<p>My son recently requested information from several boarding schools. A few days ago, we received info from Lawrenceville and were blown away by their curriculum. He has received viewbooks, dvd's, etc. from all of the 'usual suspects', but there was just something about Lawrenceville that struck a chord. This is not to say that other schools haven't sparked his interest. It's just that Lawrenceville was unexpected because it seems to be portrayed here as being very second tier.</p>
<p>So here's my question: Why? Why is it never mentioned as top tier? When comparing the Lawrenceville curriculum to other top tier schools, it is certainly equal to or surpasses most.</p>
<p>I've gone through posts dating back to 2007 searching for the answer. Saturday classes are a drag. I guess there's a bias against the location, though it's so close to NYC that I'm not understanding how that's a serious problem. They have amazing matriculation stats, a phenomenal curriculum. The only thing that I keep reading that gives me pause is something along the lines of, "...after my son went to revisit and saw what the students were like, he chose (other school)" or "after revisits, my daughter was certain that Lawrenceville wasn't the place for her".</p>
<p>Could someone tell me, either here or via PM, what it is about Lawrenceville that turns them off when they visit? Any other feedback--positive and negative-- would be much appreciated. If we visit Lawrenceville, it will be during the summer, so the student body won't be there. Thanks!</p>
<p>Re: Ten Schools Admissions Organization [<a href=“http://www.tenschools.org/home/][/url”>http://www.tenschools.org/home/][/url</a>], we’re generally familar with all except Hill School. Historically, Loomis Chaffee might seem the unusual school in that grouping, rather than Lawrenceville. So, we’re likewise interested to learn current insights about L’ville. Is it an outstanding New England Prep School that happens to be next to Princeton in New Jersey, rather than in New England proper? Other experiences and input?</p>
<p>Lawrenceville is indeed a great school, but for me it just didn’t stand out compared to other schools (Matriculation, etc)… Have you ever visited other schools?? What you se on viewbooks are not everything, and you’ll get a chance to feel it when you’re on an interview.</p>
<p>In another thread today a student from Andover opined that Lawrenceville was more of a peer school to Exeter & Andover than Hotchkiss. I bet if we had more people on cc pushing Lawrenceville there would be an acronym that included it. </p>
<p>Lawrenceville has a beautiful campus. I think it was designed by some famous person, I don’t remember who. Also, I really liked the area and the proximity to Princeton. There were a lot of restaurants within a short distance. The admission’s officer that my d interviewed with was the best one, he provided the most feedback. He was very honest and specific about what they were looking for in terms of SSAT and the application. They also have a unique housing system where all freshmen live together and all seniors live together. Our tour guide, who was a freshman, said it really promotes class unity and when we toured in October she said she already knew most of her classmates. And I agree the curriculum is deep, especially the English and humanities classes. The downside for my family was the size. D is a bit younger and in the end we just felt more comfortable with a smaller school.</p>
<p>Personally I consider Lawrenceville tier 1 - same level as Exeter, Andover, etc. My daughter applied, was accepted, but was also accepted to Exeter which she loved and chose. Lawrenceville has a beautiful campus, great location being next to Princeton. Has its own golf course. I think it’s an awesome school. I have no idea why it isn’t talked about more on the board.</p>
<p>Lawrenceville was my first choice, but unfortunately I was waitlisted. Lawrenceville has a very warm environment, and the people there are very helpful and nice.</p>
<p>L’ville is great school. Same level as “HADES” if you ask me (and if you look at most of the statistics). I think there is a slight “non-New England” bias that keeps some people from putting it on the same level.</p>
<p>Lawrenceville was an excellent boarding school choice for my stepson. After graduation, he did his undergraduate at U of Chicago. He will be starting law school this Fall at NYU. While it was perfect for my stepson, his younger sister choose another school that better fit her personality. Both are smart and kind children, but each are very different. My son said that the curriculum and study habits from Lawrenceville made the transition to U of Chicago smooth. Lawrenceville is a great and challenging school for the right person. The campus is gorgeous (I think Olmstead had a hand at it).</p>
<p>Lawrenceville is absolutely a top-tier school, on par with all the HADES schools. It’s applicant pool overlaps greatly with the New England schools, although it might pull slightly more students from the Mid-Atlantic and South, and slightly fewer from New England. </p>
