Exeter's financial aid system

<p>For someone that desperately needs a financial aid grant in order to go to school at Exeter, what are the chances that they'll reward one?</p>

<p>well, what are your stats?</p>

<p>i've yet to apply. i was thinking about applying next year, but i didn't want to waste the time if it's implausible. so i haven't taken the SSAT yet, but i currently have a 4.0 gpa, i'm on newspaper staff, i do scholar's bowl, i worked in a lab over the summer...i don't know what else to tell you...</p>

<p>Why don't you try it? Even if you don't get it, you'll be no worse than you are now. Look at other prep schools also.</p>

<p>My understanding is that the schools use much of their financial aid to achieve diversity and attract special talents. So focus on what is unusual about you. If you're a good athlete contact the coach and have your coach write a rec. The same if you are a great artist or have done more community service than anyone at your school or are brilliant at math. Alabama could help. Do you happen to be a URM?</p>

<p>CaptainM. I see you're from Alabama. Do you know anything about Indian Springs. I can find no one who has applied to that school except my S. It seems small and the students appear to have excellent academic results. Why didn't you apply there? Is it the desire to get further away from home, or do you regard the NE schools as better?</p>

<p>Privileged, you should go onto the site boardingschoolreview.com. I looked up Indian Spring, but there's so much info it would be good for you to look. Most notable to me is that only 26% of the kids there board. That is often a problem for the kids who do not. </p>

<p>I would have to say while there are some good things, high SAT scores, this is not a school that compares to Deerfield. The endowment is small, they take 65% of applicants compared to 23% at Deerfield and their college placement list is a far cry from that of Deerfield. So it depends on what you want and who your child is, but these two schools seem far apart. Good luck with your search!</p>

<p>I am very familiar with Indian Springs...2 of my cousins went there, and a lot of my friends do, too. I may apply there, but it is not one of my top choices for a combination of reasons. I'm not too fond of Alabama, and the NE schools are ranked much higher than ISS.</p>

<p>I actually just finished the application process to Exeter as a 9th grade applicant and was also concerned with Exeter's financial aid process/system. Exeter is technically not need-blind which means they look at/consider how much a student's family can contribute towards tuiton. I can't really say what the chances are of getting a grant because I honestly have no idea. I can say that if you strongly vocalize to the school that you need financial assistance and there would be no way for you to attend their school if you didn't get a nice grant, they may make a way for you. Hope this helps!</p>

<p>Thank you very much, runawaywithme.</p>

<p>Kirmum I did look at boardingschoolreview and noted those items (%boarding, sat scores, endowment) too. I love the size of the school and it seems that it has good academics. I know my S thrives on individual attention and it seems he would have that there. Deerfield is a lot bigger and somehow we wonder whether the atmosphere is less relaxed than Indian Springs. I am however concerned about the low % boarding and the influence of non-boarders on boarders and of course we know nothing about the living quarters/conditions. I wonder too whether the college placement is influenced by the fact that the students are mainly southerners.
I think however that Deerfield perhaps offers more opportunities and challenges. He is a bit worried that he may struggle to find himself especially with the level of competition there. Interestingly he seems very interested in the EC's but wonders if he may get lost. Another impt. factor for S is that In. Springs offers full merit scholarships and he needs all the financial assistance he can get if he is to attend boarding school abroad.</p>

<p>CapM. thanks for your contribution. Why aren't you fond of Alabama? My S has never experienced winter and wonder whether that will negatively affect his adjustment in the short term. I know the rankings are in favour of the NE schools but do you know how well Indian Springs alums fare on entering college? I know nothing, we are dying to see these schools.</p>

<p>I'm not sure...</p>

<p>all I know is that this year's graduating class has students that have already been accepted into Harvard, Penn, Yale, Middlebury, U. of Chicago, and others. Two of my cousins that went to In. Springs attended Brown (one of them was ranked the 6th best student in Alabama).</p>

<p>Thanks a lot.</p>

<p>If as someone wrote only 26% of the kids board, I would find the school less desirable for my s or d to attend if they were to board. Part of the attraction of a boarding school is the community that developes when kids live together 7 days a week. If 75% of the kids aren't around nights or weekends that community can't develope. Milton Academy is decreasing the amount of day students it admits so that it can increase the number of boarders to 60% of the school population.</p>

<p>Privileged, the most important thing is where your son feels most comfortable. I know my daughter was very anxious to get a feel for the competition at each of the schools we visited. I hope you will get a chance to visit afterall. I don't know your financial situation, but if you qualify for need based aid, you may find Deerfield, with it's large endowment. generous. You said you were from the tropics. Is your son a URM?</p>

<p>mamom, we took Milton off of our list because of the low percent of boarders. Families we spoke to with kids there felt it was a less than ideal situation. One school told me that the only reason they take day students is for "community relations." I guess SPS gets to be 100% boarding because it's tucked away and most of the town doesn't seem to know it's there. No one could give us directions!</p>

<p>kirmum, that is so funny about sps. we stayed at a hotel right off the highway which is probably 5-7 miles from school and nobody working there had ever heard of it. quite funny.</p>

<p>Kirmum I'm crossing my fingers that we will get to visit. Hopefully if Deerfield accepts he'll get significant aid. How receptive are they if the aid proved insufficient, are they really willing to consider an increase? What's URM? We live in the caribbean. </p>

<p>Mamom does the low % boarding have that negative an effect in terms of community development? I noticed it but since I have little feedback I didn't know what to make of it. I hear the dorms at Deerfield are wonderful and my S loves science so that new science facility is also an attraction.</p>

<p>URM means under represented minority. All of the schools I visited have a major commitment to minority students. I spoke to some about some children I work with who would need total aid to attend. They are anxious for qualified minority candidates.</p>

<p>Kirmum I guess he would have to be since he is a foreigner and black to boot. Hope that helps given his stats.</p>

<p>By the way there is a great post in the parents forum by Evil_Robot entitled "The long (financial) road to matriculation...". It could provide some guidance to kids concerned about finances and their choice of private school.</p>

<p>I have read on this discussion board that it is undesirable to have significant numbers of day students at a boarding school for various reasons. My s applied to Milton last year for 6th grade and we were told they believe it also because they are gradually decreasing the number of day students they are accepting over the next 3 years. I will try to find the threads for you.</p>