<p>Any thought on which one is best?</p>
<p><a href=“Andover VS. Choate - Prep School Admissions - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/475752-andover-vs-choate.html</a></p>
<p>Thanks so much</p>
<p>These schools are so different that it boils down to personal choice-- it’s like asking someone whether u shd go on beach or skiing vacation.</p>
<p>Where do u think u wd be happier? This place will be your home. You are picking your family. The issue is not which school is best, but which school is best for u. S1 chose prestige over fit, and 3 years later he is miserable.</p>
<p>Revisit.</p>
<p>thanks, it is hard for me to revisit, i live in ethiopia</p>
<p>I don’t know how Andover and Choate are “substantially” different. When I am looking at the “top 20” BS, I see differences in size, location and overall competitiveness (due to different selectivity) and other <em>tangibles</em>, but it’s hard to find a drastically unique/different environment among these schools. By and large, they are expensive elite schools. Even with the great strides they have made in diversifying their student body in recent years, they are considerably attracted (and attractive) to wealthy families and families who have boarding school family traditions, which is the life line of the very existence of these schools actually IMO. I suspect one would hardly be able to ignore the traditional preppy culture in any of these schools. Meanwhile, the presence of “non-traditional” BS attendees in almost all these schools is significant enough to have an impact on the campus culture. So, whether you are from the “traditional” or “non-traditional” background, you should be ready to embrace a culture that you are unfamiliar with and sometimes find off putting. Believe it or not, it IS part of the education.</p>
<p>I am not trying to say that there’s is not a school that’s a better fit to an individual than another school, but I think it helps to be realistic in what you are getting into when you decide to embark on this journey. The reality is that one can only apply to a small number of schools and make a choice among the schools that offer you admission and in some cases the best FA offer, so if you have the choices by all means do as through a research as possible to make the best decision but don’t over think or always try to find the substantial differences between schools. Sometimes they don’t exist. </p>
<p>Since you can’t make the revisit days I wonder if these schools would let you Skype with a student who maybe has similar interests?
It’s impossible for anyone here to make this decision for you - you got into some excellent schools and where you’ll fit in depends on you.</p>
<p>Of all the X vs.Y choices, this one, in my mind is truly a coin flip. The quality of life, the academics, the size and location of the campus, etc, are all very similar, You will not go wrong with either.</p>
<p>From this international student’s perspective, and this is the only reason I did not apply to Choate: Andover is easier to get to from Logan airport than Choate is from JFK. Since in any event, OP has to change planes coming from Addis Ababa, that could factor into the equation.</p>
<p>Again, that was what was right for me. YMMV.</p>
<p>Thank you all, it is a hard decision ( good one though) we did not apply to FA in Choate but we did it at Andover but havent heard yet</p>
<p>Choate is more expensive than Andover. I’m curious; if you don’t need FA for Choate, why would you need it for PA?</p>
<p>My dad’s company covers around 30000 so we thought we would have better chances at choate if we didnt apply. </p>
<p>Let me get this straight… Your family is able to pay the full 53K for Choate but you applied for FA at Andover?</p>
<p>No. The company will pay 30000usd. We need to cover the difference at choate</p>
<p>Did you disclose the available 30K to Andover? </p>
<p>@Cariar: of course, to you A and C are indeed substantially different or there’s a 50K worth of difference! Seriously though, if you are indeed receiving a FULL scholarship from A, you should let Andover know about the subsidy from your dad’s company so the school could use the 30k saved to do something more useful than subsidizing your dad’s company. I assume the company would only reimburse your family for tuition cost?</p>
<p>Let’s be charitable and assume OP is receiving a scholarship from PA for the difference between their tuition and the $30K the parent’s company provides, otherwise this is a case of fraud. (Or did I miss where the OP indicated full FA from Andover?)</p>
<p>Never mind. I see on the other thread where OP states the notification of full FA from Andover. I hope this person’s parents understand that, here in the U.S., not disclosing those available funds constitutes fraud. I don’t know what the rules are in Ethiopia, but in this country, this is a crime. I am still hoping this poster is a child who either does not understand or is not communicating properly here. There was a recent instance of a child who posted information on FaceBook that negated a legal settlement to the parent.</p>
<p>This disclosure in a public forum could have consequences. Just sayin’</p>
<p>Edit: removed due to duplication</p>
<p>Put another way: If the 30K wasn’t disclosed to Andover, alums and parents reading this will be outraged. Frankly, I think Choate should be a little concerned, too. </p>
<p>Of course I disclosed it. We even talked to them over the phone to explained. Thanks for your concern but I appreciate if you comment on recommendations that would be helpful to decide between C and A</p>