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Ridley College

School rating 5 / 5 by

2 Ridley Road St. Catharines ON L2R 7C3 Canada
Boarding
5th to PG
Day
PK to PG
Gender
Coed

Academic

Ridley College review by .

Ridley College's academic program was definitely challenging, as it is a school well known for preparing students thoroughly for university. Assignments and essays were commonly tailored to represent university level programs. Exams were similarly in the same format and length as in University. The faculty were experienced teachers many holding advanced degrees. Yet faculty was always ready to help those who required and they were no there to try to make you fail but to learn while working hard. It was not easy to get amazing grades as Ridley but it was most definitely possible. The science and arts programs are very strong as they possess a new building that has the latest equipment and facilities. Class sizes are usually no bigger than 20-25 and it is easy to feel very involved in classes. Laptops are required as part of the academic curriculum and help in learning and preparing for university. I feel that my experiences at Ridley most definitely helped me prepare for excelling in university.

College Counseling

Ridley College is well known in Canada and in many parts of the world as....

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

The general test for Ridley was the SSAT aiming for a score above the 70....

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

Housing at Ridley is split into same sex housing consisting of Dorm style "houses" holding over 30 students each. Since it is a boarding school, the boarding life is much fun and very rewarding. There is a lot of house rivalry and it is quite entertaining competing for house points, etc. The cafeteria and dining facilities are all in the great hall which is a beautiful dining hall "harry potter like" where there are paintings and beautiful tapestries surrounding you as you eat and socialize. There is also a beautiful chapel on campus that is a landmark in the town....

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