which are the best prep schools in the world?
Those which send you an acceptance letter on March 10. 
“Best” is relative and different for everyone. Don’t choose a school just because of rankings because at the end of the day, your going to ne spending the next 4 years there. Take your time and find a school that best fits you!
Goodluck for M10 and beyond
Best is subjective. Yes some are considered more elite than others but if it is not the right school for you (your child) then it is not best. Look for the criteria that fit best - size, location, day/boarder ratio, average SSAT score, etc.
An impossible question to answer… you need to work out which is “best for you”… not “best in the world”. Adding to the complexity is that no one school will ever be best for every kid…
I assume you are just beginning your search. There are many tools and resources out there (CC is but one of them). The actual school web sites are the best sources… maybe begin with the search tool on boardingschoolreview.com and see what you come up with that might work for YOU. Good luck!
In reality even the top schools. Andover, Exter, Groton and so on are not as a great as they are perceived. How does one define “Best”? For every Ivy acceptance from a Hades school roughly half are legacy and another 25% maybe athletic. If we strip legacy and athletics from admissions the % goes way down. Are they still the best?
@Center Yes, they still are. Ivies are big schools with long history. Their legacy is everywhere, which means every other private school essentially has the same “legacy rules” trend, if that trend is ever true. The academic powerhouses are not really the best haven for athletes, so while recruited athletes happen every year in these schools, it’s not an extraordinary phenomenon compared with other private schools. Think about it from another angel - if you strip legacy and athletes from the ivy admits of school with lower ivy admits to begin with, what do you have left? That said, if you say the high achieving URMs are over represented in the ivy admits from these schools, you are onto something.
My angle: Sorry. There are dozens of phenomenal schools around the country that are test in schools with just as good if not better college placements and long term success. Boarding Schools are not ranked against Day schools and public schools. Apples to peaches to bananas. Yes the elite Boarding Schools are mythological …but are they “the best”? No. (And we are applying to these schools; and have Ivies and boarding schools and Stuyvesant in our family educational tree). Just trying to prick the bubble. It is a quasi illusion. I know children now at Andover, Groton, and many others that are just mediocre rich kids.
Some interesting reading: http://qz.com/498534/these-25-schools-are-responsible-for-the-greatest-advances-in-science/
They are not “the best” because of or at least not just because of their college placement. There are a group of best schools among public, private day and boarding schools based on objective criteria such as academic offering, extracurricular activities, faculty credentials, student quality, facility, endowment, college placement etc. etc. Meanwhile, there is not one best school for everyone because not everyone needs the same excellence in schools so they can achieve their personal excellence.
My previous post was narrowly address your argument about ivy admit rates vs legacy/athletes.
You are doing it again. Replace “Ivy admit rates” with “best schools” and replace “legacy/athletes” with “mediocre rich kids”. See what I mean?
“Best” is what the students get out of the whole high school experience. College placement is one small part. But there are up to 4 years of classes, extra curricular activities, social activities that are important too. This is home for the high school years.
That’s why there is no Best…too many variables
I’d say the issues pertaining to ranking private high schools (prep schools) are similar to those of ranking colleges and universities. A big difference is the extent to which the Prep schools have discouraged and been successful at preventing rankings. All the arguments about not ranking prep schools are true about colleges too. It’s just that it has been far more difficult for outsiders to obtain accurate information about prep schools whereas colleges and universities have been unable to withhold the data, in most cases.
Well said lostaccount. Further, many schools (at all levels both public and private, high school, and college) at every level are ranked by social engineering metrics like diversity and other variables like buildings and facilities.
The truth of the matter is that there has never been a widely recognized prep school ranking. The rankings that have been circulated around such as preschool review ranking, Forbes ranking and WSJ ranking are purely based on elite college matriculation and endowment. No “social engineering matrices” have been factored in these rankings. However when selectivity, endowment/student, % of faculty with advanced degrees, and SAT scores etc. are taken into consideration, the rankings won’t change much. Also, these schools are also ranked high in % of students on FA and/or average amount of FA. So, it’s fair to say that there are a group of schools that are “the best” based on these objective metrics that are typical characteristics of great schools. Whether every individual could benefit from these schools is a different story.
Best boarding school? That question is about as answerable as what is the best profession, or the best city to live in, or the best diet.
Interesting links… I noticed a few trends - anyone else? (I don’t want to say, as I want to hear some unbiased ones)
DO SHARE ANY OTHER RECENT/NOTABLE LINKS THAT YOU MAY FIND!
2016-----
http://k12.nichebeta.com/rankings/private-high-schools/best-overall/
2016-----
http://www.businessinsider.com/25-best-private-high-schools-for-getting-into-top-colleges-2016-3
2016----
http://www.businessinsider.com/best-private-high-schools-in-america-2016-3
2016----
http://www.thestreet.com/slideshow/13471053/25/the-top-15-private-high-schools-in-the-u-s.html
2014----
http://successfulstudent.org/26-best-private-schools-2014/
FORBES IN 2010…
http://www.forbes.com/2010/04/29/best-prep-schools-2010-opinions-private-education_slide.html
I’m sitting on my hands…
You know, @andover20___ , where I am, I’m not old enough to believe all schools are No 1’s, or all kids are equally smart, or all people are equally successful, but I’m old enough to be OK with having multiple No 1’s in life. And I’m almost certain you will get there too some day.