<p>Classicalmama and neatoburrito, both right on the money. Still, the title of the thread is quite pretentious and begs for a loyal schoolie to explain the pomposity of the title…</p>
<p>Exeter123: I know Deerfeld is nuts about sports and we start in the Fall. Your observation is consistent with what I’ve heard. I guess these reputations don’t come out of a vacuum, there is some truth to all of them. The cold and distant attitude of Exeters Admission is folk lore and I’ve heard it many times from people who have no Ax to grind, just looking for a good school for their kids. Funny enough, the Director gets rave reviews while the staff in Admissions don’t. It must be some misguided strategy at Exeter because I have not heard that description about other schools from the many people I know who applied this year. They may do this to not get kids hopes up. It’s backfiring though. It’s so unprofessional to not be warm to applicants. I do have a few friends who have attended and one currently there that loves it. My friend and his kid were dreaming about Exter for years and they were totally crushed by the distance and lack of warmth by their Admissions office. You can’t afford a bad day and attitude when dealing with parents and kids.</p>
<p>Prepveteran, refresh my memory: Did your child get accepted to Exeter?</p>
<p>Prepveteran: If it really is about an admission rep’s “bad day and bad attitude” rather than–as I’d suspect–bad fit, even if Exeter is as harsh and cold a place as you seem convinced that it is, it doesn’t, in truth, seem to be backfiring as Exeter is actually slightly overenrolled this year and doesn’t ever seem to have any trouble attracting students. And by the looks of the Facebook admissions page, they’ve got a wonderful, incredibly diverse, smart, funny group of kids coming on board next year. </p>
<p>But as Neato points out, this is obvious to anyone who actually has first-hand knowledge of Exeter. My only reason for continuing to respond here (yeah, I know I said I wouldn’t 
) is my worry that some future applicant might be turned off from considering and interviewing at Exeter because of rumors and innuendo.</p>
<p>Really, this is just silly. Can we move on to some new way of praising Andover?</p>
<p>I enjoyed my daughter’s interview visit to Exeter a few years ago. The receptionist told me the name of the paint color, the interviewer and lively enthusiastic tour guide were very nice, the waiting parents chatted, and the famous push pins in the map were fun. It’s hard to imagine the cold vibe, I didn’t get it. So, this Andover parent agrees with Neato (and yes, I would never use the “slacker” and “nerd” monikers if the kids didn’t joke about them themselves—such as Exeter Geek Day which kicks off Andover-Exeter weekend with really goofy red geek outfits).</p>
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<p>Hahahahahaa!!!</p>
<p>But it is an exonian’s idea to make Exeter part of this “poorly designed” thread. To know the history and how it has turned what it is now, see post #12 for details.</p>
<p>Once more classicalmama is on the mark:</p>
<p>I really don’t get the purpose of these kinds of comparisons. What’s the point in trying to prove that one great school out of several is somehow the “best”? Start an Andover thread, by all means, but why head the discussion with “cream of the crop”?</p>
<p>Most well informed people seem to understand that there isn’t any ONE college that will be right for every student. I am wondering why posters here seem to think that one prep school will necessarily be the end-all and be-all. Different kids will want/need different things from a school, and it makes no sense to play these two excellent schools off against one another.</p>
<p>Point well taken R, but your premise falls short. Why did you write it makes no sense to play these “two” excellent schools off against one another? If different kids truly will want and need different things from a school, then all of the boarding schools are excellent, not just two of them.</p>
<p>I think you missed the point. Some parents think that one particular school was the right match for their son and daughter, yet they got into another one. Sure, it will likely provide 80 - 90% of what the former school would have. But the difference is in the 10% that made it the right match for the student. The original question is for those who attend Andover, why do you love it so much? What can you get there that you can’t get anywhere else?</p>
<p>My daughter was quite smitten with Andover. She loved the campus, said it put her in the mood to study hard. Something about bright, inspiring, positive energy.</p>
