<p>tier #1
Andover .....</p>
<p>.....
ok and...</p>
<p>St. Paul's
Deerfield
Exeter
Choate
Lawrenceville </p>
<p>Tier #2
Hotchkiss
Groton
Loomis! </p>
<p>Tier #3
all west coast schools</p>
<p>Here's a post made last August:</p>
<p>An embarassment of riches...
This country is the envy of the world when it comes to both secondary and higher education.</p>
<p>People who rant and rave about one american boarding school being "better" than another or say "This school is tier one while that one is 'merely' tier three.", need to get a new perspective and appreciation for schools in their own right. Go out into the world and see what passes for schools in most countries.</p>
<p>That very fine schools, replete with spacious and verdant campuses, handsome buildings, dedicated faculties and first-class facilities (by world standards), albeit ones thought of as not elite or first tier, are relegated to an occasional nod (perhaps) by posters on this site -- where they would be welcomed as a god-send by many other nations -- is a disgraceful display of ignorance to the world at large and its needs.</p>
<p>I think we need a strong dose of humility and gratefulness for what we have -- regardless of where our schools are "ranked"...rank, indeed!</p>
<p>I think we need a percentage scale of whats important to rank the schools.</p>
<p>For example (not my opinion, just an ex.)
20% Average SSAT Scores
30% College Placement
30% Reputation (Students, Facilities etc.)
20% Average SAT Score</p>
<p>I don't know how it would work exactly, but if we somehow made something like that that was pretty accurate, we could finally make a good boarding school ranking system :).</p>
<p>What's the point in the exercise of ranking boarding schools??</p>
<p>Its just a useful tool for people inquiring about applying to them. I know my idea was stupid, so scratch that whole thing.</p>
<p>Well, I go to Berkshire School, and I have a couple things to say (right now you're probably thinking, wow what an idiot, he goes to such a bad school). First of all, I am at the top of my class with a 4.18 GPA (2 A's, 3 A+'s), and currently third in the school. So, what's my point? Well, when I applied, I only got accepted at Taft and Berkshire because I did pretty badly on the SSAT. Overall, there are a handful of kids like me at my school, and I am guessing other such schools comparable to Berkshire. Kids that are not gifted test takers, but are intelligent, and could easily perform in the top 10% and 15% at Exeter, Andover, Hotchkiss, Deerfield, and the Tier 1 schools. In fact, it actually looks better to apply as Valedictorian/Top 1% at Berkshire to college than it does to be top 10% or 15% at Exeter or Andover. Overall, what we must get passed is that nearly 90% of the boarding schools are better than all of the other independent schools in the US.</p>
<p>My next point is that Berkshire is not ranked 55 out of all boarding schools. Berkshire unarguably has the most modern and best academic building, along with some of the best teachers. So, now you're thinking, gosh, could this stupid guy at such a bad school shut up now? Obviously, Berkshire does not have the reputation that some of these other schools have, but it is really a school on the move. Unlike other schools, it has hired very young and energetic administrators. A perfect example of this is Mike Maher, the headmaster. His youthful energy has lowered the acceptance rate from nearly 50% to 27% in roughly four years, and more than tripled the endowment. Secondly, after looking at data from 2006, I compared the average SAT scores of Berkshire to Choate. There was only a 200 point difference, and that was in 2006, when the acceptance rate of the students at Berkshire taking the test was near 45%! Then, I did further research, and noticed Choate's SAT scores have leveled off, while Berkshire's keep improving. Imagine what the average SAT score of my graduating class will be? My guess would be an improvement from 1780 to somewhere between 1850 - 1900. (Sorry to pick on Choate)</p>
<p>Overall, Berkshire is a school on the move, and slowly, but surely what we will see happen is that it, along with other schools, such as Suffield and Westminster, Berkshire will dissolve into the second tier of New England Boarding Schools. I am not saying that this will take place within the next four years, but rather the next ten to twenty years. It is because of reputation that we do not see these schools ranked higher in the "official rankings." Here is my ranking by tier of Coed New England Boarding Schools. The schools are not in any particular order within their tiers.</p>
<p>Tier 1
Exeter
Andover
Hotchkiss
Deerfield
Groton
St. Pauls
Milton</p>
<p>Tier 2
Choate
Taft
Middlesex
Lawrenceville
Loomis
Concord Academy
Peddie
Episcopal High
St. Georges</p>
<p>In-Between
Brooks</p>
<p>Tier 3
Williston
Westover
*Berkshire
Suffield
*Westminster</p>
<p>In-Between
Salisbury</p>
<p>Tier 4
Kent
Canterbury
Avon
Proctor
Millbrook</p>
<p>*Near being In-Between Tier 3 and Tier 2</p>
<p>Agree with everything posted above.</p>
<p>Except that Peddie and Episcopal HS are not in NE.
