My daughter is choosing between these two great schools and is looking for some insight into the happiness quotient and student body and/ or any information that might help her decide. She’d be a boarder and is interested in crew.
She needs to decide tomorrow!
I think Choate has a slight edge in name recognition and prestige. Very slight, though.
Lawrenceville kids, to me, seemed happier (we were at each school 3 times).
L’ville is a little less NYC-centric to me, seems to draw some from the South which makes the culture a little less NYC-y.
At Choate, you can walk into town, at Lville you take the van but it is such a nice town! Wallingford is a tad depressing and Walmart even more so IMHO. Lville people can to go to Target. And Lville does have a few places within walking distance (pizza or bagels iirc)
I don’t know their respective records in Crew, I think Choate is slightly stronger.
I perceive Choate as artsier, Lville maybe jock-ier.
I like Lville campus better. The Kirby center, the houses, the bath house, the size.
Both excellent really, but that is my 2 cents.
Edited to add: at Lville she will be in a separate dorm and in a single for the first year. Can be good or bad.
Wow, thanks for your quick response. I agree with much of what you said about the communities but actually thought Lawrenceville might have the edge on Choate. Re girl’s crew Choate rows 4’s not 8’s and the 'big boys" tend to prefer 8’s. Any other thoughts?
Also, where did you end up going?
My son looked at both schools, and here are my opinions:
Choate: better science based curriculum, nice campus but situated on a hill, which can make for a good workout when walking between buildings. Walk to town seemed to be a bit far. Percentage of day students is similar to Lville. I know they use discussion style learning, but it isn’t referred to as a “Harkness” method.
Lville: Harkness teaching style dominates most classes. The town of Lawrencville is very small, but has a few small shops and restaurants that the students can walk to. Going to Princeton or target would require Uber or bus. The campus is similar in size and feel to Choate (but no hills). More emphasis on humanities and english than Choate. About 1/3 day students. Saturday classes. New headmaster in his first year.
I don’t know much about the crew team at either of these schools. But both schools are similar in prestige and academics. Both are great choices, you can’t go wrong.
Never been to L’ville, but know people accepted to both who chose Choate. I asked one family why they chose Choate, as they were from NJ, and they said the Choate campus is much, much prettier. Again, this is their opinion, as I cannot compare. The crew does 8’s in the fall, 4’s in the spring.
Good luck.
Also, Choate has no Saturday classes and is opening a gorgeous new student center next fall.
What? I don’t see how the Choate campus is prettier, at all! Honestly I can’t believe they’ve been at both to say that. Choate had some pretty buildings, but not prettier than L’ville, and I don’t like the way Choate’s campus is divided by a four way intersection of a reasonably busy road… Kinda ruins it IMHO. I’d be fascinated to hear what makes L’ville less pretty…I think the total opposite.
Plus the Olmstead oval, the old houses, the new bath house. I’m baffled.
All that being said, I don’t think campus prettiness would drive me … Regardless of one’s subjective impression, neither campus is unattractive , to be sure!
In re Saturday classes, I’m all for it. Don’t know about DC!
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My son will be attending L’ville next year, so obviously I’m a bit biased…but if your daughter is serious about crew, it’s a no-brainer. L’ville rows out of the Princeton National Rowing Association, one of the 2 main US National team training sites. Junior nationals are on their home course this year. It is a world class facility. They row in eights, at Stotesbury, at Nationals, etc. Most of their regular season head to head meets are on their home course. They send many, many oarsmen off to top collegiate programs. The girls coach was a world champion with the US women’s eight. The program is absolutely top-notch. Choate’s program is fine, but really doesn’t compare, especially in terms of facilities.
The campus comment above is weird. Choate’s is quite nice, but L’ville is beautiful, too. L’ville students have the village of Lawrenceville right across the street with several restaurants, shops, etc. It’s considered on-campus as far as where students are allowed to be. Downtown Wallingford is a big hike from Choate. Once you venture a bit further afield, and I say this having gone to Yale and being intimately familiar with New Haven and Wallingford, the Princeton area is approx 1,000,000 times nicer.
One of our other kids did a summer program at Choate, and though i guess it depends on where your dorm is and what you mean by downtown and what you call a hike, but iirc they walked maybe 5 blocks to get to the ice cream place,
But I totally agree on your last point, which occurred to me after I posted. I would say that Lville is in an affluent area, and Choate is in a somewhat depressed area.
Great thread. Two great schools. 180 degree opinions.
@lookin4info, let us know what she decides and what tipped the scale.
She chose Lawrenceville in the end! Thanks for all your feedback folks. Crew had a lot to do with it plus she generally felt more comfortable at Lawrenceville. I agree Wallingford is depressing and Princeton is just 10mins away which was an added benefit. Thankfully it was hard to go too far wrong with either choice.
Congrats!
Congrats! See you in September!
This was the same dilemma that I dealt with last week. Both schools are awesome and there is no wrong choice!