Choate Rosemary Hall is the product of a merger between The Choate School for Boys and Rosemary Hall school for girls in 1974.
One of the school’s early claims to fame involves former headmistress Caroline Ruutz-Rees, a member of the Connecticut Woman Suffrage Association who lobbied for the Connecticut General Assembly to ratify the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Signature Programs set Choate Rosemary’s curriculum apart from its peer institutions. In the Advanced Robotics Concentration, for example, scholars participate in a three-semester honors-level program that engages students in the principles of robotics design, robotics competitions, and autonomous robotics.
On the other hand, the Environmental Immersion Program engages students in a year-long research endeavor focused on the sciences or humanities.
Scholars formulate a hypothesis, design an experiment, test variables, and report their findings – all centered on a research question of their own desire.
Readers won’t be surprised to hear that entrance into Choate Rosemary Hall is competitive. We’re here to share details on the school’s acceptance rate, tuition, financial aid packages, and athletics and extracurricular offerings.
Applying to Choate Rosemary Hall involves a 45-minute online interview, so read up on the steps for submitting an application!
Choate Rosemary Hall Acceptance Rate
Choate Rosemary Hall accepts 16% of applicants, making for a highly selective admissions process.
The quickest and best way to stand out among one’s peers is to register for a 45-minute online interview. For the first 20-25 minutes, the interviewer will converse one-on-one with the applicant.
Following the interview, the applicant may register with Gateway to Prep Schools in order to submit the Candidate Profile to Choate Rosemary Hall – this serves as the application and should be accompanied by personal essays and a parent statement. Devoting special attention to the personal essay section is another way to distinguish oneself from other impressive applicants.
Candidates are not required to submit standardized test scores, though some will elect to share their results.
You will need to share a few letters of recommendation from current English and mathematics instructors, a principal/counselor, a third teacher, and an (optional) personal recommendation from an adult outside of an academic setting. Official copies of all pertinent transcripts should accompany these recommendations.
Most schools do not accept as many recommendations as Choate Rosemary Hall. While no published evidence speaks to a correlation between the number of recommendations and the acceptance rate, we’re going to encourage a “more is more” approach here.
It can be especially helpful to find someone who can eloquently attest to your best qualities and how they translate outside the academic realm.
Whether applying as a day or boarding student, the admissions pool is equally competitive. The admissions committee recommends applying as a day student if the commute is sustainable. As for eligibility requirements, there are none.
Choate Rosemary views each application holistically, and they intentionally refrain from publishing GPAs and standardized test score ranges for cohorts or students.
Choate Rosemary Hall Alumni
Choate Rosemary graduates have reached acclaim across various disciplines. Class of 1919 graduate Chester Bowles served as the Governor of Connecticut and United States Ambassador to India and is best known for his support of using economic assistance to fend off communism in developing countries.
The 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy himself, graduated from Choate Rosemary in 1935.
Two top-grossing female film stars, Glenn Close and Jamie Lee Curtis, followed Kennedy in ‘65 and ‘76, and sportswriter Bill Simmons received his diploma in 1988.
Simmons has experienced additional success as the founder and CEO of The Ringer sports and pop culture hub. His Bill Simmons Podcast remains the #2 most popular sports podcast and #25 most streamed podcast in America today.
The Choate Rosemary Hall Alumni Association holds regular events like happy hour in New York City, Chicago Alumni Service Day, and Deerfield Day – a day of amicable competition in activities like volleyball, soccer, football, and field hockey.
Many Choate Rosemary alumni are still involved in school functions. Alums can volunteer to serve as student club mentors, where they act as advisors for groups like the Film Club, International Club, or Equity Club.
Through the Pathways Program, Choate Rosemary alumni connect specifically with students of color and their families to match them with a current student mentor.
Choate Rosemary Hall Tuition
Tuition at Choate Rosemary Hall differs for day and boarding students.
Day students will pay $49,910 annually, while boarding students are responsible for $64,820. All students pay an additional $1,000 technology fee.
In 2021-2022, a third of Choate Rosemary students received some form of need-based financial assistance; on average, the award covered 79% of tuition costs.
Award ranges span from $3,000 to full tuition coverage. To determine aid, the admissions committee requests signed copies of federal income tax returns, W2 forms, Form 1099s, and any tax statements.
