parkermom

Thanks for giving more information about Exeter. My D absolutely fell in love with Exeter...even more after revisit day. The day did seem nicely un-structured. When the student she was following had some 'off periods', my D asked an 11th grader that she met in one of the classes if she could follow him to his Latin class instead of hanging out in dorm, and he said "sure", so it worked out great. She got to sit in on extra classes and she even participated in a few of them. She also got to spend free time exploring the library, theater and science building by herself. She was SOLD on Exeter after revisit day.

We thought the town of Exeter was just the perfect New England town, and really appreciate how much the school and town are integrated. There wasn't much traffic through the town and the shop owners were all friendly. The little coffee shop was great!

As parents, we also really noticed how friendly the kids at Exeter were. They all smiled, waved and said hello on the day we initially toured (back in Oct.) and on the revisit day. Daughter said she felt like she could've sat at any table in the dining room and been welcomed by the kids. At Andover, we got nary a glance by students as we walked the campus on our tour day...they literally did not make eye contact whatsoever. It was very unnerving. Several kids also stepped out in front of our car several times as we were driving around to find the admissions office, they did not give a glance or wave before stepping in front of our moving car. Fortunately we were driving very slowly looking at buildings, but it was still odd. I'm sure this was an exception, maybe they just had long walks and were 'tuned out', but it still influenced the 'feel' we got from the school.

I'm sure there are amazing kids at every school. All I can say is that I am very grateful that my D found her 'fit' at Exeter. We are now a proud Exeter family already!

andover2016

@placido240
hey! Andover is not a dump!!! It is my beloved town of 14 years, and I love every bit of it. It is unbelievably safe too. The downtown is fantastic, ignore the abundance of banks, I love every little store and restaurant down there! I think it is quite lovely too, how is it a dump????? I don't see how you could get that impression... Sorry for that rant, but I love Andover so much. And btw its more than just Phillips, which some people have misunderstood (not on this thread, but others)
@Exonian16
I looked at google maps because technicalities recommended it, and after looking at pictures of it I can say I still prefer andover. And I have sat in a Harkness class before, Exeter isn't the only place that has it. I still didn't like it.
@SergeantFriday
I agree on all your points.
@parkermom and Exonian16
Its not that Andover kids aren't nice, its that NO ONE appreciates someone driving around a busy campus and on a main street lost! And I also had a completely different experience with the students, they were all nice to my family. And part of the driving problem is that everyone knows the routine in Andover, except the tour families. Massachusettians are notoriously bad drivers right? as well as they are notoriously frequent jay walkers.

andover2016

I sat in a math class at my school, they tried it for a few weeks to see if kids liked it. we didn't. And Andover doesn't officially have harkness classes. English is the only (sometimes History) discussion based, but there is no round table, and the one I observed on revisit was much more traditional style. As I mentioned before, I don't mind discussion in English I just think I doesn't work well in other subjects.

andover2016

she said she was driving around trying to find the admissions office. I think that is lost. And maybe the kids shouldn't have been walking across that street that the admissions office is on that does not HAVE a button to press to stop traffic. and, don't worry, you come to massachusetts, you become one of us mwah ha ha.... And also, I live directly down the street from PA, I walk/drive/bike past/through it all the time, and I have never once come close to hitting someone! And I've never once gotten an unfriendly vibe from the students. That's why I feel obligated to comment on parkermom's odd experience.

technicalities

In the interests of keeping this conversation civilized, I'd like to ask that we not descend to crossfire in this thread. While both schools have their merits and failings, this one is primarily focused on Exeter... sorry!

EnemyOfTheSun

Oh noez another Andover vs. Exeter thread!

andover2016

sorry about that, I didn't intend for this to happen, I just wanted to correct some misconceptions. I'll PM exonian16. Sorry, Bye!

98beebee

ahahaha the Exeter vs. Andover rivalry is so intense.

andover2016

tell me about it. its because they're both the best of the best. makes even tougher competition. its sort of fun though

nd8688

Technicalities, thanks for your input. Your description of revisit day corresponded nicely with my son's impression. It was a factor that sold us on Exeter.

naturallynerdy

@Exonian16
What happened to the Andover students at the Exeter-Andover day football game?

swimdude006

naturallynerdy: we got destroyed.....

Before I say anything, I just want to say that I think BOTH are great institutions and unique in their own ways. The only reason why I didn't apply to Exeter is becasue I never heard of it before my revisit (applied in 5 days, only heard of deerfield cuz lots of friends go there, and andover because my church pastor recommended it to me).

Just want to point out some things.

1) Revisit days are structured to be NORMAL DAYS. The talent shows were to show what PA has to offer outside of classes that the students don't get to see while at the actual revisit

2) Academic buildings are pretty close...like less than 2 minute walk for slow walkers.
3) as for dorms, people CHOOSE to live down far away from campus to be close to downtown, or to have more of a "home" dorm (the dorms further away from campus are small, large rooms, and are literal houses).
3) PA doesn't suck at sports. We've been undefeated in boys swimming for the past 3 years, number 2 in the country for crew, have had the most new england championships in Outdoor track than any school in new england, and I don't know about any of the other sports lol. Exeter, granted, is VERY good at sports too (football, soccer, hockey, water polo, etc.)
4) PA vs. PEA is all friendly competition. It's all in sport, and nobody really hates eachother (trust me, if we did, I'd be cautious around PEA campus on A/E day, as would exeter kids).

Not trying to cause a contreversy, just some facts.

swimdude006

Exonian16, quit bashing. you don't even got to exeter yet. Just promote your school and I'll promote mine. No need to tear down a school. And also about the vandalism of dorms, yes andover townies hate us, but it really doesn't affect anyone (nobody cries/is hurt). People just laugh at the pranks they pull and walk away. and they never throw things (maybe an empty, crushed soda can, but that's it) because we have cameras on the streets. and Secondly, the harkness table thing, why does it matter? yes it is an innovation in learning, but it isn't the pinacle of it. I have sat in a harkness classroom (teacher used to teach at exeter and taught in harkness on our spirit day). I have to admit I do like the concept in history/english, but can't really see it working in math/science. Just my opinion. Also, at PA, the english, history and languages are run in discussion format.

I could've said MANY bad things about Exeter, but have chosen not to because I RESPECT the fact that both are great institutions and that it's up to the candidate to decide what's better, we're not in position to try and entice them by bashing the opposing school.

I hope you respect that we're a friendly community and respect one another

exeterhopeful16

@technicalities You are my hero right now. This gave me hope. Maybe I will get off the wait list(: You made my day! Hahaha, oh and if this says some crazy time like 2:30 AM, its because I don't live on the East Coast.

PieLover

I'm assuming that the dress code only applies to classes, so if you were going to lunch at the caf. or just hanging out, what would students typically wear?