Peddie and Lawrenceville

<p>I'm thinking of applying to Peddie and Lawrenceville (and possibly other schools- i don't know yet) for 11th grade. I was wondering how hard it is to apply for junior year? How many students do these schools typically accept? Also, i was wondering how good Peddie actually is, I've heard a lot of conflicting things about it.</p>

<p>My daughter is at Peddie and I posted about this very topic last “season” as we tried to get into and then determine where she belonged. </p>

<p>I can’t tell you how great the entire Peddie experience has been for my daughter. She is happier than I could have ever foreseen.</p>

<p>She has a strong academic background and finds the school challenging and rewarding. Her largest class has 13 kids and her smallest has 8. I visited each class (I work in the field of education) and I really appreciated what I saw. My d and I talk a lot, and she has nothing but good things to say—she has earned good grades (but not perfect) and finally has to study! What a great lesson to learn while you’re still young enough to adjust and really get something out of your high school education!</p>

<p>The teachers and community have gone beyond my expectations. Academics are serious yet there is warmth that I did not “feel” at L’ville, but what do I know about it as my d chose Peddie. My take is that Peddie really wants to make each student and family “connect” to the school community—it feels like this is a really important part of their mission. I really did not understand how important this would be to me until I drove away from Peddie on that first day, leaving my 14 year-old in the hands of strangers. </p>

<p>I have to say it; I feel the love.</p>

<p>Her dorm and roommate have worked out well. Her dorm supervisor is easy to reach and always has time to talk. My d loves her. She really creates a family feeling (cooking for them/making special dorm activities). Her advisor “gets” my d and already seems to understand what she is about. There are plenty of activities on the weekends and she has had a lot fun—she goes to all of the dances and to the band/coffee houses, etc.</p>

<p>She is involved in athletics, clubs and other activities (she loves being a tour guide). Her friends are lovely and from all over the word. The campus is well cared for and the buildings all seem to be renovated or new. Her science building is really exceptional as is her science teacher and the entire science program (we have a family member that is a big time scientist who tells me that my d is taking part in a very well designed program).</p>

<p>Originally, I was thinking L’ville might be the better place for my daughter (I admit that I was a sucker for all the Ten Schools hype, etc). My D did not choose to accept their offer of admission; she wanted to be at Peddie. I can’t speak for L’ville, but I am so pleased with every aspect of her experience so far—I am an incredibly happy person. In my case, daughter knew best.</p>

<p>does anyone know anything about lawrenceville?</p>

<p>Have some “superficial” knowledge here. Beautiful campus in a nice town in the Priceton area where University of Princeton is at, pretty close to NYC. It is a most prestigious BS outside New England. I know two families who sent their kids there, had good experience and both ended up going to Princeton, to which the school sends a good number of its students every year.</p>

<p>Ahhhh, the good old University of Princeton, formerly the College of New Jersey at Princeton.</p>

<p>OK. Sorry, it’s Princeton University.</p>

<p>my daughter goes to lville, it’s her second year. can’t say enough about the school, it is wonderful for her. of course it depends on you but if you are looking at a lville or peddie you probably know yourself well enough to know you could be happy there. very demanding academically but if you are good at time management and smart you will do well. all teachers seem very approachable. athletics are big but i guess they are at peddie also. my d rows and the peddie crew is awesome, lville crew is a work in progress. but that could change in a year or two. d is a day student so can’t tell you about the boarding experience although her friends are happy and the house system at lville is very special. any other specific questions?</p>

<p>I was wondering if anyone knows anything about admission for 11th grade? i know it’s much harder than 9th grade, but that’s really all i know. Are new 11th graders admitted often to Lawrenceville (or Peddie)? I applied to Lawrenceville last year, after the admission deadline (i was sick) and was waitlisted (and was on the “top of the waitlist” whatever that means). I had pretty good ssat scores last year, 96%, i’m assuming this year will be the same. I had straight As all of last year, and so far have 2 B+s and As this year. I’m taking accelerated classes. I spent 10 years at a school in India (from which i have numerous academic awards), one year at an international school, and one year at a school in the US. I play soccer, tutored last year, was part of community service called Teach India, write for the school paper, and do Model UN.
Does anyone think i have a chance?
thank you for the previous responses.</p>

<p>I’m a freshman here, and I think it’s the the best place…Ever! Peddie is also a great school, it’s just that I don’t think it’s as good as Lawrenceville, academically and athletically. Our proximity to Princeton and tight relationship with Princeton University gives us a lot of opportunities that Peddie doesn’t have. And we’ve great facilities and faculty, overall, it’s just better than Peddie. I think with your SSAT score and your personal experience, you have quite a high chance compared to other applicants, but Lawrenceville also looks a lot on Community service, leadership, extra curriculums, so it’s a challenge, but the procedure is worth it. Anyways, good luck with everything! Also, are you looking to be a boarder? I’m a boarder… Boarders are awesome, we get all the fun and the day students just miss all the fun… How sad for the day students.</p>

