Phillips Exeter Academy - Experiences & Questions

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>Congrats to all newly accepted students of the Class of '16! I thought I'd write this thread to clear up some misconceptions about Exeter that were floating around CC when I was here last year and share my own experiences thus far. This is only my experience, and they definitely differ from person to person.</p>

<p>So first, the part that's most often discussed-- the academics. </p>

<p>Coming into Exeter this year as a relatively quiet student, I was both unsure and excited about the Harkness method, particularly in math class. However, although it's not an easy process, I feel that it is possible for anyone to find their voice around the Harkness table. Yes, Harkness math with the 8-10 word problem set a day is hard for many students to adjust to, but for me personally after doing so (as a student who didn't particularly care much for math before Exeter) it has made it much more vivid and interesting. Same goes for history-- the classes really brought it beyond the textbook and the facts for me. Overall I would encourage more introverted or shyer students to not persuade themselves into thinking that the Harkness method is not for them, because although adjusting may not be easy, you will get it over time with the help of your peers and teachers, and you will wonder why you worried in the first place.</p>

<p>Something I was told a lot when I was applying that initially kept me from learning more about the school was the idea that Exeter is a 'math and science' school. As a student with interests primarily in the arts & humanities (though I do like math and science) , I haven't felt such an emphasis. Exeter is well known for its math and science curriculum, From my experiences, the courses are very strong and rigorous (the English department has especially high standards for writing, grade-wise) across all fields, with many opportunities for extracurricular activities in liberal arts outside of the classroom.</p>

<p>Okay, now for the more exciting part.</p>

<p>Exeter's been absolutely amazing--yes, there is a lot of stress and students are frequently busy, but it's been a fulfilling experience every single day, through academics, clubs, and athletics but also through much more. For example, one activity that has really helped me to grow (and is indescribable but amazing) is Indaba, which is basically a weekly Friday night session in the candle-lit church where students share whatever is on their minds, play music, etc. It's incredibly moving to hear about the multitude of experiences many of my peers and to just reflect--it's really opened my eyes and allowed me to think about my own dreams and hopes in a way that's so much deeper than I could have before coming here. There are a lot of really interesting/thought-provoking assembly speakers (even though I'll admit some people do use that format to sleep hahaha)--for example in the beginning of the year there was a humanist professor who came and generated a lot of controversy. There have also been forums on topics like LGBT issues, the white experience, etc.</p>

<p>Basically--like at many boarding schools-- thought-provoking ideas surround you everywhere. Before coming here, I was afraid that that Exeter would be have an extremely really serious, no-nonsense atmosphere, but this is definitely not the case. There's so much energy that stems from so many people with various personalities and backgrounds all interacting, and there's definitely a lot of enthusiasm. Sometimes it's almost too exciting, to the point where you need to really get rid of distractions and focus. Another thing that's necessary for success here is to learn not to compare yourself too much to others in the community and just focus on your own goals--part of being an Exonian is never being quite as good of a student or person as you would like to be, after being exposed to all the possibilities, but I've learned to be okay with that.</p>

<p>So, if anyone has any personal experiences/stories about Exeter or boarding school in general, feel free to post/comment here. And ask questions! About academics, social life, clubs, stuff that you might be worried about that may not be as positive or easy to talk about like what i've said so far, sports, dorm life, changes this year, publications like The Exonian, simple things like food.. the experience really is too complex to describe at times, but I'll answer honestly. I know I was dying of curiosity before I came here :)</p>

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<ol>
<li><p>How rigorous is the grading? If you fall behind, due to inexperience with the Exeter workload, are you dead in the water and doomed to failure? How quickly can you get help from teachers or peers?</p></li>
<li><p>What is the college counseling like? Are you mostly on your own if you aren’t in the top 10% destined for the ivies?</p></li>
<li><p>What has been your greatest disappointment vs. expectations?</p></li>
<li><p>Do the internationals pull their weight in class or in small group projects? I have heard horror stories of scholarshipped internationals in other prestigious schools basically just floating through on some diversity mandate and never actually doing the work.</p></li>
</ol>

3

<p>Not (yet) affiliated with Exeter, but I have to address</p>

<h1>4–sounds precariously close to a racist remark. JMO, but that’s how it’s reading to me. Not international, but my scholarship kid, and every scholarship kid I knew, was acutely aware that this opportunity was as much gift as hard work that brought them there, and wanted to make the most of the opportunity. I would imagine the same is true at Exeter, and most other schools.</h1>

