Are instrumental music tutors available (specifically, trombone)? Is music performance a course?
I met with Mr. Campbell during my campus visit, and we discussed the opportunities in Computer Science at Exeter. But at the end of our 30-minute meeting, I still had pretty much zero knowledge about what actually happens in a CS course. If you’ve every taken a CS course, could you detail what you learned? I’m especially interested if you did anything to do that involved statistics.
I’d like to reiterate what lastelephant said and say PLEASE DON’T OVER-PILE YOUR FIRST TERM GUYS I was actually a new lower and I basically audited a course while taking new lower health and you guys will have to get to Exeter to see the severity of this statement but I only had two free periods a week and it SUCKED (most people have anywhere from 5-10). I had absolutely no free time, and on top of all the clubs I was joining (because there are literally so many), I was struggling to get sleep even my first term here.
While I totally encourage you to jump into life at Exeter and really get involved, it’s always better to take on commitments as you feel comfortable. And another thing I really want to mention: Exeter gets harder as you go on. You come in as a new lower and you may feel prepared, but upper year gets difficult, and senior year you are stressed about college apps. So again, I do want to say just to aware of this, and that auditing while being a new lower or prep can be immensely difficult, and I’m not sure even sure if the administration would allow it.
Also, @junemaybees definitely read the course book in detail, I think it will actually clear up a lot of your questions and concerns about scheduling, and for everything else, you may be able to contact the school (or maybe even here!) to figure everything out.
“No student may take academic courses (excluding Physical Education) totaling more than five credits in a given term. Exceptions are limited to the following: Students required to take Health and Human Development (e.g., preps and new lowers) will earn one-third of a credit each term for the required Health and Human Development course, in addition to the other five required academic courses.”
Looks like Health doesn’t get in the way of the other five courses after all!
More to the point, no admitted student is cognizant about just how much work is involved in taking 5 courses at most of these schools. There is no comparison to your current school where you’re taking 7+ classes a day and the academics at a school like PEA. Your biggest challenge will be in trying to trim down all the fabulous classes that are offered into the 5 blocks that the school will allow you to fill. For the minimal amount of free time that you will have, you will be better served in the long-run by using that time to get involved with life outside the classroom.
@junemaybees I agree with skieurope in that five classes is absolutely plenty, and that you will most likely wish sometimes that you could take only three lol. Also, for your first year or two at Exeter, you will mostly just be trying to fulfill your graduation requirements, and so while you will be taking really cool history and religion courses, you probably won’t be able to take more than maybe one “fun” course.
And no, health, which only meets twice per week, does not get in the way of your other classes, you just take the on top of your load, and it’s not too bad (esp since there isn’t any homework for the class!).
What are the girl dorms and what are they “known” for?
About the Financial Aid $900 stipend, do you really need all $900 just for calculator+textbooks+school supplies (writing utensils, notebooks, binders, etc.)?
What are some of the more common girl clothing brands?
Back to the laptop/computer Financial aid (sorry), do they give you both the $1000 and the $450 to buy BOTH a laptop and a tablet?
What are some must-have supplies/stuff?
Are the scheduled bus trips to and from campus on all major holidays already included in the tuition?
Are there practice rooms where you can practice a musical instrument everyday for about an hour? If so, do you have to schedule/reserve them?
@Anonymousia I will break up some of my answers to length’s sake.
To your questions about girls dorms, first we have to split into north and south side, which are already known for different things. North side is sometimes seen as more studious, a bit quieter, and maybe with more quirky people. South side is known for more athletes, I guess being more “cool,” and really laid back (that’s where a lot of people lay out on the quad during the spring). Each side is still to a certain extent more or less the same, and there are many people on each side of campus who fit many different categories. Don’t fret about which side you end up living on, as both are quite fun.
Some North side dorms are (mind you these are my own perceptions of these dorms):
Merrill - Really tight, lots of feminists, really smart, attached to the dining hall
Hoyt - Kind of like a mini cult, has a lot of girls who seem to “do it all,” really nice girls, tons of dorm pride, not as great room size
Langdell - lots of athletes, particularly cross country runners, all very close, definitely that quintessential dorm feel where everyone just seems pretty friendly to one another, attached to the dining hall
Some South side dorms (again, just my perceptions):
Dunbar - largest girls dorm on campus, not as close because of the size but still quite connected, large rooms, lots of hockey players
Amen - sometimes seen as a bit reserved, super nice facilities (damn near a hotel, basically), lots of dorm pride “red hot!”, lots of volleyball players
McConnell - all single (but tiny) rooms, superr close, really accepting and friendly to new girls
I’m really not a math and science person. I’m worried about how I will fare with these subjects at Exeter, because I’m really more of an english/history person. Is it true that at Exeter you need at least six terms of science subjects and one of computer science? In your opinion will Exeter be a right fit for me?
As for the stipend, you can end up using quite a it of the stipend on books and other school supplies, because the textbooks are incredibly expensive, your sometimes have to get new books each term (for English, History, and Religion at least), and the bookstore is stupidly expensive on top of that. So for many students, on aid or not, many end up spending at least 600-800 dollars on books and materials, in many cases even more. This is why the school provides this amount for full FA students.
