<p>GMT: I don’t really think any of the BS is that big. What I was trying to get at, if you look at the context, was that for a school of Hill’s size, not many spots open up every year. On too of that, it’s been getting more applications in recent years and becoming more selective.</p>
<p>Benley is absolutely correct that The Hill is having a up-tick in application and becoming more selective. Here is a snippet from the admissions office. </p>
<p>“In a few days, as our students depart for spring vacation, the Admission Office will finalize their evaluation of more than 900 applications to offer places to the approximately 160 students who will replace our graduating Sixth Formers for the 2014-15 term. This has been another record-setting year for our Admission Office, with inquiries up 10%, interviews up 10%, and applications up 10% since last year.”</p>
<p>Historically, The Hill was written about and spoken about in the same breath as the very best of the NE schools. 1/2 the graduating class or more regularly went to the Ivies (heavy Penn representation, not surprisingly), and the school is and remains one of the original core prep schools feeding into the Morehead scholarship program at UNC. Hill’s problem was that it opened its doors to women about 20 years after the other major schools did so (during a time when interest in boarding schools generally was declining), and so it lost out on that initial huge and valuable cohort of alumni daughters who would otherwise have gone to Hill, but instead we’re forced to go elsewhere. Hill is rapidly recovering from this misstep. The new headmaster is an Exeter grad and certainly knows a thing or two about quality. I expect Hill to rapidly reclaim its once impeccable status – one, by the way, that Lawrencevile never approached.</p>
<p>“one, by the way, that Lawrencevile never approached.”
I didn’t quite get it are you talking about the quality or the status?</p>
<p>^^Status. Quality similar.</p>
<p>“Historically, The Hill was written about and spoken about in the same breath as the very best of the NE schools.”
Source? </p>
<p>“I expect Hill to rapidly reclaim its once impeccable status – one, by the way, that Lawrencevile never approached.”</p>
<p>Lawrenceville students don’t need to make bold statements like these because everyone knows we historically had, and still have, the upper hand when it comes to reputation. Hill might have been a feeder to Penn, but why does that matter now? We have always been one to Princeton. </p>
<p>“Status.”
Lawrenceville also went co-ed much later than the NE schools–in 1988. So, that the Hill opened its doors to women about 20 years after the other major schools is not an excuse for the purported plunge in quality. We may be athletic rivals (but that is even debatable since we beat Hill every single year), but academically, we’re a tier or two apart. A friend of mine at Exeter once remarked, “Your school’s rival is Hill? That’s pathetic.” Make of that what you will. Hill doesn’t have the respect of its supposed peer schools. </p>
<p>“Quality similar.”
Lol please. Our endowment per student, facilities, as well as quality of students are in a different league. What are your criteria for judging quality? </p>
<p>The problem with Hill is that for a school of its size, there are many arguably better options (Taft, Loomis, SPS, Hotchkiss, Deerfield). Geographically, Lawrenceville and Peddie win most of the cross-admit battles. Unlike SAS, it doesn’t have that “small-knit community” argument going for it. The fact remains that the most competitive students at Hill are also likely to have applied elsewhere. </p>
<p>Please, let’s not get carried away. I think OP got the info they expected about Hill from this thread. Don’t turn it into something it shouldn’t be.</p>
<p>
This statement, unarguably, applies to Lawrenceville as well. As you also may know, Hill and L’ville are both founding members of the Ten Schools Organization, along with Andover, Exeter, etc.</p>
<p>As far as rivalries are concerned, who would suit you better? Peddie? Blair? Please . . . It’s not like L’ville will break into the Choate/Andover/Exeter rivalries anytime in this century. </p>
<p>As far as the comment, “We may be athletic rivals (but that is even debatable since we beat Hill every single year,” please note the following re the 123rd meeting of Hill - L’ville:</p>
<p>"On Saturday, November 13, The Hill School celebrated our 123rd Hill vs. Lawrenceville Weekend as we welcomed the Larries to Pottstown for an afternoon of fall athletic contests. Started in 1887, The Hill/Lawrenceville rivalry is the fifth oldest high school rivalry in the nation.</p>
<p>Big wins included: Varsity field hockey defeated Lawrenceville 3-0 marking 2010 Hill’s fourth consecutive win over L’Ville. Varsity girls’ soccer outscored the Larries 3-2 in overtime giving the team and Head Coach Ryck Walbridge their first MAPL championship title! Varsity boys’ soccer also was victorious with a 3-2 win. The JV and varsity girls’ water polo teams both defeated Lawrenceville 4-3 and 7-3, respectively. "</p>
<p>The facts recounted here – of which any fourth tier prep student who knows how to use Google would be aware – may come as news to you, but I am happy to help you with your education and to refute, with facts, your biases and misconceptions…</p>
<p>“This statement, unarguably, applies to Lawrenceville as well.”</p>
<p>I will admit that we tend to lose our cross-admits to Andover and Exeter, perhaps St. Paul’s as well, but I assure you that many of us also got into the likes of Choate, Milton, Deerfield and Hotchkiss (I included) and ended up choosing Lawrenceville for different reasons. Lawrenceville also remains the top choice of most of the day student population, who, from my observations, is the overall strongest group of students at Lawrenceville.</p>
<p>“Big wins included: Varsity field hockey defeated Lawrenceville 3-0 marking 2010 Hill’s fourth consecutive win over L’Ville.”</p>
<p>May I ask who the overall winner was? ;)</p>
<p>Our athletic rivalries are mainly in MAPL purely because of geographic reasons. Academically, we are the big dog BS in the mid-Atlantic. It’s preposterous to state that Hill is statistically on par. Give me some numbers and data, please?</p>
<p>If objective data are to be compared, we trump Hill across the board. </p>