4

<p>^^ Racist? Sorry if a simple question offends the local PC police. You yourself acknowledge that you have no experience whatsoever in the matter (e.g., “not international . . .”). My question is wholly directed to towards the issue of international students. Your scholarship kid – by your own admission – is not an international, so why bother with an irrelevant comparison. and then further, employing this as the basis for just flinging out there the whole “racist” thing? Jeez.</p>

5

<p>I agree with 123mama. Although I am fortunate enough to not require financial aid to go to boarding school, I am an international student and am slightly offended by that question. </p>

<h2>Please do remember that these scholarships are not merit-based, but are need-based, and those who are awarded any form of financial aid probably work just as hard, if not even harder, than the rest of us. </h2>

<p>On a much lighter note, I have a couple questions:</p>

<p>After reading the course selections, I realized that the mathematics at Exeter is integrated, rather than your standard Algebra, Geometry, Pre-Calc, Calculus. Does this mean you learn a little bit of each each year? Or how does that work?</p>

<p>Also, how competitive are the sports teams? I love playing soccer, but I wouldn’t say I’m a star athlete. If I do not make the JV/V teams, are there club teams? Or will I only be able to play during PE?.</p>

<p>Thanks(:</p>

6

<p>

</p>

<p>Again, irrelevant. The question is directed re scholarshipped international students. You yourself say that “I am fortunate enough to not require financial aid.” Your example of yourself is, in this context, wholly meaningless and is a worthless comparison. I am not asking about “international students,” but rather “scholarshipped international students.” There, for example, is a wholly different comparison even within the international class of backgrounds, class and experiences.</p>

<p>Where you go to school, do they give you "A"s for not answering the question asked?</p>

7

<p>placido240 is butthurt.</p>

8

<p>I don’t want to get into an argument so I apologize.
But the mere fact that you are stereotyping a group is just not right.</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>I have heard horror stories of SOME scholarshipped internationals in other prestigious schools basically just floating through on some diversity mandate and never actually doing the work. </p>

<p>Better? Stereotypying undone?</p>

10

<p>Ummm, no, not better. I don’t know if intrinsically is both international and on FA. If he/she isn’t both, will you not accept his/her answer either? </p>

<p>There are many kids on this board, both international and not, who have worked very hard to apply to these schools, some with success, some without. The question you asked, as well as the way you phrase it, attempts to negate their efforts.</p>

11

<p>Okay, I thought I’d take a stab at this since the OP hasn’t yet. </p>

<p>To clear up any confusion…</p>

<ol>
<li>How rigorous is the grading? If you fall behind, due to inexperience with the Exeter workload, are you dead in the water and doomed to failure? How quickly can you get help from teachers or peers?</li>
</ol>

<p>First off, you seem to view Exeter as a horror show, “doomed to failure?” !!! There’s a lot more to it, and a lot of support. You have an advisor, and most people befriend a few faculty, and they can all help you if you have any sort of issue. If you fall behind due to workload, don’t worry! At midterms my grades were subpar, (in my view, terrible) but then I made an effort to make appointments with teachers, and with the two subjects I had the most trouble with, I met with them around once a week. Also, there’s peer tutoring everyday before a school day, I think…, but I don’t really go to that because I like going directly to my teachers better. Even more, I’ve heard of some dorms that’ve set up “dorm peer tutoring” where the meet too. I don’t really know the details though. There’s definitely support if you <em>make the conscious effort</em> to look for it. You won’t be “doomed to failure” as long as you try. </p>

<ol>
<li>What is the college counseling like? Are you mostly on your own if you aren’t in the top 10% destined for the ivies?</li>
</ol>

<p>I’m a lower so I don’t know much about it. But I am here to squash the rumors, JUST BECAUSE YOU GO TO EXETER, and POSSIBLY GET GOOD GRADES, DOES NOT GUARANTEE YOUR ADMISSION TO <em>insert ivy league school/stanford/mit</em>. There’s a lot more to it; extra curriculars, sports, teacher recs, etc. From what I know of the college counseling is generally quite good, but I have heard of cases of better counselors than others and whatnot. However, those types of situations happen everywhere. As long as you work hard and do what you love, you’ll be happy at any college you go to, just like you’d be happy about Exeter.</p>

<ol>
<li>What has been your greatest disappointment vs. expectations?</li>
</ol>

<p>Greatest disappointment: my lack of sleep, not because of workload, but because of procrastinating with friends in the dorm</p>

<p>Otherwise, I can’t really describe what it’s like. I went into Exeter with few expectations, and I have now quite a fulfilling experience. At times it’s a love-hate relationship, but I know in my heart that it’s the place for me. Even now, as I’m on vacation, I still miss school, not only my friends, but also just the classes and the academic opportunity Exeter provides. </p>

