Excited and grateful to be accepted to Exeter or Andover or Harker! We cannot visit Harker, but heard from a parent that it’s the parents that drive the kids, not the schools or their resources that benefit. Keeping the location aside, what did you like or dislike in these schools? We are into competitive math, science/CS research, and also play a wind instrument. So any feedback in terms of these activities or even generic inputs like grade inflation or deflation would be really helpful. I hear the mat clubs at Exeter and Andover are pretty similar. How are the research opportunities at these schools? One of the top CS/Math colleges is the goal, so looking for a school that would help in that direction.
For context for any replies, the OP is the parent
Exeter is a top school for math talent: Kevin Cong '22 wins gold at International Math Olympiad - Phillips Exeter Academy - this can be a pro or a con, depending on your perspective.
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Open to responses from both parents and students!
I don’t know Harker, but both Andover and Exeter will provide opportunities to develop into a strong applicant for the very subjective “top 2 CS/Math colleges.” Each of those universities admits students, not boarding schools. So the onus is on the kid, regardless of HS chosen. Perhaps a favorite will emerge after revisits, because at this point, you’re splitting gossamer threads.
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Agreed the onus is on the student. Right now we do not know how the student will progress in the next 4 years. But we do have a choice between these schools to make.
Exeter for the win!! The math program here is really broad, firstly, and we have clubs/societies on campus dedicated to math/stem. Using harkness during math is personally a really valuable skill to learn, so that’s a plus. And I have some friends doing research and going into JSHS/ISEF I think. Even if your student doesn’t want to continue math the opportunities of what you can do are so flexible and broad I think Exeter would be a good fit.
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Exeter. It’s strong in math and music.
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I can see the Exeter pride! Which is great!
Isn’t the research pursued independently by the students or is there a research program at Exeter? With Exeter workload it’s good to know that you have time to research as well.
Could you please elaborate on which ways it’s stronger as compared to Andover or Harker?
I’ve never heard of Harker.
I don’t have a child at either Andover or Exeter, though I researched them and got a good feel for them a few years back when both accepted my child for admission. While I’m sure Andover has some excellent math teachers, Exeter is known for very talented math teachers and students. Andover is known more for humanities. As for music, Exeter has a good school orchestra and a long list of teachers available for private lessons for virtually every instrument. For this reason, it was the last school we eliminated back in the day.
But these aren’t the only reasons to choose one of these schools over the other. You might want to look over the respective course catalogues. Exeter’s is super broad; Andover’s is more niche, depending on what the faculty wants to teach.
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One of my children thought long and hard about the Exeter math program before ultimately choosing a different school.
Exeter has a long history of producing outstanding math talents. But those outcomes are somewhat skewed relative to peers by two things: (1) the long and distinguished tenure of Dr. Zuming Feng, who left Exeter in 2021, and (2) the fact that Exeter, unlike many peers, recruited (maybe it still does) highly competitive math talents to power its math program.
I say this not to detract from the school in any way, shape or form. Exeter is awesome. It’s math program is awesome. And it would have been an awesome place for my child to spend 4 years before college.
Ultimately, though, the top-performing math students at Exeter are somewhat like athletes in a competitive sports program:
If you’re “recruited” to be one of those select few talents that the school wants to represent it in math competitions etc. and you’re comfortable devoting a huge amount of time and effort to perform in that role, then the program is perfect for you.
If you weren’t recruited for that purpose, then you’ll undoubtedly still get a great math education at Exeter, but it’s hard to say that your experience will be materially better than it would be at Andover or Harker (or wherever).
When you add in the additional hope (as the OP did here) that math excellence will be your (or your child’s) pathway into MIT or Princeton, then you’re asking a lot even if you were one of those students recruited specifically for math talent.
Those schools aren’t taking that many students from Exeter (or any other peer), and, more importantly, the objectively small population of students who are accepted to those schools from Exeter doesn’t consist solely of Exeter’s top math minds. There are athletes, legacies, “special interest” candidates, etc. angling for those spots too.