<p>My feeling is that Andover, due to its size, is the most college like of all the schools discussed here. That can be very exciting. It also seems to have a fairly relaxed dress code. When we visited the kids all look very happy, and well, comfortable.</p>
<p>[Phillips</a> Academy - Class of 2010 Graduates from Phillips Academy](<a href=“http://www.andover.edu/About/Newsroom/Pages/ClassOf2010GraduatesfromPhillipsAcademy.aspx]Phillips”>http://www.andover.edu/About/Newsroom/Pages/ClassOf2010GraduatesfromPhillipsAcademy.aspx)</p>
<p>I’ll bite:</p>
<p>Re: Andover/Exeter - It’s about fit. Exeter might have been a better choice than Andover for me. It might not have been. I didn’t have the option of looking, as I needed to be able to commute due to cost. The people I know who attended Exeter were quite happy and successful there. Many of the students I know at Andover were happy and successful at Andover. Andover wasn’t right for some. I’m sure Exeter isn’t right for some. I have nothing but respect for my peers at Exeter, Andover, and the other similarly wonderful boarding (and day) schools. I’m sure what I’m about to say would be true of many, if not all, of these schools.</p>
<p>On topic:
I was a 4 year day student at Andover. I attended because the local public high school was not a place particularly conducive to learning, the local catholic school had no music program and focused more on sports than academics, and the similar schools nearby did not provide sufficient financial aid.</p>
<p>Andover was, to be honest, very stressful, with the constant pressure to do well and the focus on college that at times seemed to border on unhealthy. I will not pretend that Andover was perfect. With that said, the opportunity to, for the first time, be surrounded by students of similar ability and, potentially, interests was wonderful. I made some great friends and grew up quite a bit socially. I never was and never will be a very sociable person, but my peers helped me come out of my shell a bit. I didn’t feel overwhelmed by the size, but there were enough students for me to find a niche (or two - I did not feel locked into a certain group and out of place with all other students).</p>
<p>Academically, there were amazing opportunities. At times, Andover tries too much to be a college when it’s certainly not, but its myriad course offerings, even at a lower depth than similar courses at top colleges offer, were challenging and helped me grow. I was given the chance to pursue my interests in mathematics and computer science to a great degree. I was able to skip a year of math because I demonstrated ability on a bypass exam, I placed into an advanced and accelerated geometry and algebra II course with the head problem writer for a national mathematics competition, I took BC Calculus as a sophomore (the public high school didn’t even offer BC Calculus), and I learned a new way of mathematical thinking that has served me well as a mathematics major in college. I was able to, for course credit, program a rudimentary video game, learning about graphics, documentation, and what really goes into making an application, something that’s not really taught in a normal Computer Science course. Meanwhile, I was challenged in science, English and history. My grades weren’t always the best in these subjects, but I learned a lot, and my ability to think, write, and remember have greatly improved since I entered. These skills are invaluable and go beyond the coursework. Finally, I was given the ability to study Latin and Greek. I was interested in Latin in middle school but knew little about it. I received 7 years of language credit while at Andover in these two languages, and I enjoyed them so much that I’m likely to pursue them for a doctorate degree in a couple of years.</p>
<p>The teachers as a whole were outstanding, helping me, challenging me, and encouraging me. I don’t think I would have taken as well to Latin as I did without the wonderful teachers in the classics department. My favorite math teacher gave overwhelming problems, but the sense of discovery that came with finally solving them kindled my passion for math (though to be fair, I needed a year off to recover from the difficulty - math in college is significantly easier and more intuitive than some of these proofs I was assigned in high school, even though the way of thinking is the same). Not every teacher was good (I remember one particular teacher literally falling asleep in the middle of a 5 minute presentation I gave at the end of a term, and one teacher was prone to e-mail us that he wouldn’t be coming to class 1 minute before class began, meaning none of us got the e-mail), but many were outstanding.</p>
