Gold Key Revamps Campus Visits Original Principles Maintained
By Zoe Gorman ’09
News Staff Reporter
The Gold Key Society, under the supervision and leadership of Ms. Mitchell, has commenced touring prospective students for the class of 2012. Although most of the visiting does not pick up until October, the admissions office has already had 2,699 inquires and 110 interviews. Admissions has decided to discontinue open houses, instead instituting a new program that will give eighteen families a chance to learn about Choate during non-academic Saturdays.
Open House Replaced
The new program is scheduled for 9 o’clock on October 13th, November 3rd, and January 5th, and is pending for November 17th and 18th. The families will congregate in Getz auditorium for welcoming refreshments and a presentation from admissions chair Ray Diffley III. The families will then have a chance to talk with Choate parents, and then nine will go out on student guided tours while the other nine have interviews.
By dividing the families and switching roles when interviews have finished, the admissions office hopes to finish visits by noon, improving the efficiency from when the office had four families come each hour, and did not finish until one or two in the afternoon. Although the admissions office prefers to have all families tour before the students are interviewed, the presentation and parent-to-parent sessions will provide the families who will interview first with some preliminary information. And if nine families are touring at a time, the campus will be livelier during the Saturday morning lull.
“Mr. Diffley came up with a new program, and we’re augmenting it so that the families will get what has really been our trademark of friendliness, warm-welcoming, all the kinds of things that the tour guides are known for here at Choate,” said Ms. Mitchell.
Day Students Reduced
According to Mrs. Mitchell, the open houses, which catered to 100 families, were for potential day students, the “people who lived right in our backyard” and were often “a little intimidated by Choate.” In recent years, the open houses have attracted students from other areas as well because the information has been on the Choate website.
However, Choate is reducing the number of day students, a figure that had remained the same since before the school dropped its student body from 1000 in 1991, and whose reduction is now possible because of the new dorms. The Admissions Office will therefore not need the open houses to increase day student interest. Whereas the open houses could become large and chaotic, Mr. Diffley feels the new program will be more manageable and informative.
Online Applications
In addition to giving information on the website, the admissions office has made the transition to online applications. The school introduced the online format 2 years ago, and after some initial hesitation, found that the online applications make for more rapid turnarounds, precise electronic organization, and greater mail security through the e-mail confirmations that families receive after submitting. The school expects 1500 to 1600 applications by January 15th.
As students tour the school, arguably the largest influence and impression comes from their tour guide. By conveying their enthusiasm, sharing their own experiences, and connecting with the families; the tour guides have a profound and crucial impact on the decisions prospective families make.
“One of the things is I’m always blown away by how well our tour guides represent Choate and what an impact they have on the entire class and the school’s reputation,” remarked Mr. Diffley.
“Tour guides in general are the ones who determine the personality, the character of Choate,” concurred Ms. Mitchell, who described the guides collectively as “devoted” and “perceptive.”
Fifty-eight tour guides from the class of ’07 graduated last year, and Ms. Mitchell encourages any student, having already gone through a selection process to come to Choate, to become a Gold Key Society member.
“We understand how crazy life is here, so whoever helps us, we’re very appreciative,” Ms. Mitchell says.
Inquiries Trickle In
The Admissions Office’s initial impressions of the visiting students have been limited because so few of the expected 5,000 inquires have been made.
“What strikes me about the students who we’re seeing,” said Diffley, “is that they come from very different places.” He explained that many in this year’s pool of applicants have not come from “traditional boarding school families,” but rather from families with no previous experience with boarding school who nonetheless like the idea.
“The applicants are timid because they truly haven’t visited other schools,” said Ms. Mitchell, urging Gold Key members to help them relax so that they understand what Choate can offer. More of these students have taken interest in the distinct academic programs that Choate offers, such as Arts Concentration, Science Research Program, and the economics program. As for the boy-girl ratio, with a split of 58 male, 52 female interviews and 1,339 female, 1,327 male inquiries, no statistical anomalies present themselves at this point.
Receptions Planned
The office will continue to hold its traditional receptions in Greenwich, New York City, and California. Mr. Colin Lord has been traveling in the west coast, Korea, and Saudi Arabia to bring in students from diverse areas. The Gakio-Walton scholarship was designed from an 11.4 million dollar bequest to educate students in Africa, the Middle East, and underrepresented states in the United States. Ms. Pashley and Ms. Whitney have traveled to Kenya, and Mr. Noel will go to Wyoming and the Dakotas as part of Choate’s farflung recruiting plan.
“In our applicant pool,” said Mr. Diffley, “typically 40 or 50 percent will seek financial aid. There’s been a slight increase in the interest…surprisingly nothing noteworthy.” He commented that he expected a more significant increase because of the cost of Choate, and that the applicant pool reflects a higher percentage than the actual student body, about 30% of whom receive financial aid.
The Icahn Scholars, Choate’s largest full aid program will not be selected until Februrary in time for the March 10th admission decision date.
Ms. Mitchell will meet with a selected group of students who represent each form on the Gold Key Advisory Board to discuss the upcoming year and the training of new tour guides. Ms. Mitchell also meets with prospective guides one-on-one. The representatives on the Advisory Board, which serves as a sounding board for parent questions, encompass a large amount of geographic and cultural diversity that admissions feels reflects the Choate campus.
In addition to filling out an application and speaking with Ms. Mitchell, the new tour guides are paired with veteran Gold Key members for their first tour. Third Formers must wait until winter term, so that they will have had enough time to settle into campus life. Although there may be some group meetings, admissions does not want to dictate what tour guides will say. “We really want their personalities to come through,” said Ms. Mitchell. “Sincerity is key.”
Ms. Mitchell would like to bring more student athletes into the program in case varsity coaches are not available to talk with incoming students. She hopes to communicate with these coaches so that they can recommend players to be tour guides.
Alumni Continue Tradition
“I like being the one to give an impression of the school,” said student athlete and Gold Key member Claire Monagan ’08. “By being a good tour guide and showing all the positive sides of Choate, we can get as many people interested in the school as possible and get a lot of good candidates for applications.”
Ms. Mitchell sees several of the alumni whom she worked with as Gold Key members when they were students continue to work for Choate admissions at various fairs across the country, and to lend a helping hand in interviewing prospective students. “The spirit, the legacy goes on,” she stated.
Choate will continue touring on academic Saturdays. On parents’ weekend, applicants with siblings at Choate come for interviews.
Kristine Yamarito ’10 said: “Gold Key is my chance to remember why I go to Choate.”
New students find their bearings in the first days of school. PHOTO/Communications
