<p>privileged, imho, it is imperative that you and s visit before making a decision. web sites won't do. so much of your decision will be based of fit.</p>
<p>Prepparent, I am realizing that. I keep thinking well if one accepts him then we will go with that one, but the dilemma we face is how to make the choice if he's accepted by both. I think we will have to invest the time and money in March to make the trip. We know it will be expensive but still looking forward to the experience. Luckily my mother lives in Fla. might have to drive up to Alabama:-).</p>
<p>Joy to the world, what do you mean that's it, your stats were fantastic.</p>
<p>Any tips on tap? Do you still do it?</p>
<p>Kirmum, I read your thoughts and while I respect them, I am a senior at Andover and I disagree. Clusters only come into play during cluster munches (every week we get together at a dorm and have a "study break" with food), and intramural teams. Otherwise, I'm very close with both people in my cluster and outside of it. The system is very flexible- people switch in and out of clusters for different reasons (prefecting, proctoring, switching from day student to boarder, etc). Clusters are just a place you live. I definitely identify with my school more, especially during out weekly All-School assemblies or Andover-Exeter, which was this weekend. As for the campus, I think it's beautiful (but I'm biased, of course!) Every academic building, as well as Commons, the art museum, and the student center, is on the main campus except for Graves (the music building) which is just across the street.</p>
<p>Of course, it's not for everybody, but I urge the rest of you who are thinking about Andover to come and visit before you make a decision.</p>
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<p>Only applied to Deerfield and Indian Springs in Alabama .He received 99% in SSAT. Not much ECs. Enjoys swimming, chess, scrabble and basketball and involved in some student government. JtheC, he loves science and the Deerfield science centre sounds fabulous, but Indian Springs is very small only 280 students and has an excellent academic record, and that is very important to him. If he is accepted to both, it will be a difficult decision. In that case we might have to find a way to visit both schools. Do you agree that it is very important to visit the schools before making a final decision whether to accept?<</p>
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<p>Oh yes. I am not familar with Indian Springs, but it sounds very different than Deerfield. I suggest you try to visit both schools when they are in session to get a feel for the school. Although it would be expensive, especially considering the distance between the locations, your s may find one school "feels" right or maybe both. But as previously mentioned you can't get that from a web site.</p>
<p>Forgot to add to the beautiful school list, Hotchkiss. Why is no one applying there? Some of the classrooms look over a huge lake and the gym is awesome.</p>
<p>Raspberry, in no way did I mean to put down Andover or discourage anyone from applying. I just gave my initial impression. As a mom of a 13 year old, I just felt comfortable with the smaller schools. I did think Andover was beautiful and certainly it's one of the world's best schools!</p>
<p>Avoco, we plan to visit Hotchkiss Easter break in addition to Choate, Lawrenceville, and Hill.</p>
<p>Kirmum,
<exeter was="" my="" least="" favorite.="" it's="" formal="" and="" stuffy="" the="" kids="" did="" not="" seem="" to="" love="" it="" as="" much="" at="" other="" schools="" do.=""> </exeter></p>
<p>could you please explain what you meant by formal? If you were referring to dress code, then I would imagine you would hate Deerfield even more since their code is the most stringent of the five schools you visited. Also, gaging how much students like the school from a mere 40 minute tour is like formulating an impression about an unknown continent having only visited the shore. Not a great analogy, but it serves its purpose. I like that you shared your personal opinions of the schools, but please don't dismiss one school so completely without offering a more complete explanation.</p>
<p>I completely understand Kirmum's perception of Exeter loyalty to school...</p>
<p>....especially after this weekend's hockey game!!!</p>
<p>haha, just messing with ya</p>
<p>Gosh guys, these are just impressions. One person's! You're correct Exonian, you have limited time. At Exeter I had the typical tour and an adcom meeting, then lunch with a friend's child who is a student there and 3 of her friends. Their comments were balanced, they had many positives and some negatives too. I contrasted this with a group of Choate girls I spoke with who gushed enthusiasm.</p>
<p>As I told my daughter, much of the impression is based on the tour guide. This is why we continue to research, read boards such as these and talk to students. So please folks, instead of bashing my impressions tell me why you think they're wrong. I'm all ears.</p>
<p>Kirmum, that's interesting what you said about the tour guides (gushing vs. balanced).</p>
<p>I was a tour guide for Andover in tenth grade. As a still-new student to the school, I naturally gushed about all its' positive points and how wonderful it was. Later, as I discovered Andover had it's faults - as every prep school does- I became a little more reserved. While I still talk to prospective applicants and DO tell them everything I love about my school, I always make sure to warn them that it's not for everybody, even though the people at the admissions office were telling me: "C'mon! Be more positive! Emphasize the good stuff!" </p>
<p>This put me into somewhat of a dilemma. I don't think it's fair to prospective students to not give them the complete picture. That way, they don't come and end up being miserable and have to leave, making everybody lose. Of course, there's a balance between good marketing and being truthful- and that's what I think the Exonians were doing. Those Choate girls you mentioned- I can identify with them completely. I love my school, I am eternally grateful I flipped through and didn't throw away that inconspicous Andover catalog in the mail, and I will be wearing Andover gear wherever I go. But there are good things along with the bad, and I think many of the "negatives" Exeter people mentioned were probably negatives at Choate too. Perhaps (and I'm speculating here) Choate's admissions office has a slightly different philosophy than Exeter's, but has the same positives and negatives.</p>
