Open House Attracts Scores of Prospective Students
By Noor Habboosh ‘10
News Reporter
On Saturday, October 7, Choate opened its arms and gave a warm welcome to prospective students from around the world.
With students coming from states as far as Virginia, countries as near and as far as Canada and China, and over one hundred and thirty total registered families, Admissions and Gold Key certainly had their work cut out for them.
Elizabeth Mitchell of Admissions and Choate’s campus visit coordinator said the day began at 2:00 with an hour of registration. During registration, families received a folder with informational cards for each subject department, which included a summary of the subject section and contacts to call for any possible questions, which were new features of this year’s Open House.
Families were also given vouchers that they could redeem for lunch items at the Tuck Shop, which made a temporary location outside. This idea of vouchers was also new this year, said Ms. Mitchell, whereas in past years, families were given the usual refreshments of punch and cookies.
These changes have been made to create a more comfortable and relaxed atmosphere for families, in which they feel free to explore Choate and discover all the excellent things the school has to offer.
At the conclusion of registration, Mr. Ray Diffley III, Director of Admissions, gave a presentation about the admission process.
At 2:15, Andrew Noel, Director of Financial Aid gave a presentation to parents entitled “Affording Choate Rosemary Hall: Financial Aid and Scholarships.”
After all the formalities were taken care of, Gold Key student tour guides took groups of as many as thirty people on campus tours lasting one and a half hours.
There was a shortage of tour guides at this year’s Open House due to Andover Day; since almost all of our interscholastic teams were competing against Andover, many regular tour guides were drawn away by athletic commitments.
Open House guests were invited to conclude their visits to Choate by staying to watch the school face off against Andover.
