<p>I was recently accepted by the schools above.. but i am really not sure of which one to attend...
While Andover has a really high reputation, I also realized that Lawrenceville's matriculation is rather impressive.
So what do you guys think?</p>
<p>Andover they have no Saturday classes!</p>
<p>I think that Andover does have Saturday classes, but only once a month. I would choose Lawrenceville because of it’s matriculation data and it’s a very well-rounded school. I’ve heard that there is less academic pressure there than Andover and Hotchkiss, and everyone I’ve seen go to Lawrenceville has enjoyed their experience. Nonetheless, all of those schools are top-notch, so going to any of them should make your high school experience fantastic.</p>
<p>Congrats, pressur’ed. These 3 schools are all wonderful BS’s, but I think that you must already know this fact by now. There is no wrong choice here. You are, however, very fortunate to have choices.</p>
<p>In the end, you need to pick the school that “fits” best for you. Trite, but true. Please try to make revisit days at each school to help you find that fit. Also, make a list of things that are the most inportant to you and then see which BS might be able to help you best in developing or finding these things. (For what it is worth, I would be happy to compare these 3 schools by “pm’s” with you and share with you my personal insights here, seeing that I had one brother who was a post-grad at L’ville, another brother who attended PA for three years, and a son who is now at Hotchkiss.) </p>
<p>Again, huge congratulations to you!</p>
<p>toombs, can you share your insights on lville and andover for the forum? thanks</p>
<p>I dont know this, but Lville’s matriculation stats may be skewed by proximity to Pton. Possibly a lot of Pton prof’s kids? Any thoughts by sommeone in the know?</p>
<p>catg, I could convey some views here on Andover and Lawrenceville shared with me by my brothers, but these points would be quite antidotal and badly dated. (My brothers attended these schools in the '70’s when these BS’s were all-boys and poorly supervised by faculty.) Hence, I depreciate these tales greatly (which are both good and bad) because of the passage of time and their occurrence to others and not me. Much has changed over the past 35 years, although there are probably traces of old traits and issues still lingering at PA and L’ville…as well as at Hotchkiss, for that matter. In the end, I rather keep my third-hand views on ancient stories informal and one-on-one. Thanks for asking anyway.</p>
<p>You are probably right. you can get a lot of bad anecdotal info on all the schools especially from the 70s. I know some of the top schools were having problems with faculty dating students at the time!</p>
<p>Congrats!!</p>
<p>All three shcool are good. Hoever each school is different from other.</p>
<p>Andover is one of the largest school and is located in urban setting.
Hotchkiss is smaller and located in a rural setting.</p>
<p>Andover and and Hotchkiss are part of HADES Schools. Considered the top 5 schools.</p>
<p>If you are from China, Hotchkiss maye be better due to their program. </p>
<p>It all depends where you fit in and what you are looking for?</p>
<p>This year 2010, it seem Hotchkiss has the lower Acceptance rate compared to Andover and Lawrenceville. This doesn’t mean a thing. (Andover applciation fee was only $20 so more poeple apply too).</p>
<p>If you are very independent, you may be happy at Andover. Andover Program could be more challenging then Hotchkiss, depending on what courses you select. If you select AP courses they are more difficult at Hotchkiss.</p>
<p>Hotchkiss has some of the best facilities. Most beautiful campus. Its has a small community close net family feeling. </p>
<p>Lawrenceville would be my last choice compared to the other two you listed.</p>
<p>I’d go with Andover which is funny because the only one of those 3 schools I applied to was THS where I was accepted. It really depends on what sort of person you are; you should go to revisits if you possibly can if you are undecided.</p>
<p>Sorry for the rant here but I can’t resisy. HADES isn’t considered the sole top 5 schools outside this forum. Just 'cause Lawrencville didn’t make a cool sounding acronym made up by applicants doesn’t mean it isn’t as good. I have no problem with the HADES acronym it just annoys me when people take it literally as “considered the top 5”. Sorry it has just started to annoy me.</p>
<p>ehem (cool acronym including l’ville): LADIES L’ville Andover Deerfield …Interlochen… Exeter and SPS ;)</p>
<p>As a footnote to newebs’s comments on the “Andover Program”, I would like to point out that Hotchkiss has the same or similar ratio of students to courses: 2.4 students per course offered. An excellent, if not remarkable, ratio for both PA and THS.</p>
<p>
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<p>aaaarg! <em>bangs head against desk</em></p>
<p>See, the wise parent of the year agrees with me :p!</p>
<p>newebs, have you ever toured Lville?</p>
<p>Yes, I have visted Lville too. Beautify and a very good school too, if location, distance is not an issue.</p>
<p>so you guys all think hotchkiss + andover are better than L’ville?
But what about the matriulation from l’ville? its really impressive and maybe slightly better than hotchkiss…correct me if im mistaken</p>
<p>also the location should be a plus… right?</p>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>The location is a plus in that there is a train station nearby from which you can get just about anywhere. (Princeton Junction) It’s easy to get into both Phil and NYC. It’s a beautiful area. Andover is convenient to Boston. Hotchkiss has a train station about ten minutes away (I think) that can get you into Grand Central on the metroNorth line inexpensively and in about an hour and a half. There are places to walk to, just to get off campus, at Andover and L’ville - not so much at H’kiss.</p>
<p>Don’t get too hung up on the matriculation. If you are entering 9th grade especially, why would you be thinking about college matrix? Think about what the schools can offer you NOW to help you become the kind of student that isn’t limited when it comes time to think about college. If you embrace the opportunities at any of these schools and do well, you shouldn’t have to worry too much about getting into a good college 4 years from now. </p>
<p>You really can’t go wrong with any of them. They are all tops. Where do you feel most comfortable?</p>
<p>When my son and I went thru the app process last year, we thought that a critical element in ranking our top choices for BS was the variety and quality of courses offered by each school to which he applied. Because he applied to THS, PA and L’ville, we looked at the courses offered at each of these schools and concluded that, of these three schools, L’ville had the least attractice academic program for him for various reasons.</p>
<p>One, THS and PA both offered courses in the language that he was then taking (German). L’ville didn’t. Two, THS and PA offered (to the best of my recollection) more courses per student than L’ville. Three, L’ville didn’t offer any AP courses. Four, the one student then attending L’ville whom we knew ( he was a PG who had already graduated from the private day school that my son was attending last year) told us that, in his opinion, the English programs at L’ville were of lesser quality than the English courses at his old day school. (Note: This 4th point is purely anecdotal, but it was of some import to us in our analysis of L’ville.)</p>
<p>In the end, we found both THS and PA more aligned with my son’s academic needs and wants than L’ville. (Note and disclaimer: My son now attends Hotchkiss and loves it.)</p>
<p>Just to clarify a bit -
Lawrenceville offers German as an independent study (i.e. teachers will teach it when students want to take it) instead of a main course. Also, Lawrenceville (and Exeter) dropped AP courses for scientific reasons or something. 
I think it’s supposed to be part of a movement.</p>
<p>toombs, I’m not exactly sure what courses per student means…? Haha, I’m sorry, I don’t mean to pick apart your post.</p>
<p>To pressurized:
The school that you feel comfortable at is the school you should choose. As said before, you can’t go wrong with any of the choices. I recall that you’re an international student and you can’t go to revisits…? If you can’t visit again, you’ll have to decide by using your tour experience (if you had a tour) and the facts and stuff (like student body size, rural or suburban).</p>