<p>So, to Kirmum and all other applicants: I'd ask you to be wary of trusting one (or several) students' opinions. Purposely ask them challenging questions, visit classes, sleep over, walk around, and trust YOUR own decision the most.</p>
<p>As I think about it, here is the key reason I so preferred the smaller schools: At each of them, everywhere we went, all of the students knew each other by name and greeted each other with big smiles. They called out "see you at lunch" and "hope you'll be at the show tonight." At Exeter, which was the last school we visited, kids just seemed to be in their own space, not making eye contact or greeting each other compared to what we had seen at the other schools. Andover was somewhere inbetween. </p>
<p>But the spirit at Deerfield and SPS were everywhere. Kids in the dining halls moving between tables because it seemed everyone was friends with everyone. I don't think I've ever seen such happy, bouncy, fresh faced kids in one place before. I felt I was on a movie set!</p>
<p>What do you guys think of this school: <a href="http://www.college-prep.org/%5B/url%5D">http://www.college-prep.org/</a> My friend in northern California wants to go there. It's not a boarding school, but how does that school compare to some other prep schools?</p>
<p>Tour guides. Now that I have read several posts with reference to tour guides, I have to say that they do play an integral part in your "feeling" of a school. One school we visited, the two male tour guides were incredible. As well as giving us a complete overview of the school, they presented us with a very balanced perspective. Of course, I asked a million questions, but I wanted to utilize the time as wisely as possible. To be honest, the better the tour guides were, the more it has been shaping my feelings toward the school. Any comments? We probably spent over an hour with them.</p>
<p>I know most of the schools set March 10 as their mailing dates, but are some schools later?</p>
<p>Hi, kirmum, I'm still here.</p>
<p>Privileged - Definitely make sure that your son goes back to Deerfield for the spring revisit if he is fortunate enough to be accepted there. My son is currently a 9th grader at Deerfield. He was accepted at St. Paul's and Exeter in addition to Deerfield. Before the revisit he was 99% sure that he would go to SPS. After the revisit Deerfield moved to the top of his list. Since they're all terrific schools, my wife and I told him that he should go where he wanted to and not make a decision based on what he thought we wanted him to do.</p>
<p>We were mildly disappointed that he turned down SPS (I don't think we showed it) as our older son graduated from there a few years ago and he had a wonderful experience there (as did we). SPS was a remarkable place - the love of learning for its own sake runs deep there. What was so special about Deerfield that our son changed his mind about what school he wanted to attend? It wasn't the new math/science facility, the sports teams, or the quaint New England setting, and I'm quite sure it wasn't anything about SPS or Exeter that really turned him off. He just thought that he fit in better with the other kids at Deerfield. Now that he's been there for almost six months I think that he was right.</p>
<p>Anyway he loves Deerfield and we're learning to love it too.</p>
<p>browninfall, can you tell us why you think your kid was able to hit the prep school trifecta? please don't give us he is just a good kid. he must have something outstanding about him or your family. thanks.</p>
<p>avoco, our offer to build a new performing arts center probably didn't hurt......just kidding!!!! Obviously he's a good student (recognized as the top student in his class at 8th grade Class Day; had the highest score in his Middle School on the AMC Math Competition when in 6th grade - yes, besides the 6th graders his score was higher than all of the 7th and 8th graders too). He was the starting catcher on his Little League State Champion baseball team in 2002 - getting knocked out of the World Series by a team from Kentucky that ended up winning the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA. He has wonderful parents who are carrying stray genes. Those are some of the reasons. Thank you for allowing me to brag.</p>
<p>Seriously though, I think his interviews put him over the top. People enjoy being around him as he's clever and quick witted. His interviewer at Andover (he didn't end up applying there) told me afterwards that his interview couldn't have gone any better. He said that many kids come into the interview, clam up, fiddle with their hands, and look down at the floor. He said that my son engaged him in a mature way - serious when appropriate, but funny when it was OK to be so. When my son's interview ended at Exeter, as he and the interviewer walked into the waiting area the interviewer was singing the campaign slogan my son used when running for his school's student senate. The look on the faces of the other parents and prospective students was priceless - almost like a scene out of Saturday Night Live.</p>
<p>I guess what I'm saying is that it's taken for granted that you need to be a terrific student. That alone isn't going to be enough though. I think in my son's case that his personality and his interpersonal skills ultimately made the difference....that and the new car for the Director of Admissions!!!</p>
<p>wow, brown, i guess that answers that question. thanks for being so honest.</p>
<p>Browninfall and Mamom, thanks so much for your input. We have never seen any of these scholls and yes their websites all look great but it so clear that in order for our S to decide we as parents will have to make the effort to ensure we visit with him so that he can determine the extent to which the school is the right fit. I am, as is he, looking forward to March. With only 2 schools to consider we may be cutting it too close and may only have one school to visit if any, but still I have decided that we will be visiting the US in March. Hope it's not too cold up at Deerfield at that time of year. We live in the tropics. Another reason that Alabama is attractive to him.</p>