<p>sorry, meant to say waitlisted at Milton if you are looking for some feedback on the admission process</p>
1 Like
<p>Asheville School
Avon Old Farms
Blair Academy*
Cate School*
Canterbury
Cheshire
Concord Academy*
Culver - well known in the midwest, less so in the east - good size, great academics, sports, and arts - 20% international students - fully integrated humanities curriculum (english + history), working on increasing the interaction between the science and math departments, block system has given my student the time to dig deeply into subjects. Horsemanship program for both boys and girls (costs extra if you want to do it, but it’s there). Each dorm has a full time counselor in addition to dorm parent, serving as the primary advisor to the student and hand-holder to the parent. Leadership program: Military for the boys, Prefect system for the girls. The leadership program is real, backed up with curriculum and practical experience. The parts of the leadership program that my student talks about - taking direction from your peers, giving directions to your peers (including your friends), interviewing for the higher positions, responsibility for finishing a job - strike me as things that will translate pretty well to the workplace. Beautiful lake-front campus, and big support from alumni.
Cranbrook Schools
EF International
Episcopal High School*
George Schoo
Governor’s Academy*
The Gunnery
The Hill School*
Kimball Union
The Kiski School (All-boys)
Kent*
Lawrence Academy
Loomis Chaffee*
Madeira School (All-girls)*
Middlesex School*
Millbrook School, Millbrook NY.*
Let me put it like this- their physics teacher went to Cambridge, they’ve had the same headmaster for 20 years, and they have a campus zoo! Almost the entire campus was renovated in 2008, and their facilities rival that of nearby Hotchkiss and Kent.
I was also pleasantly surprised by how warm the student body was, and how everyone seemed to LOVE Millbrook. I would recommend it to everyone!
Miss Porter’s School (All-girls)*
New Hampton School
Northfield Mount Hermon*
Pomfret
Peddie School*
Proctor Academy
St. Andrews School (DE)*
St. George’s School*
St. Marks School*
Suffield
Taft School*
Tabor
Thacher School*
Westminster
Williston Northampton School</p>
<p>Schools with * are known to be very academically rigorous with similar offerings as the HADES. Other schools without the * are schools that are hidden gems with alternative academic offerings, as well as other interesting offerings. For Example: George School and New Hampton School have the IB. Proctor has their own ski piste. The list goes on. All these schools are special and great in their own respect.</p>
<p>Okay, with apologies to those who think this is a waste of time. Some of the “hidden gems” mentioned are in error: </p>
<ol>
<li>Milton – part of GLADCHEMMS</li>
<li>St. Mark’s – part of St Grottlesex</li>
<li>St. George’s – " " "</li>
<li>Middlesex – " " "; part of GLADCHEMMS; one of Baltzell’s “Select Sixteen<br>
Schools”<br></li>
<li>Taft – one of Baltzell’s “Select Sixteen Schools”</li>
<li>Madeira – one of the foremost girls’ schools in the nation</li>
</ol>
<p>Hidden gems? – NOT</p>
<p>For those hung up on prestige, Peter Cookson and Caroline Hodges Persell identified the “Select 16” in their book, Preparing for Power: America’s Elite Boarding Schools. The Select 16 are:</p>
<p>Choate
Deerfield
Episcopal High School (VA)
Groton
Hill School ¶
Hotchkiss
Kent
Lawrenceville
Middlesex
Phillips Andover Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy
St. George’s School
St. Mark’s School
St. Paul’s School
Taft School
Woodberry Forest School (VA)</p>
<p>I thought “Hidden Gems” were schools less frequently discussed on CC. Even though some of these schools are indeed known to be in an acronym such as GLADCHEMMS or St.Grottleser; these schools are still less discussed on CC.</p>
<p>Nothing is hidden. Private education is a business. Schools build their reputation/images through various ways they can control. Different schools have different missions and strategies and target for different “market segment” or customer base. They go through ups and down, and they succeed and fail. They are out there “in the open”.</p>
<p>please don’t hijack the thread, folks - this is supposed to be an informational thread about schools that don’t get discussed so much, not an argument about which schools should or should not be on an acronym list.</p>
<p>Rivers in Weston, Ma</p>
<p>Portsmouth Abbey in Portsmouth, RI</p>
<p>Well said @ssacdfamily.</p>
<p>Trying to collate this. As on acceptance/matriculation threads, copy/paste the whole list, and add any valuable info or thumbnail sketch material you might have on any of these places. It’ll make for a good starting place, at least.</p>
<p>Asheville School
Avon Old Farms
Blair Academy*
Brooks School: N. Andover, MA. On a lake. Top notch facilities, great study abroad programs, prestigious internships in the Boston tech/medical sectors.
