I’ll give you my example of tone deafness. During my son’s time the athletic director wanted to kill the squash program – basically he said it was an elitist sport. He made it very difficult for kids to train with coaches on the Lville squash courts. This caused an uproar with the parents and athletes.
The headmaster buried his head in the sand and refused to meet with parents or listen to our concerns. One of the parents had a connection with board of trustees member. Even after that the headmaster didn’t acknowledge our concerns. Later, after my son left, I heard about instances of bullying that led tragically to a student suicide.
The headmaster and his/her leadership style says a lot about how the school functions. While I wouldn’t choose a school solely based on the headmaster experience, please note that his leadership style left a bad taste among many parents.
My son loved his time at Lawrenceville and stays in regular contact with many of his housemates. He probably would have made good friends at Andover too. There really isn’t a wrong choice here. Just be mindful of the pros/cons of both options.
Because it just came to mind, a specific example is when all that information came out last spring. The incident actually happened in April 2022, not April/May 2023, but the school kept it under wraps. When the media did finally figure out what was going on, we got called to a mandatory all-school meeting that basically boiled down to “do not ever say anything to anyone about this.” That is the kind of approach I really detested, especially because there were other incidents that occured while I was on campus that should have been reported in a similar way (I would rather not go into details; please do not DM me about this), but are still largely unknown.
Really disappointed to hear just how bad the management is. Also find it alarming that the school kept the tragic events covered for so long. Unfortunately have had similar experiences at my current school but attempts were instead met with group therapy/ personal therapy and additional church services ( we are a Christian school). Unfortunately now starting to think its a common pattern. Have seen in different threads that there are a number of students at Andover who have attempted
No regrets from us about our child’s choice. As for you, I suggest you and your family look at the course catalogues at each school and decide which is a better fit for your interests. What were deal breakers for our family might be “deal makers” for yours. Specifically with regard to Andover, we felt there was too much emphasis on race and gender as well as on niche areas of study, as opposed to what one might get with a more traditional education in the humanities/social sciences/history. But that’s just our preference.
Hard disagree that Andover is “cutthroat” as someone mentioned above. The kids are for sure intensely driven (sometimes to unhealthy levels) but not in a way manifested by sharp elbows, at all. They compete with themselves, but are always helpful with others.
I’ve observed this firsthand with my 2 kids (day students, so I literally do see it first hand when they help others…tutoring, homework help, group projects, etc).
Elitist? Sure, that I will cop to.
As for sink or swim, yes - the resources are there for all the help you want or need, but you have to seek them out. No one will force you into the academic skills center, to conference (aka office hours), mental health services, etc. So in that regard it really does function like a college. Now, there will of course be strong suggestions from your advisor, teachers, etc. But if you don’t pursue those resources, that’s basically that. Sink or swim.
If you and your family are religious Christians (having said you attend a Christian school), I suggest you reach out to students at each school who are likely to share your beliefs to see how they are treated, if they are comfortable, free to express themselves, etc.
The days of college ‘placement’ from these schools are long gone.
The GLADCHEMMS continue to enroll a LOT of (very) hooked kids…recruit-level athletes, faculty brats, double legacies, donor$$$, and also lower SES kids owed to their FA budgets. So, enrollment stats still look positively gaudy (like 30-50% into Ivy+/T20 type schools at PA for example).
There are insanely bright kids at these schools. I’m hyperbolizing but if you told me that 80% of the kids at PA would be their local HS valedictorian I’d believe you. But, “someone” will be in the bottom 50% of the class at PA. In fact, half the class! And 10% will be in the bottom decile
Colleges evaluate applicants in context, so for better or worse you’re going to be measured against other Andover or LV kids. A given HYPSM can only take so many kids from a given HS. After you back out the hooked kids, it may not leave that much room for too many otherwise unhooked excellent kids. A given applicant may indeed have better odds as a super big fish in a local HS pond vs being say in the 4th decile at PA.
Go to Andover or LV not for matriculation stats, but for the readiness they’ll instill in you when you do get to college, whatever the college.
You can’t go wrong with either choice here in the grand scheme of things. But, they are different…size, campus feel, other stuff. Go to revisit days at both if at all possible!
Institutional priorities are changing. I am not sure that its any harder (or easier) than a well resourced school in a high income area. However, few people understand how many students at these schools are hooked, including as FGLI. which skews matriculation. And while these schools are phenomenal (and you will be incredibly prepared for college) you are still expected to be at that very talented class.
