Exeter Q&A

Ohhhh, nooooo. We are thinking of going up on Thursday…sigh. I am NOT in the mood for snow, LOL. Fingers crossed for better weather. I will be checking weather.com all week. But thanks for the update and the advice, @vegas1 !

@MariFeigh weather in New England can change dramatically- I would check later this week. Our favorite weather app is weather underground. It shows predicted volume of rain or snow by hour.

@MariFeigh I am wishing for snow! I haven’t been up north in winter since I moved down south a few years ago and I’m so excited!

On a side note, any recommendations on an inexpensive fleece jacket? I, being a boy who is hitting his growth spurt, will probably outgrow it within a few months so any reliable options under $100?

NH weather is crazy in March and April. Honestly, it isn’t until June that you can feel assured of warm weather. My son had a double-header today. The morning was warm and sunny; afternoon was cold, windy and rainy. I was very glad to have my puffy coat! I agree that layers are the way to go and yes — definitely check the weather. There’s also no shame in wearing appropriate winter clothing here. As the saying goes, “There is no bad weather; just bad clothing.”

@ProudDramaMama That’s very helpful. Thank you

Well @ImWaisian, for your sake I hope you get your wish. On my end, I was kind of hoping my DC and DH could see the school in the best light possible. DC and DH are more anxious than I am. And @vegas1, thanks for the tips.

@ImWaisian The tests probably would be coming in a week or less. If you’re a beginner in a language or other subjects, you might not even get one. About Lionlinks - they show your courses, so don’t expect to see anything untill they’re figured out. Mine are blank for now.

Um… well… I just received my Spanish placement test for 210/Transition 1, and I feel really stupid because I know literally nothing on the placement test. The curriculum at my middle school covered basically nothing on the test. Does anyone know what will happen if you fail the placement test and how much you need to know in order to be successful in Transition 1 Spanish at Exeter? Better yet, would anyone be willing to PM me how they did on the placement test and what they were placed into?

On a lighter note, which dining hall do y’all think has better food normally?

@ImWaisian probably best to just start at the slower/ lower level Spanish. You could do this by simply emailing back and communicating your preference. There is no point of trying to start at a higher level then you can excel in. Don’t feel dumb, just remember the reason you are heading to BS is to receive a higher quality education.

When did people get their course selection forms?

@balbinusthrax Like a week ago. They’re probably sending them in alphabetical order. Also, random comment, but I the math test is amazing! It has those “thinking cap” problems all over the place - I can’t wait to do them at PEA!

Someone asked about this at our revisit day. They said schedules don’t go up until just before classes start.

@HappyCria Same! I love the questions that are on there! It makes me use my brain and actually apply what I learned!

We will be revisiting tomorrow. Can’t wait!

What do international students do during breaks? Exeter sent an email telling not to rely on host families… but those last-minute transatlantic flights do add up to quite a lot. So, what is the situation with most international students? How does it all work?

Does Phillips Exeter have healthy competition or it is too much of a pressure cooker?

@HappyCria you shouldn’t face any last minute flights. PEA has a school calendar that is very structured. You can probably find it online already. Here are a few ways we have seen our kids friends handle being an international student.

  1. Take advantage of some of the school sponsored programs over breaks. This is particularly popular for thanksgiving break as it is relatively short.
  2. Stay with friends who live in the area. Doesn’t have to be day students. Our kids have had friends stay with us at various points. Sometimes it was for a few days to fly back early from break. Other times it has been to crash for a few days before an event: 5 kids stayed after graduation before they went on their senior trip. Kids have stayed with us after school let out to go to prom/ graduation when they weren’t seniors.
  3. In rare circumstances where weather has shut down the airport and kids can’t get home, PEA has kept dorms open briefly.

@“Repulse bay Tai Tam” PEA is definitely not a pressure cooker in any sense of the term. The kids who get most stressed out at PEA in our experience, put the pressure on themselves and would probably do so in any academic setting). Our kids have never felt any sense of competition except for with themselves.