My DC is weighing a decision between Groton, Deerfield and Exeter. For a long time Groton has been DC’s first choice, however DC is starting to ponder whether the size of Groton may be a bit of a drawback.
DC is a good athlete but won’t be recruited at the college level so isn’t worried about the BS quality of its varsity team. The concern is that Groton has about 85 graduating students, vs. 165 at Deerfield and about 320 at Exeter.
DC will meet fewer kids, and have a much smaller alumni network down the road. Plus one of the major reasons DC wants to go to BS is to meet lots of interesting people from all walks of life.
Groton has so many great things going for it, but my DC just has this little nagging concern about school size (perhaps us parents as well). I know one really can’t go wrong with any of the choices, but would Deerfield perhaps be a happy medium (although DC has a concern that DA students aren’t quite as serious as those at GS/PEA)?
Thank you in advance for any insights you may have.
I would that add academic opportunities are superb in all the three schools you mention. If your DC wants to be challenged more, there are plenty of honours and advanced courses to chose from that will test your DC’s limits. Our DS is at DA and is taking some of these very demanding courses with inspiring and dedicated teachers. In his case, size of the school was one of the key criteria in his final selection. Your DC should decide which school offers the best fit. Congratulations and good luck in making this difficult decision!
@happarent6 You said “size of school (DA) (for DS) was one of the key criteria”. As in “happy it isn’t too small”, or as in “happy it is not as large as PA/PEA)”?
I think this is a great question…but a very personal one.
Meaning, a graduating class of 85 might feel perfect to some, but too small for others. I don’t know if anyone can predict that for you.
I have no connection to any of the schools (but visited Exeter and Groton when 7D1 was looking at schools), but if meeting “lots of interesting people from all walks of life” is truly a priority for your child, I might err towards PEA…mostly on size alone.
As SevenDAd mentions, the question you pose is very personal indeed. Maybe if I elaborate our DS’ thinking, it might help BSEnthusiast. Our DS sought a school which was intimate and friendly and did not feel like a college. On the other hand, he hoped the school would be large enough so that he would still be meeting new people as the years progressed. Our also DS wanted variety in course selection, extracurricular activities and athletics. Finally, he was interested in certain STEM offerings that were not universally available. To be honest, size was less of a priority for me but our DS made the final decision.
One of my kids had Groton under consideration at the wire and size was a concern. Plus, child wasn’t a fan of those 9th grade dorm cubicles. But it is a personal consideration, for sure.
OP, why did you apply to these schools that vary so much in size? Is size a critical factor to you? If groton was not too small for you then, why is it now?
@panpacific I didn’t apply, it’s DC’s show. DC loves Groton but wants to make sure of the choice. Plus admissions to selective schools can be a crapshoot and one would be foolish to cast too narrow a net.
“OP, why did you apply to these schools that vary so much in size? Is size a critical factor to you? If groton was not too small for you then, why is it now?”
I think it’s fair to start comparing and contrasting once you have acceptances in hand. I’m sure OP’s kid would be thrilled with Groton if that were the only choice, as my kid would have been. Excellent school! But when you do have choices, you have the option of nit-picking. How else does one narrow it down?
I don’t think there is an answer out there. As expected, there will be people saying yes it’s too small and other saying no it’s perfect. Hard as it may be, unless there is a clear preference for size, I’d try find something else to differentiate them. Good luck!
@BSEnthusiast Exeter parent here happy to answer any questions you might have on my kids experiences at Exeter- just Pm me. Good luck on finding the right fit for your child.
My DD had options of varying size as well and after the fact she loves her feeling of a perfect size at DA. She said she really didn’t have a full grasp of the physical footprint of a place like Exeter until returning for athletics events. A perfect size for one student might feel confining to another.
My kid’s school is slightly bigger than Groton. Although they love the school and have made friends they do wish it was a little bigger. As much as you wish they didn’t-kids do split off into different friend groups, and if the school is small they may not find their tribe as quickly or get bored with the kids they are with. My kids are both extroverted so this hasn’t really been a problem for them but if your kid is an introvert it may turn into a problem. The other negative as they get older is dating… smaller School smaller pool!
That said, they still love it… so I would consider other factors of fit more important than this one in his decision.
Apologies for creating 2 threads on this topic - when I originally tried to post it seemed to “vanish” and I assumed I had lost the post, so I re-wrote and reposted it. Thanks also to everyone for a ton of good input on a matter that is near and dear to our family’s heart.
How important should size of alumni network be? It seems to me that while smaller schools might have smaller networks, the bonds might be more intense precisely because of the size?
But it is a personal consideration, for sure.
But still, it’s a great school, and it’s a personal decision at the end of the day.