Philips Academy Andover Students (and students of similar schools) Please Discuss

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>I applied for both Philips Academy and Exeter, and I would be really excited to get into and go to either, but PA was the school I liked more.</p>

<p>However, seeing things like this: <a href="http://deadspin.com/5830069/the-hidden-message-of-that-andover-rap-video"&gt;http://deadspin.com/5830069/the-hidden-message-of-that-andover-rap-video&lt;/a> (If it doesn't work, Google 'The Hidden Message of That Andover Rap Video Deadspin') and this: <a href="http://www.phillipian.net/node/105995"&gt;http://www.phillipian.net/node/105995&lt;/a> (The link is in the previously linked article --> Click 'multiple ice sculptures) is very disheartening.</p>

<p>For the sake of context, both articles are written by the same author and I haven't been able to find any other articles against PA that appear to some from a place of knowledge (although whether or not Gawker is a place of knowledge is debatable).</p>

<p>What do you think? Does PA discourage criticism of itself, even the constructive kind? Is it too image-focused? Are the students who go there cheerleaders for their school who won't criticize it? Do you think it was within PA's right to ask their students to take down those videos? If it was, should they have? Also, takes on the number of Asian kids (not) winning sports awards(!!!)? Is Exeter's newspaper uncensored, like PA's once was? As a newspaper-type, this all matters a ton to me.</p>

<p>If you aren't from PA, I would still appreciate your perspective. Please don't get defensive. Competing schools, please don't attack. Please be civil.</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

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<p>At PA’s open house, they told us the newspaper is uncensored. </p>

<p>There will always be people that don’t like a school. There will always be people who want to find things wrong with it. These schools aren’t perfect, but they sure are good.</p>

3

<p>You can read archived issues of the school papers online. I didn’t get the impression that students aren’t allowed to criticize the school. Of course, I didn’t go all the way back to 1878, so I can’t vouch for the earliest editions, but recent editions didn’t raise any red flags. </p>