<p>First of all, congrats to everyone who was accepted and waitlisted! </p>
<p>I just got my decision letters. I was accepted to both Andover and Exeter, which means that I have to face a tough choice. </p>
<p>Where do you think would be a better place for an ambitious international student? I'm the first person to be accepted to these schools from my country, so I have no idea where to go.</p>
<p>I would really appreciate some help here!</p>
<p>You cannot go wrong with either one. You said you are an international. Are you able to come to the revisit day? That may help. Frankly, you have a problem a lot of people would be dieing to have :/)</p>
<p>The problem is that I can’t have a revisit because I live in Eastern Europe…
I was accepted to Deerfield as well… Plus, I still haven’t received my Milton decision letter and I really like that school!
I’m just hoping that someone who has been to both camps (or is a current student) would help me with this dilemma… I was accepted to class of 2013, which means that I only have two years of high school left.</p>
<p>Our son was in exactly the same situation last year. It’s a tough choice. In some real sense, you cannot go wrong with either one - but they are different. Last year, our son found the re-visit days enormously helpful to his decision making. This is a decision with which you will probably live for 4 years, so do try to get to the re-visit days!</p>
<p>No one is going to be able to tell you which school is better. Sit down and make a list of all the things that are important to you that might be different at the schools: how you learn best; what you’re like athletically; what you want from a school in the arts; what you like to do in your down time; what kind of dorm you think you’d like best. Then ask specific questions about that kind of stuff.</p>
<p>-In my opinion-Both are very good; however, Exeter is much better specially if you are ambitious and eager to learn (Exeter has saturday classes unlike andover) because exeter offers much better courses (though I do recomend you might check the courses book) ,and the harknes system which makes you talk alot more infront of your classmates, develop a different way of learning than usual ,and learn to solve problems with your classmates. Well at the end is your choice wish you the bests of lucks… I have also been accepted as an upper in Exeter so we might meet each other someday.
Just remeber in exeter you will learn how to learn by yourself in life, which no matter how poor you are nobody is gonna be able to take it from you and your gonna learn what hard work really is… besides its pretty cool Mark Zuckerberg graduated from Exeter isn’t it? your choice :)</p>
<p>UpperExonian,
You are trash talking from a point of relative ignorance with poor punctuation no less, but the poor student who asked for advice doesn’t necessarily know whether you are credible or not.</p>
<p>UpperExonian,</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure Andover has Saturday classes and the Harkness system as well (don’t hold it against me if I’m wrong). And saying Exeter has “better courses” is plain ridiculous. Everything is subjective. And your conclusion just doesn’t make sense. At all. Please don’t add unreasonable and unfounded bias towards Yazmie’s decision.</p>
<p>By the way, it’s amazing that you’re the first person to be accepted to these schools from your country! Might I ask which country you’re from? Of course, don’t answer if you’re not comfortable telling. :)</p>
<p>i recommend the revisit day to decide if your attending or not. I am for sure going to Exeter because i have close friends at the school, I feel the academics are top notch, and I feel like Exeter will have a good shot at winnign NESPAC in football which I hope to be a part of. Again this is my point of view.</p>
<p>Academic wise- I believe they are on par with each other. Both have outstanding resources, huge breadth of curiclum and world class teachers. (Although Exeter does have the second biggest secondary library in the United States after Harvard- and a prettier campus) </p>
<p>Again this is my perspective and I might be a little biased well because I have already decided to attend Exeter. I recommend going to the revisit days and finding the right school for YOU and not chose a school based on statistics or saturday classes or whatever because in the end these two schools(Exeter and Andover) are arguably the best schools in the nation</p>
<p>actually, andover doesn’t have saturday classes. i go to exeter and i know that it’s been a fierce debate on whether or not to abolish saturday classes. we have chosen to keep it, as far as i know.</p>
<p>I’m from Azerbaijan, but I’m afraid people dont know where it’s located…
I agree that i need to make a list of pros and cons for both schools. Even tho I was more inclined towards Exeter from the beginning, I understand that Andover is an incredible school and I feel privileged to be accepted there. Both of them are equally good, I just need to decide which one is a better fit for me.
Has anyone actually visited any of these schools? Please share your opinion!</p>
<p>aaeroplanes, thank you for the clarification. I apologize for my mistake.</p>
<p>Azerbaijan, wow, that’s amazing. We were just learning about Azerbaijan in World History, what with the Safavid Empire, so it feels pretty good to know a bit about somebody else’s history and culture. :)</p>
<p>My brother rooms with someone who went to Andover and LOVED but I was accepted to Exeter and waiting for Andover. If I get accepted to Andover though I’m most likely going to Exeter because that was the VERY first school I chose. My brother made me think about for a while and I decided I wanted to go to Andover but first choice you made is probably the best. Both schools are AMAZING but I chose Exeter. That was my choice though. What’s yours?</p>
<p>Seems I’m in the same boat as you are. I got into both Andover and Exeter (along with Hotchkiss and NMH) and facing the same dilemma.
