^^ That sounded way too cheesy
No, your response is fine & understandable.
You will grow academically & personally at all of your options, but the key is will you enjoy your experience. And enjoyment of your high school years is a reasonable desire.
I can understand why your parents prefer Andover due to its reputation. However, Andover is a very intense academic experience which may not be for everyone even though well qualified.
It may help if some posters could comment on the intensity or academic environment at each of these schools.
Not cheesy but, again, every school on your list will enable you to accomplish these goals.
I don’t think of Choate as less competitive or less academically intense than Andover.
I just think of it as slightly smaller, and maybe having slightly more New Yorkers than Andover?
2 kids thru Choate here recently. Agree, all the schools are equally matched in prestige. Just go to Admissions @ Choate and see all the portraits and busts of JFK. Have your parents take a look, and its quite impressive. Nothing against Andover, but look at the brand new St. John’s Student Center, the Kohler Environmental Center/Campus, and the new Robotics lab at the newer Lampheer Math Building, and you got a competition on your hands.
College matriulations from all of these schools are also equal. It really comes down to where you feel most comfortable, which place excites you most and where do you feel you will do your best work.
Slightly smaller yes. More New Yorkers probably but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Having grown up in MA most of my life, less New Yorkers is more if you catch my drift.
I think speak to your parents about how you truly feel. One of my friends a couple of years ago really wanted to go to Hotchkiss, but his parents desperately wanted him to go to Andover; in a final argument, his father literally paid the deposit to Andover, and refused to back out. The last thing we want is for that you happen as well!
Tell them exactly how you feel, why you love the school, why you really think the school their like is good, but just doesn’t seem to click with you as well. Revisit, elaborate on your points, and try to get them to see things your way!
I would encourage you to visit a few of the top ones with your parents. Then discuss which ones you think are best for you and which ones they think are best for you. Really listen to what they are saying. Try not to argue but really hear each other.
I don’t think you will be at the top of the class at one and the bottom at another. Nor will any one set you up better for top colleges. These schools are all on the same level academically. But the environments will differ, and you may feel more at home at one. And It Might Even Be Andover.