Cate School<em>; on a mesa above the Pacific Ocean in Carpenteria, California.
Canterbury
Cheshire
Concord Academy</em>
Culver - well known in the midwest, less so in the east - good size, great academics, sports, and arts - 20% international students - fully integrated humanities curriculum (english + history), working on increasing the interaction between the science and math departments, block system has given my student the time to dig deeply into subjects. Horsemanship program for both boys and girls (costs extra if you want to do it, but it’s there). Each dorm has a full time counselor in addition to dorm parent, serving as the primary advisor to the student and hand-holder to the parent. Leadership program: Military for the boys, Prefect system for the girls. The leadership program is real, backed up with curriculum and practical experience. The parts of the leadership program that my student talks about - taking direction from your peers, giving directions to your peers (including your friends), interviewing for the higher positions, responsibility for finishing a job - strike me as things that will translate pretty well to the workplace. Beautiful lake-front campus, and big support from alumni.
Cranbrook Schools
EF International
Episcopal High School*
George School
Governor’s Academy*
The Gunnery
The Hill School*
Kimball Union
The Kiski School (All-boys)
Kent*
Lawrence Academy
Loomis Chaffee*
Madeira School (All-girls)*
Middlesex School*
Millbrook School, Millbrook NY.*
Let me put it like this- their physics teacher went to Cambridge, they’ve had the same headmaster for 20 years, and they have a campus zoo! Almost the entire campus was renovated in 2008, and their facilities rival that of nearby Hotchkiss and Kent.
I was also pleasantly surprised by how warm the student body was, and how everyone seemed to LOVE Millbrook. I would recommend it to everyone!
Miss Porter’s School (All-girls)*
New Hampton School
Northfield Mount Hermon* HUGE campus, very progressive educational philosophy; Head, Heart & Hand. Exceptional website and promotional materials. Strong emphasis on the arts, international education (both in terms of study abroad programs & the % of internationals in the students body). PGs–strong in many athletics, competes against HADES schools and the other large prep schools like Lville, etc.
Pomfret: Beautiful rural campus, yet close to Boston, Providence, Hartford. Strong Athletics & academics. Great community feel. Unique Digital Arts programs, and significant commitment to the arts in education. Incoming Head a longtime Dean at St. George’s and an Andover fac brat from childhood. Highly regarded.
Peddie School*
Proctor Academy
St. Andrews School (DE)*
St. George’s School*
St. Marks School*
Suffield
Taft School*
Tabor
Thacher School*
Westminster
Williston Northampton School: Easthampton, Ma. Like a college campus, virtually adjacent to the small town of Easthampton.</p>
<p>Hopefully the CC admins will grant us the new subforum…if so, this thread will be an excellent starting point. Thanks all.</p>
<p>Peddie: A low-acceptance school with awesome academics and sports, yet not “snobby”. For the academics, they have an unrivaled science center (in my opinion) with a DNA splicing lab, and teachers with life experiences that many will never get. Math, history, English, and language courses are great as well. For sports, they are also great (their crew, basketball, and swimming win constant awards). Their matriculation includes Ivies, GW, Georgetown, etc. It’s talked about on CC, but by no means do many elevate it to HADES or GLADCHEMMS. Can we start talking about day schools now? I don’t know if we’ve started it, but I have some I’d love to talk about.</p>
<p>Asheville School
Indian Springs School<strong>(Birmingham,Al)
Altamont School</strong>(Birmingham,Al)
Avon Old Farms (All-boys)
Blair Academy*
Brooks School: N. Andover, MA. On a lake. Top notch facilities, great study abroad programs, prestigious internships in the Boston tech/medical sectors.
