<p>Plainly, how does Hotchkiss, compare two these three schools, academically, campus-wise, and also teacher to student ratio.</p>
<p>Academically, it is on the same level and it is impossible to assume any one is better or worse than the other two. There are top notch competitive driven kids at all three and the teachers are ready for that. HK however feels very different from Choate and Exeter because it is a small, very tight knit community. You have to really imagine yourself being in the HK family for 3 or 4 years.</p>
<p>I forgot to put this but how does it compare with SPS?</p>
<p>Anyone??? :)</p>
<p>Based on my child’s tours and revisits, I’d say Hotchkiss is most similar to DA. They’re similarly sized (500-600ish), have under 10% day students, are somewhat formal and also somewhat remote. SPS is similarly sized, has no day students and has a more laid-back feel to it. It’s also somewhat remote, although it’s in Concord, NH.</p>
<p>
That’s a hard one to answer. Both Hotchkiss and Exeter, Andover, and Choate offer great academics. I guess it depends on which departments and what you’re into. </p>
<p>Though, they’re definitely at the same level.</p>
<p>
Having visited 3 out of those 4, I think I can be a decent judge.</p>
<p>Exeter’s campus blew my mind. It was insane. Out of the four you listed, Exeter had the best campus. The Hotchkiss campus isn’t as good as Exeter’s campus.</p>
<p>Andover’s campus IMO was a little worse than the Hotchkiss campus. I like the remote “feel” of Hotchkiss, and I liked the buildings at Hotchkiss.</p>
<p>On a side note, as for dorms, for the three I’ve visited, I’d go with Exeter having the nicest dorms, but Hotchkiss having the best dorm “situation.” Let me explain: at Hotchkiss, there are lower-classmen dorms and upper-classmen dorms. At Exeter, all the grades are in the same dorms. I like the idea of having 9th and 10th graders better than having grades 9-12 living together. That’s just me. Also, at Hotchkiss, I heard the only way you can get a double is if you request one. At Exeter, it appears most new students have a roommate. To be honest, my first year I’d prefer not to have a roommate (I want a little bit of privacy, and I’d only want to room with one of my friends). </p>
<p>As for the dorms themselves, Exeter had slightly better dorms from what I could see, but Hotchkiss was a close second. I was extremely impressed with Hotchkiss’s dorms.</p>
<p>Overall, I really liked Hotchkiss. A lot.</p>
<p>
Andover: 1:5
Exeter: 1:5
Hotchkiss: 1:6
Choate: 1:6</p>
<p><a href=“Boarding Schools with the Lowest Student:Teacher Ratio (2024)”>Boarding Schools with the Lowest Student:Teacher Ratio (2024);
<p>Wow thank you, you answered my question in a small informative post. :)</p>
<p>I too am a big fan of Exeter’s campus and its quaint town. However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out the beauty of Choate’s campus. Choate is often considered to have the prettiest campus. The school buildings are up on a hill overlooking the playing fields. Two of the buildings were designed by I. M. Pei, the Paul Mellon Arts Center and the Science Center. The admissions building sits atop the lake and has a huge portrait of President John F. Kennedy above the fireplace. The St. John (Seymour St. John) chapel and many of the Georgian buildings have doors painted Rosemary Blue, the color in the crest originally associated with Rosemary Hall, whereas the royal blue and gold are associated with Choate originally. The sophomore dorms, NoHo and SoHo are more modern and very appealing. The new playing fields named for just retired Ed Shanahan are truly first rate. Ground has already been broken for the new state of the art Environmental Science Building and Hill House the dining hall rivals any Hogwarts establishment on the subject with its well kept but traditional wood paneled dining hall and massive fireplace with inscribed school crest.</p>
<p>While academics and sports may be similar, the schools are very different.
Hotchkiss was a better fit for my S. It is a smaller school than Exeter or Andover. At Andover, a student needs to be extremely independent (almost like a small college).
At Hotchkiss, student can sign up for his/her teachers to have a one-on-one meeting with parents at Parents Weekend as part of a schedule and I got to know the teachers and how my S did - not so at Andover. While I attended classes with other parents as a group just like Hotchkiss, there are no one-on-one meetings as part of schedule. Also it is not encouraged for parents to have a direct contact with each teacher - just with the academic advisor.</p>
<p>A case in point of a larger school is the “Grasshopper Night” during the Parents’ Weekend - there are not enough tickets for all students and parents visiting. ([Phillips</a> Academy - Grasshopper Night](<a href=“http://www.andover.edu/Calendar/Pages/GrasshopperNight092.aspx]Phillips”>http://www.andover.edu/Calendar/Pages/GrasshopperNight092.aspx)) I was so used to being able to watch whatever performance at Hotchkiss Music building which is just beautiful. Andover’s Tang Theater simply cannot accommodate all parents so I only had ticket one time through my D. </p>
<p>Another point of difference - at Hotchkiss, if you take music theory for credit, one can take music lessons without a fee but at Andover, you have to pay for all music lessons. </p>
<p>My S and D each loved their own school.</p>
<p>It is best to visit the school and see for yourself - which schools feels/fits the best for you and your parents.</p>
<p>Wow, what a difference a small school can be for you. No wonder people seem to love Deerfield.</p>
<p>There are pros and cons to large and small schools. Polyglot mom is correct in saying that Tang cannot accomodate all parents at once; so it’s a good thing that Grasshopper Night happens three nights in a row, meaning that all parents can attend, though obviously not on the same night. Also, while I totally agree with most of what polyglot mom says, I think it’s important to mention that what she says mostly applies only to parents, who, of course, are only on campus maybe three or four days out of each year. Andover and Exeter have a teacher:student ratio of 1:5, so students here receive ample attention and are indeed encouraged to form close relationships with their teachers and advisors. While these are comparably big schools, personal and academic attention absolutely does not suffer.</p>
