Phillips Exeter Academy

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

My oldest son just got an invitation to apply for Phillips Exeter Academy for admission in the Fall of 2010. He was invited due to his test scores on the AMC-12. After doing some preliminary research, it looks like a fabulous academic opportunity.

When I think of Exeter, I think of Dead Poet's Society, Trading Places and Louis Winthorpe III. Boarding school was the furthest thing from our minds. But, we are wondering if this is something that we should actively pursue.

Does anyone have any experiences they can share?

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

Jim,

I have no personal experience to share, but the school is certainly worth considering. It's renown for it's academic excellence, and Harkness method of teaching. It is a very prestigious boarding school with an acceptance rate of 21%. Even if your son decides not to go, it's nice to be invited. You both should be very proud!


Year: 2004 10 Most Popular College Choices (# Enrolled)
University of Pennsylvania 15
Harvard 13
Princeton 13
Columbia 12
Georgetown 10
New York University 9
Dartmouth 8
Yale 8
Johns Hopkins 7
Stanford 7

........

While traits like a billion dollar endowment or that 83% of the faculty holds advanced degrees certainly set Phillips Exeter Academy apart from the formidable boarding school pack, its most fundamental difference is the Harkness method. While some schools offer a few subjects in a discussion format, at Exeter every course from Calculus to Existentialism is taught around an oval table with a maximum of thirteen students. Yet this system is more than just a peculiarly shaped table, it is an educational philosophy that permeates the entire institution. Its underlying principle-which seems simple at first, but is actually quite radical-is that students have as much to contribute to each other's education as their teachers do. The best teachers under this system are those that can subtly steer conversation with an occasional interjected clarification or explanation to help the students reach a deeper understanding of the material. My peers and I have often tried to quantify the advantages of the Harkness method, and the best summary we've come up with is that it rewards (and therefore develops) the skill of making connections. Unlike traditional education, which is about memorization, when you discuss an idea with your peers you gain a mastery of the material that allows you to apply it to other contexts whether that be college or a career. In short, the Harkness table resembles the boardroom table-where large amounts of information have to be integrated to make informed decisions-a lot more than it resembles a classroom desk. As you can probably already tell, this style produces a student body that is passionate and serious about its work. Late night debates often spring up about the material from that day�s classes. Furthermore, because the traditional divide between teacher and student is all but eliminated, students feel comfortable interacting with their teachers outside of class whether they need extra help or just want to know more about a particular area of interest. All that said, this kind of intellectual rigor comes only through a considerable amount of work. There are classes six days a week (from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. for four of those days) and first year students can expect three hours of homework in addition to their extracurricular commitments. It is incredibly rewarding if you can handle it, but it is never easy.

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

Thanks Angela,

This is just so exciting (and terrifying, too). I checked out their math curriculum and it has many of the courses I took in my undergraduate degree program.

I wanted him to take abstract algebra since he is taking calculus this year and has 2 years to go. But, his school doesn't have it. Exeter does.

I can't believe that the above admissions are for a single graduating class. I don't think my high school had that many admits into those Universities from the beginning of time.

[katiemack Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close katiemack]

How exciting and impressive! Is your son excited about the possiblity? It sounds like a fabulous opportunity, and would allow all of his natural talents to shine, not to mention allowing him to make a fabulous future!

[bnoble Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bnoble]

It's an oustanding opportunity. I personally know three people who attended. One is on the CS faculty here at Michigan. One is a founding principal in an extremely successful storage company. One is pursuing a Ph.D. in music theory at the University of Chicago (one of the top programs in the world for the subject.)

All three had great things to say about their time at Exeter.

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

The "mom" in me says and is so proud of the fact that the invitation was extended to your son. The "mom" in me also says it's a very long way from Hawaii....

What a fabulous opportunity!


Congratulations to him and to your entire family.

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

How exciting and impressive! Is your son excited about the possiblity? It sounds like a fabulous opportunity, and would allow all of his natural talents to shine, not to mention allowing him to make a fabulous future!

His immediate reaction surprised me. He was very excited. I thought he would be neutral like he is on most things.

It's so far away, though. It would be a hard decision to make even if he were accepted.

[3kids4me Super Moderator and Super Mom Find all posts View Profile Close 3kids4me]

Sent you a PM through the other forum....

[grest Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close grest]

I'm impressed. Having lived in Maine for 55+ years, we always thought that Exeter kids were la creme de la creme. Congratulations to him!

[katiemack Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close katiemack]

His immediate reaction surprised me. He was very excited. I thought he would be neutral like he is on most things.

It's so far away, though. It would be a hard decision to make even if he were accepted.

OH, but there are so many timeshares to research, and you love to travel....it would all be good! My best wishes to you on making the decision.

[Holly Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Holly]

GO

My boss went there. It's in a league of its own. From there, he went to Penn undergrad and Harvard Business School. You gotta go with what your son wants to do...if he can get in and wants to give it a shot, then you really can't pass it up.

Congratulations! He sounds like a special kid!

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

A little on the expensive side,but then educational costs have really spiked. I don't remember if we ever played them when I was in school- tho I do remember our 4 years of drubbing Choate in football.

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

A little on the expensive side,but then educational costs have really spiked. I don't remember if we ever played them when I was in school- tho I do remember our 4 years of drubbing Choate in football.

yeah, you could expect to kick their butt in basketball and football. But, I think you'd have hard time beating them in math or debate.

[gophish Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close gophish]

Congrats to your son. Just the invite says a lot about his academics so far.
Sounds like a super opportunity for him. The parent in me would also be worrying about him missing some great "family" opportunities.
Guess you guys will have to sort out the +/- of all that.
Best of luck whichever way is picked.

[Beaglemom3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beaglemom3]

I have friends who teach and nurse there. My neighbor was the dean of admissions back in the '90s (Dissette).They were unaware that P/A recruits students except for the disadvantaged special program admissions. New program perhaps ?

The question is , "do I want my child to be 6,000 miles away and living in a dorm at this age "?
There are lots of issues that they told me about. We can discuss offline .

What about Punahou or Iolani ? My nieces/nephews attended there and did very well.