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Dalton School

School rating 4 / 5 by

108 East 89th Street New York NY 10128 United States
Day
K to 12th
Gender
Coed

Academic

Dalton School review by .

Dalton's biggest strength is definitely its teachers. Because of the Dalton plan, students have complete access to their teachers' time, and most students take full advantage of this. The school definitely has much more in depth English and History programs. Students tend not to do as well on standardized tests in math and science. This is partly because the seminar style classes are much more conducive to discussion based subjects. Dalton prepared me very well for my humanities and social sciences classes at college, but not at all well for my maths and science classes. The class sizes are never larger than 18, and a lot of senior electives have closer to 12 students. My largest class size was 18 and my smallest was 4. The average work load is very heavy, mostly with reading. Although there is preceptorial assistance available, student's greatest resources are his teachers. The teachers are always willing to help you out if you find your workload too challenging or not challenging enough.

College Counseling

Although Dalton has a very strong record with sending their students to good colleges, this....

Sample insights on college counseling

  • They have contacts at most of the major universities and feel perfectly comfortable picking up the phone and advocating for a student to get accepted somewhere they feel is a good fit for that student. However, these counselors are certainly not magic bullets. They cannot guarantee that a student will get into an Ivy League university...
  • For those wishing to move on to Oxford or Cambridge, the provision is second-to-none. In the months running up to application and interview, every subject faculty offers classes (often run by former Oxbridge tutors) exploring further areas of their subject as well as offering advice on personal statements, interview technique and more...

Admissions - Getting Accepted

Dalton is very selective and it is easiest to get in before sixth grade. ....

Sample insights on admissions

  • For the interview, dress conservatively. Try to be very clean and put together. Also, I was a tour guide for two years and at the end of every tour, we were asked to evaluate the candidate so if you think the tour is not apart of the process, you are very wrong. Ask questions and be interested. Also, tip for the parents: the kids speak on the tour. Do not ask their questions for them...
  • Most younger siblings have an easy time in the admissions process. I can only think of one case of a younger sibling not being admitted. About half of the students who entered with me had come from public schools. The remainder came from private K-6 schools, or had transferred from other New York private schools The Elizabeth Morrow School and St. Bernard were two of the larger feeder schools...

School Life

The school has its own 12 story building with excellent facilities, and a separate gym building. The library is huge with a gorgeous view, and there are computers for students to use all over the building. The upper east side is a very safe neighborhood. The cafeteria has great food, although most students still prefer to go out for lunch. The administrators are a total joke and don't do anything. I would characterize the student body as indifferent. Most students get along with each other just fine, and there isn't really a clique problem,....

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