<p>Thanks! I am, after all, a whole-hearted advocate for Peddie!</p>
<p>Thank you laughalittle and gobigredd for your perfect explanations for each opinion on which school is better. I am really finding out a lot of information that I did not know before. All of you are helping me out a lot! I really appreciate it. Thank you all.</p>
<p>No problem Championn! Just doing my job. Maybe we’ll end up on the same campus! I’m just wondering, have you made a decision? A place you’re leaning towards?</p>
<p>You said it yourself - Peddie is on the rise. But, why would you want to go to a school that is “getting there” when you could go to one far more established? Peddie simply cannot offer the resources and opportunities Lawrenceville offers.</p>
<p>One cannot deny Peddie is a good school, but it’s not in the same league as Lawrenceville. Peddie may have a great science facility, but, on the whole, its campus does not measure up to L’ville’s campus. As far as classes and facilities go, Lawrenceville’s science labs are superb. Situations like you described in which a student can pursue a course of study as the only student in the class sound rare at Peddie by the way you described it. At Lawrenceville, independent studies become commonplace during a student’s junior and senior year. </p>
<p>Laptops are not required, but they are ubiquitous.</p>
<p>I don’t think that I was clear. Peddie is on the rise in students, families, and its prestige. What I mean is that Peddie, to me, is a great school, and now more top students and their families are going there, and not those top schools with the prestige factor. Now Peddie is becoming more elite, and it’s harder to get in. I like Peddie because it’s courageous: rejecting students with 99th percentile because they aren’t a good fit for the school. </p>
<p>I want to go to Peddie, BigRedd, even though it’s “on the rise”, because I think it’s a good fit for me and has what I’m looking for.</p>
<p>Lawrenceville has 700 acres of land, and Peddie only has 280. Isn’t it true, however, that a fair bit of Lawrenceville’s land is used for faculty housing? And while Peddie isn’t bigger, there is enough room for everyone. I don’t like how at Lawrenceville there are separate places for the upperclassmen and underclassman to hang out. What happened to “community”? I like at Peddie how underclassmen can be friends with upperclassmen, and not have to jump through hoops to hang out together.</p>
<p>I think that Peddie and Lawrenceville both have great academics. And how is Lawrenceville’s campus “better”? I haven’t seen any WOW academics or buildings that makes Lawrenceville more appealing. Peddie is historic, modern, and advanced. Lawrenceville is huge and historic. I see amazing college matriculation from Peddie, too. People seem to prefer Lawrenceville because of college matriculation. Peddie’s right up there, sending their students to Georgetown, Carnegie Melon, GW, Columbia, Cornell, etc. While it might not be Princeton all across the board, these are respectable schools that powerful people come from.</p>
<p>And I believe you interpreted my Latin section as incorrect. What I meant was that this girl was done with the average Latin, and she wanted to continue Latin as a full-on class still. So they created her own class, Latin 6, and now students, I believe, can enter it after they’ve completed their other Latin studies. Yes, there is also a plethora of independent studies at Peddie in the junior and senior year, so I doubt L’ville has the upper-hand there. Also, something that Peddie does (which I have not heard L’ville do) is a summer in which juniors-turning-seniors go wherever they need to so that they can pursue a future career. Peddie contacts people that they know who could help take the student as an apprentice over the summer. Students embark on journeys such as think tanks, diplomats, cancer research, etc.</p>
<p>All I can say is that Peddie has a pretty strong case. I don’t care if I’m “almost there”, because I’m in a place that’s already “there” for me and what I want.</p>
<p>Teamam: Although College Matriculations are tricky to truly gauge which is why I don’t dwell too much on them, for the record though, Lawrenceville’s on paper is in a different leaugue than Peddie’s College Matriculations. If this means a lot to a person, Lawrenceville has them beat big time.</p>
<p>Laughalittle: Peddie rejects kids in the 99th percentile because they know they’re that kids safety School and not their 1st choice. It has nothing to do with Peddie’s nobility. Peddie also wants it to get around that school that their top students are being rejected to try to move from their 2nd tier status which they are obssessed with changing. The more they reject or “waitlist” top students that view them as a safety, the better their reputation. Peddie has to attract more affluent students to maintain their endowment long term as no more money is coming from the deceased Annenbergs</p>
<p>Prepveteran, I disagree. My sibling GOES to Peddie, and there have been many times when I hear “This girl was a sibling, but rejected with a 99th percentile because she’s introverted” or “This legacy was rejected because they weren’t a good fit”. Peddie is ballsy, to say the least. If you aren’t smart or a good fit, forget about it! I know plenty of people who had Peddie as their top choice, are the perfect candidate, and WHOOPS! They got wait-listed. Hooks are disregarded, grades don’t automatically get you in. Peddie’s median SSAT score is a 74th percentile. They don’t care if they don’t accept the people that make their statistics look great. They have plenty of smart kids and athletic recruits, like any other school. If you’re outgoing, intriguing, smart, and vivacious, you have a good chance. I think that sometimes Lawrenceville is looking for the “statistic booster”, rather than the “smart, good fit, might not have gotten 99th percentile but a good student, nonetheless”. Top schools are filled with smart kids, zesty personalities, and athletes, not one or the other.</p>