<p>I didn’t participate in too many extracurricular activities due to the amount of work, but I was able to join in the math club and participate in numerous math and computer science competitions, and even a computational linguistics competition. There was the opportunity to travel to compete in classics Certamina and math and computer science team competitions, which let me meet other people with similar interests (I met two of the classicists in my year at Brown when we traveled to Exeter for the yearly Certamen).</p>
<p>For me, the placement into an Ivy was an afterthought. I would have attended a very good college no matter what, and the tools I gained are more important to my success in college than the name of the high school is. Andover is not as much like college as you’d come to believe (I actually prefer their learning style of “do what you need to do to learn this material” - it’s often very sink or swim, but this means you’ll be left alone to make your decisions…in some ways this is like college, in some ways it’s not. Andover has a wider safety net than many colleges). It’s not perfect, but there are many wonderful things about it that should make a student consider it as a possibility for high school.</p>
<p>I graduated in 2008, but I visit often enough to try to maintain a sense of what is going on (as a donor, it’s in my best interest). If anyone has any questions, feel free to give me a PM, and I’ll do my best to get back to you.</p>
<p>I dont get why people fight so much. Why can’t we agree that the Phillips schools are the two best? Exeter branched off of andover so obviously they have differences If the school broke off, but the truth is that the differences are small. Chances are that you’ll read a couple hundred books- not 40,000 or whatever so why does it matter? I’m an andover fan without visiting just because I like the laid back boarding school feel. I think Andover is more artsy while exeter is the elite New York girls and socialist “geeks” ( using this term for smart). Both are good. Lets just leave it as their the best. :)</p>
<p>We’re gearing up for child #2 and I have to say I’m becoming a big fan of Choate. I think it possibly is the most underrated of the top 5 - 6 which in my mind include Exeter, Andover, Choate, Deerfield, St. Paul’s and Lawrenceville. </p>
<p>Choate seems to have it all, nice kids, breadth and depth of courses, academic rigor, AP classes, sports. They came in second nationally in women’s crew this year, I believe. They consistently win Fed Challenge regionally and nationally in 2009–they have superb Math comp teams, yet they have Artisitc notariety with the Paul Mellon Arts Center. They have an “informal” dress code, a strong sense of community and their students achieve high-high SAT scores. This is a sleeper. Not sure why Forbes criteria didn’t pick up on this gem (% teachers with advanced degree?), but JFK sure picked a winner. </p>
<p>As he said, it’s a school that inspires public service. It’s the non sibi of nonsibi…Fidelitas et Integritas…the new cream of the crop. Someone recently told me it was the Andover of Connecticut, but I think that is a little demeaning, what a fabulous school in its own right…Perhaps Andover is the “Choate” of Massachusetts, or maybe just what it aspires to become.</p>
<p>Choate is a great school but it is no Andover. Compare the Avg SSAT Scores of accepted students, Avg SAT Scores of graduate, endowment & College matriculations, it’s clear that Andover is in a league different than Choate. Choate is great and has wonderful artistic programs that are second to none. As always it’s all about fit and this may be the best for your next child. You can’t lose with Choate and D was accepted there but chose Deerfield.</p>
<p>Prep-my d gives you a “high five”–she is heading to DA in the fall -----lol</p>
<p>We didnt look at Choate, they were the only TSOA that would not give a fee wavier…they lost out:-(.</p>
<p>“Choate is a great school, but it is no Andover.”</p>
<p>This arguing around the margins is tiring. And there are just so many Andover/Exeter quality children who don’t like either school for its size (or other factors) and choose something different. Can you imagine it, someone picking a smaller, less well known school over Exeter / Andover / Deerfield etc because that less well known, smaller institution offers a life that is more appealing? The problem with so many Exeter / Andover parents who post comments on CC, is that they really can’t imagine this! Except in theory, they don’t accept the proposition that their schools have equals. After all, what can’t be quantified, can’t be real.</p>
<p>redblue: There was an applicant on CC the same year my son applied- last year’s admission cycle- who chose Choate over A/E and loves it there. I forget her name but a seach for Choate would probably turn it up pretty easily.</p>
<p>I think it was Saer (the official ambassador for Choate…:D). She hasn’t been on in a while.</p>