<p>Hi, </p>
<p>My friend's son was recently offered an acceptance at The Hill School (PA) and The Governor's Academy (MA).
They were not able to visit the schools and had only Skype interview because they live outside the States.
They wanted to know if there is any big difference between the two in terms of school culture and academic rigor?
Any input is appreciated. </p>
<p>I was also accepted to Governor’s for 2018. I don’t know much about Hill. But I know from my visits, Govs is HUGE about school culture, everyone seems to know each other and it gets really fun during their rival days against Brooks. Academic Rigor also seems strong after receiving a class catolouge. Congrats to your friend’s son, and maybe hope to see him at Govs!! </p>
<p>Both are great schools, if you use the search function there is a huge amount of information available.
Some of the students I know whom attend/attended The Hill, say it has very rigorous academics and graduates matriculate to top US schools as well as the US Naval Academy. </p>
<p>Something brought up by another poster; being you are international, consideration should be given to transportation hubs. Governor’s Academy is fairly close to Boston but there are a limited number of international flights into Logan where as Hill is about 45 Minutes from Philadelphia, 2 Hours from Newark, 2 ½ hours from JFK and 3 ½ hours from Washington Dulles. The Hill also offers RT bus service (During breaks and long weekends at a charge) to Philadelphia (both airport and 30th Street), Port Authority in New York City and beginning this year to JFK. I would imagine that Governor’s has a similar arrangement but really do not know.</p>
<p>Sorry I don’t have a lot of info for Governor’s but know a bit about the Mid Atlantic schools.</p>
<p>You will also find that both schools have an impressive roster of alumnus.</p>
<p>Good luck in your quest for a really great education, which you will garner at either school. </p>
<p>From our visits and investigations, I’d lean toward Hill. </p>
<p>As a parent, we felt the Governor’s campus was less supervised and Hill was more structured. And though they have great school spirit and sports teams, even DD felt Govs was too loose. </p>
<p>Also, from what i’ve seen in kids that go there and the documents, Hill appears to have stronger academics and results. And they have plenty of spirit as well. Our friends’ S is choosing to go to Hill so hope it works out well. Just our impressions …</p>
<p>@sorifootball13</p>
<p>Thank you for your information. I also heard Governor’s is a close-knit community and has a very friendly school culture. I guess it has a relatively low percentage of international students, which I guess may be a pus or a minus. I don’t know. My friend’s son is also an international student. </p>
<p>@ootah1</p>
<p>Transportation could also be a consideration, I guess. There is no direct flight either to Boston or Philadelphia from where the student’s family live. Thanks for your insightful info. I guess in that sense Hill is closer to JFK. </p>
<p>@steelguy</p>
<p>While both schools are great, I heard the Hill was more structured (and conservative??) They have uniforms and formal dining and as such I guess it is more formal than Governor’s where there is no uniforms. Thank you. </p>
<p>The Hill has a dress code (Blazers for both young and women) and not uniforms, but from what I have seen, it is a bit relaxed type of formal. If you go to both schools websites, you should be able to see lots of photos of day to day life giving you a better idea of dress. As for being “close knit” most boarding schools tend to foster these types of communities, especially the smaller ones. The Hill does promote itself as “The Family Boarding School” featuring seated meals, weekly chapel service (Study hall and catch up on sleep) masters living in the dorms with students and etc.</p>
<p>Hill is a “top ten” which is basically the ivy league of boarding schools. </p>