<p>I don’t think any of us PEA parents were shying away from the statistic or making excuses. You brought up an interesting idea about why it might be and there have been a few other ideas thrown out. We are just offering some possible explanations for the low participation rate.</p>
<p>My sense is that Exeter may not have as many wealthy parents, but that shouldn’t effect participation rate. What I meant by my initial response of "I’ll see what I can do about it " was that perhaps I could make the calls to the FA parents and explain that that 10 or 20 dollar donation does have an effect; if not in a direct financial sense, but in a morale boosting sense. </p>
<p>Exeter should, perhaps, do a better job of educating the parents of scholarship kids about the importance of participation rate. </p>
<p>I received a mailing just this week. The sentence about how a contribution of any size is appreciated was underlined and the Parent’s Fund chair wrote a little personalized note about my son specifically. There wasn’t anything about the importance of participation rates but the whole thing gave me a…
<p>I guess I should use capital letters to make my statements true – parent participation ISN’T as important as you maintain. I guess that settles the matter.</p>
<p>I take issue with your characterization of Exeter as having a “kind-of large, factory like nature”. You apparently know very little about Exeter, it’s students, or parents.</p>
<p>Not trying to be argumentative…really…but I really just fail to see how me dishing out another 20 or 100 dollars or whatever I can afford to the Exeter Parent’s Fund is going to make me feel more connected to the school. Parent’s Week-end, talking to my kid’s adviser, checking out photos on the website, talking about Exeter’s strengths on CC–those things make me feel connected. Contributing more than we can easily spare to his tuition/board makes me feel connected–I’m placing a value on the education E. provides. It’s not that I begrudge the money, and I’m sure we’ll participate–but why will that extra piece make me feel so much more than I already feel?</p>
<p>And…yeah…with Exeter 123…after sitting in classes and spending time in my kid’s dorm, I’d say that Exeter is about as far from a “factory-like” place as one can get. It takes a lot of caring and attention to demand as much from students as Exeter does.</p>
<p>I am a big believer of parents getting involved. The involvement definately includes participating in fund raising. But I am just guessing that parent participation is not being emphasized enough by the school admistration at Exter. If the school explicitly and/or repatedly tell parents that the $10 or $20 they donate does make a difference, I don’t see why most parents wouldn’t want to participate. Chances are with its endowment, involving parents in fund raising is not the highest priority for the school.</p>
<p>Dishing out $20 or $100 may just be a drop in the buck compared to the size of the school’s endowment but that extra 30% of families = $30,000 or more and could mean one more financial aid student getting accepted, or another teaching fellow being hired or perhaps some better food in the cafeteria (another thread started here). </p>
<p>What does that extra $20 mean to you as a family? A lunch for two? A large pizza? </p>
<p>I think a high parent participation rate does send a message to the school’s faculty and administration that they are supported and valued. It’s recognition of their doing their job well. Most of these folks are there out of passion for what they do and could make more money elsewhere. </p>
<p>Mainer95 did state a page or so back that Exeter does not include donations by alum parents in the parent fund. Not sure how other schools tally their figures but this alone could probably increase the participation rate at Exeter by 10%.</p>
<p>FWIW, I did not find Exeter the warmest of the schools we have toured. Not to parrot Parlabane, but in comparison to some other schools, the entire Exeter Admissions Office set-up indeed felt the most clinical and “take a number, please”.</p>
<h2>Again, I attribute this to that age-old question of “fit”. It just didn’t feel right for our daughter or our family.</h2>
<p>Any further thoughts about Heads of School?</p>
<p>My son’s first year roommate was on full FA. He didn’t have a dollar in his wallet. I would be embarrassed to ask his parents for money to reach an arbitrary % participation. I appreciate your point on the merits of high participation, but I think participation should be a reflection of the desire and ability to donate rather than driven by a hardcore fundraising drive, peer pressure, or seeking an arbitrary % participation. I think folks on this board may be overestimating the financial resources of many of the students/families that attend BS. Makes me sick to think that BS’s would set up a situations where parents would be shamed into contributing to reach some participation goal in the name of community connectedness.</p>
<p>This sure does happen at private schools where the treatment you get depends on the size of your wallet. Welcome to the club, you signed up for it.</p>
<p>^^pulsar, that’s very wrong. 1/3 to 1/2 of the students are on financial aid in almost all top boarding schools. If they were treated based on the size of their wallets, they would’ve never got in the door in the first place, given the size of their applicant pools.</p>
<p>Well here is another perspective on why high parent participation matters - it matters to those parents THAT ARE CONTRIBUTING. Development office’s are well aware that big donors like to see everyone doing their part, no matter how small the contribution may be. Every member of the community has some ability to donate - whether it is $20 or $2mil. it is a gesture that indicates everyone feels a responsibility to support the institution in accordance with their ability to do so. Nothing worse that 5 or 10 large donors feeling that they are the only ones giving. 100% participation makes everyone feel good!</p>
