@rhapsody17: Or maybe Exeter is ridiculously hard for no reason and the students actually want to enjoy the High School years by attending Andover. We know it has nothing to do with getting into good colleges because Andover does very well in that department. Exeter faculty needs to learn that being a stickler on grading doesn’t help students matriculation rates to the top colleges. The time when Exeter students could name their college of choice has long passed.
Four years ago, my D chose Andover and her best friend (from middle school) chose Exeter. They are both about to graduate, and my D is convinced that students are happier at Andover even though it is extraordinarily hard and stressful. She says students find a way to be silly and goofy and let off steam.
Exeter and Andover have different “feels”. My D, with the enthusiastic agreement of the family, chose Exeter over Andover, and has been completely satisfied with the choice (and her college choices). She has been very happy there.
It really is about fit. Exeter felt warm, welcoming, and transparent to our family, and she felt more comfortable with students and faculty there. They are both great schools, and if you have the good fortune to choose between them, go visit and choose for yourself.
I sense Exeter is getting bashed a bit here, and just want to mention that the Exonian article linked in post 18 above points out that the yield is usually 1:1 (evenly split) between Andover and Exeter, as it seemed to be 4 years ago when my D was choosing. Because it tilted 2:1 in 2014 for unclear reasons, the article was news. It will be interesting to see what happens in 2015.
http://theexonian.com/2015/04/23/high-yield-for-15-16-year-to-crowd-dorms/
76% yield at Exeter this year, higher than usual. So it does seem to vary a bit year to year.
I know it’s a bit late to offer advice to CCMystic, and people have written about this before, but when I was choosing between Andover and Exeter (way back in the horse and buggy days) I had a difficult time deciding which school to attend, even though I am a legacy at Andover. I made my decision largely based on a phone conversation I had with my father’s old house counselor, and former Dean of Students, at Andover. He went to Exeter and taught at Andover, so I thought he would be able to give me some insight into both schools. He told me that Andover is stronger in the arts, social sciences, and humanities, while Exeter is stronger in math and science. That sealed the deal for me (along with Andover not having a dress code beyond being “clean and neat”), and I chose Andover. Not sure about Exeter, but he was absolutely spot on about Andover. As far as Milton, I don’t know much about it, but it is a highly regarded school. For me, I’m sure I would have been happy at Exeter if I had chosen to go there, but I absolutely loved my time at PA and looking back I can’t imagine having gone anywhere else. 