<p>And Peddie doesn’t just accept rich kids to get their endowment flowing. Most of the kids that go to Peddie are relatively middle-class. You know how many students are on FA? 40%. Lawrenceville: 29%. Their FA: 9.1 million dollars. Peddie’s FA: 5 million dollars. So I personally think that Lawrenceville is the one that accepts rich kids. </p>
<p>And the status issue…well, that’s debatable. I haven’t seen any real surge in interest to change their status. True, they’d like to show that they are also a school to be watching, but I haven’t seen any aggressive behavior from them. While reading this thread, I constantly see “Lawrenceville is on top” and “They’re only grouped together because of location”. I disagree. I’ve seen plenty of kids choose Peddie over Lawrenceville. Peddie kids seem to know who they are. They are people that can be whoever they want to be without worry of teasing or criticism. They encourage their classmates to improve, not step on them on the way to the top. And they (rightfully so, I add) would like to show that they, in fact, ARE top tier, for the people of their kind. Who are their kind? Well, those are people that are friendly, outgoing, vivacious, and engaging. They are down-to-earth and quite diverse.</p>
<p>Peddie, to me, is a school that cares about the well-being of their students, their campus, and their employees. Not their statistics, matriculation, or money flow. Yet, they seem to have great statistics, matriculation, and money flow even though they aren’t focusing on it. Funny, right?</p>
<p>Personally, I would go to Lawrenceville. I got accepted there last year and I regret not taking the offer…</p>
<p>In response to the college matriculation issue, the below link breaks out statistics on Lawrenceville and Peddie’s 5 year results. As prepveteran mentioned, Lawrenceville is in a different league from Peddie.</p>
<p>Most people would look at the % to HYPMS data (13% for Lville and 4% for Peddie), but I think the “% to Strong Schools” is the most telling statistic. This measures matriculation to USNWR Top 50 Universities and Top 25 LACs and therefore accounts for a much larger percentage of the class. In this category, Lville has a very significant lead, sending 76% to Top 50 schools, while Peddie sends 55% to Top 50 schools.</p>
<p>[Boarding</a> School Stats : Matriculation Stats](<a href=“http://matriculationstats.org/boarding-school-stats]Boarding”>http://matriculationstats.org/boarding-school-stats)</p>
<p>Matriculation shouldn’t be the primary criteria for choosing a prep school, however I wanted to correct other posters who have been misleading by claiming the schools’ matriculations are comparable.</p>
<p>I think that Peddie’s college matriculation is pretty good. Smart kids go to both schools, and.how many students are athletic recruits?</p>
<p>Sent from my SPH-M920 using CC App</p>
<p>Prepveteran makes an excellent point about Peddie rejecting excellent students in some cases because the applicant views Peddie as a safety. As far as college matriculation goes, Lawrenceville has the clear upper hand. Even so, I would never advise someone to go to a school based on its matriculation record - there’s a lot more to it. Lville’s success in college placement is, however, indicative that Lawrenceville provides an excellent education and preparation.</p>
<p>Your comments about the Peddie community are reassuring, but I’ll point out that Lawrenceville is more than its statistics. It is a Community. The House System, a cornerstone of the Lawrenceville experience, gives a small school feeling while offering the resources of a large school. Essentially, it offers the best of both worlds.</p>
<p>Many students at Lawrenceville are very wealthy, some incredibly so, but that adds to the breadth and depth of diversity. It spans the spectrum from full-ride scholarship students to sons/daughters of billionaires. Students from more than 30 states and 30 foreign countries.</p>
<p>And, your anecdote about the Latin student is simply not impressive. Lawrenceville’s relationship with Princeton University means that students who exhaust the School’s offerings have the option to take classes at Princeton - Peddie can’t offer that level of instruction and opportunity. For a student looking to choose between the two, I stress that matriculation, prestige, and the lot are merely icing on the cake. There’s so much more to it. You can have the kind of experience laughatlittle described about Peddie at L’ville, but at Lawrenceville you also get the resources and the opportunities even a fine school like Peddie simply cannot offer.</p>
<p>@laughalittle: No, I have not decided on which school to go to yet. I am going to attend both revisit days and see if my opinions change during these revisits. I don’t want to make a decision before experiencing a stay at both schools for a full school day. </p>
<p>I am not at all sure which school to choose. I originally picked Lawrenceville as my main choice and Peddie as my safety (because I knew little about it). Now that I have heard many opinions and a lot of different information about both schools, I see that they are both wonderful schools and seem like a place that I would like to spend the next four years of my life. </p>
<p>–And by the way, very interesting debate that you guys are having. Lol! (:</p>
<p>Honestly, both schools seem amazing to me.</p>
<p>I simply cannot compete with a name like GoBigRedd. </p>
<p>Yes, Lawrenceville has great matriculation and academics. I happen to say the same about Peddie. </p>
