Exonians to the Rescue!

Prep School Admissions
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<p>It's 2 days before decisions, and I know how it feels like.
A few years ago, I was in your shoes, being everything but optimistic.
I had so many disaster scenarios. But at the same time, I had so many goals.
I had so many plans.
And I had so many questions.</p>

<p>As a current student at Exeter, I believe it is only right that current
students take up responsibility (well, at least to some extent) for the
incoming class.</p>

<p>So ask questions! Questions that you were never able
to ask your tour guides because you were too nervous or scared.
We will answer them.</p>

<p>Share your concerns!
We might be able to dispel several of them.</p>

<p>Exeter is my school, and it may well be yours, very soon.
Take responsibility for yourself, and ask! </p>

<p>No school is even close to being perfect, despite what you may have hoped.</p>

<p>Parents. If you are tired of "___(fill in blank with name of boarding school) is Perfect" answers, ask current students. We all had parents who were worried about the same things! </p>

<p>Exeter is an amazing school, and I am sure the Exonians in this forum, will answer your questions as best as they can to last you these two days before decisions,
and even through april before you make your final decisions.</p>

<p>So Dare to Know.</p>

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<p>Wow, this is REALLY bad timing for me lol</p>

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<p>Over the past 4 months, I’ve heard a lot about the overwhelming pressure at Phillips Exeter Academy. Can you share your experience with pressure at Exeter?</p>

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<p>I would post but I might as well wait and see how things unfold so I don’t get too attached.</p>

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<p>Exeter does dance like spring fling or…?</p>

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<p>I know Exeter has the Fall Ball…</p>

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<p>We also have winter formal</p>

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<p>I’m glad you brought this up eddytie.
You will have to deal with pressure at any boarding school, but I’ll
only speak of my experience at Exeter.</p>

<p>I always think of Exeter as a mile run (4 laps around the track), a lap for
each year. While the final goal is to finish the mile, you can decide for yourself
when you want to stop, go slower, or run faster in the process. It’s really all up to you.</p>

<p>There are students at Exeter who refuse to participate in extracurricular activities.
These are students who devote all of their time at Exeter to academics and sports (which is required.) </p>

<p>Then there are people who make it harder for themselves by joining student council, the school paper, or by participating in ten million different clubs. Obviously these people would feel more “pressure” than those who simply
come back to their rooms after classes and are not obligated to do anything other than homework. </p>

<p>Time is really the most valuable commodity at Exeter.
You have classes (and sports) from 8 am to 6 pm every day. You might have
free periods here and there, depending on the classes you’re taking. (For example, people who participate in the Chamber orchestra rarely have free periods.)</p>

<p>Then, if you participate in the school’s music program, you would have
Orchestra Rehearsals from 6:30-8:15 (Mon & Thurs. only.) This, I have to say,
is really tough, because you wouldn’t be able to start your homework until maybe
8:30. And somehow, you’re expected to be in bed by 11. </p>

<p>But most people are willing to give up a couple of hours twice a week for orchestra.
It is completely up to you how you manage your activities. As long as you don’t start burning the candle at both ends, you’re fine.</p>

<p>Now, as you move higher up in the Exeter curriculum, you obviously get homework assignments that take more time and effort. This can cause stress and more pressure, especially if you have the same amount of time as before for homework, but assignments that now take up much more time than before. This is usually the case for most Exonians. Uppers (11th graders) might find themselves at midnight with two more tests to study for and a research paper to write for the next day. This obviously doesn’t happen every day, thank God (unless you’re a professional procrastinator). But don’t forget. This is not just Exeter. I don’t think any 11th grader would describe his/her life as being happy, carefree, and blissful. </p>

<p>The mention of procrastinating brings up time management. Again, it’s all up to you whether you decide to spend an hour of free time during the day, hanging out with friends, or finishing that paper due later in the week. This is not to say that hanging out with friends is bad. As in running a mile, it’s all up to you to go slower or faster.</p>

<p>You make your own Exeter career. People who find Exeter hard are not dumb, stupid people. They just could not find the time to finish all assignments. People who find Exeter “easy” are not necessarily smart geniuses that don’t belong on this planet. They’re just people who did find the time to perfect every stroke in all of their assignments. You decide how hard Exeter is for yourself.</p>

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<p>Do you ever second-guess your choice of Exeter versus some other school you applied to?</p>

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<p>Thanks redhotPEA! This was a very detailed post, that provided insightful look into a life at Exeter.</p>

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<p>The one time I sort of second-guessed my choice was on a Friday night
when my friend reminded me that we had Saturday classes the next day.
I had completely forgotten about Sat. Classes that week for some reason.</p>

<p>I remember saying, “Ugh, I should’ve gone to Andover.” As a joke, though.
It seems to be widely perceived at Exeter that Andover is (much) easier than Exeter.
It, most likely, isn’t true, but I can definitely see where this might come from.</p>

<p>First of all, Andover doesn’t have Saturday classes. This also means their English, Math, Language, Science, and electives have one less weekly meeting than Exeter’s.
That’s also about 1hour x 5 (classes) = 5 hours less homework time each week.
Multiply that by the number of weeks in a school year, and that number becomes huge.</p>

