<p>Hi everyone,
I am about to apply for a boarding school. I heard that Andover and Exter are the best ones, but I had a really good feeling about Choate. Are the academics in these schools about the same level? And if not, should I rather go to the school with the better academics (I am very ambitious) or go to Choate even if the academcs might be worse?
Thanks for helping me!
NewAngel</p>
<p>Andover and Exeter are like the Ivy League of boarding schools. </p>
<p>Do you know what the Ivy League actually is? Itâs an athletic league. My point is that they might be the most well-known, but there are many other schools that are just as rigorous. </p>
<p>Andover and Exeter are two premier boarding schools, and so is Choate. So is Groton. And Deerfield, St. Paulâs, Cate, St. Andrewâs (DE), and lots more.</p>
<p>Rigor comes as much from your own will as it does from the environment. All of the top 20-30 boarding schools have suitable rigor if you are suitably motivated. Andover and Exeter are great schools and BIG schools. Some types of kids will excel better at a St. Paulâs or at a Taft, just as some will knock it out better at Amherst or Davidson over Harvard or Stanford.</p>
<p>Once you get to the top 10 schools, there is no significant difference in academics. You cannot say that one or two schools are the best because it comes down to the person. Plus, education is what YOU make of it.</p>
<p>Iâm with PelicanDad on this oneâany of the top 20+ schools could help you earn an excellent education. No one on this board can even agree on a top 10! Just look at some schools that have not been name-checked yet: Lawrenceville, Milton, Hotchkiss, Middlesex, Thacher⌠People seem to love to argue about who is better to boost their self-esteem, but honestly, anyone who is lucky enough to be able to consider any of these top 20+ schools has an opportunity that many deserving kids will never get. Being +1 or -2 is insignificant. </p>
<p>As you research more and learn more about boarding schools, youâre also going to realize that you may or may not ever be in a position to ask âshould I go here or go here?â Even kids with perfect grades and top scores get rejected. Itâs very competitive, and schools are looking for more than just stats. Good luck in your search.</p>
<p>Thanks to everybody! I feel better now.
My problem is just that I can´t visit most of the schools because I´m an international student.
@Albion: Yes I know it´s very hard to get in one of these schools, espicially because I will need some Financial Aid :(. But I have some hope because now, I´m in the summer program from Choate and a teacher told me that I have some chances to get admitted.</p>
<p>Go to the websites if you canât visit all of them. Visit the (pardon the arbitrary acronyms) HADES and GLADCHEMMS schoolsâ websites,+ hereâs a short list I made of great schools outside these a few months back; <a href=âhttp://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1130908-hidden-gems-lesser-known-prep-schools-18.html[/url]â>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1130908-hidden-gems-lesser-known-prep-schools-18.html</a></p>
<p>Andover and Exeter students believe that their two schools are the most rigorous academically. Granted, their opinions may be more than a little bit biased. Really, any of the top boarding schools probably have comparable academics</p>
<p>This is what you said if analogize this in college terms: I heard Stanford and MIT are the best ones, but I have a good feeling about Yale. Are the academics in these schools about the same level? And if not, should I rather go to the school with the better academics (I am very ambitious) or go to Yale even if the academics might be worse?</p>
<p>I understand that you had good intentions while making this thread, but keep in mind that there are other schools of equal caliber to Exeter and Andover that exist, some more well known than others.</p>
<p>Andover and Exeter are probably the best known among kids, just as Harvard is better known than MIT among kids. But University Admissions people know a lot more. Any of the top 20 prep-schools will be more than sufficient academically⌠but only if you apply yourself and do well. A student must also decide if they want to be one of 1200 students in the school, or one of 300 students in the school. What sports, arts, extra curricular? What kind of campus? What kind of Culture? How convenient will it be for you to go home on long weekends, or for your parents to visit? These are important questions that have nothing to do with name ID of schools.</p>
1 Like
<p>Strangeusername brought up a good point. Both Andover and Exeter have more than 1000 students and the larger size isnât for everyone. It depends if you want more of an intimate atmosphere or a school that feels more like a small college. There are a number of smaller BS that have excellent academics.</p>
<p>
To be âwillingâ to go to Choate even though it has âworseâ academics is like saying Iâm willing for my parents to give me a Lambourghini for Christmas even though it isnât as nice as a FerrariâŚ</p>
<p>For college admission purposes, I would far rather be in the top-10% in a smaller top school like Gorton or St. Andrewâs, than a top-40% student at a larger school like Andover or Exeter. So you need to do an honest assessment of yourself, your goals, and what best fits your personality, capabilities and objective.</p>