<p>“Hill and L’ville are both founding members of the Ten Schools Organization, along with Andover, Exeter”</p>
<p>Many Lawrenceville students don’t even know the school is in the Ten Schools Organization. Fortunately, we don’t need to use the name of a group and its member schools to prove ourselves worthwhile to the public. Unlike Hill’s, our reputation is capable of holding our own. </p>
<p>Honestly,</p>
<p>I think that we too often forget that these schools are the best of the best. All of the TSAO schools are great as well as many other schools that are considered “second tier.” Yes, some schools are higher regarded than others but quite frankly when one thinks of the top boarding schools they don’t think of Lawrenceville or Hill. These two schools are both great schools but they do not have reputations of the likes of Exeter, Andover, etc. For example before I seriously looked at boarding schools, I knew what Exeter, Andover, St. Paul’s, Deerfield, and Hotchkiss were but thats it. I don’t see an L in HADES. I think its plain out rude and disrespectful that a Lawrenceville student is trying to degrade The Hill and this student is not representing his/her school well. Also, a school can be great even if its reputation is not as good as the other school. Reputations do not mean everything, which is where we get hidden gem schools from. This may also be why Hill’s acceptance rate is higher, because they do not have the “reputation” of a “better” school. Both are great academic institutions that should be regarded with the same amount of prestige.</p>
<p>@MBVLoveless, we get it- you love L’Ville, despise Hill. </p>
<h2>Looking at some of your other posts/threads especially the one listed below, good luck going forward at Chicago, Duke or wherever else you apply because you are going to need it with your narrow minded, general assumptions (frat life, football schools)…. Your last few requirements are especially interesting: non-pompous, non-elitist, FRIENDLY VIBE FROM EVERYBODY IS A MUST. Maybe you should consider your own words as you post on CC.</h2>
<p>December 2013 edited December 2013 in College Search & Selection
Hey all, I’m a HS junior who’s recently been looking into colleges. I’m still visiting around, but after 3 college visits today (Haverford, Swarthmore, UPenn) I’ve started to form a vague idea of what I look for in a college. I would much much appreciate it if you guys could recommend me any colleges that align with my preferences. Here’s a quick review:</p>
<p>-I’m an international student currently attending a US high school. Will be full pay anyway (I don’t think I’m good enough to qualify for FA). So state/cost probs won’t matter.
-The college must be academically reputable (either highly ranked/US News top 30 NUs/15 LACs or having a strong student body with an average SAT of 2100+ or 2000+ for state schools).
-Ample resources and research opportunities (I’m going to be an Economics/premed)
-The frat culture must not dominate the school’s social life because I’m honestly not into that stuff.
-Academics before athletics. This is why I’m looking into several DIII schools where the sport cultures are not as intense.
-Non-pompous, non-pretentious, non-elitist student body. It’s okay if there are a few stuckups here and there, but a friendly vibe from everyone is a must.
-Suburban or urban (preferably suburban?, but definitely NOT rural).
-Co-ed.</p>
<p>^Good job stalking my profile, creepy 4-post person. In this thread, I’m not the one posting misleading comments like “I expect Hill to rapidly reclaim its once impeccable status – one, by the way, that Lawrencevile never approached.”</p>
<p>My “safety school” comment was a jest. Harvard and Yale call each other “safety school” all the time. It shouldn’t be a big issue if the two rivals are indeed on par with each other like Lawrenceville and H–oh wait.</p>
<p>well, it’s about 2:00, so I hope the peace shall be preserved, brothers and sisters</p>
<p>those especially inclined to competitively “rank” schools would do well to remember that the “best”, in the end, is a judgement made by an individual . . . and for any individual the best is the school that fits them well, they get into, they can afford, and they successfully learn at</p>
<p>btw, saw a recommendation on CC for “The Virgins” by Patricia Erens, and am looking forward to reading it over spring break . . . somehow, the interior lives of students (and adults) on boarding campuses gets lost in the rankings and media and “stats”; off of CC, it’s great being more fully in the present with a deeper reading of what life might be</p>
<p>The irony in the third to last and fourth to last bullets.</p>
<p>Charger, I’m all for fit over rankings, but to claim that Hill is better/equal in “status” (i.e. perceived prestige) than/to Lawrenceville is ridiculous. University of Chicago may be my top choice right now, and I would choose it over HYPM in a heartbeat, but even as a student there (hopefully) I would never say that Chicago say that “UChicago is rapidly claiming a status at a level Harvard never approached”. That’s just stupid. There’s a difference between “fit” and “objective fact”. </p>
<p>The point of this thread is whether the Hill is a good school and worth considering. Yes it is.</p>
<p>@MBV, I don’t recall Lville being the only prep school you applied to. </p>
<p>I don’t know. Benley’s posts pretty much sum up what I want to say about Hill in this thread. It is far from a bad school, considering how terrible most American public schools are, but this sentence by makennacompton is just stupid: “The new headmaster is an Exeter grad and certainly knows a thing or two about quality. I expect Hill to rapidly reclaim its once impeccable status – one, by the way, that Lawrencevile never approached.” Why does it matter that the headmaster is from Exeter? Does a truly good school have to cling to its association with well-established schools to prove itself?</p>
<p>Thought I should justly defend my school.</p>
<p>This is a thread about Hill, not Lville</p>
<p>Hey, I wasn’t the one first mentioning Lville.</p>
<p>“Hey, I wasn’t the one first mentioning Lville.”</p>
<p>But the first to start the bashing…</p>
<p>“Hahahahha safety school. They suck at everything but soccer.”</p>
<p>Case closed…</p>