HADES - what makes them so good?

lvillejanice · 09-14-2009, 09:27 PM

Hotchkiss Andover Deerfield Exeter and Saint Paul's School, right? And maybe Choate.

I know that all of them provide great education. But what would make a school like oh, say, Lawrenceville not be part of it? What makes them better?

Also can you list something special about each school? Something that makes each one unique from another. From their websites, it seems that all of them have great sports, arts, education, and community. Which doesn't really tell me which one to pick.

Soccer_Dad · 09-14-2009, 11:44 PM

"HADES" is just an edgy sounding acronym. That's all.

Clustering Andover, Exeter, Deerfield, and St. Paul's has a certain logic. But if you're going to throw Hotchkiss in there, then you can add the other schools in Hotchkiss' tier as well.

As you suggest, Lawrenceville and Choate do arguably belong in that cluster.

Lawrenceville, Choate, Milton, Middlesex, Groton... Of course, you can't make an acronym after adding those letters that sounds nearly as cool as HADES.

IMHO, the Prep School forum would be better off not using the term HADES because it implies something that isn't reflected by reality.

Winterset · 09-15-2009, 08:16 AM

The acronym was invented here at CC, but it was done in an effort to refer to what many consider the most competitive schools. St. Grottelsex was a more dated one (based more on social prestige). They are all great schools, regardless of the acronym. I agree with Soccer_Dad, and have pointed our repeatedly that while many here fight to come up with a ranked list, at best it is shades of gray. People fret, arrange and rearrange, they cite PrepReview, Boardingschool review, US News, Boston Magazine. Something about the human psyche just loves a nice orderly list.

Ironically, this same obsession was why I started a thread for St. Paul's last year. I thought it was more meaningful to discuss one school than to continue the ranking game. Oh, no mistake, I believe SPS is #1 (and will statistically support my view), but Exeter and Andover are twice as large, so I was feeling outnumbered too

. Truthfully, as I have tried to point out, look at the degree of variation in any of those statistics. They are mostly irrelevant. The greatest meaningful variations are in endowment, campus size, class size, age of founding etc. So the best school is the one you went to, are at or just the one love the most. Good luck in sorting out the mess.

PrincipalV · 09-15-2009, 08:25 AM

Earlier last year, when people said "hades" it meant solely Hotchkiss, Andover, Deerfield, Exeter, and St. Paul's. However, as the year progressed, it just became an easier way to define the "good" schools.

You can find a copious amount of threads going into far more detail with all kinds of other acronyms. Simply put, it's a way by which top schools are referred.

leanid · 09-15-2009, 08:26 AM

GLADCHEMMS -- there! All ten schools in one name. It's very cool and oh so academic! (it's pronounced ch as in chuck)

"Oh, I see you're a fellow Gladchemms..."

GLADCHEMMS oh GLADCHEMMS, where have you been all these years!

It won't be long before it is modified (to give it a more human touch) to:

GLADCHUMS -- Sorry Exeter and Milton or Middlesex (depending on your allegiance) -- but, take heart, you're still there in spirit!

leanid · 09-15-2009, 08:30 AM

I move that we change the acronym HADES to GLADCHUMS

Anyone second that?

NoDrama · 09-15-2009, 08:57 AM

Quote:

I believe SPS is #1 (and will statistically support my view)

really, Winterset? Tell me in which of the following areas SPS is number 1: year found, total endowment, endowment per student, average SAT, average SSAT, admission rate, yield, college placement (take the ivy+SM rate, despite what prepreview says, we all know what it is actually like based on the hard data we see from each school's website). What statistics are you talking about?

Winterset · 09-15-2009, 09:00 AM

Lighten up NoDrama.

PrincipalV · 09-15-2009, 09:02 AM

Quote:

really, Winterset? Tell me in which of the following areas SPS is number 1: year found, total endowment, endowment per student, average SAT, average SSAT, admission rate, yield, college placement (take the ivy+SM rate, despite what prepreview says, we all know what it is actually like based on the hard data we see from each school's website). What statistics are you talking about?

Same, cynical nodrama... Each of these "top" schools have one statistic above the other, it is how one subjectively interprets each statistic that makes a school "better or worse". This isn't war, calm down...

ops · 09-15-2009, 09:02 AM

Now you,ve done it.

PrincipalV · 09-15-2009, 09:10 AM

Done what??

NoDrama · 09-15-2009, 09:12 AM

hmmm...I was making a point that SPS is not #1 supported by statistics as Winterset claimed. Did I just hear that PrincipalV and ops said that I was wrong?

ops · 09-15-2009, 09:18 AM

Msgs crossed. Not saying that anybody is wrong. Just didn't want to rehash the "my school is better than your school" syndrome. I say of course it is and that's all that matters.

PrincipalV · 09-15-2009, 09:18 AM

I don't even understand what you are trying to say, at least not in a coherent sense. Regardless, before you make big and cynical claims, think. For him, SPS is the best. Statistically, too.

Winterset · 09-15-2009, 09:29 AM

ops, think you got it. But if in doubt Nodrama, reread my entire posting and try to listen to both content and tone (and the wink). Seriously, reread it. Then lets stay focused on the original question and ignore the dramatic sideshows. Taking one passing comment out of the full context and trying to provoke an argument is fruitless and _________.