<p>I agree with gapoc… Or at least I was in a similar situation. I chose not to attend Exeter because of its intense, highly competitive atmosphere. My mother thought it came off as being “too cold and impersonal for a 14 year old.”
I was also admitted to lawrenceville, and I found it to be a nurturing, close knit community. The house system really seems to forge powerful friendships and increase school spirit. Though the school has roughly 800 students, almost ALL of the freshman(around 150) seemed to know each other.
I’ll be attending Andover this fall;it is by no means a school for the faint of heart, but it is definitely not a “sink or swim” environment, at least in my opinion. They transition freshmen into the school through exclusively 9th grade dorms, pass/fail classes in the fall, and a somewhat generic freshman schedule(history 100 for all, English 100 for all, a math, a language, bio 100 for most, and art/PE/music as a 6th course). In addition, the current students I talked to raved about their advisors and the resources available to them when beginning to “sink.”</p>