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Westminster School

School rating 4 / 5 by

995 Hopemeadow Street Simsbury CT 06070 United States
Boarding
9th to PG
Day
9th to PG
Gender
Coed

Academic

Westminster School review by .

I found that Westminster had a very strong academic program. One of the reasons I went there in the first place was because I needed more of a challenge and I definitely found that at Westminster. I was required to spend much more time outside of class on homework and studying. I think all subjects are strong and you will find amazing teachers in all areas of study. My teachers were always extremely knowledgeable and passionate about their subject and also took personal interest in the students. The student body was very collegial and students were always willing to help each other and work together. There was never any negative competition I feel that Westminster has prepared me for university well. Before Westminster I rarely studied or did homework outside of school and was still able to get very good grades. Westminster's rigorous curriculum however, forced me to learn to study and spend long amounts of time focusing on school work. I have much better study skills all thanks to Westminster. I have also become a much better writer because most Westminster courses have at least some focus on writing with the exception of math. My classes were usually around 10-15 students, my largest class being around 18 and my smallest being only 5. The small class size allows teachers to spend personal time helping each student. Teachers are also very available because most of them live on campus in the dorms or in faculty houses. So if you needed help with an assignment at night during study hall you could always find a teacher to help you. I would often come in Sunday nights to work on math assignments and many times I was easily able to find a math teacher in the library to help me. So teachers are definitely very available and willing to help any student who comes to them. As for average weekly workload, the classes are definitely difficult to freshman and sophomore year I usually had around 1-3 hours a night, while junior and senior year I would have around 4.

College Counseling

Westminster's college counseling office definitely positively affected my admission to college. You are assigned a....

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

In some ways Westminster does favor a particular type of student: many of the students....

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

I found Westminster to be a very welcoming environment. It wasn't noticeable conservative or liberal, but many of my teachers tended to be liberal while the richer students were often conservative. Students are very friendly and always willing to help each other on schoolwork or other issues. Students are also very involved in the community, and since the school is so small there are availabilities for everyone to get involved. I wasn't even close to the most involved student and was still able to be a newspaper editor, tour guide, cross country captain, and club president. Most students are very....

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