<p>Hello hgwheels,</p>
<p>My daughter is in 8th grade and we are contemplating putting her in private school from 9th grade. Planning to apply in Lawrenceville, Peddie and Hun. Heard some negative comments about PDS from multiple sources. So, not planning to apply there. Since, you have been accepted in all the schools, can you shed some light regarding the interview questions / SSAT scores etc.? </p>
<p>Thanks in advance</p>
<p>I also go to Peddie. Peddie doesn’t have a set entrance score for the SSATs. If they like you and think you’ll do well at the school, you can get in. That being said, a score in the 70 percentile range is a good place to start, and the work is rigorous and keeps on coming. </p>
<p>The interview is actually kind of fun. A lot of my classmates complained that at Lawrenceville their interviewer seemed to be purposefully trying to intimidate them. One of my friends described their interviewer at Lville as a drill sergeant who told him mid-way through that he “didn’t have what it takes” to be part of Lawrenceville, but he’s one of the best students at my school! In the Peddie interview, you talk about your friends and what you like to do and stuff like that. It’s pretty chill, actually.</p>
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<p>sharmibhat is absolutely right about not applying to PDS. We experienced it this year - moved from another private school to Princeton and it was the worst decision ever! The adminstration in deep trouble that no one will tell you about, there is a drain of school heads leaving PDS. The staff is consistently rude to the kids, and if you are a minority you are EXPECTED to apply for financial aid. They use barebones supplies in the classroom and expect parents to fork over for any extra resources being used, even after paying the tuition. Teaching staff is careless and teaching is very superficial in some areas - just gloss. They won’t give your child any help if he/she is falling behind and needs it, or if he/she is ahead of the rest of the class, there is no pull-out program for accelerated students, even though they claim there is. A friend whose child was found to have dyslexia was not told about her condition for years, until it was time for her to move on to middle school and they just could not advance her! We finally left when the negligence became too much to handle and our own children started to suffer, both academically and emotionally. The high school has a halfway decent program - it has to, because that is the source of most of their funding - but our experience of the lower and middle schools was awful.</p>
<p>Hello. I am going to be going to Peddie next year, as a day student. I agree, it is very hard to get into Peddie, but it’s not impossible. From my sibling’s experience of applying to L’ville (s/he got into Peddie, w-l at L’ville), I have to say I enjoy the community at Peddie a lot more than the other schools I applied to. I agree that 70 percentile is a good place to start (I got 93rd, but I was applying as a day student). I really think if you’re looking for a boarding school with strong academics, a happy and amicable community, an amazing swim and basketball program, and GREAT science facilities, Peddie is the one to choose in the Princeton/NJ area.</p>