Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by Anonymous
I have a son who will soon start high school. His first sport is lacrosse and we are torn between EA, Haverford, Malvern and LaSalle. Each seem like very good schools with good lacrosse. Academically our son is smart but not advanced. I would say normal kid. We are hearing that Haverford and EA are very challenging academically and getting harder. I am sure there are parents who could break the schools down on here on what is best for certain kids. How would you rank the schools academically? Does it help for college entrance going to a harder school and prepare your son better? Is it worth having to grind out hours of homework?

I don't know about LaSalle. I suspect it is in line with Malvern. EA is the best academically, followed by Haverford. The feedback is that students which leave Malvern for EA or Haverford find it challenging. Malvern seems to place sports above academics. EA academics above sport. Haverford in between.

EA parents were recently posting on this forum about the coaching change. May want to dig into that dynamic to understand if it's something you are willing to put up with (whatever side of the fence you fall on with that situation). Take tours of the school. See what the best fit is socially, academically, and athletically. At those schools, it's not a giving that your son will see significant playing time until deep into his high school career (as mentioned above). You have to be OK with that. The school is way more than the lacrosse team.