<p>I got accepted at both of these schools, and I'm trying to decide which one I should go to (if I do go to boarding school). I live in China, so my parents are a little ambivalent about sending me so far away... especially my mom, who's been taking care of me all my life.</p>
<p>So, how would you compare these two schools in the following categories?</p>
<p>Academics (is it challenging?):</p>
<p>Courses (are there a lot to choose from?):</p>
<p>Visual Arts programs/facilities/teachers:</p>
<p>Sports (coaches, facilities, etc):</p>
<p>FOOD:</p>
<p>Dress code:</p>
<p>Cliques:</p>
<p>Teachers (are they nice, are they snobbish, etc.):</p>
<p>Clubs (are students very involved):</p>
<p>College Matriculation:</p>
<p>Prestige:</p>
<p>Legacy/rich kids (are they very snobbish? or are they nice people?):</p>
<p>Campus (size, scenery, buildings):</p>
<p>Dorms:</p>
<p>Free time:</p>
<p>Weekend life:</p>
<p>Safety:</p>
<p>For many years Lawrenceville has been the choice of the Southern elite. Choate on the other hand is one of New England’s best boarding schools. Both schools have stellar college matriculation lists, Lawrenceville generally being a feeder school to Princeton. Lawrenceville seems great. Choate is also excellent. Apart from that I really can’t comment, but I’m sure many will agree that both schools fare well in terms of academics and athletics. What I’ve generally seen on the boards is that people tend to discontinue L’ville. There was another thread about Choate and Lawrenceville, and the OP chose Choate. I think revisit days (if you are able to go) will help you make the decision.</p>
<p>Yes, but unfortunately, I cannot go to the revisit days…</p>
<p>Lawrenceville does send a lot of students to Princeton (which is where my mom would love me to go to), but how many of those students are legacies? (children of professors at princeton, etc.)</p>
<p>On another post I asked the same question and LLVILLE answered:</p>
<p>“About getting into Princeton, it is true that we seem to have a fair number of students going to Princeton every year. That said, I do not think that having Princeton faculty students is the reason why students are accepted, so I’d say that is a myth. The Princeton faculty children are still quite bright (since they need to get into Lville first) but I would not say that their admission to Princeton is automatic.”</p>
<p>So really, being a legacy or a faculty student doesn’t mean you get a free pass into the elite world of the Ivy League. That being said, there are certainly an amount of legacy students, but at the end of the day it’s your credentials and qualifications that get you in. But in any case, just as Exeter and Andover are feeder schools to H and Y, L’ville is to P. You’ll find legacy students anywhere you go, and from what I’ve heard, this application season quite a few were deferred entry to BS’s.</p>
<p>Buummp</p>
<p>does anyone know about the food? what kind of food does each school serve (freshman year)</p>
<p>look at their websites, it should have their menus</p>
<p>These two schools are very similar factually (academics, size, matriculations, etc) but feel very different student body wise. Think PC (LV) vs. Mac (Choate).</p>
<p>@erlanger</p>
<p>What do you mean by l’ville as PC and choate as Mac?</p>
<p>@ preppy - I’m not too sure what you are talking about with the whole southern elite thing… the majority of Lville’s student body is from the north east, especially New York and New Jersey…</p>
<p>Food - </p>
<p>Lawrenceville’s food comes from an independent company called Sustainable Fare which was founded by Lawrenceville’s head chef. The company focuses on providing food that is healthy yet low impact on the environment. As a result, a lot of our food comes from local sources. This way we support local businesses while helping the environment. The company has grown a lot and now serves a number of other schools and businesses, including Hotchkiss and Andover. For more info, here is their website:
[Sustainable</a> Fare, Environmentally Friendly Food Service](<a href=“http://sustainablefare.com/default.htm]Sustainable”>http://sustainablefare.com/default.htm)</p>
<p>Does anyone know about the art facilities at both these schools? I didn’t get time to see them during my visits D:</p>
<p>What are the art studio’s like? (e.g. Hotchkiss art classroom(s) are pretty large, they have a large window to one side that looks out to the lake and forest. The art corridor is quite small/narrow, but there’s a lot of student artwork on display, etc.)</p>
<p>Do they have special art equipment/facilities? Graphic tablets, photography printing rooms, green screens, large mac screens, light box, professional cameras/video cameras, access to other special materials, that kind of stuff.</p>
