Lawrenceville vs. Mercersburg?

Prep School Admissions
1

I was recently admitted off the waitlist at both schools and wanted some insight from the people on CC, mainly regarding the issue of academics.

Are the academics at Mburg “easier” compared to Lville? If so, would it be easier for an above-average-but-not-at-the-top student to succeed there? I don’t know how I would do in a pressure cooker, but prestige is also something my family cares about (not a lot, but it matters a bit).

Also, how is the student life at both schools? Campus? I know Mburg is pretty rural.

Last thing-how do the music programs compare? It’s not that big of a factor but would be nice to know.

Thanks so much!

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I’m also entering as a sophomore, so what are the steps taken by the schools to integrate new students with the existing class?

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Congrats on getting into both, and off the wait list to boot. Nicely done.

There are a lot of threads discussing these schools right now. Titles along the lines of “ask me about LV” etc. Definitely read and post/ask in those.

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I’m a junior day student at Lawrenceville

I’m saying this from a bit of a place of privilege (I’ve thrived academically here), but in my opinion, Lawrenceville academics are as difficult as you make them; while the “floor” might a bit higher here, it’s really your choice as to whether you’ll take Honors Chemistry or Calculus BC and put that burden on yourself; that said, you may feel peer pressured to take hard classes (welcome to prep school!)

Student life is pretty great here because of the House system; it really brings people together, so you always have a group of people you know you can fit in and be yourself with. Saturday nights tend to be pretty fun; there’s some sort of event, whether a dance, quiz bowl trivia, movie screening, or comedy show each and every weekend, and if you want, you can always hang out in your friend’s room/the common room and play pool or Super Smash. Best of all are the weekly feeds—who doesn’t want free burgers/chipotle/pizza?

Lawrenceville students tend to hang around the campus, partially because Saturday classes keep us around (they’ve been a great excuse for me to stay on campus and socialize as a day student :)). Princeton is quite nearby, though, and while it’s a little lowkey, it has nice places to go to, and you can always pretty easily make a day trip to NYC or Philly if you’d like—Six Flags (ft. King Da Ka, the tallest rollercoaster in the world) is also only about 40 minutes away! We also have a little “main street” that the school lies on, with a nice pizzeria, café, Starbucks, ice cream shop, and bakery all present, as well as some more expensive places to go to with one’s parents. That area is consider part of campus, so people will often grab breakfast/lunch/dinner from the stores there.

House system! At Lawrenceville, everyone is new to their House during sophomore year, so you automatically have a group of people who you’ll easily get close to. While I’m a 3-year-junior myself, I know new sophs also get special Harkness training and some time doing orientation activities to make sure that they get used to life away from home before starting classes. Best of all, House Olympics, one of the best bonding activities ever, is always on the first weekend after orientation; in other words, you become completely immersed in House bonding and spirit from day 1.

Feel free to reach out with any more questions!

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Do you want a very large school or mid size school? Lawrenceville is on the top end of # of students and Mburg is in the middle (smaller end of middle). Not sure how the ratio of boarders/day students is at both schools and if that is a factor.

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Lawrenceville is around 30% day students, but the Saturday classes keep us (and really everyone—we’re not one of those schools with “dead weekends”) on campus.

Do look into size, though; Lawrenceville is around twice as large as Mburg, so the way each school fosters community is very different. I think that Lawrenceville does surprisingly well at encouraging class unity (especially freshman and senior year, where most students live together and eat in separate dining halls), but the vibe of a 120-person graduating class is still nothing like that of a 220-person class.

Case in point: We were recently having school president elections, and there was one person who everyone thought was going to make it to the runoff round because pretty much everyone in three different houses supported her. When I was told about this person’s popularity, my only response was “who?”

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Based on how you have describe yourself, I think you might prefer Mercersburg. There will be plenty of challenge and rigor, but it’s more nurturing. You can’t assume you’ll be a big fish in a small pond there, but your shine is more likely to be noticed there.

L’ville is definitely more well known but it’s more amped up on a number of fronts. Partly because of its size, partly history, partly history.

You really want to pick the place where you will thrive. Being at a well-known school cannot make up for it not being the right place.

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8

Mercersburg has a great orientation that takes place a few days before classes start. New students arrive first, and are assigned to peer groups with other new students. Each peer group has 2 peer group leaders who are upperclassmen / women. Peer groups then meet every week during one evening each week until mid February. My son was a peer group leader this year and really enjoyed his experience.

There are plenty of high stat kids at Mercersburg who thrive and challenge themselves there. Courses are offered on every level, so surely you can find what you are looking for in terms of academics.

Mercersburg is rural, but my son has never complained about the location. There are many activities on campus during the weekends, and the campus does not empty out on the weekends. Days students are about 15% of the population, with many of them being children of faculty and staff. We have always found the community to be friendly and welcoming.

If you need to fly to get there, then Mercersburg is further from the airport than L’ville will be to Philly airport.

Congratulations on having two great options!

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If you’re a middle of the road type of kid, then Mercersburg might be a better place. There are lots of high achieving at both schools, but Lville does tend to attract some gunner-types. My son graduated from Lville, so I’m familiar with its culture. For college placement, its better to be big fish in little pond vs small fish in big pond.

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10

hi all,

after visiting the campus of both schools, my family and i discussed it and we decided to go with lville. thanks for everyone’s input

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Ah, so that’s why I saw a tour going around today. I wonder if my friend was the one who toured you?

Anyways, congratulations, and Go Big Red! Let me know if you have any questions.

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i actually went yesterday! the campus was gorgeous

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Congratulations! Did Lawrenceville call you for send you an email informing you that you got off the waitlist?

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thanks so much! they called to deliver the news