Hello, I am an rising junior deciding between Andover and Hotchkiss. Pros and cons of both schools? I have a heavy emphasis on fine art, and am leaning towards Hotchkiss because of its amazing art program. Andover (at a glance) seems a more competitive and ambitious than Hotchkiss, and I fear being outstudied by my fellow students.
Go to revisits at both. That’s the best way to make your decision.
If you can’t revisit, go with your gut feeling (coming from someone Andover associated).
I would choose less competition at a smaller school any day.
Depends on what you are looking for. I can only speak from the POV of an Andover student, but don’t be scared off by the size, especially if you are looking for a small student body. Even though Andover has over 1,100 students, it really does feel like a small community.
Re @Optimyst’s comment, Hotchkiss is considered by some as a pressure cooker, just Andover is. It’s not really place where everyone is laid back and then sent to Dartmouth and then move on to WS. LOL What I was trying to say earlier is that Hotchkiss did impress me haveing a very nice art program and great facilities for art lovers. It cannot be a wrong choice for OP in that respect. Personally, what ‘bothers me’ most is Hotchkiss’ remote location, which I think OP already knows (otherwise they wouldn’t have applied or were considering attending).
Andover isn’t a metro either.
“Metro”? No, but have you been to Hotchkiss? Anyways, I honestly don’t think it’s a concern of OP’s. I simply related to my personal preference.
If you love the outdoors Hotchkiss is the place.l! The lake is pretty awesome. If you enjoy being able to go off campus and “downtown” then Andover seems a better fit.
I would say think about location, size, how you may fit in at the school, opportunities you would like to have (like taking Russian or joining a renowned robotics team), and just the overall feeling you get from both schools, as well as what level of rigor you are comfortable with.
It sounds like on the art front Hotchkiss would be a good fit for you, but ask around if you can, and see what Andover had to offer as well.
Sincerely,
A bored Exonian on spring break because I’m not doing masses of homework (lol)
I thought Exonians didn’t get any Homework during school either!
My son was accepted at both, so I’ll give you my perspectives after visiting both schools:
You can’t really go wrong with either school, both have excellent reputations.
Andover’s reputation is probably a bit more well known outside of the boarding school circle of people. The academics at Andover are also pretty grueling. Looking at the course content, many of the 500 level classes go above and beyond a normal college level intro class. Hotchkiss is also quite challenging.
I really liked the view from the lake at Hotchkiss, it really was a beautiful campus. Some downsides are the poor cellular reception, less ethnic diversity than I would have liked to see. I also didn’t like the layout of the dorm rooms in the main building at Hotchkiss. You can spend an entire winter without ever stepping outside. Andover is more like a traditional boarding school setup where you have separate dorms, dining hall, classrooms, etc.
Now the downsides for Andover: the college matriculation rates are impressive but also a little misleading. Most of the kids have legacy, athletic or development connections, and thus get into top colleges. Graduating at the top of your class at Andover is extremely difficult. I heard that it is almost unheard of for a 9th grader to get a ‘5’ (the highest grade). Also the campus is quite large, and can be a bit intimidating for some.
Either way you can’t go wrong. Good luck
I think that statement can be made for every BS. 
At the risk of stating the obvious, fully half of every graduating class will be in the bottom 50% of the class.
A 6 is the highest grade at Andover. While difficult, I’m not sure that the statement is more true for Andover than any other school. Regardless, OP is going into the 11th grade.
Totally agree.
Why is this a “downside”? Are you suggesting that a bigger percentage of non-hooked students in other schools get into top colleges? For example, if 25% of Hotchkiss and 30% of Andover graduates attending the super selective colleges, does it mean that actually a bigger percentage of Hotchkiss “non-hooked” graduates compared with Anodver got to attend? Or, if it takes a non-hooked student in Hotchkiss to be among the top 10% of their class to go to a selective college, then they would need to be in the top 5% in Andover to be competitive for the same college? Just where did you get that idea? I mean you are comparing prestigious boarding schools here, not a random public school and a well known prep school. How’s the legacy/hooked a determining factor among these schools?
FYI. It doesn’t take one to be in the top 5% to be competitive for even the most selective college. Meanwhile, a top 5% student is NOT a guarantee for top colleges either. You can explain away whatever is not explainable by stats with legacy/hooks, but the truth of the matter is that some colleges are practicing “holistic admission” as they say they do, in which legacy/development etc. is not the only factor. And some other breaking news - 1. high stats and hooks are not mutually exclusive, and 2.if high stats alone could ever be enough for HYP, it would happen only in Andover’s and Hotchkiss’s because academic excellence in these schools means that much to colleges.
If you subtract the legacy and athletic recruits to top colleges, rest of the merit-based applicants don’t do that well at boarding/private schools.
^ That’s just not true.
@panpacific its been a couple of years since I looked at the data, but here is what I remember:
- About 40% of each graduating class from Andover matriculates at a highly selective college (Ivy/MIT/Stanford/Duke/etc).
- Of this 40%, half of these (about 20% overall) get in through legacy, development or athletic hooks. This is based upon a conversation I had with someone I knew who graduated from Andover. He was an unhooked URM and attended Yale.
- The matriculation rates at Hotchkiss for the top schools was a bit lower. I think it was in the 20-25% range. I don’t know if the percentage of hooked students at Hotchkiss is higher or lower than Andover.
No doubt both schools are tough. My guess is that being in the top 20% at either school will lead to a great chance of getting accepted at a top college. All things being equal, I think graduating in the top 20% from Andover is probably more more difficult than graduating in the top 20% at Hotchkiss. Do I have any data to support this? No, but it is based on many long conversations I had with the Andover grad who I knew quite well.
So I guess what I’m trying to say is that if matriculating at a top college is of high importance to you, then to go a place that you can excel. Being at the top of your class at Hotchkiss will be more favorable than graduating at the bottom of the class at Andover.
“I don’t know if the percentage of hooked students at Hotchkiss is higher or lower than Andover.” That potentially is a problem in this analysis isn’t it?
Thanks for all the replies :).
Yeah. I’ve taken that into account. Also, the Hotchkiss school size is a lot smaller (100ish vs. 200ish) so it may be better regarding being assimilated into the social scene as an incoming junior.
Not saying by any means that Hotchkiss is an easy school. I’ve just heard about the intensity of Andover a bit more. ¯_(ツ)_/. I agree; being a bigger fish in a smaller pond is more favorable.
@Vox6666 I don’t know the details but Hotchkiss is known for a great art program and related facilities. While Andover is a “well rounded” school, I have rarely heard of people choosing to attend for its art program. For that reason, maybe you are right in choosing Hotchkiss. However, if you think you’d “feel better about yourself” going to Hotchkiss, you might be in for a surprise. It’s not supposed to be easier, academically or socially. I hope you get all you hope to get but some of what you expect from Hotchkiss is not a given. Good luck!