Cate School<em>; on a mesa above the Pacific Ocean in Carpenteria, California.
Canterbury
Cheshire
Concord Academy</em>
Culver - well known in the midwest, less so in the east - good size, great academics, sports, and arts - 20% international students - fully integrated humanities curriculum (english + history), working on increasing the interaction between the science and math departments, block system has given my student the time to dig deeply into subjects. Horsemanship program for both boys and girls (costs extra if you want to do it, but it’s there). Each dorm has a full time counselor in addition to dorm parent, serving as the primary advisor to the student and hand-holder to the parent. Leadership program: Military for the boys, Prefect system for the girls. The leadership program is real, backed up with curriculum and practical experience. The parts of the leadership program that my student talks about - taking direction from your peers, giving directions to your peers (including your friends), interviewing for the higher positions, responsibility for finishing a job - strike me as things that will translate pretty well to the workplace. Beautiful lake-front campus, and big support from alumni.
Cranbrook Schools
EF International
Episcopal High School*
George School
Governor’s Academy*
The Gunnery
The Hill School*
Indian Springs School*<em>(Birmingham,Al)
Kimball Union
The Kiski School (All-boys)
Kent</em>
Lawrence Academy
Loomis Chaffee*
Madeira School (All-girls)*
Middlesex School*
Millbrook School, Millbrook NY.*
Let me put it like this- their physics teacher went to Cambridge, they’ve had the same headmaster for 20 years, and they have a campus zoo! Almost the entire campus was renovated in 2008, and their facilities rival that of nearby Hotchkiss and Kent.
I was also pleasantly surprised by how warm the student body was, and how everyone seemed to LOVE Millbrook. I would recommend it to everyone!
Miss Porter’s School (All-girls)*
New Hampton School
Northfield Mount Hermon* HUGE campus, very progressive educational philosophy; Head, Heart & Hand. Exceptional website and promotional materials. Strong emphasis on the arts, international education (both in terms of study abroad programs & the % of internationals in the students body). PGs–strong in many athletics, competes against HADES schools and the other large prep schools like Lville, etc.
Pomfret: Beautiful rural campus, yet close to Boston, Providence, Hartford. Strong Athletics & academics. Great community feel. Unique Digital Arts programs, and significant commitment to the arts in education. Incoming Head a longtime Dean at St. George’s and an Andover fac brat from childhood. Highly regarded.
Peddie School<em>A low-acceptance school with awesome academics and sports, yet not “snobby”. For the academics, they have an unrivaled science center (in my opinion) with a DNA splicing lab, and teachers with life experiences that many will never get. Math, history, English, and language courses are great as well. For sports, they are also great (their crew, basketball, and swimming win constant awards). Their matriculation includes Ivies, GW, Georgetown, etc. It’s talked about on CC, but by no means do many elevate it to HADES or GLADCHEMMS.