<p>Another complaint I’ve heard is that students involved in the Phillipian (Andover’s newspaper) do not have to take English. In other words, working for the school paper is somehow a substitute for English.</p>

<p>At Exeter, working for the Exonian (a WEEKLY publication) is definitely not a substitute for English class. In fact, it’s just another 10-20 hours you add to your week doing a truly EXTRAcurricular activity. </p>

<p>For some people, this is a reason they should’ve gone to Andover (which is by the way an amazing school.)
For me, this is one of the reasons why I’m glad I chose Exeter.</p>

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<p>What kind of things do you do with your friends? Have you found a niche? Do you find you have time to spend with friends with all of the work? What do you know about theater-- are people satisfied with the theater program? Is it a big part of theater people’s lives? Thank you sooo much! Your answers and wonderful and deliciously detailed! I long to be in your shoes!!</p>

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<p>Is the workload more of daily assignments, long term, or a healthy mix of both?
and what is your favorite class and why?</p>

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<p>I’m going to Andover.</p>

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<p>Thank you SO much for providing this resource for us! Hearing responses from current students truly is a comforting thing, and I really appreciate you looking out for the incoming class. If you were here right now I’d give you a huge hug!</p>

<p>What kind of music do people listen to? Is there anything you wish you had known going in? Is finding a place to sit at lunch the first day as terrifying as it sounds? Is there anything to steer clear of in the dining hall? Who’s your favorite teacher? What does your math homework look like (I know eight problems, but are they stuff you’ve learned about or do you have to come up with a brand new solution on your own)?</p>

<p>Again, thank you SO SO SO much! <em>hug</em></p>

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<p>Those are really detailed responses REDhotPea. Thank You!!! Can you go to the cafeteria anytime you want and does it have food all day?</p>

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<p>Workload is definitely a mix of daily and long term assignments, but I am not so sure if it’s always a “healthy” mix. Every once in a while, all your teachers, as if premeditated, decide to make long term assignments due on the same day or in the same week. This would be a “death” week. It would be one of those days when you somehow end up with two papers and two tests on the same day. Most teachers are very, very understanding and nice when you explain to them the situation you are in. No one will say “No” if you really explain how you have 4 big things on the same day and ask them to move some of the tests or papers to a different day. Plus, look on the bright side. The weeks that follow this “death” week are somewhat laid back and much easier since you don’t have all those big assignments to worry about.</p>

<p>My favorite class is definitely history. History at Exeter is extraordinary. You really can’t learn history without discussion around the Harkness table. At Exeter, history is not about memorizing dates and names. It’s about truly understanding what happened, how it happened, and why it happened. When you learn about King Louis XIV, it’s not about learning what he did. It’s about analyzing everything from his childhood, his character to primary sources from the era, and discussing how all of this affected what he did and how he did it. You dissect literally everything. Also, you will never have to worry about history tests at Exeter. There is none. You have 3-4 papers in history each term, and they’re all very fun to write. That is history at Exeter.</p>

<p>People listen to all different kinds of music. Everything from Rachmaninoff’s Piano concerto No.2 to Party in the USA. Lol. And keep in mind, that on the first day of school, you will definitely not be the only one who’s nervous and scared. You will find that everybody else in your class is just as anxious as you are about school. Finding a friend to sit with shouldn’t be hard at all. Math homework is as you said, just 8-10 problems per night. I ended up with a teacher who assigned 10 every night, but I learned a lot in the class, so every minute I invested in math was worth it. And no. Not everyone at Exeter is a math genius. There are only so many solutions to each problem. You are definitely NOT expected to discover your own formula or to find an amazing solution that no one has ever thought of before. </p>

<p>Finally, yes. The Cafeteria is open all day. There are two dining halls at Exeter, Elm Street and Wetherell. Due to the economic downturn, only Wetherell serves hot breakfast now, but both dining halls serve lunch and dinner. You can stop by at either one to grab a bagel or have a quick drink in between classes. The hot line isn’t open all day, however. Lunch is served from 11:30 (I think) – 1:30 and dinner from 5:00-7:00. We also have the Grill in the Academy Center where you can purchase snacks and even meals any time during the day.</p>

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<p>Oh, and I forgot to mention.
There is now a facebook group for Exeter Admissions.
So feel free to ask questions there.</p>

<p>[Phillips</a> Exeter Academy Admissions | Facebook](<a href=“http://www.facebook.com/exeteradmissions?ref=ts]Phillips”>http://www.facebook.com/exeteradmissions?ref=ts)</p>

<p>Also, if you are an Exonian, please answer some of these questions! :)</p>

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<p>How about the food, redhotPEA?
This sounds dumb and stereotyped, but I’m very curious: Can you still be fashionable at PEA?</p>

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<p>RedhotPEA, you have no idea how much I love you right now. Thank you so much for sacrificing your time to help us out! 8D</p>

<p>Are there cliques at Exeter? And what is something you strongly dislike about it? Also, what sort of student AND person do you think would thrive at Exeter?</p>