Andover stopped having Saturday classes several years ago. Yes before that they were down to a few a term. Both schools have a small downtown area you can walk to from campus and find some shops & restaurants. There is a 24 hour CVS in Andover. Andover you can walk to the train station to go into Boston. Both schools have activities on campus on the weekends which sometimes includes shuttles to area malls/movie theaters.
Exeter has a train station under a 5minute walk that goes to Boston. Exeter has about 3 Saturday classes at term.
Can you tell me anything about the recent incident in which, reportedly, Exeter alum Fred Grandy was ādisinvitedā to speak owing to his alleged āIslamophobicā views?
@Mom2Melcs I donāt want to discourage you from asking about these things, but I feel like on this thread it may be a bit off topic. Maybe you could DM either me or GryffinHunter to ask about these things, since we are current students, but I truly donāt think it really does too much to distinguish Exeter from Andover.
Yes. I can. Fred Grandy spoke earlier this year at assembly. He was then invited by the academy to teach a senior seminar on āPolitics in Mediaā then some members of the Exonian dredged up some 5 year old comments they labeled as Islamaphobic from a talk show. Then there was an outcry from parts of the liberal Exeter community demanding he not be allowed to come to the academy. Mostly, the conservative population wanted him to come because the comments were so old and it wouldnāt affect the teaching. The liberals on campus didnāt want us to invite anyone with any viewpoint that could be hurtful to anyone else. Fed Grandy was then disinvited by the administration even though he still wanted to come. This led to a Free Speech panel hosted by the political groups on campus, republican club, Exeter political union, and democrat club. It was a really great panel and I hope itās repeated. Exeter always wants conversation. @Mom2Melcs
Iād recommend Exeter for both conservative kids and liberal kids. Iād just caution any conservative kid that if they are loud about their viewpoints they will be challenged and disliked by some depending on the viewpoint. From my experience.
@andover20___ Thatās interesting that you say that, since I go to PEA and I was under the impression that Exeter was historically the more liberal school. Then again, I hear that the political culture at both schools is nearly identical, so in that field I donāt think thereās really a difference in both schools.
Thank you very much for your time and trouble in answering my question. Our son was just admitted to PEA, and this discussion is very illuminating (and both the Exeter and Andover students seem very thoughtful).
@Mom2Melcs First off, I want to congratulate your son on getting accepted, and to welcome you and your son to the PEA family :). Iām not of one of the more well known, active Exonians on CC like @GryffinHunter lol, but if you have any more questions, any one of us would be more than happy to answer them to the best of our abilities.
Yes @andover20___ was expressing his/her opinion but it was much more than that. It was accusatory and pejorative. The comment that he/she āsensed intoleranceā of others (how?) is reckless and irresponsible. Do the roughly 48% of non white students at PEA feel that they are not welcome or tolerated? Our tour guide at PEA actually said āI donāt know what your politics are but PEA is quite liberal.ā While we are somewhere in the CENTER we want a school that is not so politically correct that it stifles divergent opinions. Reading the Exonian was a key component in our family decision about where to apply and ultimately attend. Lastly, for andover20__ to attack our child and us by making completely bizarre statements about OUR application process is not only offensive but it is just plain weird. I would advise anyone entering a debate to be sure to debate the facts with supporting evidence and not just fling non sequiturs.
@Center Again, donāt get worked up by a kid. You got the info you are looking for about Exeter. Focus on @GryffinHunter 's posts.
@panpacific Thanks! True. (I guess I am shocked that someone so judgmental and sanctimonious would be admitted to such a tremendous school. But I guess I am naiveā¦) I bow to you @Panpacific!
RE: crew The Andover boathouse is about a 20 minute drive from campus so itās not walkable. That was a concern for me though not a deal breaker. The lost time commuting to and from practice every day might be something to think about. I think Exeterās boathouse is on campus.
I have read about more drug busts on campus at Andover in the last 5 or so years. Read their student newspaper (www.phillipian.net) and search for ādrugs and alcoholā for the archived news.
If anyone wants to know anything else about the political climate Exeter feel free to PM me.
Someone told me my comment about PC culture made it seem like I was sad that I couldnāt say bigoted things and thatās just completely me wording it weirdly.
I meant that if anyone says something slightly racist or homophobic- their peers will call them out. No one will let you get away with being non-tolerant and accepting.
Since the campus is majorly liberal- you pretty much have to be politically correct and accepting. So someone wouldnāt be able to say, āThatās gay.ā as an insult. Someone would say, āhey man, thatās not cool.ā
I think that part of Exeter is pretty great considering Iām gay, but Iāve never expierence anyone saying something homophobic here.
Conservative viewpoints at Exeter are somewhat stifled but weāre trying to do something about it by opening up conversations on campus as much as possible.
I want to clear things up. What I shared previously was what I saw in a short few visits. I am not afraid to admit I may have been wrong - because my view is that from a visit where I saw (in my opinion) a traditional dress code and my knowing of prior knowledge from Andover students - and I do hope that the message I was trying to get across wasnāt viewed as offensive. However, people should really mind what they comment. I was sharing a brief view and then further explained on page 2 of this thread. Both schools academically rigorous and highly respected. My view may have been skewed due to the few people I met with on my visit - and I would say then that to read too deep into the comments here is foolish. We are all going to be biased on this thread, as is expected when discussing rivalries. But this website is to give insight into different schools and hateful rhetoric in rebuke of some comments is strange and unnecessary. Go Big Blue and whatever you say at Exeter :)>-
My daughter graduated from Andover last year and I love the school. I agree with the earlier posts that the schools are more similar than they are different. Again, as stated, Exeter uses the Harkness method for math and science, and Andover does not. Exeter has a dress code which makes it feel more formal, but I canāt say that is representative of the political climate. I do not think there is a difference in rigor; Andover is very rigorous. However, the biggest difference- and perhaps this has changed recently, students at Andover must be incredibly self-disciplined because there is no real monitoring of study period, or turning off of devices/internet, etc. As I recall, there used to be more structure at Exeter in regard to study time/sleep time, and I would argue this helps some students.
@andover20___ For the record, I donāt agree what @Center said about you, which is "guess I am shocked that someone so judgmental and sanctimonious would be admitted to such a tremendous school. ". I think that was a dramatic exaggeration. Meanwhile, I donāt agree with what you said about the differences of A and E in the political atmosphere. In my view, they are indeed very similar. To be honest, people who have the luxury to choose between the two schools are rare (in this small sample on CC, for example, weāve seen two so far). Which school one chooses to attend is such a first world problem. Letās let the schools manage their yields. Your school has done a great job historically.
I think that the discussion based learning, even in math and the sciences, is a differentiating facet that distinguishes Exeter from Andover for the right student.
As I mentioned earlier, I donāt think this discussion is of great meaning to even the very few who are in this ādilemmaā and who happen to be reading this hread. FWIW, Iād choose Andover again because from what Iāve seen and heard, it has a slightly more laid back vibe and students are just a little less stressed out.