YES!! 
I second that!
Hidden was meant to be shorthand for âless discussed on this site.â The whole idea was to make it a bit easier for newcomers to filter out the ridiculous white noise about the same 5 or 6 schools and focus that newcomerâs attention on the top 20-25 schools that most of us old-timers believe are not distinguishable in quality from one another, just different in demeanor.
I have read some of this beforeâŠ
George School, in Newtown, PA.
How is the girls basketball team and northfield mount hermon?
Mercersburg doesnât get discussed here too often, so I guess it counts as hidden. It is definitely a gem.
Maumee Valley. I love this school 100%
As a graduate of Kent ('85) and parents of 2 hidden gems students (Tallulah Falls, Tallulah Falls, GA) (class of 2014) and Miller School of Albemarle (Charlottesville, VA)(class of 2018), I would like to believe that Kent is not a hidden gem.
As I see it the benefit of these hidden gems are 1) better relationship with the admissions team, as they arenât getting 1000 applications for every spot (like Kent, Andover, etc); 2) they tend to be smaller schools (in this case 300 and 180 kids respectively); 3) getting into a decent college is stressful enoughâŠa lot of schools offer amazing educations and provide what your kid/you need.
Another hidden gem, we are really looking at for kid #3 (all girls) is Christchurch in Christchurch, VA. Neighbor went to Asheville and canât say enough good stuff about it. yes, she will apply to Kent, no pressure to go if she doesnât want to go. Iâm really enjoying these smaller schools a lot.
@lesstouffer: Unfortunately, in the HYPS+M/S-or bust bubble that is the CC/BS forum, the âbiggest nameâ schools tend to dominate the conversations. If you have been happy with your familyâs experience at Talulah Falls and Miller, Iâd encourage you to be a vocal and visible advocate for them hereâŠat least to help get them on peopleâs radar.
We dropped off our daughter at Grier school today, another not too famous all girls school. 300 students in grade 7-12. We are very satisfied with everything. Academics was promising. Seemed like a very safe and fun environment. Food was especially great.
Best of luck to your daughter - Grier sounds terrific.
It is terrific and everything we hoped for. And there was more that we found pleasantly surprising. I will be writing a review soon.
We are staying at a nearby hotel and living tomorrow morning. I was planning to tour the town today. But my wife had to visit Target, Walmart, Khols, Staples, and BB Beyond to hunt for useful stuffs for ddâs dorm, drop by the dorm again, and then visit all five stores again to return unused items. But now we are back to hotel as officially empty nesters.
^^ five? . . . sorry, that counts as a double-bogey, and back to back holes! but glad everything is terrific, welcome to the club of empty nesters, @SculptorDad
Thanks. My wife had to replace several items that we bought yesterday, for different colors and designs that looked better to her⊠And there were a few new items that looked useful, and some of them were. I shouldnât say too much. Itâs all done now
Verde Valley School (VVS) is a hidden gem for boarding schools. The School is ranked Top 15 in the Nation, offers a unique World International Baccalaureate degree and has a global student body. The acceptance rate is still appealing, but I think that will be going down soon after being highlighted in the Best 50 Boarding Schools. Also, the graduates attend great colleges, like Cornell, Dartmouth, Johns Hopkins, Vassar, Stanford, Harvey Mudd, and Claremont McKenna, among others.
http://www.thebestschools.org/features/best-boarding-schools-in-us/
All the schools Iâve been to could be considered âhidden gems,â haha. Stevenson School is honestly the best place out there. Itâs got about 600 students, really cool teachers, and a fantastic location. Theyâre not the most well known compared to east coast schools, but itâs really a great place with a good balance between sports, academics, and social life. Plus you get a lot of freedom!
My daughter is touring and interviewing at Stevenson in a couple of weeks. I was glad to read that you like it because it tends to be ranked lower than many of the other boarding schools discussed on this forum. I read that the new head of school just transferred from Hotchkiss.
Here is a new article on my daughters âhidden gemâ school.
@HailuMu: Sounds awesome. I think my older daughter would have LOVED this school. Itâs like the high school version of Deep Springs!