A Typical Day at Emma

tudent and faculty announcements. Kudos. Birthday cheers. A whimsical performance. An inspiring talk. A serious meditation. It all begins at 8 a.m. with Morning Reports—the jump start to your day.

A typical Emma Willard weekday includes five or six classes, study time, one-on-ones with teachers, club meetings, and an after-school activity like team practice, orchestra rehearsal, or dance class. It’s not rare to be seen running to choir in your soccer uniform, fresh from a game. Dinner is served in the dining room at 5:30 p.m., followed by study hours from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. And when work is done, there’s time to relax.

Emma Willard days are very full, but students say it’s the best kind of busy—the kind of pace that makes you feel that you’re really making strides. Emma girls check in and chat regularly with their advisors, resident faculty (known as houseparents), and other adults on campus to fine-tune the balance of their activities as they go along.

 

Emma Willard serves three meals every weekday, and two – brunch and dinner – on weekends, for a total of 798 mealtimes over the school year.

Walk through the dorms after study hall and you’ll hear everything from rock to rap, oldies to opera, and lots in between. In the words of one Emma student, “My CD collection is sort of like life here: diverse, cutting-edge but also soothing, and packed with lots of stuff.”