On Monday, March 18, fifth formers received news of the school’s selections for next year’s prefect program cohort. This school year marked the first time the Choate Common APP was used for the prefect application process. While the Choate Common APP was implemented to streamline the application process for both students and faculty, several students have voiced their complaints about the new system, arguing that it added unnecessary and irrelevant questions. “I felt that the system was inefficient, specifically, I feel as though many questions could have been combined into one,” stated Kobe Robinson ’20.
Three program directors — Ms. Ashley Bairos, Ms. Courtney DeStefano, and Ms. Mary Liz Williamson — read the applications and work with the heads of house, advisers, and faculty references to get to know the applicants and select the new prefect cohort. They are also responsible for training and supporting the prefects throughout the year.
Prefects maintain coveted leadership roles at Choate because of their immediate impact on students’ daily lives. Ms. Bairos said, “What also often comes across is that people were affected by their own prefects during earlier years at Choate that they want to provide a comforting experience to younger students in return.”
In the dorm, prefects are essential to the nightly routine. And in St. John Hall, day prefects are on duty during the day for anyone who might need them. Both boarding and day prefects are responsible for looking after younger students and guiding new students during their transition.
Previously, the prefect application was a standalone form that asked applicants questions directly related to the prefect experience. However, it is now part of the Choate Common APP, which includes applications for other leadership positions such as the Assessment Team, C-Proctors, and Peer Educators. By completing one common application for all student leadership positions, students can more easily apply to numerous programs without overloading themselves. Faculty members now only need to write one response, not several separate responses, for each program.
“Of course, there are ways we can continue to make the Common APP better and are focusing on that this spring,” stated Ms. Bairos. “However, I felt the students’ responses to the leadership questions were much more useful in getting to know their opinion on leadership and their possible role in the prefect program.”
Prefect applicants are evaluated and ultimately selected based on the merit of their answers on their applications. A faculty reference helps evaluators learn more about the applicant and whether or not the prefect program is a good fit. Applicants’ profiles are not only evaluated based on academics, sports, and clubs. “I am not blind to the fact that some might be applying because it ‘looks good on their college applications,’ admitted Ms. Bairos. “We try very hard to convey the importance of such a role and encourage people to apply for the right reasons. Ultimately, we are looking for those students whom others can look up to and learn from, and those who want to positively influence others in our community.”
Diversity is an essential component of the prefect selection process, as the prefect group needs to be able to represent the wide variety of perspectives and interests on campus so that all students can have someone to connect with. “I liked how on the application, applicants specify their dorm preference with the option of stating specifically why they wanted to be in the dorms they chose. This gave me the opportunity to express my motive for becoming a prefect transparently,” said Lucy Carpenter ’20.
The prefect dorm selection process has caused some controversy. Once the pool of prefects has been determined, selected students are placed into a dorm based on each dorm’s cohort, preferences from heads of house in addition to other house advisers, and the students’ rankings of dorms.
“While we try to do our best with matching, the applicants understand that they are applying to the program and not to a particular dorm,” Ms. Bairos noted.
“I felt that my dorm ranking was taken into consideration. I don’t think that the process is really transparent. I was really surprised that I got picked. However, I think it depends on how close one is with a certain teacher who could pull for a student,” Robinson commented.
Carpenter couldn’t be more excited to be a prefect next year. “I look forward to fostering a support and effective team environment between the other prefects and me as well as meeting all of the new girls,.” she said.
Robinson added, “I am most looking forward to being a mentor, giving tips, tricks, and guidance to the freshmen. Kids in my grades still talk about their freshman year prefects, and when they visit, people go crazy.”
