The Scroll recently reached out to students from seven New England boarding schools to see what was being said on their campuses about the Big Green.
The admissions page of the Deerfield website states, “Deerfield is a vibrant, diverse community of students and staff, and families who live and work at a school where the core values of courtesy and work ethic guide school life.” Deerfield students “live and learn in an atmosphere of warmth and support. There is a spirit of mutual respect and caring in virtually every activity at Deerfield.” Regardless of whether or not these statements are true, the reputation Deerfield has among its peers certainly paints an entirely different picture.
A student from The Hotchkiss School started the conversation, when she was finally let out of her Saturday class, stating, “Deerfield has a beautiful campus and students. All the sports teams are pretty good,” she continued, “but the door mascot sucks. The typical week looks much easier than ours. Overall a great school.”
A Suffield Academy student truly captured the essence of Deerfield in her analysis, “When I think of Deerfield, I think of Yankee Candle.”
A student from The Groton School graciously offered a list of phrases to describe Deerfield, which included: “blond girls, squash, fake tans, and pearl earrings bigger than their eyes.” She also recalls fondly, “I know this one kid who I got in a fist fight with when I was nine.”
A male student from Deerfield’s rival, Choate, also had some strong opinions to share, “Deerfield Academy is our friendly rival to the north. 85% of its females, who are known throughout New England for their good looks and blonde hair, rock Barbours, while the other 15% go with Canada Goose.” He kindly concluded, “Most Deerfield students are athletically challenged.”
A Berkshire student commented, “Those who go to Deerfield are very proud about the fact that they go to Deerfield; and I also know there are some really great and motivated girls there.” Defying all stereotypes, the student added, “It’s Greenwich moved to Mass, with a lot of blonde people.”
Taft added to the discussion, “Deerfield is a school for kids that are extremely academically qualified, good looking, and often times pretentious.”
Finally, Phillips Academy Andover informed The Scroll, “Deerfield students give off the aura of being waspy, primarily blonde, wealthy, extremely tan and populated by Fairfield County. Deerfield does excel at athletics and has a very nice campus.”
It is interesting to see how Deerfield is perceived by students from other prep schools. However, these comments hardly describe Deerfield’s 646 students, who represent 37 countries, 42 states, and the Deerfield values of diversity, leadership and opportunity.