<p>You say that the unity between classmates is tighter because of the House system. Quite honestly, I feel that the separation of the underclassmen and upperclassmen is cold and shows a lack of harmony. Peddie is a school that I chose because of their nurturing and warm environment, which still has a rigorous and intense academic program. I, personally, would rather spend my days with a diverse group of kids that gravitated towards Peddie for its homey appeal and challenging courses and opportunities. I still don’t feel like Lawrenceville is in another league. </p>
<p>And on another topic, a student mentioned that L’ville has great matriculation stats for Princeton because Princeton faculty send their kids there. That clarified a lot for me.</p>
<p>So if you want lots of opportunities in a nurturing environment, without the prestige, Peddie is a good fit. If you want lots of academic opportunities, good college matriculation, and the prestige factor, L’ville is the way to go.</p>
<p>I think Peddie is underrated. I met some really nice people there both faculty and students. :)</p>
<p>Laughalittle, your comments about Peddie are helpful to students looking to choose their secondary school education. I will, ask however, that you not make generalizations about Lawrenceville. Because you are not a student, you do not have the authority to comment about the internal merits of the House system and the Community. I have not made any comments about Peddie that a quick Google search cannot easily verify with facts - I suggest you do the same. Qualitative commentary is, of course, helpful, but only if you’ve experienced it from the inside.</p>
<p>You are right to point out that Lawrenceville has a few children of Princeton faculty. They are, however, a very small minority. I will point out that not all of those students even apply to Princeton, and the ones that get in are more than qualified. While it is true that Princeton has been the single college L’ville sends its student to most frequently, faculty-son/daughter advantage fails to explain Lawrenceville’s success at sending students to other top institutions such as Ivy League/MIT/Stanford/Duke/UChicago.</p>
<p>But again, college matriculation success is peripheral compared to the other advantages of Lawrenceville. You shouldn’t choose a school based solely on its college matriculation success.</p>
<p>I did visit the campus (didn’t apply), and when I asked the question about hanging out with upperclassmen, my tour-guide responded, “You can do it, but, uh, no one really does that.” So I’m not making a generalization. I found out that the people hang out with each other in their own grade, which is fine. I happen to think that when a Lawretian tells me that no one really hangs out with those out of their grade, that worries me. I hope you understand.</p>
<p>College matriculation is just something that everyone talks about. The schools in the surrounding Princeton area also have great college matriculation. Maybe not Princeton, but certainly some of the schools you named (UChicago, Stanford, Hopkins, etc.). I just feel that if you are a qualified candidate, it doesn’t matter what school you’re from. Instead, it matters who you are and what you’re like. Of course, Lawrenceville is renowned for their college matriculation. I just think that you should choose a school because of fit, not because of matriculation (as you have stressed).</p>
<p>This old post is a great way to convey how I feel about this topic:</p>
<p>The comparison is a little unfair because Peddie is not L’ville and L’ville is not Peddie. The schools are quite different in feel, size, philosophy, and the type of student who is attracted to each. I have relatives who are now at or have attended each. Academically, I think the workload and teacher expectations are on par, but let’s be honest, L’ville is harder to get in and definitely has better college stats. IMO, L’ville has much better college admissions because of the type of student attracted to L’ville (and who get in), as well as some historic ties. But overally I don’t believe the experience at L’ville is not better academically for a motivated student. They both = great education. BTW, also from my perspective (and not to offend anyone), for a student/parent considering both, be honest about works better for you: to be a big fish in a small, close knit pond, or to be a smaller fish in a fierce, awesome sea. Both have their place for the right students.</p>
<p>I am parent of D who will be attending Peddie next yr as 9th grader. For her the attraction of the campus was instantaneous; definitely a warm inviting place that seemed to embrace athletes and artistic students alike. </p>
<p>Lawrenceville is different–it doesn’t embrace the arts as much as Peddie since sports takes number one status there. House system did not appeal to me at all; it seems to be an isolating, artificial vestige of a longstanding tradition.</p>
<p>Lawrenceville is, in a way, a “little” Princeton–which is both good and not so good. High school yrs should be enjoyable and a time to expand one’s horizon.</p>
<p>There is no doubt that college matriculation stats are better at Lawrenceville. I wonder how much of that is related to higher incoming SSAT scores and legacies at top schools (legacies have twice the chance of college admissions as non legacy applicants). </p>
<p>I believe Peddie is seeking a more diverse student body–and still producing top athletic teams with a fewer number of students than Lawrenceville.</p>
<p>College matriculation can change. When I was a Princeton undergrad, there was maybe 1 student in my class from Lawrenceville!</p>
<p>Can you clarify what you mean by ‘Lawrenceville doesn’t embrace the arts’? My D was accepted to Lawrenceville and may attend next year.</p>