<p>SevenDad: Kind of funny how impressions vary. I had by far the most engaging conversation with the Exeter admissions staff. In contrast, I felt very intimidated by the admissions office at SPS with the large painted portraits of prior rectors – you could hear a pin drop. Choate didn’t seem to know we were coming and quickly shuffled some students to take us on a tour. Andover was very friendly, but traffic flow in the admissions office made me feel like I was in Grand Central. To each his own.</p>
<p>On school heads, it has been interesting to watch the progress of the new head at Exeter. A few stumbles, but not bad at all. Such a broad range of responsibilities. Managing financial issues, students, alumni/trustees, students, faculty, etc., etc. Think it has taken a bit of time for him to define himself in the community, but so far I give him pretty high marks. I look forward to the personal imprint he leaves on Exeter over the coming years.</p>
<p>Well we don’t really go out to lunch more than a few times a year, and I can’t remember the last time we spent $20 on a pizza (we get ours frozen from Target); it’s possible that some members of this board don’t have a good sense of the financial situation of many FA parents. You may want to tread a bit more lightly. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, I don’t think any one of us has said we won’t willingly write that check. All we’re doing is suggesting reasons why Exeter might not put as much emphasis on its Parent’s Fund as other schools do. When “youth from all quarters” is a cornerstone of your philosophy, the breadth of the parent’s fund might not be. </p>
<p>Now that’s a reason for me to write a check. However, if I didn’t have the money, a heartfelt letter to President Hassan or to a faculty member of two would probably go even farther in making that point.</p>
<p>Madaket: Point taken about the large donors liking to know that everyone is doing what they can.</p>
<p>And yes, I know I’m off topic. That’s my last post, promise. :)</p>
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<p>@Exeter123: While the SPS Sheldon building is certainly imposing, we found the staff & students tour guides super friendly and down-to-earth. Your “Grand Central” feeling? That’s kind of what we felt at Exeter…so many families waiting anxiously. Note that it was really the Admissions Officer and waiting room experience that we got a cold vibe from, not the main receptionist or the student guide.</p>
<p>E123: My son and I had the very same experience at Andover. The Admin Office was very busy, crowded and friendly…and we were on campus in February during a long weekend! In some ways, the Office became a little too friendly when one of the AO’s volunteered that a sizeable number of kids were applying to PA from my son’s private day school…which was located over a 1000 miles from Andover. (Upon receiving such info, my son and I knew that the odds of his acceptance to Andover diminished greatly and quickly. True to form, he was WL’ed.)</p>
<p>Regarding Sevendad’s comment about Exeter a bit cold, we noticed a difference in how they greeted some families from the way they greeted…us. As soon as the AO entered the room, full eye contact on the legacy. Big smile and a bit of reverence. AO hardly looked at the spouse who wasn’t a legacy. We didn’t see anyone else met like this in the waiting room (which is very small).
But having said that, AO’s and the student guides are only human, they can’t be ‘on’ for everyone.</p>
<p>We had a similar experience/observation at Andover too and I think it is safe to extend it to other schools as well. For independent schools alumni, donor connections are important as they get no public funding.</p>
<p>We had absolutely no prior connections to BS’s before our son applied. Can’t say I felt slighted by any of the admissions offices. Not every school was a fit for us, but every AO was very professional. As Pulsar says, I think it is safe to extend it to other schools as well. AO’s have every incentive to treat every applicant well, in particular in the age of venues like CC where every perceived slight is magnified beyond recognition. </p>
<p>Pulsar, you make it sound as if your BS application/interview process was less than satisfactory. Please enlighten us with details of your BS application experience.</p>
<p>These posts tell me that so much is left up to chance both in the impression the school gives and likely the impression the family/student gives on any given day.</p>
<p>So much it seems is dependent on which interviewer you get, whether they are genuinely interested or not, that’s where this idea of getting into top schools is a crapshoot.</p>
<p>You can have stellar grades, SSATs and ECs, but as the saying goes, that just opens the door. Whether or not you can go through is dependent so much on luck of the draw whom you get as the interviewer, their status on the committee, and how the interaction went. It makes me ponder…hooks are always advantageous, if you have one.</p>
<p>Pulsar, from your previous posts, I got the impression you got into Hotchkiss, but needed more FA to attend. I hope I’m not outing you, but where are you applying now? I hope you get into your first choice school this round. I think you have a lot to offer a school.</p>
" was that perhaps I could make the calls to the FA parents and explain that that 10 or 20 dollar donation does have an effect; if not in a direct financial sense, but in a morale boosting sense. </p>