From Public School to Private School

According to the Facts page on the Academy website, 52.4 percent of the admitted class in 2017 previously attended a public school. This means that roughly half of the student body at Exeter has experienced what constitutes an often stark contrast between their former and current education. So the question remains for many: should I have stayed in public school?

Admittedly there have been many times during which I have woken up 10 minutes before class, sprinted to the Academy building and wished that I could be back in the thirty-student classroom, sitting in the back of the class and playing Flappy Golf on my phone. I have often thought about what it would be like to still be at my old school where I did not have to study into the late hours of the night to receive a somewhat satisfactory grade. It is during those late nights, hunched at my desk trying to force out those final hundred words of my paper, that I find it difficult to remember why I left public school for Exeter.

However, it is during the moments when I look around the Harkness table and see every single member of the class completely engaged that I remember the reason I came here. This school truly has so much to offer. The sheer magnitude of students here that are so incredibly intelligent never ceases to amaze me. The things I learn in a single biology class go above and beyond what I learned in one week last year. Despite the many downsides, I have found that the opportunities which this school has provided with me outweigh what I have sacrificed.

This does not mean I wouldn’t prefer last year’s hour of homework. I don’t claim to prefer dining hall food over a home cooked meal. In no way have I enjoyed trading in my nine hours of sleep for—at most—the seven I receive now. To claim any of this as true would be a lie. And I am positive that I am not the only person here who feels this way. Nevertheless, I am part of the 52.4 percent who chose to give away those conveniences for this unrivaled education.

Ultimately, Phillips Exeter Academy is an institution for education, and that is really what matters most. The majority of students currently attending were aware that enrollment meant giving up many of the small conveniences they enjoyed before, yet they continued to forge ahead into their journey here at Exeter. In the long run, Exeter’s many advantages outweigh these perks and I have never regretted my decision to attend PEA.