Deerfield Academy - Review #2

Deerfield has a very student-centered learning environment that encourages students to learn to ask for help and use all the resources available to them. Deerfield also has “feeds,” when the hall associate on duty for a night brings food and, after study hall, all the students come together to talk and laugh (or sometimes cry) over a late-night snack.

The best thing about boarding school for me was really growing into myself. Before, I was sometimes confident, sometimes brave, but I really found my footing in life at Deerfield. The amount of support I had from teachers and friends and the constant feedback I was getting from all directions provided me with a sense of direction and purpose and confidence that I’d lacked before. I also had a lot of opportunities to explore my past and my identity, and I’ll always be thankful for the amount of self-awareness I developed at Deerfield and self-reflection I am now capable of.

My number one advice? Don’t start as a junior. It’s the hardest thing I ever did. Junior year at boarding school is already an experience to be feared, but when you’re the new kid on top of it all, it can be downright dreadful.

More than anything, I loved my friends. There’s almost a feeling at Deerfield of all having survived something together, and it creates pretty unbreakable bonds. We all go through the same tough academics, the same after-school sports, the same meal cycle... everything we do, we do together, which isn’t something you can get at a day school. I wish I could have started at Deerfield as a sophomore just to have had one extra year with all of my beautiful friends.

If you’re ever in the Koch Cafe, get a “grilled CC” and an iced chai latte with an extra shot of espresso... and thank me later!

Academics at Deerfield could be soul-crushingly difficult... but I learned more at Deerfield than I ever could have imagined when I first stepped on campus. I spent most of my time in humanities classes, and each teacher brought so much to the table and taught me more than just the subject at hand. I got to know most of my teachers beyond the classroom, whether that was from attending extra help sessions or having them at a sit-down dinner with me, so the learning experience feels very personal and tailored. The teachers all really care about the student, too, so if I was ever struggling, and I reached out, they would always help me. With that said, Deerfield is incredibly difficult and competitive, and I often felt like the dumbest person in the room just because of the way that the students interact with each other. But if you are a confident student with a lot to say, you’ll have nothing to worry about.

Athletics are mandatory—unless you do theater, music, or art for a semester—but they are a lot of fun. I played on the reserve soccer team and the JV lacrosse team, and I also did a semester each of yoga, cross-country, and recreational skiing. Athletics are every afternoon between when classes end and dinner begins, and it can sometimes be a little overwhelming to be that involved in a sport. On top of afternoon practices, we also have games on Wednesdays and Saturdays, which are a fun way to get off campus and see other boarding schools. If sports aren’t for you, though, don’t worry! There are other options! I mentioned theater, music, and art, but you can also do dance, yoga, photography, and a few other things if you petition the school. The facilities are also beautiful. Better than my college’s!

I LOVED the visual arts, music, and theater programs. The teachers in these departments were definitely some of the best on campus, and there are always ways to get involved even if you’ve never done something before. For example, I took acting and film classes but never did an on-stage show. I participated in open mic nights and student showcases but never took a dance or music class. There are also so many student performances throughout the semester, and there is so much talent contained within Deerfield, and it’s just amazing to see.

There was never a lot of time for clubs at Deerfield... too many other things were happening. I was personally rarely involved in clubs just because of how busy I was with sports and academics. However, if clubs are something that is very important to you, you can find them and be more involved. There just isn’t much time.

Dorm life is what I miss most about Deerfield. That’s where community is really built. People come together in the dorms in a way that they don’t outside of the dorm, and everybody in a hall usually ends up being very close. The BEST part about Deerfield dorm life is that almost every student gets a single after freshman year. Freshman all have doubles or triples, but everybody else gets a single. You can request a double, though, if you prefer to live with somebody else.

Dining at Deerfield is a little different because it’s one of the last schools in America to still have “sit-down dinners.” These dinners are most weekday lunches, Sunday dinners, and a few other dinners a week depending on the semester. Sit-down can either be the most painful 45 minutes of your life or it can be a great way to meet new teachers and students, it depends on your attitude and who you land at a table with! Senior sit-down is a highlight of senior year, and seniors get to build a sit-down table of their choosing.

If you like a rural setting, Deerfield is the place for you, but if you’re a city kid... not so much. The nearest real town is about a fifteen minute shuttle ride from campus, and shuttles only run on Friday nights (and sometimes Saturdays if there is an event in town). I love being surrounded by nature, so I never felt very isolated, but if you need hustle and bustle in your life, it can feel suffocating.

Social life was dependent upon your friend group. I had a great group of friends, and there were a lot of us, so we were always up to something on weekends and during free time. Some people can feel lonely at Deerfield because of the lack of clubs, but the school gives plenty of opportunities to participate in campus-wide activities. There are movie nights, open mics (my favorite), lots of dances, “star parties” for star gazing... In what little free time I had, I always had someone to turn to and something to do.