<ol>
<li>Do the internationals pull their weight in class or in small group projects? I have heard horror stories of scholarshipped internationals in other prestigious schools basically just floating through on some diversity mandate and never actually doing the work.</li>
</ol>

<p>I’m not going to argue about whether this question is discrimination/offense/racist or anything. But short answer, yes, they do. Long answer: Firstly, you can’t quantify “pulling their weight” anyways, because you might be thinking you’re doing a ton, but your partners may think otherwise. Also, most internationals are, might I say, possibly harder working than the majority of the school, just because many of them come from families where work ethic is very high. To apply and go to a boarding school halfway around the world takes a lot, and I really respect them for being able to and also willing to do that. I’m doing some international traveling this break, and to go through the airport, customs, filling out entrance papers and etc., that’s tough to do alone, and possibly as a 13 year old student. </p>

<p>In any school you look at, there’s always going to be the high achievers and the slackers. I know American students who are the slack-i-est students ever, like you wouldn’t believe. But I also know American students who work so hard, like the “I don’t sleep at night to get the A” (okay those people are a little overboard though- sleep is very important!). But likewise, I know internationals who slack a bit, but I also know a great deal of them who work very hard. </p>

<p>(side-note, I think, don’t quote me on this, that a great deal of internationals aren’t “scholarshipped”) </p>

<p>In the end, I don’t really think it matters at all, because if they don’t work hard in class, they’ll get bad grades, how does this effect you? And if they don’t work hard in groups, suck it up, there’s a lot of people who don’t work well or pull their weight in group environments, but you just learn to deal with it. What extra effort and work you need to do can only make you stronger!!! </p>

<p>Okay, moving on.</p>

<ol>
<li>After reading the course selections, I realized that the mathematics at Exeter is integrated, rather than your standard Algebra, Geometry, Pre-Calc, Calculus. Does this mean you learn a little bit of each each year? Or how does that work?</li>
</ol>

<p>Kinda. You can actually access the books online for free, just google it or something. We do math in levels, 110-130 (algebra), 210-230 (geo/intro trig/some algebra2 concepts), 310-340, etc. I actually love this system though. You learn so much by doing so much problem solving! Also, it’s a lot more fun than regular math work from a textbook setting, you use so many concepts in one problem! Each year it kinda builds on what you learned before, and you kinda prove things with previous knowledge (that sounds a bit circular, but get it?).</p>

<ol>
<li>Also, how competitive are the sports teams? I love playing soccer, but I wouldn’t say I’m a star athlete. If I do not make the JV/V teams, are there club teams? Or will I only be able to play during PE?.</li>
</ol>

<p>Would you be a prep? If so, there’s SPAZ!!! It’s kinda like a “taste” of every sport during fall and winter, and in spring you pick a specific sport to play. Also, you can get out of spaz by making a JV/Varsity team, and I would say their relatively competitive as a whole, but it really depends on the sport. I know a someone who had never played a sport before, but make JV here, but I also know people who get cut their second year playing at Exeter. I’m not really sure about soccer, but I do know that Boys varsity is very good, and I’m assuming that JV is decent, but probably also something you shouldn’t be afraid of trying out for! </p>

<p>So much rambling! Sorry this was such a long post. Feel free to ask any more questions if needed!</p>

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<p>Thank you very much for your very insightful responses. My son is starting Lower year this Fall. What are the different boys’ dorms like, physically and personality-wise? While I understand that there is a diversity of kids in every dorm, often there is a general personality (i.e. athletes, preppies) attached to each. Is there much hazing going on in any of them? How about the houses, or are they just for Uppers and Seniors?</p>

<p>I would appreciate your impressions and observations.</p>

13

<p>Hi, I was accepted as anew 10th grader and was wondering if new lowers struggle to fit in. Thanks!</p>

14

<p>As a senior, I have dealt with the college counseling office, and they are generally helpful no matter what kind of colleges you’re looking at. They take care of sending a lot of your school forms to colleges and helping you set up interviews on the Exeter campus. They encourage students to apply to colleges of a variety of difficulties, because they know that almost no one has a sure ticket into the college of their dreams. I applied to a couple of ivies, a couple of high-acceptance schools close to where I live, and a few schools in between, on both coasts.</p>

