We are looking at boarding options, and Lawrenceville looks like a nice option, as they have strengths in the areas of my D’s interest. However, I notice there are references to things that seem religious “guided by a certain moral compass…” and " from a faith in the enduring importance of the institution and the higher purpose that it serves." and they have chapel time in their schedule, and each student is required to study religion. However I cannot seen to find anything overt on their web site that indicates what religion the school is, or whether religion influences the pedagogy, which is a Harkness approach. Can anyone here provide insight into that?
Also, I’d love general info about Lawrenceville - experiences, pros cons, etc. Thank you!
Lawrenceville is technically Episcopal but the school is not religious and the student body is religiously diverse. At many of these schools, “religion” in the curriculum is theology/philosophy. And “chapel” stands for formal community meetings, often there are guest speakers and such.
Hi: My daughter attends Lville. It is not religious at all. Here are the religion touch points that students will experience. The students are required to take a general religion class their sophomore year as well as an elective religion class (there are tons of options ranging from specific religions to ethics). Students have to attend several explorations a year those range from a religious service to attending Christmas carols to yoga or meditation. - It is really more about offering the students experiences to allow them to understand those around them and find new ways to connect. There are religious leaders, services, and clubs as well as celebrations across multiple faiths on campus. There is no mandatory chapel. This is a diverse student body with students from around the globe.
Happy to answer any other questions you might have about lville.
Thanks very much - that’s super helpful. Since you know someone there, can you give m a sense of the “vibe” of campus? Is it a preppy rich kid population, or a quirky brainy kid place, sports / jock focused, super competitive pressure cooker, supportive / empathetic, etc.? I know they all have their particular reputations, but we’re not familiar with many of them at all. I like the idea that a student stays in the same house all four years so there’s a community. Are there any pros/cons you’re aware of? Thanks so much!
I would circle preppy rich kid, not that there aren’t other groups, and athletic. A lot more kids getting in for athletics than people like to talk about. I wouldn’t describe it as jockey, though.
Locally, Peddie and George probably hit the mark more on the rest. If you are visiting the area I’d encourage you to look at all three.
Boarding school costs almost as much as college so pretty much by definition you will have rich kids (however you define rich) at pretty much every boarding school.
If a school has a big enough endowment that they have way above average generous financial aid, those are the wealthiest of schools, which correlates with selectivity.
Selectivity can correlate with being a pressure cooker. But note – the same school can have kids feeling a lot of stress and pressure, and also have kids who are really relaxed and who don’t feel much pressure at all.
It all depends on finding the right fit.
Also, none of the “big name” schools (for lack of a better descriptor!) are “religious”.
CC is a great resource, but I wonder if using a consultant might be helpful for you, as they could help narrow down potential good fit schools better than CC as the consultant will know your daughter in real life, in addition to knowing the schools.
This is true but how these kids “wear” that wealth varies a lot from school to school. The other thing is some schools have a lot more generational wealth and celebrity wealth than others. IME that can make a big difference in dynamics.
My kids have gone to a variety of independent schools (day/boarding, more and less progressive), and I agree it does vary, but it’s just impossible to avoid the reality that there is going to be a much higher concentration of wealthy families. It’s just how the system is built.
Couple of items. The students do not stay in the same dorm all 4 years. Actually all second formers (freshman) are housed in either the second former boys or girls dorm. Day students are assigned to the dorm as well. Between the 2 dorms is the bowl which is an area that only the second formers use to hang out and play in. This is a great experience as the second formers really get to know their class mates and have a space just for them. (Of course they have: classes, sports, clubs etc with other grades integrating them into the community. Third and Fourth formers live together for 2 years in the House system. This is another community that they become apart of. The houses compete in House Olympics and all sort of things throughout the year. The houses host activities and charity events. There is a lot of house pride. Fifth Formers (seniors) Either come back together in the senior housing or they prefect in the other dorms. Meals have a similar feel as Second formers have the balcony to themselves. The third and forth formers sit on the main level and the fifth formers use tsai (this cafeteria with everyone else) or Abbott (certain days) which is just senior dining - think Harry Potter.
Regarding the types of kids. Lville is a large student body so there are all types of kids into all different things. In my daughter’s circle of close friends the teens are into an array of focused interests. None define the student body more than the next. It is among the top competitive schools with high academic achievers (as you probably already know). Most fit into that category, there are a few that might be there more for sports or another reason. But to do well your student needs to want to work hard, but I suppose it also comes down to level of classes one decides to take like at any school.
The school has really focused on trying to lessen the pressure that the students are facing. This year starts a new daily schedule with no more than 3 academic classes a day and longer class periods to allow for deeper, more focused attention. So far my daughter is liking the new schedule, but she can tell the work will me intense, but manageable.
Regarding the wealth of the student body. I agree BS is expensive so you are more inclined to see wealthy families at BS. That being said Lville has a large endowment with students from all different backgrounds - all hanging out, doing activities together. I love that my daughter has a wide range in international, national and local friends - each with unique experiences and backgrounds (incl. economics).
I do think the best way to get to know the schools is visit as many as you can (preferably when school is in session). If possible attend revisit days. These visits made all the difference in our decisions.
Hello, I graduated from Lawrenceville in 2023 (wow, two years ago).
Lawrenceville is not religiously affiliated in any meaningful way. The Chapel is a historical building from when the school did take religion seriously (not sure when that ended), but it now hosts religious ceremonies from all faiths; I’ve been to Buddhist and Hindu events held there, for instance.
