Given Lawrenceville’s size is it hard to try new things, get opportunities and leadership positions?
every large school has this issue (there are prob more opportunities at larger schools too) i think
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In our experience, trying new things (e.g., music, sports) is very school specific. Some encourage students to get out of their comfort zones and get a taste of all the different offerings, others encourage kids to stick with “what got them there,” and many are somewhere in between. Leadership options are going to be limited at many boarding schools because of the exceptionally large talent pools and number of very driven kids. Regarding opportunities, our experience has been mixed. For example, some sports are search high and low for kids to come out, while certain activities (e.g., debate) are going to be limited by the number of kids who can participate (e.g., “we can only take five students to the competition in Boston”).
I think you will find challenges and opportunities in trying new things at both large and small schools, either due to the intensity / experience of the other kids, or because they don’t have the numbers. I have one child at a large school, and another at a small school, and they have both experienced road blocks in some of the extra curricular activities / sports. On the flip side, they have both tried extra curricular activities they never would have thought to try, and have loved that experience.
In terms of leadership positions, boarding schools are pretty much hand picking kids who want to be leaders, so it’s going to be a competitive process at any BS.
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