<p>Or any top private as a senior or as a post-graduate?</p>
<p>Phillips</a> Exeter Academy | Grade 12 and Post-Graduate Students</p>
<p>I mean in terms of college admissions. I'll be surrounded by great students and I'll probably enjoy my time there but that's not what I'm asking.</p>
<p>No, you won’t gain anything.</p>
<p>Same. exact. question. here (:</p>
<p>Of course.</p>
<p>I mean, look at Exeter’s history and their rates of getting their students accepted into the top schools in the nation. They employ teachers and counselors and other staff who have connections and know how to work the system in their - and your - favor.</p>
<p>However, the question is <em>what</em> will you gain. If you already go to an above-average public high school or a great private, the gains may be negligible. If you’re already a top student you can likely get into your top-choice schools without attending Exeter. Also, if you’re not aiming for the tippy-top it’s useless, I think. Besides, it’s so expensive! A year at Exeter is like a year at Columbia.</p>
<p>No. Exeter is a great place to build an application. The grades carry a lot of weight, the rigor and prep opportunities should lead to improved scores, close student/teacher relationships lead to great recs, lots of extracurricular opportunities, etc. </p>
<p>However, it’s a terrible place to graduate from, with insane competition from classmates.</p>
<p>Of course, a lot of Exeter students are hooked.</p>
<p>All of my friends from Exeter ended up in Ivies, how lucky for them… :(</p>
<p>I think a year post grad can help a lot of kids – it either strengthens their academic credentials (and often adds great improvement to study skills) or it gives athletes another year of development and does a very good job of promoting them. It is an ideal step for those who are ready for college in some ways, but not all. </p>
<p>On the other hand, sometimes the rules of a boarding school are a little tough to take, especially if you weren’t so tightly tethered at home. And while that works really well for some kids, for others it creates a little bit of stir-crazy. </p>
<p>I know one kid who academically didn’t need an extra year, but had not gotten into the top tier schools he was expexting. He wasn’t an athlete and actually, socially, he was slightly awkward. His parents felt this middling step would be ideal and launch him into the Ivy league - where this kid really wanted to be. In the end, he didn’t really stretch his admission offers between sr year of HS and that PG year. However, his freshman year in college was the real breakthru in lots of ways. He ended up transferring to an Ivy sophomore year. So while it didn’t “look” to work perfectly, in hindsight, it really did prepare him much better than he would have been had he gone the more traditional route.</p>