<p>Back when I was a student at L’ville (late 70s), no one would have even brought up the name of Peddie as a serious competitor. The general impression of the schools in the greater Princeton area (where I lived my entire life until going away to college, but still have many family members there) is that Lawrenceville was unquestionably the preeminent school in the area. I don’t really think that’s changed even now. Back then, however, Peddie wasn’t even in the 2nd tier of area schools. That position was held by Princeton Day School. Peddie would be considered in the next tier down from that, comparable to a George School or Hun School. But that was before all the Annenberg money. It’s amazing what $100,000,000+ can do to improve a school! Realistically, though, those tremendous improvements have moved Peddie into a tier with PDS, but not L’ville.</p>
<p>As to children of Princeton faculty attending L’ville and improving the matriculation levels to Princeton, there were certainly some but not that many. In my graduating class, there were 12 students who went on to Princeton (and a number of others accepted), but only one of them was the child of a Princeton faculty member (and he would have been accepted anyway, IMHO). There might have been more in other years, but I doubt it would ever be a dominant factor.</p>
<p>As to the comment above about only one L’ville grad being in a particular Princeton class, I’m confident that hasn’t happened since I was a student. As an alum, every year I receive a list of matriculations from the school. I can’t recall the number going to Princeton ever being less than half a dozen.</p>
<p>L’villeGrad: The Annenberg family contribution to Peddie is more than $200 million. It’s not true that Peddie is in the same level as PDS, but not L’ville. Have you visited Peddie lately?</p>
<p>I’m not sure if the incoming Peddie students’ average SSAT scores may be lower than L’ville’s, but their SAT scores are on par with L’ville or higher.</p>
<p>I vote for Lawrenceville! I was about to apply to this school but the tuition was a bit too high for my family. It seemed waaay better than Peddie. Peddie accepted me but didn’t give me the scholarship I was applying for(being international could be the reason). Greedy people.</p>
<p>sunrise1: *L’villeGrad: The Annenberg family contribution to Peddie is more than $200 million. It’s not true that Peddie is in the same level as PDS, but not L’ville. Have you visited Peddie lately?</p>
<p>I’m not sure if the incoming Peddie students’ average SSAT scores may be lower than L’ville’s, but their SAT scores are on par with L’ville or higher. *</p>
<p>I specifically remembered one gift of over $100,000,000 and knew there were others but didn’t bother to research the exact number. Hence the “+” in my comment. Thanks for the clarification.</p>
<p>Yes, I’ve been through the campus. Obviously, Peddie is a boarding school and PDS is a day school and can’t be directly compared for many reasons. The easiest comparison is the college matriculation statistics (yes, I know that’s hardly the whole story). Their stats are very similar. But more indicative is the behavior of parents and students who live in the Princeton area (and could choose either) to which I’m still tuned in (since I have numerous family and friends in the area). They tend to view it as a close decision between the two with that choice governed by the nature of a particular student.</p>
<p>Ok, clearly Lawrenceville students/alumni are going to back up Lawrenceville, and Peddie students/alumni are going to back up Peddie. Lvillegrad, how can you possibly know how prestigious Peddie is, if you haven’t visited the campus in i’m guessing a long time? Keep in mind that half of a school’s vibe comes from the ACTUAL campus. If Peddie isn’t as good as Lawrenceville, then they would not have beaten Lville in swimming AND basketball. See? Both schools excel in different areas and it’s difficult to compare them as they both have different goals as a school. If Peddie was on the same tier as Princeton Day School (although PDS is a great school), then it wouldn’t be talked about as much as it is. Still don’t believe me? Peddie was ranked in the top 20 selective boarding schools on [Boarding</a> School Review - College-Prep & Jr. Boarding Schools](<a href=“http://www.boardingschoolreview.com%5DBoarding”>http://www.boardingschoolreview.com).</p>
<p>1) Maybe I wasn’t clear. Not only have I visited the campus, but I have visited it recently. Why would you assume that I hadn’t? Didn’t I also make it clear that I still have significant ties to the area?
2) Your point that Peddie beat L’ville in swimming and basketball doesn’t seem all that convincing. Swimming is THE sport at Peddie. They should beat L’ville. And winning a basketball game makes Peddie a better school? Huh?
3) That Peddie is talked about as a top 20 school is great. It certainly is an excellent school. But since when is L’ville talked about as only a top 20 school as opposed to a top 10 school.
4) I have several relatives who went to Peddie. So, although I’m biased toward L’ville, I do have a lot of reasons to support Peddie also.