And Salisbury and Avon aren't co-ed.
And where are the many schools not listed (NMH, Pomfret, St. Mark's etc.) ranked?
Tier 5? Or 6?</p>
<p>Otherwise a fine job, and you've clearly done your homework! A+!!</p>
<p>I always thought that L'ville & Choate were tier 1. Not that it really makes a difference; they're both great schools regardless ^^</p>
<p>Tier 1
Exeter
Andover
Hotchkiss
Deerfield
Groton
St. Pauls
Choate</p>
<p>Tier 2
Milton
Taft
Middlesex
Lawrenceville
Loomis
Concord Academy
Peddie
Episcopal High
St. George's
Westminster</p>
<p>In-Between
Brooks</p>
<p>Tier 3
Williston
Westover
*Berkshire
Suffield
Kent</p>
<p>In-Between
Salisbury</p>
<p>Tier 4
Canterbury
Avon
Proctor
Millbrook</p>
<p>Tier 1
Exeter
Andover
Hotchkiss
Deerfield
Groton
St. Pauls
Choate</p>
<p>Tier 2
Nobles and Greenough
Milton
Taft
Middlesex
Lawrenceville
Loomis
Concord Academy
Peddie
St. Mark's
St. George's
Westminster</p>
<p>In-Between
Brooks
Westminster
Episcopal High</p>
<p>Tier 3
Dana Hall
Williston
Westover
*Berkshire
Suffield
Kent</p>
<p>In-Between
Salisbury</p>
<p>Tier 4
Canterbury
Avon
Proctor</p>
<p>Tier 1</p>
<p>Andover
Choate
Deerfield
Exeter
Hotchkiss
Lawrenceville
St. Paul's</p>
<p>fif makes a mistake -- Lawrenceville is not in NE either. So it doesn't count and can't be in Tier One.</p>
<p>Here's a twist: Rank them socially and rank them academically.</p>
<p>WADR -- boring and done to death.</p>
<p>How about:</p>
<p>Longest Driveway.</p>
<p>Biggest Sign.</p>
<p>Most Tennis Courts.</p>
<p>Freshest Chocolate Chip Cookies.</p>
<p>Have at it...</p>
<p>Biggest sign - I've heard NMH has a really big sign but maybe because they have a really long name.</p>
<p>Best outdoor skating and swimming AKA pond action - SPS</p>
<p>Does anyone have the official rankings for 2008? Just wondering... Thanks!</p>
<p>There aren't any "official" rankings and anything bs review says is bound to be totally off, it's rare to even see one correct number on there.</p>
<p>Well, its not that its rare on Boarding School Review to see correct statistics. In fact, all of the information is completely correct. The thing with BS Review is that the info is two years out of date...</p>
<p>Nope. Not anymore. NMH replaced the big sign.</p>
<p>A small sign, I think, speaks more to the quality of the school. Something so small and discreet the locals don't even know it's there. That, and the long driveway rule, are how I would rank schools.</p>