Oh, and I’m an international from Pakistan.</p>
<p>UpperExonian, please do more research before exposing your ignorance.</p>
<p>The question isn’t how can you go wrong with Andover or Exeter, but what can go right with either one. They are both fine institutions, founded in about the same era, by relatives! Exeter campus is gorgeous, but I wouldn’t take anything away from Andover either. Exeter is based in a small town in New Hampshire, and the feel is more rural than Andover. Andover is situated in arguably a bigger town in Massachusetts, but the feeling is more suburban because of its proximity to other larger cities in close proximity (Lawrence, Salem (NH), Boston). Exeter has a dress code for classes, while Andover doesn’t. That’s why the rivals stererotype each other as slobs and nerds. Both have new spanking science centers. Exeter embodies the harkness learning system. Andover doesn’t call it harnkness, but when you have 6 to 10 students to a class, what else is it? It is true that Exeter encourages learning by teaching more so than Andover. Exeter has college class athletic facilities. Andover is outdated - I bet it is in their plans to do a major facelift. Andover has a brand new, huge dining hall that boasts, among other things, brick oven pizza oven. In dining, Exeter is outdated. Exeter has Saturday classes. Andover has Saturday classes twice a term, six times a year.</p>
<p>Without being in either place to see for your own, you do have an unenviable dilemma. Just remember you do not have a wrong choice here.</p>
<p>Is Deerfield by any chance another choice? Because the contrast is more pronounced with that one.</p>
<p>Nice specific post andoverteen. Just a couple of quick corrections:</p>
<p>Exeter is pure Harkness in all classes (well, science classes have labs, obviously). Andover uses a mix of methods. The major difference in methods would show up in math classes: do you like the idea of always having a set of 8(?) word problems to work through on your own at night, with each student presenting one in class the next day, or would you prefer a more flexible, perhaps traditional approach to learning math? Both methods obviously work, and Harkness math works great for my kid, but it drives other people (other parents at least!) crazy. </p>
<p>And Exeter’s Saturday classes next year are going to be cut way back-the 2011-12 calendar is on line so you can check it out for yourself. On the downside vacations will be shorter by a day or two. This is an experiment, so after a year, they may go back to more frequent Saturday classes, though I suspect they won’t be as frequent as they have been in the past.</p>
<p>Thank you very much for providing such useful, specific information about both schools. At least now I have some sort of idea about the differences between Andover and Exeter. I’m sure that both of these schools are just marvelous and there is no need to argue on which one is better. Because really there is no answer for that.</p>
<p>I was accepted to Deerfield, but I don’t feel like it’s the right school for me. </p>
<p>My another concern is Milton. I know that this school is not as popular as the other two, but during my application process I noticed that they have an unbelievably welcoming staff. Despite its small size it still has a pretty good reputation and a big variety of choices. I’d like to know if it would be better for me to go to a small school, where I would have more opportunities to have leadership positions. Also, do you think it’s hard to establish a connection with teachers at a big school like Exeter because of the number of students? Does the size of the school affect future college recommendations? I’m a very hard-working, persistent student, but I can’t call myself a genius. I’m just worried that being an international student at a big school wouldn’t let me fulfill all the goals that I have established for myself. I’m going to be a junior, so I have to consider which school would help me with college more.</p>
<p>Before I begin, congratulations on your acceptances! That is an amazing accomplishment and you should be very proud. You can not go wrong with any of these schools.
I am a three year upper at Andover and I would just like to clarify a few points made here by UpperExonian:
First off, its absolutely ridiculous to say that Exeter is the place to go if you are looking for an ambitious and eager academic environment. At Andover, we take our work just as seriously. Just because we do not have Saturday classes every week, it does not mean that we are less ambitious with our work. Academics is everyone’s first priority at Andover, just like Exeter.
Secondly, it is not right to claim Exeter has better classes. Both schools offer a broad range of elective courses for students to choose from. Both schools have their particular “strengths” in terms of the courses offered. For example, Exeter may have more math classes available, but at Andover over 60 English electives are offered over the course of the year, while at Exeter there are about 30. I agree with UpperExonian that you should go and look at the disciplines that you are interested in studying while at high school.
Lastly, Andover does not practice the Harkness method, but our classes are certainly discussion based. Most English, History, and Foreign Language classes are driven by student input and discussion questions posed by the teacher. In the Math and Science departments, the classes are more lecture based, but questions are highly encouraged.
I am not trying to attack UpperExonian, but his post was not an accurate representation of Andover. This place has changed my life in all aspects and I highly encourage anyone who has been given the opportunity to come to seriously consider it. Both schools are phenomenal and each school has their own particular “strengths,” but you need to decide which school suits your interests.
Best of Luck!</p>
<p>Since faculty live in the dorm and you’re assigned a faculty adviser, you’ll have lots of opportunity to get to know faculty–but you need to be proactive and seek them out. We’ve found that faculty are ALWAYS ready to help when needed, but they’re not on the prowl looking for problems, so you need to let them know if you need anything.</p>
<p>Class sizes are small at both schools, so you’ll find it easy to get to know your teachers. At Exeter, my son has found that he can go to his teachers for help when he needs it. However, I’d say that, in general, the teachers expect students to work independently and not need lots of help, at least up front–for example, his teachers will often meet with him to go over a draft of a paper and give great advice–but only after a first draft has been submitted and evaluated. My son seeks out and gets lots of help from other students in the dorm and in study groups–peer support is something that I think Harkness makes second nature. </p>
<p>Harkness does benefit hard workers–students who are prepared and ready in class tend to do well. </p>
<p>One significant difference between Exeter and Andover is that at Exeter, students switch teachers is most of their classes each term. This has both advantages and disadvantages–it’s nice to have a fresh start three times a year, and a good way to get to know lots of teachers, but maybe not so great for building deeper relationships. Hasn’t bothered my son–I think he likes the change.</p>