<p>If you are accepted in both schools (DFA & LWS) under identical conditions, can somebody please tell me what you would choose and why. We don't want to regret later to reject DFA for LWS or the other way, we kindly request experienced parents or students to provide some insight. Appreciate your views.. Thanks</p>
<p>It would help a great deal if we knew why you applied to these two schools in the first place. What set them apart from others?</p>
<p>They are peer schools; therefore, pick on the basis of which one suits your personality more and which one makes more logistical sense. </p>
<p>Dress: formal/preppy vs casual/relaxed</p>
<p>Athletic league: New England v Mid-Atlantic (DA & Lville do play each other, though)</p>
<p>Location: middle of nowhere & no nearby shops/restaurants vs. practicaly nxt door to Princeton. </p>
<p>Int’l Logistics: middle of nowhere vs. 1-1/2 hr to JFK, 45 min to EWR & access to train</p>
<p>Domestic Logistics: driving past NYC traffic is awful. So if u live N of NYC then DA would be seriously less hassle. If u live S of NYC then ditto for Lville</p>
<p>I’ve visited both schools. Deerfield has a better college placement rate (although both are similar). Deerfield has the benefit of being in a small town, so kids don’t have much to do outside of the campus. This forces students to forge close bonds with each other (and teachers). Lawrenceville is more of a suburban environment, and many more day students - so more distractions and outside influences for the student. Lville is a slightly larger school than Deerfield as well.</p>
<p>Both schools are great, but if I were in your shoes, would choose Deerfield because of its close knit community and better college placement rate. Good luck</p>
<p>Looks like sgopal2 had certain unpleasant experience with Lville 8-| These appear to be mostly baseless assumptions. I’d challenge, “Show me the evidence!”</p>
<p>@GMT, even without honorable governer Christie’s “traffic study,” one should travel via Tappan Zee, not GWB. 
</p>
<p>The truth is, unless someone has had kids who happened to go to both these particular schools, no one can really make direct comparisons. I’m sure people are glad to answer specific questions about both schools! and hopefully you can attend revisit days to help. You’re lucky-- both are great schools. My DS is very happy at DA, and I’d be happy to answer any questions-- but I know nothing about Lville (we didn’t even look at it). DA IS smaller and has a higher percentage of boarders, and, as sgopal says, it more rural (in a very beautiful area). I think the point about thinking what drew you to those two schools originally might help-- ask away, if you have specific questions. What are you looking for socially, academically, and in terms of ECs? Maybe answers to those questions can help you compare.</p>
<p>Thank you very much PhotographerMom, GMT+7, Sgopal, Sharinggift’s sharing heart and daykidmom. For your valuable time and insight, we really truly value and appreciate your inputs. You are all the real angels living on earth with a loving and caring divine heart. May god bless you all with love and fulfillment. We will update later with what my son decides, DFa or LVs for now we are going for the revisit for both the schools. Thanks a lot. </p>
<p>Lol, from how other posters complain about my prickly frankness in this forum, I am definitely no angel…</p>
<p>
Having not so much to do outside of campus has the downside of making drinking a more prominent option for entertainment. </p>
<p>Lville has a house system that fosters close bonds and a spirited sense of intra-school identity & rivalry. DA’s sitdown meals also forges a sense of community, but getting back into class-dress for sitdown dinner is a big hassle after afternoon sports practices. Day students don’t have to participate in sitdown dinners, so daykidmom may not be aware of this.</p>
<p>You need to put college placement rate into perspective. All the top schools have a high number of development cases and/or legacies. S1’s school has a famous lastname kid of middling achievement & multiple serious disciplinary infractions (including a rescinded expulsion) and was still admitted to Harvard early decision. </p>
<p>As an intl parent w a boarding child, given the choice btwn the 2, I would pick Lville in a heatbeat. But every family has different priorities.</p>
<p>Actually, lots of day kids often stay for dinner (including my son), so they do need to change. There are no sit down dinners during the winter, however, except on Sundays, so that makes it easier in the cold. But it’s true, for fall and spring, you have to change. I don’t hear that much complaining about formal class dress from the kids I know-- but I think some kids choose not to go to DA (or other schools with similar dress codes) because they know they want a more casual place. I think it just depends on the kid.</p>