<p>One of the largest advantages of attending a large school is the breadth of courses on offer. For example, Hotchkiss offers five languages; Andover offers nine. Additionally, because of Andover’s size, the group of prodigies is considerable, meaning that students who are exceptional in certain areas, even in relation to other Andover students, are catered for with a plethora of 600-level courses that go beyond the AP and, indeed, beyond the first and second years of undergraduate offerings. There are classes for everyone.</p>
<p>However, polyglotmom is also correct in stating that Andover and Exeter are really more like small colleges than like high schools. I’d be hesitant to describe Andover as sink-or-swim, but sometimes it’s pretty damn close to that. You do need to be extremely independent; everyone has a very different class schedule and set of priorities, and no one will be looking over a student’s shoulder to make sure he or she wakes up for class, eats enough at meals, gets enough rest, and stays happy. That is absolutely not to say that adults on campus are inaccessible or indifferent; just that the campus philosophy is that students are young adults and, as such, capable of almost complete autonomy. That philosophy is correct with most students at Andover and ends up fostering a culture of extreme intellectualism, capability, and independence, but students need to know for sure whether or not this atmosphere is right for them. It’s not always easy, but if you can handle it, it will pay dividends. If you can’t, you will be extremely unhappy, and you shouldn’t be here.</p>
<p>Polyglotmom- I’m surprised that you can’t sign up for one-to-one parent conferences at Andover over Parents’ Weekend- are you sure? At Choate, which is only somewhat smaller, you sign up online before parents’ weekend, and go to the athletic center for the presceduled conferences. Granted, they are only 8 minutes long, but they keep strictly to the schedule and ring some kind of a gong in between. I would also be unhappy if I couldn’t get a ticket to see my child perform- it looks on the website as if every student is given three tickets for family members? Not into defending Andover- but some of this information just doesn’t sound right.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’m not sure about the parent-teachers conferences thing either. My parents only came to Parents’ Weekend once and didn’t feel the need to talk to my teachers outside of their mini class periods, but I had a few friends whose parents did seek out teachers in particular subject areas. That may not have been scheduled, but teachers are on campus all of Parents’ Weekend and I hardly think any of them would turn down an invitation to chat.</p>
<p>I think it’s most important to find a place where you won’t “sink”. If you don’t think you can or suspect you won’t be able to “swim” in a place then stay away from it. Most everything else is just styles & personal preferences. As TomTheCat pointed out, there are advantages and disadvantages to bigger and smaller schools. Over the years, we have seen happy and thriving as well as despressed and failing students from almost every school. It is about “fit”, it is about “adaptability”, and it is about “perspectives”.</p>
<p>DAndrew, Are you saying Andover is a “SINK or SWIM” school?</p>
<p>Invent, if you don’t improve your critical thinking skills you could sink in a Deerfield or an Andover. I can see how many kids can sink in a variety of schools. Just think how many of your public school classmates can swim in a “nurturing” school as defined in BS world on this board.</p>
<p>From what I can see Exeter and Andover are harder and more small college like than Deerfield and Hotchkiss’s smaller tightly woven community.</p>
<p>Amen. .</p>
<p>Lol^^ :pp .</p>
<p>just my two cents but i would disagree that these schools, whether academically or prestige, are the same.</p>
<p>firstly exeter and andover are in the super league in terms of prestige - this league would probably include RL, SPS and Groton. while everyone has their own list, if you do enough research, on balance this is what everyone says</p>
<p>also, exeter and andover are very very different schools than any other schools academically because they are have so many courses they are like a small colleges. you also don’t go to exeter and andover to get an A, you go there to challenge yourself. that’s why they will tell you if you get an A in a class there, you are not challenging yourself enough. exeter and andover, academically from what i understand, are not in a league of their own because they are that much better, but because they are that much more different than everyone else</p>
<p>then you ask is exeter and andover better than other top schools, particularly RL, SPS and Groton? probably not if you look at admission rate, college placement rate, and learning skills. </p>
<p>similarly, if you ask if exeter, andover, RL, SPS and Groton that much better than other GLADCHEMMS schools, i would also say no. if you analyze the situation, exeter’s college placement rate to top colleges are similar (not better) than other GLADCHEMMS schools. while andover’s college placement rate are among the best in GLADCHEMMS and equivalent schools, other GLADCHEMMS, particularly milton and lawrenceville are pretty close to andover. in term of RL, SPS, and Groton, yes they have top college placements, but they also have so many top college legacies (probably more than other GLADCHEMMS). so if you are not already legacies in a top college, does RL, SPS and Groton’s statistics help you? i would argue as long as you are in GLADCHEMMS, you already tell colleges that you are a hard worker and if you perform well, top colleges will give you a second look</p>
<p>back to the academic question, how is hotchkiss and choate compares academically. i would other than exeter and andover having much broader courses, all the other GLADCHEMMS offer very very good programs and are the same</p>
<p>lastly, it’s important to remember while all these schools are so good at everything, they have very different personality and a different soul
a) exeter and lawrenville, while they have top liberal art and music programs also, they are probably more like the BS version of stuyvesant
b) vs. most other GLADCHEMMS schools are more like the BS version of Boston Latin
c) though choate is probably known more for is economic program, compare to hotchkiss its strength is probably in the classical and history, and deerfield’s strength is in literature, and milton’s strength is probably in the writing program and performance arts, etc.</p>
<p>i encourage you to look at their course selection, what their kids are encouraged to do, and look up what they are noted for and you can kind of tell</p>