That’s a long-winded way of saying that I think comparing math programs among these 3 schools is splitting hairs, unless you’re being recruited to Exeter primarily for math talent.
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Thank you! This is the kind of response I am looking for. So you did not choose either of the schools? Just curious of the reason you denied both unless its a local school that you chose. I agree, we went over the course catalog too.
Its interesting that parents/students have denied Exeter/Andover. I agree that Dr, Feng played a huge part in the math program/club. I wish we knew what we are recruited for. Yes, there will be many who want to get in, and these are all kids from top of their school, with some solid achievements.
We went with Hotchkiss. It has an even better music program/personnel (in my opinion) than Exeter, and we preferred a smaller school where the faculty and staff keep a closer eye on the students, most of whom are boarding. Plus, we liked the headmaster there best. And, if I’m being totally honest, perhaps the strong emphases on gender and race expressed by Exeter and Andover at that time (2020/21) was too much for our family, or at least for me.
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Thank you for your honest feedback!
We are deciding among Harker and other two top Conn boarding schools. My kid is well rounded and not particularly strong in Math, but we likely will go to Harker as it’s local. If you live in the Bay Area, Harker is definitely a strong contender with so many talented STEM kids
If you are local, Harker makes sense! I have heard that typically parents are influential enough to provide the resources. Are there any specific programs at the school that you liked?
Current Harker sophomore right now. I would probably skip the boarding schools; when I visited, I just felt a sense of despair in the terribly cold and gloomy climate, both in the weather and in the student body. Not a happy place. My friend told me about a very unfortunate incident, to put it lightly, at Andover last week. There are far too many students at boarding schools who are very wealthy and not particularly enthusiastic about academics. This is not the case at all at Harker. If your child is also interested in STEM stuff, the Bay Area is probably a good place to stay in if he/she wants to do some technical work at some software engineering company.
Yes, Harker is competitive, but it’s local, has a fairly supportive student body, and strong programs, particularly in STEM. Our competitive math teams are very strong: we have one MOP attendee, 8 olympiad qualifiers, and 7% of our school qualifies for AIME every year. The class of 2024 at Harker sent 3 students to the USACO training camp. The science facilities are amazing at Harker; the most money is spent on that department, actually, and the STEM teachers are pretty great overall. Both my differential equations teacher and AP Physics C teacher have PhDs in their fields. Andover and Exeter probably have marginally better math and science classes than Harker, but if your child is already more interested in extracurricular activities over the math classes at school, this shouldn’t be a problem.
The one caveat with Harker is that you may feel somewhat excluded if you aren’t South Asian or Chinese, as they make up around 70% of the student body. As a Caucasian student, I can definitely feel cultural differences at times, but it’s not a huge problem. Some teachers are subpar at Harker, and our English program isn’t anything special. Unless your child is already incredible at competition math/academics, he/she may feel out of place compared to other students: I know a freshman who has qualified for USAJMO twice, has straight A+s (the academics at Harker are not easy, even for freshmen), and has a decent chance of making MOP this year. Having really smart kids at a school has its drawbacks.
Also, if you live near a great public school like Gunn, Monta Vista, or Lynbrook, I would consider those as options too.
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Hi - Yes the situation at Andover and other schools is heart breaking. And while I know nothing about Harker, I cannot help but want to address your summation of BS, especially some of the top ones. Most (as there are always those …) are exceptionally bright that love school and learning and want to be with peers from around the world with top academics and offering in all areas. BS used to be an elite institution and while yes there are plenty of full pay students there are just as many on partial or full scholarships. These diverse communities offer a unique experience for the right student. Most that I know, my daughter included (though not at any of these schools, absolutely loves it. She had been in a solid private school with very good college placement, but she wanted more from her pers. I appreciate it is not for all families and Harker may be a wonderful place. I just do not agree with your assessment of BS. Nor do I (we ) know why this student was considering it. None the less it sounds like the student has great options. Also if that is your real name, I suggest change it.
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