Hamden Hall Country Day School

The school is very close to Yale and extremely friendly to international students. International students can enjoy equal resources at this school. What's particularly impressive is the senior student group; an 11th-grade student joined it, and most members are 12th-graders or university students who are all very willing to lead junior students in community service activities. The only drawback is that students cannot live on campus; international students are limited to homestay arrangements.

My child started studying at Hamden Hall in eighth grade. His biggest feeling is that teachers pay very high attention to students, and they respond quickly to extra help requests and out-of-class contact. Another feeling is that the school's academics are very strong, attracting many top students, with a good school culture and a great learning atmosphere. The location is not rural; New York and Boston are accessible by train. New Haven is also a city, a five-minute drive from Yale University, and has a strong academic atmosphere.

I am an alumni parent of Hamden Hall. My child transferred to this school in 10th grade. The school offers a rich variety of AP courses, its academic resources are above average, and there are numerous club activities. STEM is also very strong, and the school places great emphasis on sports. The teachers for choir, band, and art instruction are all very nice, providing children with many opportunities to participate. Teachers are very responsible, balancing care with strictness for the students. Local students are primarily from middle-class families and children of Yale University faculty and staff. The academic atmosphere is excellent. In recent years, international students have achieved very good outcomes.

Hamden Hall's academics are above average. The school has rigorous teaching and abundant AP courses. Teachers provide students with both care and strictness. A particularly outstanding feature is the rich extracurricular activities. The music and art teachers are very nice and offer many opportunities to international students. There are also many sports programs, and the STEM programs are very strong. As an alumnus parent, I am very grateful to all the teachers from the four years of high school.

School representative AIEP (also known as APEX) is a terribly bad agency. The contract is like an indenture. The school and the agency are too tightly bound; if you're not satisfied with the agency's service, the school doesn't allow changing agencies, leading to widespread complaints. Moreover, the school is declining, a number of teachers have left, and course selection is restricted. Choose carefully.

⚫ Strong Faculty: With 85 teachers, an average of over twenty years of teaching experience, and 75% of teachers holding a master's or doctoral degree in their respective professional fields.
⚫ Yale Feeder School: Some students come from Yale faculty and staff families, earning it the reputation as a “Yale Feeder School.”
⚫ Robotics Championship: The school won the 2015-16 National Robotics Championship and represented the United States in world-class competitions.
⚫ Professional Sports Center: Features a 30-acre professional sports center, including three indoor basketball courts, an indoor swimming pool, an upstairs track, a gym, a multi-functional gymnastics room, student activity rooms, and more. Equipped with numerous professional coaches!
⚫ Hockey Excellence: Ranked among the top three in New England for ice hockey, widely regarded as the best in all of America!
⚫ Advanced MakerSpace: Boasts a state-of-the-art MakerSpace design laboratory with featured projects such as CAD, 3D design, 3D printers, a robotics club, sailing and shipbuilding projects, woodworking classes, and 3D model projects of ideal homes.
⚫ GOA Course Alliance Member: A member of the GOA Course Alliance, all courses are taught by top teachers from alliance schools.
⚫ AP & Scholarship Achievements: 15% of graduates receive recognition from the National Merit Scholarship Program; over 40% of 10th-12th grade students take AP courses, with 70% of those students scoring 4-5 on AP exams.
⚫ International Student Placements: PAN from Chengdu was admitted to Columbia University's Mathematics Department; XIA from Jinan was admitted to Carnegie Mellon University for Information Engineering; Ding was admitted to Rice University, ranked 16th overall.

Hamden Hall Country Day School, founded in 1912, is a very well-known century-old aristocratic top school in Connecticut, offering high-quality K-12 college preparatory education. The founder, Mr. Cushing, purchased a musician's mansion as the school building. Later, as the student population multiplied, the original site was expanded multiple times and then acquired by the Hamden Hall Association from the first headmaster. Hamden Hall Country Day School is not very large in scale, but it offers a rich variety of courses and activities, emphasizes academic and character education, boasts strong faculty, and has a warm school community atmosphere. With its impressive college matriculation record, it has become a dream high school for many students.

Hamden Hall is located in Hamden, Connecticut, one of America's most livable cities, right next to New Haven. It's only a 5-minute drive from Yale University and 75 minutes from downtown New York City. Both John F. Kennedy International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport are accessible. Founded in 1912, the school spans 42 acres and boasts an A+ rating on Niche. Teachers average over two decades of teaching experience, and the school ranks 5th among the best K-12 schools in all of Connecticut. There are eight main buildings: a science center, a theater, art studios (for ceramics, digital photography, video production), three technology centers, a library, and a music center (including choir and band rehearsal rooms). Additionally, there is a 30-acre athletic center, which includes three indoor basketball courts, an indoor swimming pool, an upstairs track, a gym, a multi-purpose gymnastics room, study and activity rooms, outdoor soccer fields, tennis courts, and other facilities. The school offers over 40 types of clubs, societies, and sports activities, with basketball and ice hockey being particularly outstanding. It has 3 professional-level coaches, 15 coaches, and 1 trainer. Every summer, the school also offers summer camp programs. Art is integrated throughout the school, taught in two categories—courses and projects—based on student skill levels. Even students with no prior experience can join art classes. Music and visual arts are particularly strong, highlighted by fall dramas, winter musicals, and the multi-day MayFest in spring. Featured clubs include Admissions Ambassadors, Amnesty International, Junior Statesmen, Model UN, Save the Earth Activists Club, and Ski Club.

Hamden Hall Country Day School is a non-denominational secondary school located in Connecticut, very close to Yale University. The school excels in science and design. In 2014, three of its students won awards in science and engineering competitions. Additionally, students have opportunities to participate in cancer research projects at Duke University and collaborate on research projects with Yale University.

Having visited the school twice, I note it has two campuses. While the hardware facilities are average, the school boasts a rich history of over 100 years and deep cultural heritage. It is located in the town of Hamden, just a 5-minute drive from Yale University and a 75-minute drive from downtown New York City.

The school's STEM program is strong, especially its science and design courses.

The school is a member of the Global Online Academy, breaking traditional classroom limitations to offer online educational courses to students worldwide.

The Science, Innovation, and Design (SID) program, established in 2012, encourages motivated and curious students to develop comprehensively in areas such as scientific research, technological innovation, and public speaking as early as sixth grade.

It's a strong athletic school, with its swimming, wrestling, and basketball teams having won multiple regional or state championships.

For the 2018-2019 application season, the school indicated that for applicants to grades 7-8, a competitive standardized test score would be a Jr. TOEFL of 775+ or a TOEFL of 78+.