<p>I like Aslurp better, but I’m not an earthling. Did you see my location? 
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<p>Oh, yes I see! So, there IS life out there after all! I am so glad.</p>
<p>Leanid–I would have to agree with most of your discussion on the history of DA. I had that very thought about the Koch Center. I believe I understand the need to make the science/math center a little more modern. Plus it is somewhat tucked away towards the end of the buildings part of campus.</p>
<p>I am sure not everyone would look into the details of the history of a school unless their child was attending. On revisit day, when my child made her decision, my first purchase was book “The Headmaster”. I gives so much of the history of the school and the ideals of its foundation. After reading I was able to give my d some additional information of where she was going and what she was becoming part of. I also was better able to support some school ideas and history, ie sit down meals.</p>
<p>You are right, many of the building are in their original state and place and others have been physically moved from their foundation from other sections of Old Deerfield & South Deerfield.</p>
<p>Personally, I think I would have loved Lawerenceville for ME! But this is coming from a mom with a different personality, different strengths and weaknesses, different needs and wants. DA is exactly what we wanted for my d and what she wanted for herself. </p>
<p>DA is surely not right for everyone, lucky for us it matched perfectly.</p>
<p>As a proud Deerfield student I’ll try to answer this question (I preemptively apologize if resurrecting old threads is bad form). First of all, the quality of my answer is in part controlled by that of the question. So, “What makes Deerfield so special?” - that’s pretty broad, and is founded upon the postulate that Deerfied is in fact so special. I would open by saying that you don’t have to agree that Deerfield is so special. I can only tell you why I think it is. </p>
<p>First of all, I love the architecture/campus. In the winter it can get depressing, not unlike the rest New England, but that’s fine. I completely disagree with the previous statement that the architecture is “hodge-podge”. I’ve been to many campuses for different athletic events and think we have one of the most cohesive looking schools out there. </p>
<p>As for what’s special about Deerfield specifically, most of all the size of the school is ideal. Deerfield at any give time has around six hundred students. This has several implications. First of all, it means that we have “enough” kids on campus - not so small that it becomes suffocating, but not so big as to be impersonal. You know everyone’s face, basically everyone’s name, and still are exposed to a wide range of backgrounds - socioeconomic, ethnic and otherwise. Furthermore, the size encourages the “well-rounded” theme permeating our campus and reputation. Because we do not have 800-1000 seats to fill, like Andover, Exeter, Choate, our admissions cannot pick the best athlete, and the best mathematician, and the best artist, and the best musician, and the best actor, and the best debater. Instead, because the seats are limited, the admissions department seeks out musician-debaters, athlete-actors, artist-mathematicians, all while maintaining a high academic standard across the board. This results in a dynamic, complete student body. That isn’t to say that Andover/Exeter/Choate don’t have their share of multi-faceted students, but their numbers alone give them more room to specialize case by case.</p>
<p>What is your biggest surprise after going to DA? Biggest disappointment? How has DA shaped you? What do you do on weekends? Thanks.</p>