The only times when religion were at all a part of my life (outside of fully optional events) were the religion course requirement and Explorations. The religion requirement has you take two courses, Intro to Religious Studies (which is a “world religions” class—not based on any religion at all) and an elective of your choice. The elective can be a focused study of a given religion, but you can also take ethics or philosophy, for instance, which is what I did. Explorations credits require you to attend two events per term (assuming nothing has changed); the overwhelming majority of Explorations are religious, but they can also be events like What Matters to Me and Why, during which a teacher gives a brief speech on something that they care about.
Unless the schedule has radically changed in the last two years (which seems to be true), I’m not aware of this. The only things in our schedule are classes, lunch, sports, consultation (universal office hours for all teachers), advisory meetings, and all school meetings, which are held in the Kirby Arts Center Theater, not the Chapel.
I had a great time there! I was a day student, but because of the House system, I felt very integrated into the general fabric of student life; I had a locker in my House and would spend most of my free time outside classes there, was fully included in all of the different House events, and even had the opportunity to become a prefect if I so chose (my best prefect was actually a day student). To give you an idea of how little the distinction matters, the school president my junior year was a day student, and that’s not a particularly uncommon occurrence.
The school is very intense, which can be both good and bad. On one hand, I had a phenomenal education and have been very well-equipped for college; I also feel that I was given a ton of independence (not just in terms of academics, but also extracurriculars) that has been very helpful for navigating things here. On the other hand, I think that there is a very specific “type” of student who is best off at Lawrenceville: super self-motivated, willing to always work if need be, is not afraid of comparison to others. The environment is simultaneously very competitive (in that everyone wants to do their best) and collaborative (in that we’re all chill with each other anyway), but it can still be hard to feel like you’re falling behind.
One thing I will note now, two years out, is that the bonds continue in the long term. Just a few days ago, I was in the vicinity of another college and met up with two of my former Housemates who go there (and would have seen another one if scheduling worked out); I’m in daily contact with 10 or so of my classmates, and have interacted with at least 75 of them in some form since the beginning of college. I certainly feel more attached to my high school than the majority of my college classmates. This has also been very helpful for my internship networking prospects, as I’ve gotten to email Lawrenceville alums in my industry of choice as well as those from my college, and they’re just as nice!
Lawrenceville is certainly richer than my college, but I wouldn’t call it preppy by any means; I’d say that the typical Lawrenceville student is closer to the child of wealthy immigrants (if non-white) who work in professional services; there are very few old-money types.
Academics are definitely a status symbol to some extent, but the school isn’t super geeky either, as evidenced by the raucous post-graduation parties I attended :).
There’s lots of athletes, but aside from the lacrosse team (which basically operates as a D3 college team inside of a high school), they aren’t cliquey at all; two of my best friends are now D1 athletes, while I’m one of the least athletic people I know. Sports have basically no impact on the culture at all; most people only go to the PDS Hockey game and Hill Football game, and even the latter is pretty sporadic.
I’ve touched on the pressure cooker idea, but I will say that there’s resources available for support—you just need to make sure to seek them out. I think that’s where a lot of students struggle, especially given that it seems that everyone has a perfect life (spoiler alert: they don’t).
Wow, what a helpful response! That’s incredibly insightful and I really appreciate your honest thoughts. I’m so glad to know you had a great experience. Ultimately, being prepared and feeling confident about oneself and one’s abilities is the best way to walk out of high school. Good for you!
If you have insight on other boarding schools in the Ten Schools circuit, I’d love 'em! Particularly, my daughter would probably fit more into a nerd / science geek culture so any suggestions? Thanks again!
Don’t get me wrong—I don’t think Lawrenceville is perfect by any means (nowhere is!), but I legitimately think that going there is the best decision I have made in my life up to that point. The person I am today is quite literally unrecognizable to anybody who knew me when I entered five years ago, and it’s all for the better; I’m significantly more confident in who I am, what matters to me, and who I think I can become.
A bunch of my friends from home went to Peddie, which definitely has a more science-y vibe to it. There’s definitely science nerds at Lawrenceville, but it’s not at all the dominant culture. Other than that, PRISMS is pretty much the most science geek-y you can get, but it’s also incredibly small and insular.
@LemonNotLime , if you want to check out L’ville, you are within spitting distance of both Peddie and George, and you would be well-served, given what you’re looking for, to visit those as well. Peddie has a great maker-space, and George is excellent in STEM. While George and Peddie both are known for strong community, they have quite different vibes. They also have quite different academic calendars and curricula. So often, when you visit, you come away knowing as much what you don’t want as you do.
And often, what you and your kid like will be different. As an polar opposite! That’s important feedback too.
For my daughter, she judged every school first on “vibes” and then on the library. Sometimes the school that seems perfect “on paper” doesn’t feel that way in person, and she could not always articulate why. Visit everywhere you can, I think it’s so important to see what feels right. My daughter felt Lawrenceville was the one for her from her first visit. Meanwhile, I was completely in love with another school and had a hard time letting go of that. She was 100% right and she is exactly where she was meant to be. In total, I think we visited about 15 schools, and she applied to a wide range (NOT 15 of them) including several hidden gems, but only schools she felt she would say yes to and could see herself attending. Good luck!
I agree. From the questions being asked, Peddie or George might be a better fit for this student. All 3 schools are VERY different, but I think Peddie and George are more similar to each other than not on “soft” aspect.
I would disagree with this. While there are some preppy rich kids at Lville, they are a very small portion of the school. Many other boarding schools have a much more preppy rich kid vibe than Lville.
so any suggestions? Thanks again!