<p>Peddie is all of 5 minutes further away from Princeton. The historical relationship L’ville had with Princeton is long gone (just like Hotchkiss-Yale, Andover/Groton with Harvard etc.).</p>

<p>ahem…Lawrenceville sent 18 students to Princeton last year, far more than any other Ivy and almost 10% of the class. So the relationship may not quite be what it once was but it’s still strong. Also you can take a public transportation bus right up route 206 to Princton, so while the driving time may not be much different the access to Princeton is much easier from L’ville than Peddie.</p>

<p>The real reason Lawrenceville “sent 18 students” and “almost 10% of the class” to Princeton is because most of those students are children of either Princeton faculty or Princeton alumns. Without these connections I can guarantee Lawrenceville would not have as much luck with being accepted at Princeton.</p>

<p>Where did you find this out?</p>

<p>I am a Peddie student & yes, Lawrenceville does have a larger variety of sports than Peddie so that makes a more athletic school. As for academics, Peddie is just as rigorous as Lawrenceville. Actually when my parents did research for boarding schools in NJ, they found that Peddie students score significantly higher on SATs than Lawrentians. I think that says quite a lot. I don’t mean to bash Lawrenceville. It’s a tremendous school & was actually my number one choice. The campus is beautiful. The only things I didn’t like about Lawrenceville was that everyone in the dorms had their own room. Having a roommate was really important to me when applying(My current roommate is superb & we get along quite well.) Also Peddie’s school store is much, much nicer than Lawrenceville’s.</p>

<p>Well to respond to you sunsandsummer, Lawrenceville’s college matriculation was far better than Peddie’s. Although you can include legacies and alumni, Peddie is bound to have them as well. And as of 2009, Lawrenceville’s SAT average is a 2040, while Peddie’s is still around a 2000. Lawrenceville’s academic program is also much more rigorous from what I’ve heard and asked both students (Peddie and Lawrenceville). Also, Lawrenceville’s acceptance rate is slightly lower, and it’s SSAT average, much higher. (Lville-81%, Peddie-70%). I was accepted to both schools, because academics and athletics is my main concern. Sure, Peddie is also a good school, but according to various, various, sources, Lawrenceville is in the top 10 schools in the USA.</p>

<p>i eventually had to pick between the two… and my family and i chose lawrenceville for the opportunities, matriculation stats (my parents) and reputation (parents again). we also loved the house system and the size of the school. peddie is so awesome and i know that i would be happy at either school.</p>

<p>Okay, I’ll weigh in on this:
Peddie has a better social atmosphere, is more personalized/close-knit, offers opportunities like Summer Signature Experience, is very challenging academically, higher endowment.</p>

<p>L’ville has a lower acceptance rate, better reputation, better college matriculation, better athletics program/athletic facilities (although Peddie’s is very good too), filled with richer/snobbier, better connected students.</p>

<p>The reason I know this is because I will attend Peddie in the fall, and I have two siblings who graduated from L’ville a while ago. What I said about the rich kids and social atmosphere appear to be correct, based on what they told me, but they were challenged academically, did well on the SAT’s, and both ended up attending top 20 schools.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>Peddie will love you because of your relationship with India. We recently started up a sister school relationship with a school in New Delhi and are inviting and sending students to visit here and over there. You should ask if you can talk to Mr. Nicholson, he’s in charge of it. Peddie is very welcoming of new juniors. We are a tight knit school, but we know how important it is that everyone feels accepted.</p>

<p>I’ll be honest, I grew up at Peddie (my family lives down the street and my dad teaches) and am therefore terribly biased, but I do not like Lawrenceville. Whenever a question like this comes up, its always the same argument, always the same statistics. I personally prefer Peddie because I feel there is a greater push to be an individual. No one cares who your father is, or what college you are/ are not a legacy at. Distance from an Ivy League school really means ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. </p>

<p>Go tour both schools, ask questions to random students or faculty, and see which one you feel most comfortable in.</p>

<p>I do not agree with some of the items said here. Anyone can be an individual if one so chooses to at Lville. Naturally, because of the house system, one naturally becomes associated with his/her dorm. But at the same time, one can stand out as an individual within the community as well. </p>

<p>In terms of social atmosphere, any boarding school will have wealthy families that may be deemed ‘snobs’. But this is a small percentage of the school as a whole. No one cares who someone’s parents are. Yes, it is cool to have children of celebrities in your classes, but for the most part few people know of these connections. For example, no one really knows that someone has a famous parent/relative unless said relative comes to the school. </p>

<p>I will agree that distance from an Ivy is of little importance. The only benefit that I see is that there are shops and restaurants in Princeton that students have easy access to. Sometimes the campus dining center gets a little boring or you want to go on a date and get away. The other nice thing is that Princeton professors give lectures at Lawrenceville.</p>

<p>Peddie was historically an also-ran, 3rd tier prep school, along with types such as Mercersburg and Blair. What lifted Peddie was the multi-million dollar gift it received about 15 years back and permitted it to upgrade everything from facilities to financial aid and attract an improved caliber of applicant. All it takes is one great gift to substantially move the needle. Ask Chatham Hall.</p>