<p>I’ll try to address all your questions.</p>
<p>1.) The visual arts department at Lawrenceville offers courses ranging from college level studio art to freshman introduction to art. The art building has a full gallery as well as half a dozen studios. These studios are specialized for a specific discipline of visual art such as sculpturing or painting. Students are required to take two trimesters of art before graduation. As for English, it is personally one of my favorite departments. As a freshman, everyone is required to take humanities. This year long course enables students to develop key skills that they will need for success at Lawrenceville. Then, as a sophomore and junior, students take the same core English courses but they are all slightly different based on the teacher you get. Senior year is when English really gets fun. There are dozens of electives to choose from. You could try your hand at William Faulkner in the Southern Literature course, or a whole course dedicated to Moby Dick. Really, anything worth reading will be offered by one of the senior elective English classes. As for the Lit, it is a literary journal published periodically. It contains writings submitted by fellow students. It’s a pretty neat publication since it gives you the opportunity to see the work of your classmates. If you want to know more about art and English, check out the school website as well as the course catalog.</p>
<p>2.) The Harkness method is present in every class including math and science. Every class emphasizes critical thinking and collaboration instead of rote memorization. However, some of the math and science classes may not actually have the table. This is basically up to the teachers discretion. The reason that some teachers use traditional single desks instead of the Harkness table is due to the fact that science and math classes rely on the smartboard a lot more than English or history classes. It would be inconvenient if half the class had to turn their backs 180 just to see the board.</p>
<p>3.) Just a quick aside - students at Exeter are Exonians, but students at Lawrenceville are Lawrentians :)</p>
<p>Anyways, back to your question. I’ll answer the second one first. I chose Lawrenceville for several reasons. First off, the school is pretty close to my home which is a nice convenience. Secondly, the academics at Lawrenceville is undoubtedly fantastic. Also, as a prep school, Lawrenceville does its job. Many students here matriculate to top universities. Another reason I chose Lawrenceville was for its house system. It is a conduit for meeting life-long friends. But lastly, I chose Lawrenceville for its human aspect. The faculty is first rate. They are all passionate and accomplished at their discipline. For example, one of the stats teachers actually writes the standard AP Stats textbook. They also become close mentors due to the small class sizes and also to the multiple interactions you have with them as teachers, housemasters, coaches, etc. However, the most important consideration is your classmates. They will not only be your classmates, but also housemates, teammates, and more. The student body at Lawrenceville is truly exceptional. All Lawrentians are indubitably academically gifted but also unique in other aspects. As a Lawrentian, you will meet people from Singapore, Lithuania, Columbia, and Sweden just to name a few. Students also hold very interesting passions such as working towards providing education to children in rural Argentina or researching amphibian behavior in the Amazon rainforest. In short, the people you meet at Lawrenceville are truly what makes the experience great.<br>
As for what makes a Lawrentian a Lawrentian, all Lawrentians are passionate. This extends to the classroom, athletic fields, at MUN conferences, working late nights at the school newspaper office, etc. If you want to be a Lawrentian, find something you care about, and pursue it with passion. That’s the best advice I can give.</p>