To the laptop and iPad question, the school will give you $1000 for the laptop and $450 for the iPad, and you will pay for any costs that go above that amount. So if you buy a $450 iPad and an $800 laptop then you don’t pay anything, but if you get a $1200 laptop then you would have to pay $200. But the school gives enough so that you shouldn’t have to pay anything if you can’t.
Lastly, to the bus question, the bus fare to and from the airport is not included in the tuition, and is $40 one way to Boston Logan, $50 to Manchester airport, and I believe higher if you are going to New York or Connecticut. If you are a full FA student, this will probably be your biggest cost at school is travel, which may include plane tickets and bus fares. If you absolutely cannot pay for your transportation, the Financial Aid office is typically willing to work with the students to get these things sorted out.
And just to reiterate, I don’t know exactly all of the details about these things and so I just want to give you an idea of how this all will probably work.
Some good girls brands are really anything from American Eagle to J Crew to Urban Outfitters to Forever 21 to the thrift store to Vineyard Vines to literally anything. There is no pressure to dress “preppy” or in any other style, but for class many people do like to take the time and effort to look nice from time to time. Some people are always dressed to the nines, and some people seem to never be in dress code. The dress is in our E-book which is online and for the most part our dress code is quite lax, except there are no t-shirts, sweats, super ripped jeans, athletic gear, or leggings. Basically it just means: “Don’t look sloppy.”
I will make a general list of things I’d really suggest you get for both the dorm and for class:
Class: small pencil case, highlighters, idk what else tbh, just pretty standard stuff I would say
Dorm and general (this is more important I would say): a good lamp, snacks, WATER BOTTLE, full length and small mirror, good winter coat and boots, shower caddy, cold medicine and tylenol (just so you don’t always have to go to the health center), debit card probably (not a must have but incredibly useful for both the kid and the parents)
Idk what else you should bring for now, but if I find something important that I missed, I will come back and add it.
Also there are tons of practice rooms, and if it’s empty you can always use it. They are also open whenever the music building is open, which is almost all the time, even on weekends.
@hemingwayman Exeter definitely has a lot of bright math and science students, but also a completely flourishing population of humanities geared people. I myself absolutely hate science, but being at Exeter, it helps to have so many people around who are willing to help me with this subject that I struggle in.
Also, the humanities courses here are absolutely wonderful, and there are so many literary magazines and an incredibly active school newspaper (oldest in the nation, I believe!), and so many people are geared towards humanities and are really good at it.
Also, the six terms of science only equate to two full years, which is required at almost any school, and includes bio and either chem or physics. The comp sci, I admit is pretty bad, but it’s one term and many people actually quite enjoy it. That is the one pretty dumb requirement, but many people get it out of the way their prep fall when they have pass/fail grades (yes, your first term grades aren’t counted!!!), so that even if they struggle, it won’t hurt them.
Honestly, Exeter is great for people who love humanities, and you will most definitely find tons of people here just like you in that regard. (Also, to let you in on a secret, I’m actually doing a lot better in math here than I did at my public school!)
@Center dorm assignments are made for all newcomers based on their interests and with an interest of bringing diversity to each dorm. Every dorm needs it fair share of rowdy people and quiet people, athletes vs. artsy students, as well as ethnic and socioeconomic diversity, so that everyone can feel comfortable on some level. Of course, this cannot always be done perfectly, but many people stay in their dorm all four years and grow to consider it their second home (that’s actually what it is). And of course dorms still have stereotypes so of course there can still be trends, but many people find that their dorms are quite accommodating to their needs, and they find people who feel right at home with, as well as people who challenge their beliefs, introduce them to new ways of living, etc.
Also most underclassman (unless with good reason like a medical reason) get a roommate their first year here, but this typically works out quite well and in most dorms you are not required to have a roommate after the first year (but in a few dorms you sometimes have to double up for two years due to space)
@hellofrands thanks so much. That sounds wonderful. My child is not a cliquey person. Currently has friends of every type. So I was hoping that they try to creat interesting and varied groups so as not to have nerd dorms and jock dorms etc
@Center I’m happy to help! In regard to the dress code it is gender neutral, which means all genders are held to same same standard when it comes to dress.
many boys wear sweaters, buttons ups with other without ties, jeans, slacks, corduroys, chinos, etc.
and of course if they preferred a more feminine style, they could choose to do so, which was not technically allowed until this year.
Also another note on dorms: I will say there are still some dorms that have heavy stereotypes, but people graduate, and new people create new atmospheres for their dorms
@hellofrands Hi man, these questions below might not be the best to ask but I’m going to ask them anyway so:
How is the dating scene at Exeter? Particularly for males. I've heard that girls there are all nerds and book worms and it's hard to find cheerful girls like you would in Cali or Miami.
How is maths taught through the Harkness method?
I read about a rule which stated that if you have someone in your room, you must leave the door open with three feet on the ground at all times? This sounds so immature. I mean is this for real?
Also all the rigorous routines must leave very little time to enjoy and explore life? I'm talking about at least 11 graders or above.
Hope to get some great insights from you! Please ignore if I overstated something or took something too literally.
Thank you, your answers are really helpful! I have one last question, which might be a stupid one- a lot of people around me have been saying how hard it is to stand out at Exeter, that people who would be great students elsewhere are average at Exeter. Is that really true?