<p>If you are not the U.S. citizen, it will be extremely difficult (or almost impossible) to get the Financial Aid. Some schools officially state that they will not offer financial aid to foreign students. So, check with the schools.</p>
<p>@strangeusername, </p>
<p>I guess your remark may be misleading although I donât think you meant it. If you are implying that top 10% in a smaller schools such as Groton are academically at the same level as 40% at Andover, it is not true.</p>
<p>Thatâs a very good point patronyork, and that is not what I meant to imply. Obviously, any of the top 20 or so schools will have comparable academics. What I awkwardly tried to say, is that students and parents need to look at a number of schools and try to assess which school is best suited for the individual studentâs goals and personality⌠and not simply go with the name that they are familiar with. And you are also correct about financial aid for international students being very rare. I did not notice that he/she mentioned that they are international in a later post. I stand corrected.</p>
<p>@ patronyork, the original claim at #13 is that, âfor college admission purposes, I would far rather be in the top-10% in a smaller top school like Groton or St. Andrewâs, than a top-40% student at a larger school like Andover or Exeterâ. I think I would defend, this, actually. Strangeusername referred to college admissions, and Iâd submit that those outside of the top fifth at Andover and Exeter are not getting into the same elite schools as those in the top decile at Groton and SAS, numbering only about eight or nine kids in each schoolâs graduating class. </p>
<p>I have St. Andrewâs matriculation list for 2009-2012 in front of me, and 10% of the students for these four years went to: Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Swarthmore, Williams and Yale. Another 11% went to: Brown, Cal Tech, Chicago, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, JHU, UPenn, and Wesleyan. </p>
<p>A recent three-year matriculation list from Andover reveals that approximately 16% of the students went to the first list of seven schools (swapping in Amherst in lieu of Swarthmore), and another 18% went to the second list of ten schools. In other words, a third of the three Andover classes went to these seventeen very selective schools. What about the rest of the âtop 40%â at Andover? Some went to very fine schools, like the five who went to Oxford and the 25 who went to Carnegie Mellon and Claremont McKenna, out of a three-year sample whose size I estimate at 1000 (about 335 times 3, including PGs). The point is, however, about half of the top 40% did not go to the most-selective/elite schools that the top 10% at Groton and SAS went to. </p>
<p>Am I missing something? If not, will say with confidence that graduating top 10% at the two smaller schools is âbetterâ, for college admissions, than graduating top 20-40% at the two largest schools.</p>
<p>@Charger78</p>
<p>I found Grotonâs 2006-11 college matriculation data on its website. Given Grotonâs size of 370 some students, I would say seniors are about 90 + each year. And if you look at its 6-year HYPSM numbers, its well over 10% and its only for HYSPM. I donât think students at Groton are academically less competitive in terms of college matriculation than ones at Andover or Exeter. And I donât think SAS is exactly the same level as Groton. </p>
<p>Here is SAT data for 2013 graduates at both schools:</p>
<p>Groton (mean)</p>
<p>CR - 695, M - 695, W - 702</p>
<p>Andover (mean)</p>
<p>CR - 688, M - 701, W - 690</p>
<p>I know SAT score is not the best indicator of academic competitiveness but I think it represents the level pretty well. </p>
<p>@strangeusername, </p>
<p>Your clarification is well taken. Thank you. I didnât think you meant it.</p>
<p>@Charger, @ Strangeusername: You may find the following web site interesting.</p>
<p>[Boarding</a> School Stats : Matriculation Stats](<a href=âhttp://matriculationstats.org/boarding-school-stats]Boardingâ>http://matriculationstats.org/boarding-school-stats)</p>
<p>Scroll down to the table and click on the HYPMS Heading (twice) to see the ranking by % of students that matriculate at HYPMS. You will see that Grotonâs HYPMS percentage is one of the highest in the country and higher than many âbetter knownâ schools.</p>
<p>I guess my point is that by any âobjectiveâ measure (ie. Low Admission Rate, High SAT/SSAT scores, High HYPMS Matriculation, High Endowment/StudentâŚ) Groton is very comparable to any of the other boarding schools considered the âtippy topâ. Graduating in the top 10% at Groton would put one in a very elite category of students, period.</p>
<p>Frankly, I had never even heard of Groton until DC started to apply and we started to do some serious research. I believe itâs because of itâs small size that the school and itâs reputation are not as well known as some of the other larger, well-known boarding schools.</p>
<p>You guys make it sound like Groton is a safety school-- it is harder to get into than A&E. For those who are familiar w BS, Groton is every bit as prestigious as A&E.</p>