George and Westtown comparisons - HELP please!!

stagemum
Sun, 11 Mar 2012 19:38:51 +0000

George School is very highly-regarded in college admissions. About one-third of their students pursue the full IB, but most students take some IB-level clsses. It would not “look bad,” especially if you want to take extra art classes. They offer IB certificates in Arts, as well as in specific subjects, if you don’t want to take fourth year of Math or a foreign language. I have strong first-hand familiarity with the GS Theater Arts programs (including Stagecraft). I can’t speak to academic music programs, but I know they encourage extracurricular music performance, and a number of students form bands while there. They organize regular live performances throughout the school year for pop music. They also present classical orchestra and choral concerts. They are introducing an IB Dance option next year. I have seen some very impressive visual arts and woodworking - all can be pursued for four full years, and so the school produces some highly-skilled artists and artisans. My principal complaint has been the lack of curricular flexibility. I wish there were more electives, especially for upperclassmen. They only offer one “writing focus” IB English class for seniors, and it is difficult to get into. I think every kid ought to be able to take a creative writing class for at least one term. It would be nice to see a few more electives in the humanities (e.g. art history) and some single-term options. Westtown’s campus is beautiful, but George’s is more accessible to a very pleasant town. Both have sizable international student bodies. Finally, George received a huge bequest from Barbara Dodd Anderson, and so they have a larger endowment now.

I heartily recommend re-visiting both this spring; you might even base a decision on your prospective classmates at one or the other.