Holton Arms vs. Visitation

[Anonymous]

Both are quite fine. My kid went to one of the 2 -- there are an equal # of kids at DD's Ivy from the 2 schools. Either is fine for sports. What sport in particular are you interested in? My dd was a DI recruit...we know kids recruited for sports for most of the major sports...please name your pick of sport(s). I would pick the one closest to your home. You can't go wrong with either

[Anonymous]

On another note - Would anyone happen to know about he wait list at Visitation? My friend's daughter was placed on it this weekend and she wondered what the chances were of actually getting in? Many thanks!

[Anonymous]

Holton has a reputation for being very intense academically in high school, with a heavy homework load. Is it the same at Visi, or a little less rigorous/more sane (depending on your perspective)?

[Anonymous]

Many years Visi doesn't go to the waitlist. They have a larger class than Holton. They are able to go lower on admit credentials...they take a fair number of legacies who would have not gotten in otherwise and make them go to their summer pre-school prep. Holton has some legacies in certain years...many of them wouldn't have gotten in otherwise either. Visi prefers girls who have gone to a Catholic grade school.

[Anonymous]

Visi mom here. Homework load seems to run about three-four hours per night, higher for kids taking lots of honors courses. The girls work hard, but my DD does extracurriculars all year, and so do plenty of her friends. So the kids find a balance. We think the school is totally amazing.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, Visi mom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Holton is predominantly a rich girl's school; Visitation is more economically diverse.

We're not rich and our daughter is going to Holton (lower school). She says it is "okay," but "yawn" because not academic enough. I don't hear a lot of other parents complaining about that. She does some outside work, which she shares with some of her teachers, though. She really enjoys being able to bring that part of herself to school and find it is appreciated. She just wishes that she could do more of that advanced work IN school.

We considered Visitation, but it seemed to have too many religion-based (Christianity) classes required, or maybe we just read the schedules/program wrong.

[Anonymous]

You are a troll pp -- Visi doesn't have a lower school so how could you consider something that doesn't exist

[Anonymous]

And why would it shock you that a Catholic school like Visitation would offer a number of Christian classes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Holton is predominantly a rich girl's school; Visitation is more economically diverse.

We're not rich and our daughter is going to Holton (lower school). She says it is "okay," but "yawn" because not academic enough. I don't hear a lot of other parents complaining about that. She does some outside work, which she shares with some of her teachers, though. She really enjoys being able to bring that part of herself to school and find it is appreciated. She just wishes that she could do more of that advanced work IN school.

We considered Visitation, but it seemed to have too many religion-based (Christianity) classes required, or maybe we just read the schedules/program wrong.

Why would you send her to a school that does not challenge her or where she is bored? I am sure you could have found other schools, perhaps a gifted program t would meet her needs? I will say this, she may be bored now but it will get MUCH more challenging for her and she will likely have plenty to challenge her in US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many years Visi doesn't go to the waitlist. They have a larger class than Holton. They are able to go lower on admit credentials...they take a fair number of legacies who would have not gotten in otherwise and make them go to their summer pre-school prep. Holton has some legacies in certain years...many of them wouldn't have gotten in otherwise either. Visi prefers girls who have gone to a Catholic grade school.

She did not attend a Catholic grade school but has excellent grades and activities. Does anyone know how many kids are usually on the list and how many openings there were for this year? Thanks for any info.

[Anonymous]

Visi mom again. Last year the freshman class was especially large, I think around 135. Don't know about this year, but I do know several A students at parochial schools who were waitlisted over the weekend and their families were shocked and heartbroken. It's the top choice for so many parochial school girls in the area -- it makes the school tougher to crack than people think. Especially for non-Catholics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Visi mom again. Last year the freshman class was especially large, I think around 135. Don't know about this year, but I do know several A students at parochial schools who were waitlisted over the weekend and their families were shocked and heartbroken. It's the top choice for so many parochial school girls in the area -- it makes the school tougher to crack than people think. Especially for non-Catholics.

She is Catholic but her grade school is not. She is also heartbroken and I would like to offer her some hope or new information regarding how long the list usually is and how many girls get in from the list. Do you happen to know this? Many thanks.

[Anonymous]

I heard last year that they could have filled 2 freshman classes with the number of applicants who would have been admitted in previous years but were shut out because of numbers this time around. I imagine this year is very similar. It is very definitely a popular school and the look kindly on kids coming from Catholic elementary schools. Our Catholic school really discourages girls from applying who are not in the top of the class because the odds are against them.

[Anonymous]

My advice to your friend's daughter would be to write to the school to reiterate that it's her top choice, and also ask her pastor to write a note on her behalf. I do know girls who have gotten in off the wait list over the years, but the odds are so long. Good luck. It's worth the effort.