<p>L’ville has a great campus (over 700 acres) and some of the nicest buildings and facilities that I’ve seen at any of the top schools. The school’s house system is very distinctive and allows for intramural sports and academic competitions between the houses. The school has always been very close with Princeton University (24 students accepted this spring), and overall has a selectivity and matriculation profile on par with the HADES schools. </p>
<p>Overall, it’s a very friendly school community and I would recommend you try visiting the school to see it yourself.</p>
<p>I like to consider Lawrenceville a little like a New York area comp to Milton, although more rural. Great school, with matriculation particularly good for Princeton. Distinct character which you like or not.</p>
<p>I think that many of the posts that categorize L’ville as in another tier from Andover etc. are made by young teenagers who have strong opinions unsupported by data :)</p>
<p>We had positive impressions of the school all around, but D was denied.</p>
<p>That said, L may suffer here – albeit unfairly – because it’s outside the New England circuit. The same can be said for The Hill, Mercersburg, and others. </p>
<p>One of the intangibles of the divide between New England and other locations is the students they draw. Mid-Atlantic schools draw predominantly, although not exclusively, from that region. Their grads tend to stay within the region or return to it. We were comfortable with the idea that our kids, were they to have gone to school in the Mid-Atlantic, would receive great educations at great schools, with wonderful peers. At the same time – and again, this is subjective & intangible – some kids schooled in this region did seem to harbor an anxiety that kids in New England were undergoing the “real” experience.</p>
<p>Allow me to note again that we would have been delighted with an acceptance to L.</p>
<p>This is all so fascinating! I think that this is the most interesting feedback on L’ville that I’ve read on any CC thread. I love the way some of you have delved into the psychology of it all (“Dr. Freud, what does it mean?” lol…). </p>
<p>It’s interesting, being from the South and living in the West, I clearly don’t fully appreciate the divide between NE schools and Mid-Atlantic schools. I guess that, even tho I lived in DC for 10 years, I sort of threw everything north of Maryland into the “North” boat–not differentiating substantially between NJ/NY and NE. </p>
<p>As I go through the viewbooks (10 of them now), Lawrenceville just looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, so I figured it must be a duck! Silly me. haha</p>
<p>Anyway, PLEASE keep the comments coming. Any further feedback on the “vibes” of the student body would be particularly helpful, given that they won’t be there when we visit. I’ve gotten several PM’s that mentioned the “rigidity” of the school, the way that the large day student population affects the school negatively, and the low percentage of FA students. But the majority of the msgs. have mentioned the warmth and friendliness of the faculty and staff, the strong humanities dept, and the idyllic location/design of the campus. All feedback is appreciated.</p>
<p>I applied to Lawrenceville and was accepted and seriously considered it. It was between Lawrenceville and Deerfield. for me, deerfield seemed better, but that was partly just because I didn’t get the total right vibe from the campus, even though it is amazing and gorgeous. It was pretty big! but I didn’t mind that. The only thing I didn’t like was the ethics class I saw, really super pointless, also the food was very cafeteria style…versus sit down meals at Deerfield. Faculty seemed really good and all around friendly admissions staff. Possibly not as “warm” as some of the other schools, just because of its bigger size. But these are just the impressions of a teenager applying/deciding/revisit days. No concrete information or anything, but I hope it might help you!</p>
<p>livenlaugh, that is exactly the sort of stuff I want to know. The things you said are things that my son and I won’t get a feel for when we visit over the summer. So, thanks!</p>
<p>No problem! If you have any general questions I could try to be a help, but like I said, I’m by no means an expert. Good luck in the application process!</p>
<p>My son is a freshman at L’ville and chose it over SPS. He fell in love with the school, the classes, the dorms, the house system. He calls it a very happy place, with friendly kids. He has made friends in all grades, via sports teams, academic classes, etc. He came from an extremely academic middle school and thought he would have an easier time getting good grades, however, he sees that he would have to put in a decent amount of work to get excellent grades. The student body is competitive and everyone is interested in doing well. I do not see how L’ville is inferior in any way to the NE schools. L’ville, along with Exeter and Andover started the AP system which has been adopted by the whole country. I believe it is its location (and league!) which accounts for it not being included in the list of the very top schools. I have to agree with the poster who mentioned that the food is very cafeteria style - the food at SPS on revisit last year was infinitely superior! The school also feels very diverse now, has 20% international students, and is about 55% white!</p>