Regardless of financial aid receipt, all Choate students are eligible to apply for assistance from the school’s Beyond the Classroom Fund.
This fund supports student endeavors in athletics, extracurricular pursuits, study abroad trips, and other enrichment activities. Parents will also need to complete a Parent Financial Statement online.
In addition to grants, Choate Rosemary Hall connects students with various scholarship options. Each year, up to ten Choate Icahn Scholars are selected to receive financial support for books, school supplies, free admission to a summer program, and transportation coverage to and from home for the school’s four major calendar breaks.
Choate Rosemary Hall Ranking
Niche recently ranked Choate Rosemary Hall as the #3 best private school in the United States for the 2023 academic year – the school maintains this position from last year’s ranking. But what determines this ranking, exactly?
More than half of the ranking determination factors in the colleges most of the institution’s graduates go on to attend. Other indicators include standardized test scores and overall graduation rate.
Choate Rosemary is also positioned in the top 10-20 of the world’s best 100 boarding schools, according to prepreview.com. This ranking is based on estimated matriculation to Ivy League schools, MIT, Stanford, Oxford, and Cambridge.
What other factors undoubtedly contribute to Choate Rosemary Hall’s high ranking? Students enjoy the multidisciplinary curricular approach and the hands-on interactive learning opportunities.
The Start-Up Design Lab & Innovation Studio is an enormous programming studio and workshop that supports students in developing their own creative projects.
Students find relevant course topics highly stimulating. In Neuroscience, students explore their own brains and the ability to rewire neural connections.
Within Climate Change, students propose novel solutions for mitigating the climate crisis or adapting to new conditions brought forth by climate change (like coastal flooding). Relationships in all courses are meaningful – the 90% of faculty who live on campus develop strong mentoring relationships in intimate-sized classes.
What Athletics and Extracurriculars are Offered at Choate Rosemary Hall?
Choate Rosemary Hall offers six fall sports, six winter sports, and 11 spring sports. Traditional sports like soccer, cross-country running, and basketball are available, as are intramurals and unique offerings like rock climbing, farming, fitness rowing, and morning yoga.
The football program maintains a 53-3 record and five New England Championships under the coaching expertise of L. J. Spinnato, while both the boys’ and girls’ soccer teams regularly send athletes to play at Division I and II collegiate levels.
On campus, athletes spend considerable time in the Worthington Johnson Athletic Center, which houses an athlete training room, fitness class spaces, squash courts, and several multipurpose courts.
Both the boys’ and girls’ golf teams enjoy the opportunity to practice and play at the Wallingford Country Club, a prestigious country club situated less than a mile away from campus.
St. John Hall is the place to go to learn about extracurricular opportunities. The building serves as a hub for special events, concerts, recreational activities, weekend trips, and club recruitment.
The Choate Programming Union, for example, seeks to promote the integration of computer science education into myriad aspects of Choate’s campus and curriculum.
Choate Rosemary Hall’s student spirit section is known as the Boar Pen. This group consistently shows up to demonstrate school pride at athletic competitions, school performances, and other related activities.
Students looking to get involved in philanthropy can join the Community Service Club, an organization that regularly collaborates with community partners like the American Red Cross, The Spanish Community of Wallingford, and Wallingford Parks and Recreation.
Should You Apply to Choate Rosemary Hall?
For motivated students with diverse interests and talents, applying to Choate Rosemary Hall is the right move. Attending school as a boarding student can be a great transition to college residential life.
Many boarding students also gain access to facilities and opportunities not available in their hometowns or regions.
Several internships off-campus from Choate Rosemary place students in the same room as U.S. representatives, senators, CEOs, and entrepreneurs.
Choate Rosemary provides an exceptional curriculum across all departments. The Science Research Program, for example, offers early exposure and opportunities for students to conduct research.
Working in collaboration with a mentor scientist at a collegiate research lab in the summer session of 11th grade, students pursue research endeavors in areas like genetics, astrophysics, and engineering.
The capstone program is one of the most exciting components of a Choate Rosemary education.
Students work with their advisors to create a unique final project focusing on broad topics like the art of dissent, preventable exploitation in developing countries, and the relationship between China and the United States.
By the time Choate Rosemary Hall students graduate, they are exceedingly ready to thrive in collegiate classrooms.
The critical thinking skills students develop at Choate Rosemary Hall serve them well far beyond the classroom into their careers and beyond.
