The Williston Northampton School - Review #1

As opposed to many other boarding schools, Williston is very connected to the community outside of the school. Since Williston is located in the middle of a town, students oftentimes interact with people who are not part of the school. Every year a theater production is geared towards elementary school kids in the area. There are also numerous community service projects that help to maintain a positive relationship between the Williston community and residents in the town. Because of this Williston feels less like a "bubble" than many other boarding school communities.

I learned many valuable time management lessons at Williston that not only helped me throughout high school but will also help through the rest of my academic and into my professional career.

I would have become more involved instead of concentrating so heavily on academics. Such as instead of finding a way around the three sport requirement, I should have played a third sport. I also should have joined more activities because after Williston, the opportunities are not the same.

The community atmosphere. Instead of having a cutthroat and competitive atmosphere, the majority of my peers were positive and encouraging.

Be as involved as possible. Don't concentrate solely on getting by academically.

The teachers at Williston are great. Not only are they available throughout the academic day, but at night they are willing to give extra help whenever they have free time. The majority of the faculty members do not just go through the motions, instead they do their best to make sure that students improve in whatever subject they are teaching. Instead of simply putting a grade on my papers and tests, my teachers would write down numerous notes on how I could improve for next time.

Nothing was unlikeable about the academics.

The coaches were great and understood our role as "scholar-athletes" rather than "athlete-scholars." My coaches always understood if I had to come late to practice because of an extra-help session or some other academics-related activity.

Since all games are on Wednesdays and Saturdays for all sports it is hard for students to watch each other play, taking away school spirit to some degree.

The facilities were great because both the theater and art studios are brand new.

I was not involved to a large enough extent to see any downside to it.

There was a wide variety of activities to join, with faculty leaders who are interested.

It was often times tough to fit an after-school meeting with the activity in between classes and practice.

The dining hall has a casual atmosphere with no required seating and no formal dinner attire.

It would have been nice to occasionally have had a required meal with arranged seating to get to know different people around campus.

Both the students and faculty were welcoming. The new student orientation is helpful for getting used to the school and for meeting new people.

Interaction between different groups of students was good. The student body was diverse but cliques were not prevalent.

School-run activities were fun such as concerts and trips.

The area around Williston has a lot of things to do. The neighboring town is full of restaurants, concert halls, and movie theaters.