Thoughts on Exeter/Andover Compared to DC Privates

[Anonymous]

What do you think of Phillips Exeter and Phillips Academy Andover compared to the top DC private schools? Would the boarding school experience be a good idea for a kid who wants to push themselves and explore academically?

[Anonymous]

I don't understand the question. Whatever differences there may be academically (my guess is not that much), they would be dwarfed by the inherent difference between boarding and day school.

[Anonymous]

Boarding school is its own world and the opportunities your kid would get at Andover or Exeter (or Deerfield or Groton or Lawrenceville) would benefit them for the rest of their lives, the alumni network being chief among them. If your kid is interested I highly recommend visiting the schools to see for yourselves what they offer.

[Anonymous]

I attended a comparable ISL school and the doors it’s opened for me far outstrip any doors opened by my degrees from an Ivy League or anything I’ve done in my career.

[Anonymous]

As others have said, academics alone aren't the best reason to choose Andover or Exeter over a top DC private school. In fact, a smart kid might find it easier to "push themselves and explore academically" at a day school, where students aren't required to play sports and teachers aren't stretched thin between classes, coaching, and dorm duty.

[Anonymous]

I attended PEA. Boarding schools of that kind just are not comparable with day schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do you think of Phillips Exeter and Phillips Academy Andover compared to the top DC private schools? Would the boarding school experience be a good idea for a kid who wants to push themselves and explore academically?

There is no DC private school that is ranked above PEA or Phillips Academy. If the comparison was to New York day schools, then maybe. But nothing would be the same- academics, experience, opportunities, etc. Even Sidwell is ranked below these boarding schools. Anyone who says otherwise is ignorant and uninformed. If your kid applies and gets in, I promise they will be forever grateful.

[Anonymous]

You people are obsessed with prestige. It’s weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You people are obsessed with prestige. It’s weird.

And the OP didn't even mention prestige--they asked about academic opportunities and the overall boarding school experience!

[Anonymous]

Thry are less of an automatic route to the Ivys than they used to be. There are some extremely motivated students taking high level classes and extremely strong athletes being recruited from them. If your child is not in these 2 groups, they will be fine but don’t expect Harvard to lay out the red carpet.

[Anonymous]

My dad went to Andover and then an Ivy. Yet remained ordinary. But he did play high school sports with people who became famous so he knows their nicknames.

[Anonymous]

If you send your child to boarding school you lose a lot of control over what they get up to. There are so many drugs and unprotected sex going on. You need to think hard about what kind of kid you have. There are plenty of academically demanding schools in the DC area. What is the pressure for one? Is your kid profoundly gifted and needs challenge, or are you wanting to push them for your own reasons? It’s your child, not a project or someone to brag about. I did not have a kid for someone else to raise them. There are summer boarding programs at many universities if you want a unique learning opportunity in some field.

[Anonymous]

At day schools, you continue parenting your child. At boarding schools, you outsource it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do you think of Phillips Exeter and Phillips Academy Andover compared to the top DC private schools? Would the boarding school experience be a good idea for a kid who wants to push themselves and explore academically?

hey, troll, i thought you were looking at Deerfield since your kid has a grandparent on the board there. Or were you just trying to make sure everyone on this board knows your precious little Chip/Muffy is a shoo-in at all the top schools?

Get a life.