My son has been accepted at both schools and people think we are insane to even be considering GS over L’ville given the latter’s prestige. But prestige aside, both are excellent schools-- GS has the IB program, Lawrenceville does not. Lawrenceville has saturday classes, which as a day student is a large drawback. And there is the Quaker piece – Quaker schools have a special vibe. Besides the “name brand” tell me what makes Lawrenceville SO MUCH better than George?
I think you would be insane not to consider George seriously! The Quaker vibe is really special, and we know many families who have chosen it over L’ville for, among other things, its culture of kindness. I am not dissing L’ville, but suggesting that there are plenty of reasons for this to be a real decision. They are two very different, very good, schools.
I know virtually nothing about either school so no input to address your question. Just want to say that the way you framed your question is essentially telling L’ville supporters to back off because what could they say to prove L’ville is “SO MUCH” better than another school? LOL It’s just a school. If you like George school, attend it. The school has been around for these many years and many students attended and graduated.
While I can’t comment specifically on Lawrenceville vs. George, I will say that it is more important to go with fit than with prestige. Your child will be spending many, many hours there! I also wanted to note that for my day student, Saturday classes (=Saturday on campus) have been helpful in reducing the differences between day and boarding.
Don’t go by prestige alone! I wouldn’t pick a college by prestige either, but if that kind of thing matters to you, know that George School kids end up at Ivies, too. (I had classmates from George at my Ivy League college and they struck me as particularly thoughtful.)
Don’t be swayed by prestige. What is best for your child? Where would the child be happiest?
Downsides of Lville
- harder to get top grades. Which can be an issue when applying to stat based colleges like the UC system
- does not teach toward AP or SAT2 curriculum. So students needing either of these have to self study. Surprisingly some schools in US require SAT2. UK schools all ask for APs.
- 3 sports requirement can hinder top level athletes
- relatively weak science curriculum. They won’t let kids skip to higher level science classes
- new athletic director has a bias against traditional BS sports (squash, crew)
- many wealthy legacy and development kids. Standing out in this pool when applying to colleges is tough
Pros:
- Harkness is an excellent way to teach the material. Students learn things more deeply, and are prepared to have adult conversations.
- college placement is great. But highly dependent on hooks. If your child is middle of class at Lville without any hooks it is very tough.
- diversity: kids from many different cultures and backgrounds
- campus absolutely gorgeous
Thank you guys. It really helps to hear these perspectives. We will go to both revisit days, leave the names aside and focus on the things that matter. He is lucky to have this great choice. Any other thoughts on either Lawrenceville and George are welcome!
George School has had pretty stellar college acceptances this year.
@CindyLWho Can you be specific? What are some highly selective colleges the George seniors got accepted to?
Thanks!
@sunnyschool: You can find the 2014-2016 college matriculations here:
http://12937-presscdn-0-1.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/School-Profile-2016_2017-rev110316.pdf
Some of the places kids were accepted this year that haven’t been on the matriculation list in recent years, either because kids got in and didn’t go, didn’t apply there, or were not accepted include Pomona, Dartmouth, and Brown. But you know these lists are really impossible to filter, don’t you? There’s no way to sift through kids who had a hook that your kid doesn’t (i.e., make stats look good ) and those who turned down “fancy” schools for any number of reasons, including cost.
Where is OP? Any update after revisits? @alaghom
Lawrenceville and George are far apart culturally. Remember, these four years are as much about WHO your son will become as much as they are about college acceptances, prestige factor, and stats. George is one of a handful of top 50 boarding schools that is values-based and you can count on your son being constantly exposed to thoughtful, kind, and honest behavior that will become as much hallmarks for him personally as they are for the School. I have nothing bad to say about Lawrenceville; they do great work. I just advocate for you to ask yourselves the question: “knowing our son as we do, which of the two schools will do a better job making him the best and happiest that he can be?”
I must say I’m surprised to see Bucks County Community College among the most common colleges attended by George School grads.
I agree. @twinsmama And I know will get in trouble for saying this, but the list of colleges with five or more matriculants is not that impressive is it?
As a local, I know their student body encompasses a very wide range of intellects. But the community college still surprises me…
If you’re a day student and have to get there every day no matter what, one of 'em has to be closer to home. That said, it would seem to be an easy choice if you lived halfway between the two.
@sunnyschool Off of the top of my head (not looking at a list), top school acceptances this year include: Dartmouth, Yale, Brown, Penn (including one to Wharton), Columbia, Cornell, Princeton, Berkeley, Harvey-Mudd, Pomona, UChicago, Johns Hopkins, Rice, Georgetown, Carnegie Mellon, Swarthmore, UCLA. The matriculation list will look very different because some of the students will choose less well known schools because of FA.
Where we are from, the smartest, cost-minded kids at the competitive, test-in magnet school go to community college for two years and then transfer to prestigious 4-year colleges to get their degree at half the cost and without the student debt. It is a very intelligent strategy and shows great confidence.
Is George School a boarding school for poor(we) kids?