging from the rich (celebrities, royalties) to the normal and the poor students. Despite this fact, students mingle well, and social class was rarely an issue at Choate.

Weekday

7:30 AM	Get up (or earlier if u want to eat break fast)
8:00 AM	Class
9:00 AM	Class
10:00 AM	School Meeting/Reflection
11:00 PM	Lunch
1:00 PM	Class
2:00 PM	Class
4:00 PM	Sports/Recreation
6:00 PM	Dinner
7:30 PM	Study Hours
10:45 PM	Lights out (but many people just stay up til later anyways :))