<p>@LLVILLE, no I meant traditionally. I’m sure now things are different with the inception of FA. I’m pretty sure that those opportunities weren’t available back in the 60’s, but correct me if I’m wrong. I read somewhere that most people from the South preferred L’ville because Jersey ended up coming closer as opposed to New England - But I don’t think that matters to the OP about what type of people attend, because L’ville has quite a diverse student body just like other BS’s.</p>
<p>Also, L’ville as a feeder to Princeton, as well as E and A to Harvard and Yale, make these three boarding schools the feeders to HYP thus being the Little Three to the Big Three. I read this on Wikipedia and thought it was quite interesting: </p>
<p>‘In 1951, a group of educators from three of the United States’s elite prep schools (Lawrenceville, Phillips Academy, and Phillips Exeter Academy) and three of the country’s most prestigious colleges (Harvard University, Princeton University, and Yale University) convened to examine the best use of the final two years of high school and the first two years of college. This committee published a final report, General Education in School and College, through Harvard University Press in 1952, which subsequently led to the establishment of the Advanced Placement Program (the AP Exams).’</p>
<p>At Choate we have the PMAC (Paul Mellon Arts Center) which is arguably the best building on campus. All of the art class rooms are on the second level which has windows for walls as to let in natural light rather than artificial. Rather than having many separate arts rooms, we have 3 very large open spaces set up with all of the supplies. Choate offers a large amount of arts courses in multiple areas and has one of the best art programs in the country.</p>
<p>[Choate</a> Rosemary Hall: Arts Center](<a href=“Paul Mellon Arts Center - Choate Rosemary Hall”>Paul Mellon Arts Center - Choate Rosemary Hall)</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.emiliosanchezfoundation.org/assets/tour_mellon.jpg[/url]”>http://www.emiliosanchezfoundation.org/assets/tour_mellon.jpg</a>
<a href=“http://hollywoodeastconnection.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/dscn3943-300x225.jpg[/url]”>http://hollywoodeastconnection.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/dscn3943-300x225.jpg</a></p>
<p>also our food is very good 
we have a choice of more than 5 options at every meal and also always have a vegetarian option.</p>
<p>At Choate we have the PMAC (Paul Mellon Arts Center) which is arguably the best building on campus. All of the art class rooms are on the second level which has windows for walls as to let in natural light rather than artificial. Rather than having many separate arts rooms, we have 3 very large open spaces set up with all of the supplies. Choate offers a large amount of arts courses in multiple areas and has one of the best art programs in the country.</p>
<p>[Choate</a> Rosemary Hall: Arts Center](<a href=“Paul Mellon Arts Center - Choate Rosemary Hall”>Paul Mellon Arts Center - Choate Rosemary Hall)</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.emiliosanchezfoundation.org/assets/tour_mellon.jpg[/url]”>http://www.emiliosanchezfoundation.org/assets/tour_mellon.jpg</a>
<a href=“http://hollywoodeastconnection.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/dscn3943-300x225.jpg[/url]”>http://hollywoodeastconnection.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/dscn3943-300x225.jpg</a></p>
<p>also our food is very good we have a choice of more than 5 options at every meal and also always have a vegetarian option.</p>
<p>What about dress code? I’m kind of worried because I usually just wear jeans and a t-shirt… but I heard Choate has changed their dress code? What about L’ville? Is it okay to wear jeans/hoodies to class? Do I need to bring any formal wear for special occasions?</p>
<p>Seriously, go to the websites. You can find info about the dresscode there</p>
<p>Lawrenceville has a relaxed dress code</p>
<p>In the same situation as you! Accepted into both Choate and Lawrenceville, but I’m leaning towards Choate right now based on my friends’ experiences there (during both the regular term and summer school). However, Lawrenceville’s college matric stats are better, so my parents prefer it over Choate. </p>
<p>Oh well, I’m going for revisit at the end of the month, so we’ll see how it goes!</p>
<p>@tarsier</p>
<p>can you tell me how the revisits go? i can’t go to them =(</p>
<p>Sure! No problem :)</p>
![http://www.emiliosanchezfoundation.org/assets/tour_mellon.jpg[/url]](http://www.emiliosanchezfoundation.org/assets/tour_mellon.jpg%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
![http://hollywoodeastconnection.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/dscn3943-300x225.jpg[/url]](http://hollywoodeastconnection.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/dscn3943-300x225.jpg%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
