<p>Somehow, a full seven years after first applying to Exeter, I've found myself lurking the dark internet corners of admissions forums (applying to doctoral programmes) and came across my old posts from when I was a wee Exeter applicant.</p>
<p>I figured it was time to pay it forward. I had a fantastic, intense experience at Exeter (I was there 2005-2008) and could really have used some perspective from an alum at the time. So if anyone has any questions, ranging from the frivolous (what's d-hall food like) to the serious (how does Exeter deal with mental health issues?) to the college-admission-based, I'd be more than happy to answer them!</p>
<p>I have a friend who is deciding between Andover and Exeter (shame, I know…). He is latched onto the idea that Exeter is much more competitive, grade-oriented, stressful, sleep-depriving, etc. Obviously it’s not just a stereotype that Exeter is a very intense school; how true/bad is this whole stress deal?</p>
<p>If you don’t mind, What were your GPA at PEA and what was your college application experience from PEA? What college you have to choose from and where you end up with? How did PEA prepared you for the first year of your college? Thanks.</p>
<p>First of all, thank you for coming on here and offering to answer some questions! </p>
<p>My daughter will be a new 9th grader (prep?) in the fall. She is feeling very excited and confident but also a little nervous. If you could give just a few pieces of advice to a brand new Exeter student (maybe some advice you wish someone had given you at the time)…what might that be? </p>
<p>@Analyticall - our sports teams are apparently very good (and it seems like everyone plays a sport, despite Exeter’s relative reputation as the non-academic boarding school - I remember that on the first day of class each semester we’d all introduce ourselves with “name/dorm/fall-winter-spring” sports.) I can’t speak to their overall quality (I did “drama sports” nearly every term, choosing theatre instead of athletics, and never attended a single E/A game), but I will say that there’s certainly “school spirit” - even a complete non-athlete like me follows the E/A game every year. (And we’ve won most of the past few years).</p>
<p>@gap…
Exeter IS more intense, no doubt about it. Not necessarily more difficult or more stressful - rather, it’s simply an intensification of the normal stresses of teenage life, such that the highs seem higher and the low lower. I’d almost say the social life is more stressful than the academic side of things: often, kids at Exeter (myself included - I was an awkward fifteen-year-old) suffer from a fundamental imbalance between their intellectual age and their emotional age which evens out by senior year, but can often lead to kids taking things (friend drama, breakups) much more seriously than is necessary. But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Exeter’s intensity also lends itself to incredible friendships, life-changing experiences, and a natural marriage between the emotional and intellectual sides of life. (I keenly remember trying to analyze my upper year romantic situation with recourse to The Aeneid, which I was translating in Latin at the time. This was far from uncommon).</p>
<p>@BOS. My GPA was about 10.45 (I graduated early cum laude - top 5% of my class - but can’t remember my final GPA). I applied to my first-choice school, Oxford, and was accepted there in December (hence removing the need for additional applications). Exeter was fantastic preparation for Oxford (which I’ve loved - I stayed at Oxford to do my master’s, which I’m finishing this year, and have been offered a funded place to stay on for my doctorate in 19th century theology and literature starting this fall.) Actually, I’m surprised more people don’t apply to Oxbridge from Exeter - there’s a general sense of mystery surrounding Oxbridge (when I applied the general consensus seemed to be that our educational system didn’t prepare us for the Oxbridge system - nothing could be further from the truth! The logical next step for the Harkness system is the tutorial system - one-on-one mini-Harkness sessions with our tutors). To the College Counseling Office’s credit, though, they’ve made real inroads in the past few years in gathering information about Oxford and Cambridge for students (they visit Oxford once a year to meet current Exonians studying there) and it’s now a better-publicized alternative to HYP for students who want a narrower intellectual focus.</p>
<p>@parkermom. Glad to help! If you look back through my posts you can see I got my own help back in 2005! Please tell your daughter (and yourself! I remember what my mother went through) to relax. It sounds facile, but absolutely nothing (not breakups, not SAT scores, not college admissions) is as important as it seems when you’re miles away from your family support system and sucked into the “Exeter bubble.” One of the things I found most helpful was learning to spend time alone (reading in the library, Saturdays in Boston, visiting Portsmouth, walking to nearby towns, seeing a movie by myself) alongside the time I spent with friends; having a bit of independence helped me get a bit of perspective and helped me to learn not to connect my self-worth to my latest test grade or where I sat in Wetherell.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for your answer!!! Unfortunately, he decided to go to Andover, but I’ll keep your words in mind when I come to PEA in the fall!</p>
<p>“I remember that on the first day of class each semester we’d all introduce ourselves with “name/dorm/fall-winter-spring” sports.”</p>
<p>lol, I experienced that during my revisit!</p>
<p>Just one more question (I don’t know whether it’s relevant, but you brought it up, so I’ll ask anyway): how do GPA’s work? As I understand, they are different for every school (so 10.45 is out of Exeter’s 11?). What about honors, class ranking, etc. I’ve always been intrigued, but never quite understood the system…</p>
<p>Hi gapoc, sorry for the delay. Exeter GPA is out of 11 - an A is an 11, A- a 10, B+ a 9, and so forth; the GPA is the average of all grades. A GPA 10 or higher in a given term is considered to be Highest Honors, 9.0 High Honors, and 8.0 Honors. The top 5% of the class is inducted early into the cum laude society Senior Fall (no idea what the cutoff was - I was in there with a 10.4); additionally, the next 10 or 15% (can’t remember) is inducted into the cum laude society Senior Spring. The top five GPAs receive a special “Cox” medal at graduation, and the valedictorian gets his/her name carved into a wall. (I wasn’t one of these.)</p>
<p>Classical diploma - Definitely take the 311 (advanced) Latin course (as opposed to the lengthier 310-sequence) when you get to it; do try to space things out so that you’re never taking Latin and Greek concurrently - they’re definitely some of the most time and work-intensive classes out there. Unfortunately, my favourite Latin teacher (and Exeter institution) Richard Morante passed away the year after I graduated, but the faculty is still excellent! (And bloody rich - they just got a $16,000 donation!)</p>
<p>Who’s the Exeter grad here? We were in the same class, and my user name is a dead give away. You painted a very accurate picture of Exeter. If you want to re-connect, my email is on the alumni network pages.</p>
<p>Hello,
I have found out that I have recently been accepted to PEA as a lower and I am very excited. I do have a few concerns/questions though.
I am a very hard worker, but I have heard that when you start out you experience a grade drop (which is understandable), but it then becomes uncommon to receive A’s, and that C’s are good. Would it be possible to receive a mix of A’s and B’s.
Are you allowed to go into town after the school day ends occasionally?
I will be going on financial aid, are those who are not on financial aid very snobbish and discriminating towards those on financial aid.
Thank you!</p>