Episcopal Academy or Haverford School?

rebelangel
Sun, 20 May 2012 13:36:03 +0000

I went to EA for many years, back in the single sex days. These are all good schools, all a bit different. A next generation of cousins went to Shipley and liked it very much. These were the reputations back in the day:

Haverford - strong academics, rough and tumble/sink or swim, all-boys, good sports programs, too small a campus, blue blood, moderate to very WASPy, religion not a big day-to-day component

EA - strong academics, study of religion more instituionalized (school largely Christian, some Jews, one or two Muslims), went co-ed (smart), more mannered than Haverford, also blue blood, huge new Newtown Square campus (miss the old, less “white bread” campus on City Line!), strong sports programs, moderate to very WASPy

AIS - the athletic girls, good academics, steeped in tradition (like the others), nice campus but nothing extraordinary, very WASPy, religion not a big day-to-day feature

Baldwin - the smart girls, academic powerhouse, nice campus, but nothing extraordinary, more Jewish and inclusive than the others, not religious at all

Shipley - the bluest blood girls, now co-ed (did a very good job assimilating boys), nice campus but nothing extraordinary, excellent academics, not religious