Back to Top

Quick Facts about Choate

Founded: 1890
Headmaster: Edward J. Shanahan, PhD, appointed 1991.
Grades: Third form through sixth form (grades 9-12), including a post-graduate year option.
   
   
Enrollment: 836 students on campus; 10 abroad
Boarding - 605; Day - 241. Students come from 42 states and 26 countries.
Admission: New student applications for Fall 2008– 1,564
New students enrolled – 256
Average GPA of entering students –3.70
Students of Color: 37%
   
2008-'09 Tuition: Boarding students – $41,520
Day students – $31,310
Financial Aid: $6.8 million awarded to 30% of student body; average award is $31,000 for boarders; $17,600 for day students.
Endowment: $267 million as of June 30, 2007.
   
   
Faculty: 110 full-time and 12 part-time teachers; 45 administrative faculty; 71% hold advanced degrees.
Average Class Size: 12; student/faculty ratio: 5:1
Curriculum: 240 courses; contemporary global studies and community service requirements in addition to more traditional requirements; honors courses in all disciplines; Advanced Placement preparation in 25 areas; 75% of students score a 4 or 5 on AP exams; 17 National Merit Scholarship Finalists in 2007; 2007 Presidential Scholar.
Community Service: 30 hours of service activity required.
   
   
Special Academic Programs: Arts Concentration, Capstone, Directed Study, Science Research Program, and Mathematics, Debate, Economics and Fed Challenge teams.
International Study Programs : Trimester immersion programs in France, Spain, and China; term-program in Rome; summer programs in China, France, Japan, Russia and Spain.
   
   
Campus Ministry: Roman Catholic Mass, Christian Fellowship, Buddhist Meditation, Hillel; Spiritual Alternatives; monthly Reflections Program; sponsored by Spears Endowment for Moral and Spiritual Education.
Most Popular College Choices 2003-2007: Georgetown, 48
Yale, 32
Brown, 31
New York University, 29
Cornell, 29
Tufts, 26
Boston University, 26

UPenn, 24
Harvard, 24
Columbia University, 22
George Washington , 21
Johns Hopkins, 20
Middlebury College, 20

 

   

Campus:
450 acres with 116 buildings, dormitories (all rooms wired for Internet access) and classroom buildings; wireless access available in all academic spaces and in the Student Activities Center and WJAC.

  • Andrew Mellon Library – 68,000 volumes; Web-accessible catalog and reference collection.
  • Paul Mellon Arts Center –In 2007, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Paul Mellon; Pei-designed 775-seat theater with proscenium stage; experimental theater; recital hall; music, recording, dance, and art studios; art gallery.
  • Carl C. Icahn Center for Science – I.M. Pei-designed state-of-the-art facility includes 22 classrooms and laboratories; 2006 National Semifinalist in addition to a National Finalist and New England Region Silver Medalist in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology; 2007 National Semifinalist and Regional Finalist.
  • Paul Mellon Humanities Center – English; History, Philosophy, Religion, & Social Sciences; photography and digital video labs; home of Connecticut State Champions in the Economics Challenge and nine-time Fed Challenge New England District Champions.
  • Steele Hall – Languages, including a 32-station digital language laboratory featuring the Virtuoso System by Sony; 16 medalists in the 2007 COLT Foreign Language Poetry Recitation Contest.
  • St. John Hall – Mathematics & Computer Science; Summer Programs Office; home to State and New England Championship Math Team.
  • John Joseph Student Activities Center – School Store, student services (mail room, snack bar and cyber café; hub of weekend activities, including dances, movie shuttles and more.
  • Sally Hart Lodge & Alumni Center – Seven guest rooms, one of which is handicap accessible; online reservations accepted www.choate.edu/sallyhartlodge.
  • Seymour St. John Chapel – Serving the needs of a multicultural, multifaith community; Joan Harris Gelb Theater located in lower level.
  • Johnson Athletic Center – Basketball, volleyball and squash courts; wrestling and weight training; includes fully-equipped fitness center, training rooms, and dance studio; Olympic hockey graduates include: Bob McVey '54; Angela Ruggiero '98, Kim Insalalco '99, and Julie Chu '01; joining Ruggiero and Chu on the US Woman's National Team is Hilary Knight, '07.
  • Additional Athletic Facilities – Macquire Gymnasium with rock climbing wall; Olympic-size 25-meter, 8-lane solar-heated Larry Hart Swimming Pool; Remsen Arena and hockey rink, renovated in 2006; 13 athletic fields; Sylvester Boathouse located on Lake Quonnipaug in North Guilford; Hunt Tennis Center with 23 tennis courts; Bruce '45 and Lueza Gelb Track & Field Facility, opening in 2008.