Groton vs Hotchkiss vs Exeter

Prep School Admissions
21

The wifi is fine. Cell service is terrible.

22

oh okay haha i heard it was an ongoing joke there that its bad

23

Ok, so she got into all three. We are ecstatic! Thoughts anyone?

24

3 very different places. Can you do revisit days?

All 3 are excellent schools.

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25

Awesome! Before your revisits, what do you think is your favorite?

26

Exeter or Groton. Decide between the two based on how you feel about size.

27

Recent comments from various sources suggest a woke culture at Exeter. But, Exeter is the largest school among the three options so most should be able to find their place.

If possible, visit all 3 prior to making a final decision.

28

Exeter has a very large student body, and also a fairly large day student population. The other 2 are definitely more residential. Groton is very small, Hotchkiss is medium sized, and Exeter is huge. All 3 schools have very different vibes and Iā€™m sure if you visit all 3 it will be pretty evident which school is a fit.

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29

Exeter is no more woke than peer schools. At any school with serious intellectual depth, there will be many kids who wish to question and challenge the prevailing political and social status quo.

Hotchkiss has recommitted to the Chicago Principles.

ā€œIn order to foster an environment in which varying ideas and points of view can be openly shared, we work to incorporate a set of tenets put forth by the University of Chicago called The Principles of Open Discourse (ā€œChicago Principlesā€). These principles advocate for free, robust, and uninhibited debate among members of learning communities. Administrations at 55 college-level institutions across the U.S. have endorsed the principles.ā€

We have always found Groton to be quite caring about social justice issues, but not performatively ā€œwokeā€.

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30

Exeter is only 21% Day Students - less than most schools?

31

That is still more than the other 2. And the high enrollment means lots of day students.

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32

I think I like the presence of day students. It grounds the school in the community and brings local concerns on to campus. These are people who have skin in the game in the local community and their perspective is valuable.

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33

And itā€™s great you feel that way! OP might want that, or they might want a higher boarding community. Itā€™s a personal preference. Just making OP aware that itā€™s something to consider.

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34

Exactly. Just adding perspective as someone who grew up in one boarding school and went to another.

35

IMO this just isnā€™t an issue at these schools. I would not base a decision on this.

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36

People can take it or leave it. I donā€™t think I would base my decision on this but I wouldnā€™t shy away from a school with a larger day population.

37

Hotchkiss uses the same 11 point gpa system. Very interesting.

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I could have sworn it was 13 points when I was a student, but Iā€™m old - I could be misremembering or it was just changed at some point!

39

Hotchkiss uses a 12 point system. A+ is worth 12.