<p>Could someone pleease tell me which of those four schools is honestly the best? What are their pros and cons, their strengths in academics and sports, debate team, etc. Friendliness, cleanliness, you know, everything that makes a school good.</p>
<p>Before I answer, I wanna tell you that im totally biased</p>
<p>But honestly, I think Choate/Deerfield is the best. It offers the academic rigor of A/E, but it’s less stressful and more idk… fun? </p>
<p>I cant speak for DA, but Choate’s campus is beautiful, and extremely clean (even the boys bathroom o.O). I didn’t know anybody on my revisit day, but all the students were eager to get to know be and know my name, etc. </p>
<p>You can’t go wrong with either of these schools, but I’d go with Choate or Deerfield</p>
<p>It depends on what you want in a school. Out of these schools, Exeter was the fit for me, which I am going to attend come fall. I naturally say Exeter is the best, but that is because it fit my criteria for a school. I would advise you to come up with a list of what you want in your school, and then see which of the four schools meets it the best. Also, if you get a chance, tour each school. They often have different atmospheres in person than in viewbooks.</p>
<p>I’m biased as well, but I think Choate is the best. It’s just the right size (800). Choate also has an Arts Concentration Program, Science Research Program, and great classes in Economics, and Arabic! (Plus, they offer a year of Italian.) When I toured the campus, the tour guides weren’t just courteous, but they were also friendly and warm. The buildings are spread out, (in fact, none of the schools that you list above are clumped), and the architecture varied from a modern style to a couple of old-fashioned buildings. </p>
<p>Oh, and I know Deerfield is Choate’s rival and all (gross!), but I will attest that the campus is quite picturesque. </p>
<p>NOTE:I am going to be a 3rd former in the fall, so I am biased.</p>
<p>If you are a girl, you may want to know about the facebook scandal at Choate last year.</p>
<p>And if you’re gay you may want to check out the scandal at Deerfield a few years ago. All schools have their scandals. Why single out Choate?</p>
<p>Tell us more about it, we need to hear both sides of the issues. You don’t need to hide things under the rug if there are problems. That’s how solutions are found to problems.</p>
<p>@LeoBro: All schools have their strengths and weaknesses. There is no “best”, only the “best for you”…and nobody can really tell you that. What might be the “best” for someone else could be the “worst” for you.</p>
<p>So visit all of them if you can. And understand that the schools you mention are some of the most selective in the country…</p>
<p>/steps off parent soapbox</p>
<p>@ invent and 2010 hopeful, I am neither. I guess I have a long list of expectations for each school, like the Harkness method at Exeter and Andover. I’m really competitive, and I love math and history, so I am looking for a school that has good math and history departments. Thanks for the advice, and I will be going to each of the schools to go on a tour. My mom recently finished her USMLE (big doctor test), so she can help me out. Thanks</p>
<p>And thanks for telling me about the scandals. I’m not really taking it into that much consideration since I am not a girl or a gay, but its good to know about it</p>
<p>Haha, I’ve finally found another person of my kind. I’m also a strong math and history student. However, (anyobdy current me if I’m wrong) Exeter is more math/science oriented and Andover is English/History. Choate is all around :D</p>
<p>^^^those stereotypes about andover and exeter are very wrong. Andover’s science program might be One of the best, if not the best science program in secondary school education. Dan Brown graduated from Exeter (author of thr Davinci code, angels and demons, etc.) and quoted “exeter taught me how to write” . I would agree that choate is all around, but andover and exeter are certainly not just for english/history or math/science</p>
<p>As to the initial question, each school is very different. I found i liked deerfield and Andover he best because they fitted my preferences: small communities, great athletics, good academics, and casual (<— this did not fit in with deerfield). Exeter just didn’t seem to fit me…?? And i didn’t bother looking at choate becaus i didn’t have that much time. I ended up picking Andover because of its amazing athletics, great 9th grade building program, more flexibility with schedules, and its academics. I can’t really compare academics with each school, but i can tell you that andover, deerfield, exeter, and andover all have their strengths and weaknesses in the ahletic field.</p>
<p>:/ all i said was “oriented”. Of course exeter has strong english program (its exeter, duh) but it is more well known for its math/science.</p>
<p>and Andover? Small community? it has over 1000 students!</p>
<p>Cluster system=communities within the school, which i found to my liking. And oriented toward is not the same as being known for. Oriented means it is geared to doing the specific subjects that you mentioned and not focusing as much on others, whereas being known for something is just being known for… Two different words that can change the meaning of what you say</p>
<p>Cluster system doesn’t decrease the large number of students when you go to the dining hall, the library, the gym,… I think you get it. There just physically are a lot of students on a large campus which doesn’t lend itself to be called a small, close-knit community like Deerfield, Hotchkiss, and Groton.</p>
<p>Agreed^ 10char</p>
<p>One thing to consider is the life on weekends. Most will agree that academics are really more or less equal. Athletics may be stronger at Andover or Exeter only because of size of each is well above Choate. But, the weekend scene is different. Check it out. Some schools empty of weekends. Others do not. That can be an issue for the west coaster who wants to enjoy weekends with friends, but discovers they return to NY or Boston more often than not.</p>
<p>Ok then. I’ve already started applying to the schools, so I’ll start visiting them soon.</p>