<p>Hi,
My son has been admitted to both Germantown Friends School and Penn Charter School in Philadelphia. He is impressed with both schools. Any information on the caliber/vibe and differences of those schools would be very much appreciate.Thank you!!!</p>
<p>Hi I have no direct experience with either school, but don’t they have revisit days? It’s difficult to talk about vibe because everyone has different opinions. I got a rather snobbish impression of Exeter Academy whereas others felt it was just a productive atmosphere. Factual differences can probably be found on the website. Sorry I can’t provide any first hand exp!</p>
<p>Hello, philamom. Congrats to your son on his acceptances to two excellent schools. May I ask what grade your son will be in when he starts?</p>
<p>Both are great! (Almost as good as EA ;))
Seriously, superb outcomes from either. I’d choose the one that “feels” best to you and/or your child.</p>
<p>I agree with Thacher…let him visit again and see which one feels right. Consider on your end tuition, communute, welcoming feel for you and college results/acceptances.
He has 2 good options.
T</p>
<p>Thank you! My son will be starting 9th grade in September. I also have a four year old that I was hoping to send to Pre-K to the same school my older one will choose.</p>
<p>Hi Philamom,</p>
<p>I have relatives who graduated in the past 5 years from GFS and spoke highly of its challenging academics. It certainly has excellent college placement. That said, I didn’t think it was a good fit for my child and instead applied to PC (and may go there in the fall). I like the Head of School and how he has a clear mission for the school and is putting it into practice and I like all the people (and prospective parents) I met. I also think PC is a nice blend of the Inter-Ac ethos (button down, classic education) and the Quaker school one (progressive, Quaker). Of course I do not have a child at either school, so these are only impressions. You can’t go by tuition or commute because they’re the essentially the same. Hopefully, while walking down the halls of each one, your son will get a feel for where he fits in better. I would also bet that each school would allow your child to call current students and talk to them. Good luck!</p>
<p>Gnutothis,
Your feedback is very much appreciated! Getting in touch with current students is a great idea. It looks like you have made your choice. Best of luck to your family.</p>
<p>If your son is more of an intellectual/academic type, he may feel more akin to many of the students and teachers at GFS. If sports matter greatly to him, he’ll have a few more options at PC – for example, GFS does not have a football team.</p>
<p>Don’t know whether it matters to you, but GFS has a decidely stronger emphasis on Quakersim, as the school is under the care of Germantown Monthly Meeting, a very active Friends meeting which takes its involvement with the school quite seriously. A School Committee comprised predominantly of active Quakers governs the school.</p>
<p>Good luck with your decision, which should come down to where your son feels most at home.</p>
<p>OlympiaSnowe,
You seem to be familiar with both schools. Can I send you a private message with a couple questions? My son is still unable to decide between the two schools even after the revisit days!</p>
<p>OP, did your son have a chance to spend a day in class at each school? Sometimes it just comes down to the particular group of kids he’ll spend the next four years with. My son applied to three Friends League Schools for high school (PC is Inter-AC, but most Quaker schools in this area are FL and don’t have football programs). Spending a day with 8th graders (the kids he’d go to high school with) revealed some marked differences in each school. That may help in the end to make a decision. They’re both great schools and I’ve known graduates from both. I don’t think you can go wrong either way!</p>
<p>Thank you Lucie!</p>
<p>philla, maybe if your son is torn, you should consider which school would be a better fit for your little one? </p>
<p>FWIW, my son attended a small PK-middle grades Quaker school before moving on to his current one, and we just LOVED that little school. Like GFS, it was affiliated with a local Meeting and felt a little more authentically Quaker than the school he attends now. That’s not meant as a criticism, mind you, but we really bought into the first school’s mission, especially when our son was young. His current school is terrific and teaches Quakerism, has weekly meetings for worship, etc., but there aren’t as many actual Quaker families there and it just has a little more of a competitive vibe – maybe that’s just the nature of high school though!</p>
<p>Other things to consider are travel times, etc., for your children and you if you’ll be doing the driving.</p>
<p>Let us know what you decide!</p>