<p>@sonsparent, I highly recommend this thread: <a href=“Talk to a Lawrenceville Tour Guide - Prep School Admissions - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1246281-talk-to-a-lawrenceville-tour-guide-p1.html</a></p>
<p>Answered many of my questions/concerns about Lville. </p>
<p>Alright ; this is my first post in internet in my life. Never asked a forum or public opinion or posting. I was surprised, impressed with all your honest well wishes and sharing knowledge. No face, no race, no name just feelings from heart to help the other. How else one can address. “Knowing is information and knowledge is Transformation”. </p>
<p>Well we are primarily interested only in education/academics/education ivy league college admission. science math comp sc. Not interested in much of sports once again thanks. </p>
<p>The 2 schools have nearly identical success rates for matriculation into the top colleges
<a href=“http://matriculationstats.org/boarding-school-stats”>http://matriculationstats.org/boarding-school-stats</a>
You can click on the column headers to re-sort the schools. 1-2% difference is statistically meaningless with such a small sample set of students.</p>
<p>In any case, no boarding school can guarantee admission into any particular college. And as I mentioned earlier, it’s often other factors which determine admission into the most prestigious colleges:
<a href=“WSJ.com - For Groton Grads, Academics Aren't Only Keys to Ivy Schools”>http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/Polk_Groton_Grads.htm</a></p>
<p>Pick btwn DA & Lville on the basis of which school your child will feel more at home, because that’s what the school will be for the nxt few years. </p>
<p>@sonsparent, are u domestic or int’l? </p>
<p>Edge of lville over deerfield?</p>
<p>We are domestic. Thank you for responding to my post. My son is not a star athlete and wants to go mainly for the challenging academic experience. He is interested in science and math and computer science subjects and also English. Can folks who are experienced about Lawrence ville and Deerfield please share their experience about the courses and academic opportunities such as independent research at both schools thank you for your time</p>
<p>I have direct experience with DA and anecdotal (friends, childs friends) experience with Lville. Unfortunately for you, both schools have a big sports component. Fortunate for your kid, since it really is ut mens sane sit in corpore sano. From what I observed ( my knowledge is a few years old, my DA kid is in college now) Lville kids came back to the City almost every weekend bringing non City BS friends with them. So between a large day component and city kids going back, weekends at Lville arent that full. DA kids dont do that on a regular basis. Its a more enclosed and even experience. We have a saying when a kid has a choice between Lville and other similar schools and goes to Lville that the parents are afraid of kid going wild since Lville is not a one strike school. Academics are equally strong . I believe that true independent research is difficult at any boarding school. While this seems that I am biased against one school vs. the other, its not. We had a choice between several schools including Lville and those were the comparisons we used to rule it out. At the end of the day its an extremely personal choice. Go to both revisits and keep your eyes extremely open. You have wonderful choices.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This might be changing at Lville. They have recently initiated [a</a> scholarship program](<a href=“http://www.lawrenceville.org/news/item/index.aspx?LinkId=5587&ModuleId=53"]a”>http://www.lawrenceville.org/news/item/index.aspx?LinkId=5587&ModuleId=53) and take advantage of proximity to Princeton and other research organizations. [This</a> kid](<a href=“http://www.davidsongifted.org/Article/Davidson_Fellows___2013_Fellow_Aashna_Mago_483.aspx"]This”>http://www.davidsongifted.org/Article/Davidson_Fellows___2013_Fellow_Aashna_Mago_483.aspx) even got selected as a prestigious Davidson Fellow and won $25,000 prize.</p>
<p>Sonsparent-- I answered your PM. Let me know if it didn’t come through or if you have any others questions.</p>
<p>Daykidmom you are awesomely awesome thank you soo much for your effort and wishes. </p>
<p>Someone mentioned Drinking as an activity at some schools who dont have anything to do on weekends. Can someone comment regarding Deerfield and Lawrenceville. I heard that these schools have zero tolerance policy but is it really enforced?</p>