The main reason I’m chose Exeter over Andover was because I liked that they used Harkness in math and science. At revisit day, you should enter math/science classes at both schools and see which method of teaching you like better.
Ask your kid which campus they like better, because both of these schools are extremely similar, both in political climate, rigor, reputation and even the family that started them. I think the buildings are closer together at Exeter than they are at Andover, but both schools have the same amount of land. A campus can feel different to different kids and it’s important they can imagine themselves living in the space, because that’s where they’re going to be living.
(I’ll toot Exeter’s horn here because they have a SICK whale skeleton in the Phelps Science Center and everything looks really pretty during the winter.)
Exeter has a ‘reputation’ of being more intense and Phillipians tend to refer to them as ‘the nerds’ while Exonians call kids from Andover ‘the smurfs’ since their school color is blue. Regardless of the reputation, both schools require a lot of work and many students report being over prepared for college upon leaving. Both have had problems with drug usage, that’s just an uncomfortable truth about high school.
The thing I’m trying to get at is there is NO consequence to choosing one school over the other. There IS a consequence, however, to not letting your kid decide for themselves where they want to go.