Hill School review by Emory University student.
Overall, the Hill school offers a very rigorous academic program that will challenge even the most advanced students. For example, in the mathematics department, the school offers several courses for students who have completed AP Calculus BC, as well as the school's policy that any new course may be opened as long as there are three students interested in taking it and a faculty member willing to teach it. The academic departments at Hill seem to function very independently and so the experience I had in the humanities department was drastically different than the one I had in the science department. The humanities department focuses a lot on peer to peer interaction; classes are held at round tables and peer review is commonly used and taught as part of the writing process. The sciences on the other hand focus on a very hands-on approach to learning. All science classes are taught with lab components. In fact, the lab components for classes taught at Hill are very similar to those for introductory science courses at the university level. As for workload, it really depends on how you select your courses. If you are really motivated and select the hardest courses, you will have a very heavy workload. If you are not so motivated, you can get by with some effort. However, even the "easiest" course load at Hill will be considerably tougher than most public schools. This said, it seems that top students at the Hill are highly competitive, whereas the rest seem to just be doing what it takes to get by. One thing I must point out about the academic program is the teacher quality. I rated it 4/5 but I do not think that it is fair to lump all of the teachers at any institution together and give an overall rating. The reason for my not giving a 5 star rating is because there are some teachers at Hill that I feel are there simply because they are alumni of the school and have nowhere else to go. However, most of the teachers are very dedicated and genuinely care about there students. They are very accessible at all hours of the day through email, phone, or you can even walk up to their doorstep. Even after graduating, I still keep in touch with many of my former teachers from Hill and I am grateful for the guidance and mentorship they provided me.
Hill's college counseling played a crucial role in my college application process and ultimately helped.... Get the real inside story on college counseling at Hill School as experienced by former pupil and Emory University student — Login or Sign Up to access full review
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...
The admissions process for Hill is no different from any other prep school. As.... Get in-depth insights and personal advice on admissions to Hill School by former pupil and Emory University student — Login or Sign Up to access full review
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...
Overall, the quality of student life at Hill is good, but could be improved. The student body is definitely more conservative, with many old-wealth families on campus. Though, this is not to say bigoted as some might imagine. In fact, I feel the student body is very open-minded to modern ideas and in some ways might even be described as more liberal despite their conservative upbringings. There is definitely a wealth gap between the wealthy majority and lower-middle class minority on campus and this does drive a social divide. There are many extracurricular activities.... Get the real inside story on quality of school life and extracurricular offerings at Hill School as experienced by former pupil and Emory University student — Login or Sign Up to access full review