<p>As far as I know, the boys dorms have a pretty good mixture of different kids. There is one dorm that is seen as somewhat rebellious against the school but very close among themselves. They are so close partly because of traditions which may be considered on the verge of hazing, including rituals to initiate freshmen. According to an Exonian article from last year, what happens in this dorm is not “seniors beating up preps. It’s more of a service type thing, like a senior asking a prep to turn on the TV.” The article goes on to say that there were some harsher rituals that in past years “may have happened pretty frequently, and been an accepted and expected part of dorm life… but in the past two years, [a dorm member] is unaware of any preps forced to undergo such treatments.” I think that the faculty and deans have done a pretty good job of looking out for hazing, and I don’t hear of anything happening anymore. In meetings between deans and dorm proctors, the deans make it clear that they won’t tolerate any sort of hazing rituals.</p>

<p>There is also one boys dorm that is traditionally a “jock” dorm, but I have heard that the deans are trying to mix up the kinds of kids that they put in there. Beyond those two dorms, I don’t really notice any stereotypes besides maybe “the dorm that plays video games all the time,” but I’m not that close to the issue.</p>

<p>I can tell you that houses are for new uppers and seniors, and a couple of new lowers. Sometimes people move into houses after living in a dorm for a year or two. I live in a house, and I have mixed feelings about them. They can be quiet and peaceful, but I think they are a little bit too small for new students who would rather meet a lot of people.</p>

<p>Sorry for writing a book there.</p>

15

<p>I was accepted and may be going next year. :slight_smile:
I would like a current student to tell me what he/she thinks are some of Exeter’s strongest points.
Thanks!</p>

16

<p>cheddarcheeseyum- I wrote a couple points on yuplifeissweet’s thread- “greetings new exonians”. Try that out, and ask if you have more questions!</p>

<p>prowrest- I was a new lower. I think it’s okay. There’s definitely advantages and disadvantages to being one. It’s good because you don’t have to take compsci, don’t have the sometimes negative stigma of being a prep, and you’ve also experienced high school before so you kinda have an idea what to expect. It kinda sucks too though, because for me it was and still is difficult to get used to the academics, but that might also be because the school I went to before wasn’t very challenging. I do know of new lowers who get high GPAs though! But also as a new lower, a lot of times you feel like a prep in a lower’s body! You have to take health (even if you’ve taken years of it before), and a lot of times, you’re placed into lower level classes, not because you’re not smart or anything, but because Exeter kinda likes to teach it “their way” and place you down a bit. For example, I know a girl who’s taken Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 but not geometry, and she’s stuck in a low-ish math class relative to her ability. </p>

<p>I guess all in all, being a new lower is a bit of a struggle to fit in, because everyone already knows each other. Sometimes its nice because you’re a blank slate and you can just be yourself and do whatever, but other times you really wish you came as a prep. However, I have heard many returning lowers say they wish they came in as new lowers. It’s a mixed bag, but what can you do about it?</p>

17

<p>Dorm life…
About how many people are in each dorm?
How are dorms selected(like is placement random or do they place you based on interest, etc)
What’s the best part of dorm life?
Do you consider Exeter to be “personal?”</p>

18

<p>Dorm life is really exciting here-- there are about 30-50ish students in each dorm (every dorm includes students of all 4 grades) and 10-20ish students (besides incoming preps, who are not placed there) in each house.</p>

<p>Dorm placement is random, for the most part. South side is a bit more athletic, certain dorms have slightly more people than others with interests in a certain field (for example in the arts), but for the most part it’s a mixed bag. I think they do a fairly good job with dorm placement–the vast majority of the time people are happy where they are, even though a few who aren’t can choose to move.</p>

<p>There’s a lot of good parts about dorm life-- you really get to know the people in your dorm well and form relationships with them, including the upperclassmen. A lot of late night talks, some dorms have dorm grill which involves people just eating food and socializing in the common room after check-in. A lot of dorms will do fun activities together to bond, such as sports, going to nearby cities at 12:00 on a friday night (yes midnight!) to eat at restaurants. It’s really easy to stop by a friend’s room and just talk-- you really get to know all kinds of people and have lots of great experiences. I think what’s really great is that people from all years form bonds with one another, it’s not just people in your grade.</p>

<p>I’m not sure what you mean by the question–Exeter’s personal in the sense that you get to form really close friendships just because you’re interacting with people almost 24/7, some people also form really close relationships with faculty members. Oftentimes, however, you are left on your own–there’s only so much advisors will know–but if you ask for help you’ll get it. Exeter’s definitely not cold and there’s so much opportunity to learn more about others and share what’s important to you. There’s student listeners, dorm proctors, etc. Since coming here I’ve really learned how multi-dimensional people here can be–it’s rare that someone you meet is exactly as what they seem like at first.</p>

<p>Sorry if this wasn’t what you meant–if you could clarify that would be great.</p>