5) Why does Peddie “being talked about as much as it is” imply that it’s “better” than PDS. Couldn’t they both be “talked about” a lot? Moreover, boarding schools are more likely to be talked about than day schools simply because they are of interest to a wider audience.</p>
<p>@Sunrise: Yes i got a scholarship, for the first years tuition I have to pay … $0! Not including the extra fees. For the main tuition of about $47,000 I don’t have to pay anything, but the school does make you pay about $25,000 extra fees over the course of the academic school year. But, $47,000 tooken out of tuition is ALOT of money, and I am happy that this makes L’ville more affordable. (: and the same for Peddie. @Yazmie: You should of filled out the application, even if it was to much money. And you should of applied for financial aid.</p>
<p>Lawrenceville is no doubt a more prestigious, more highly ranked and more selective boarding school than Peddie, and has impressive college matriculaton stats. Not being a student or current parent at either school clearly places me at a disadvantage in knowing the true tenor of each campus. In touring both places, I felt Peddie emphasized its embracement of music both in the open house presentation which featured a few wondeful performances for the attendees as well as the breadth of their offerings to students. Visual arts…it seems both places are right up there. At L’ville, it might be helpful to inquire specifically whether your daughter’s extracurricular interests in music (if that’s where they lie) can be accommodated with the rigors of the athletic calendar. If there is no potential conflict, then I don’t think there is anything to be concerned about.</p>
<p>Regarding L’ville matric stats at Princeton in late 70’s, I stand corrected! My apologies.</p>
<p>In my yr, there were indeed 7 L’ville grads; interestingly, there were 6 from PDS and 11 from Princeton HS and 1 from Peddie. </p>
<p>It seems that both L’ville and Peddie have improved their numbers over the yrs, but with L’ville clearly catapulting to the top of the “feeding schools” to Princeton.</p>
<p>Each student should ask himself/herself what he/she wants from their high school experience–how they feel they will fit in, grow intellectually, and enjoy life at the moment. While the dream of attending a HYPS/MIT may be a major enticement for picking the most prestigious, highly selective school, it is also worthwhile to try to predict, when all is said and done, which school you will be able to return to for your reunions and truly feel that you had the best time of your life! Not an easy task, and the answer may be different for everyone!</p>
<p>This forum should be a helpful resource for prospective students and parents considering Lawrenceville and or Peddie. Some members have, however, taken the liberty to make qualitative claims about L’ville, claims they cannot hope to back up if they are not affiliated with the School. It’s one thing to point out a statistic, it’s another to make opinions without corroboration. One claimed that Lawrenceville does not embrace the arts as much as Peddie. A more helpful comment would have been to talk about Peddie’s art program. Unless you are affiliated with the School, you cannot verify this claim. To those who may have been misled into believing that athletics are Lawrenceville’s number one priority, I can assure you Lawrenceville stands by the conviction that it is first and foremost a school. Athletics are important but do not dominate the arts. One visit to the campus that includes our numerous buildings dedicated to the arts will show, as apposed to tell, just how much Lawrenceville dedicates to the arts. </p>
<p>Boom09 described the House system as an “isolating, artificial vestige of a longstanding tradition.” In the first place, you are a parent and, unless you went to Lawrenceville and lived in the Houses, you cannot make this determination on any firm ground. Dating from the early 1880’s, the House system remains a cornerstone of a Lawrenceville education giving students a home (they are called Houses and not Dorms, for a reason) while offering them best of both worlds: the resources of a large world-class institution, and the intimacy and community of a small school.</p>
<p>“I believe Peddie is seeking a more diverse student body.” I can refute this one with facts. According to the Peddie website “Our student body represents 17 states as well as 25 foreign countries.” Lawrenceville currents enrolls a student body coming from 33 states and 33 countries.</p>
<p>I offer this merely as a counterpoint to what I saw as misleading information from members who have made it clear they have no affiliation with Lawrenceville. I encourage prospective students and their parents to go to Revisit Day and come to your own conclusions. In the end, this is what matters.</p>
<p>For anyone who may want to know, I have chosen Lawrenceville School. (: Thank you for all the help everyone. You have really helped me make this decision.</p>
<p>Congratulations on your choice. As a parent looking at both schools it seems to me that Lawrenceville may be better for students who are already bound for the Ivies etc…, students who are not only very intelligent but also are comfortable with the larger size and more aggressive competition at Lawrenceville. Peddie on the otherhand would be my choice for a student who is intelligent enough for the Ivies but is not yet ready for the larger size and aggressive competition and would benefit from the smaller size, nurturing and confidence building offered by Peddie. That said, it appears to me after close consideration that the academics at both schools are excellent and on par with each other.</p>