Is there a lot of group assignment work (like group projects or homework)?
I graduated two years ago. Pretty sure that voice lessons are half the cost if you are on FA. It’s definitely not proportional to your FA.
If you have almost full financial aid, then by how much will Exeter give you to purchase a tablet/computer?
Exeter is really good at providing students with the funds necessary to get both an ipad and a laptop, and so if you are on full FA you do not technically have to pay anything at all for those things, or at least in years past i’ve heard that this was the case.
I don’t know how much you’d have to pay if you don’t receive full aid, but I’m sure you wouldn’t be paying in full.
@Peterya They accept new uppers and seniors. I have a new senior friend who’s going to Columbia.
@Anonymousia You’ll pay $60 for the whole set of lessons (1 lesson a week for 1 term).
The student work program is great!
I believe you get the full stipend if you’re on partial FA. @Anonymousia
I’m pretty sure that is in fact proportional @lastelephant on full FA you only pay for 1 lesson out of the 10.
Hi everyone - I am the parent of a current lower and we get significant aid (like 65%).
RE: music lessons, I am fairly certain they are half price for FA students, regardless of what percentage of aid you get. IOW, if you are an FA student, your lessons are half price whether you get 10% FA or 90% aid. Our FA has been a different percentage each year, and neither year has been 50%, and lessons have always been billed at exactly half price.
RE: laptop/tablet - that is also a fixed amount. It was $900 for laptop and $350 for tablet (that was for entering in Fall 2014, may be different now). That didn’t change based on FA tuition award. School also provides discount purchasing opportunity to use the stipends, or just reimburses you.
@booklady123 Hi thanks for answering my questions!
But what do you mean, $900 for laptop and $350 for tablet? Do you pay that amount to Exeter and they provide you with the laptop/tablet? Or is that how much the financial aid for purchasing the laptop/tablet is?
@GryffinHunter About the student work program, how do they pay you? Do you need a debit card?
How do they inform you of stuff like the questions I asked about the financial aid/cost of the electronics and music lessons? Is it all in the mailing they sent on March 10?
@Anonymousia they give you $900 and $350 so that you can buy a laptop and a tablet. They also have a special distributor so that you can get those items for less than at the average retailer.
Also, for the student work program you can choose to get checks or direct deposit, and I do believe that you would need a debit card for that money to be readily accessible to you. I went my first term at Exeter without having a debit card and my mom had to send me cash through the mail. Not fun. I would actually suggest that at almost any boarding school you attend to try and get a debit card. It’ll be good for the shopping you will do, plus any sudden emergencies where you will need money immediately (like missing a flight or something).
RE: electronics purchases, they give you a stipend to purchase the equipment - you either buy through their vendor and it is applied at checkout (like a big gift card), or you buy somewhere else and they reimburse you.
We got the amounts in the FA award letter but didn’t get the information with vendor and ordering information until much later (like maybe even in summer, IIRC).
RE:music lessons, Full FA students only pay for 1/10 lessons. I assure you.
Rae:laptop/tablet The amount has increased, (last year it was $1000/$450) you can buy it through an online portal with info they give you.
@Anonymousia I don’t believe you’d need a debit card to get paid. I think they’ll send you a check? Regardless, I’d get a debit card if you’re going to boarding school. You won’t even be allowed to work certain hours if you’re not 16 and you’ll have to wait until you’re on campus to get a job. Once on campus, go to the basement of the deans office and they can help you.
@booklady123 @hellofrands @GryffinHunter
Just to clear things up: the course book says we can only take 5 courses-- are these strictly academic courses, or does it apply to other things like acting, painting or music theory? After english, math, science and a language, there’s only one slot left. 
The reason I ask this is because I’m hoping to take CSC407 AND PHY315 fall term (and CSC505 and CSC308 the following terms). I’m pretty familiar with computer science and I’m not worrying too hard about the difficulty of taking it my first year, but will I not be able to take any other courses (like the ones I mentioned above) if I do it?
What grade are you entering as? @junemaybees
@GryffinHunter I’m entering as a 10th grader (Lower).
I believe you can only take 5 courses as a new lower. You have to take New Lower Health and therefore can’t audit I believe.
Someone can correct me if I’m wrong-you might be able to schedule it differently and have no sleep ins because I know there are some weird health class schedules but I don’t know if they would approve for you to audit something as an incoming New Lower because they don’t know if you’re able to handle the rigor yet.
None of those are courses Exeter offers anyway. CSC407, PHY315, and CSC 505 and CSC308 don’t exist.
WAIT SORRY^ They changed course numbers.
Yes, that seems possible. No-you won’t be able to take anything else unless they let you audit.
@GryffinHunter What do you mean by ‘auditing’ a course? No sleep?
Also, does that mean things like music theory and painting definitely DO in fact count as courses then?
Something tells me picking courses is going to be an ordeal. #:-S
What about for 9th graders (preps)? What’s the max amount of academic courses?
@junemaybees i think you are making molehills into mountains. every school has required courses and limitations. i suggest you read the exeter materials and stay off of CC for these kinds of questions. Download the e-book and go online as well.
Yes, things like painting and theater classes all do count as courses. Auditing means taking a course for no credit-- sitting in and participating but not officially. You need special permission to audit.
Music lessons you can take in addition to your five courses, you have them once a week.
Five courses is the max for everybody, but you can audit a sixth course. That’s not really possible with health though, if you are a new lower or prep, because the class you would audit would be during your free format, but that is when your health class meets twice a week. (Twice a week, right? That was a while ago now!)
Some advice: relax! Don’t try to pile on a million things your first term. It takes a while to get used to the course/homework load, and especially at first, you want time to meet people and get adjusted. Picking classes is hard, there are so many great classes, and especially as a lowerclassman, not a ton of flexibility in your schedule. But what a good problem to have!