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 Westminster Schools is a day school; The Lawrenceville School is a boarding school. Day and boarding schools run on different financial models — they hold reserves differently, dorms and dining change the cost base, and lining up two different types can make a fair one look worse than it is. You can still read them side by side below; just keep the type difference in mind.
The Westminster Schools
The Lawrenceville School
On the money side, The Lawrenceville School looks the stronger of the two: its finances read as strong, against stable for The Westminster Schools.
The Lawrenceville School sits on the deeper reserve cushion — about 9.5 years of operating expenses set aside, against 4.0 years at The Westminster Schools.
The Lawrenceville School is the larger institution — $120.1M in annual revenue against $94.5M at The Westminster Schools (enrolling roughly 818 and 1,900 students, respectively).
One contrast worth flagging: The Westminster Schools spent more than it took in during its latest year (an operating loss of about 15% of revenue), while The Lawrenceville School finished in the black (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 Westminster Schools looks stable. The school holds 4.0 years of operating cushion: deep institutional balance. Revenue runs 79% tuition-dependent (HiveCheck peer-group median 78%), diversified by day-school standards, with meaningful contribution and investment income. Staff compensation runs 57% of expenses, about par for the HiveCheck peer group. Expenses are outpacing revenue 6.6% vs 4.3% per year over three years, signaling margin compression worth flagging. NACUBO Composite Financial Index: 3.1 / 10, adequate — monitor.
The Lawrenceville School looks durable. The school holds 9.5 years of operating cushion, typical for a residential school of this scale. Revenue is unusually diversified at 54% tuition-dependent (HiveCheck peer-group median 78%), with the endowment and gifts carrying real weight. Staff compensation runs 45% of expenses, well below the peer median, worth understanding why. Net assets are growing 5.9%/yr over three years; the cushion is being built, not drawn. NACUBO Composite Financial Index: 6.1 / 10, 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) reserve coverage is typically longer — 5-10 years is normal vs 1-3 for day schools, because dorms, dining, and residential plant carry capex obligations no day school has, (b) revenue per student is higher because tuition covers room and board, (c) tuition dependency can be high without being concerning if the endowment cushion is deep, (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.