Compare two schools.
A candidate interviewing at two schools doesn’t want two separate reports. A sitting Head doesn’t read about Phillips Andover alone — they read it alongside Lawrenceville. Pick two and read them in parallel.
The Lawrenceville School
Choate Rosemary Hall
On the money side, The Lawrenceville School scores higher on HiveCheck's Composite Financial Index (CFI) estimate: 8.1, in the range HiveCheck labels strong, against 7.4 (strong) for Choate Rosemary Hall.
Both have net assets equal to roughly 7.9 years of expenses (buildings and restricted gifts included).
The Lawrenceville School is the larger institution — $120.1M in annual revenue against $99.3M at Choate Rosemary Hall (enrolling roughly 818 and 868 students, respectively).
One contrast worth flagging: on its latest Form 990, Choate Rosemary Hall's expenses exceeded its revenue by about 6% of revenue, while The Lawrenceville School's revenue exceeded its expenses by about 3%.
A quick read of the biggest differences. Every number behind it is in the columns below, each with a plain-English note on what the gap means.
The Lawrenceville School scores 5 or higher on HiveCheck's Composite Financial Index (CFI) estimate, the range HiveCheck labels strong. Net assets equal 9.5 years of expenses (buildings and restricted gifts included). Revenue is unusually diversified at 54% tuition-dependent (HiveCheck peer-group median 78%), with contributions and investment income together covering 44% of revenue. Staff compensation runs 45% of expenses, well below the peer median. Net assets grew 5.9% per year over the three-year window. HiveCheck's CFI estimate: 8.1 on a scale of −4 to 10, in the range HiveCheck labels strong.
Segment note · The Lawrenceville School. The Lawrenceville School is a residential boarding school. Boarding schools operate full residential programs on top of academics, which shifts how to read the financials: (a) net assets typically equal more years of expenses than at a day school, because dorms, dining halls, and residential plant sit on the balance sheet and endowments tend to be larger (none of that is cash the school could spend), (b) revenue per student is higher because tuition covers room and board, (c) tuition dependency often runs high alongside a large endowment, so read the two together, (d) staff comp is often higher because residential faculty carry housing and benefits beyond salary. Read the percentiles below against same-segment peers, not the full K-12 cohort.
At Choate Rosemary Hall, expenses grew faster than revenue over three years, 6.7% vs -0.7% per year, and expenses exceeded revenue by 5.9% on the latest Form 990, with tuition at 66% of revenue. Net assets equal about 7.9 years of expenses, but they include buildings and restricted gifts, so they are not a measure of how long the school could cover the gap. Worth asking what the plan to break-even is for the residential model, and on what timeline. HiveCheck's CFI estimate: 7.4 on a scale of −4 to 10, in the range HiveCheck labels strong.
Segment note · Choate Rosemary Hall. Choate Rosemary Hall is a residential boarding school. Boarding schools operate full residential programs on top of academics, which shifts how to read the financials: (a) net assets typically equal more years of expenses than at a day school, because dorms, dining halls, and residential plant sit on the balance sheet and endowments tend to be larger (none of that is cash the school could spend), (b) revenue per student is higher because tuition covers room and board, (c) tuition dependency often runs high alongside a large endowment, so read the two together, (d) staff comp is often higher because residential faculty carry housing and benefits beyond salary. Read the percentiles below against same-segment peers, not the full K-12 cohort.