Proctor Academy
St. Andrews School (DE)</em>
St. George’s School*
St. Marks School*
Suffield
Taft School*
Tabor
Thacher School*
Westminster
Williston Northampton School: Easthampton, Ma. Like a college campus, virtually adjacent to the small town of Easthampton. </p>
<p>Schools with * are known to be very academically rigorous with similar offerings as the HADES. Other schools without the * are schools that are hidden gems with alternative academic offerings, as well as other interesting offerings. For Example: George School and New Hampton School have the IB. Proctor has their own ski piste. The list goes on. All these schools are special and great in their own respect.</p>
<p>This is just a shout-out for some of you guys who have expressed concern about putting schools up on this thread that are considered to be too elite or well-known. What I personally am trying to look for are schools that aren’t mentioned much on this site (like Episcopal, I never heard about it until I looked on Boarding School Review), or schools that are mentioned relatively often (like NMH) to be safeties or less elite (I don’t think it is, Uma Thurman went there) and dispelling that idea by giving it a more in-depth view, and schools that might be less rigorous than the other ones that are mentioned often. </p>
<p>As to adding more info, I think someone stated that posting a link to a main forum of one school would be very convincing to apply to said school. So, if there is a thread for a school listed above that is informative, then by all means, add a link to it underneath the schools name!</p>
<p>Additionally, I think the idea of adding day schools to this list would be great! However, let’s try to add the LOCATION of where the school is, and double asterisks. (To distinguish from a BS.) If a school is all boys or all girls, please note that above. Thanks.</p>
<p>Indian Springs School<strong>(Birmingham,Al)
Altamont School</strong>(Birmingham,Al)</p>
<p>Asheville School
Indian Springs School<strong>(Birmingham,Al)
Altamont School</strong>(Birmingham,Al)
Avon Old Farms (All-boys)
Blair Academy* (Blairstown, northwest NJ close to Appalachian Trail and Delaware Water Gap) [Welcome</a> to Blair Academy](<a href=“http://www.blair.edu/index.shtm]Welcome”>http://www.blair.edu/index.shtm) Beautiful hilltop campus with most buildings and athletic facilities new or recently renovated. Challenging academics for academically talented students. Good college matriculation. Many leadership opportunities. They have a range of students and offer a range to courses. Faculty/student relationships are very close. The faculty sits down to discuss every student 5 times a year. <a href=“http://www.blair.edu/Admissions/pdfs/seven_principles.pdf[/url]”>http://www.blair.edu/Admissions/pdfs/seven_principles.pdf</a>
While founded in 1848, this school used to be run by Presbyterian ministers whose agenda was different from many boarding schools. [Blair</a> Academy - About Blair](<a href=“http://www.blair.edu/About_Blair/ab_history.shtm]Blair”>http://www.blair.edu/About_Blair/ab_history.shtm) Around 30 or so years ago, the school was restructured to a standard board of trustees. The trustees hired a great Headmaster who has been there for more than 20 years. I think 3 of the trustees are among the Forbes 400. Changes were made to how the school operates, and an ambitious plan was launched to upgrade or build new facilities which just finished. It is an up and coming school now. Most parents love the school. Last year there was 81% participation in the Parents Fund, which is an impressive record.
Brooks School: N. Andover, MA. On a lake. Top notch facilities, great study abroad programs, prestigious internships in the Boston tech/medical sectors.
Cate School<em>; on a mesa above the Pacific Ocean in Carpenteria, California.
Canterbury
Cheshire
Concord Academy</em>
Culver - well known in the midwest, less so in the east - good size, great academics, sports, and arts - 20% international students - fully integrated humanities curriculum (english + history), working on increasing the interaction between the science and math departments, block system has given my student the time to dig deeply into subjects. Horsemanship program for both boys and girls (costs extra if you want to do it, but it’s there). Each dorm has a full time counselor in addition to dorm parent, serving as the primary advisor to the student and hand-holder to the parent. Leadership program: Military for the boys, Prefect system for the girls. The leadership program is real, backed up with curriculum and practical experience. The parts of the leadership program that my student talks about - taking direction from your peers, giving directions to your peers (including your friends), interviewing for the higher positions, responsibility for finishing a job - strike me as things that will translate pretty well to the workplace. Beautiful lake-front campus, and big support from alumni.
Cranbrook Schools
EF International
Episcopal High School*
George School
Governor’s Academy*
The Gunnery
The Hill School*
Indian Springs School*<em>(Birmingham,Al)
Kimball Union
The Kiski School (All-boys)
Kent</em>
Lawrence Academy
Loomis Chaffee*
Madeira School (All-girls)*
Middlesex School*
Millbrook School, Millbrook NY.*
Let me put it like this- their physics teacher went to Cambridge, they’ve had the same headmaster for 20 years, and they have a campus zoo! Almost the entire campus was renovated in 2008, and their facilities rival that of nearby Hotchkiss and Kent.
I was also pleasantly surprised by how warm the student body was, and how everyone seemed to LOVE Millbrook. I would recommend it to everyone!
Miss Porter’s School (All-girls)*
New Hampton School
Northfield Mount Hermon* HUGE campus, very progressive educational philosophy; Head, Heart & Hand. Exceptional website and promotional materials. Strong emphasis on the arts, international education (both in terms of study abroad programs & the % of internationals in the students body). PGs–strong in many athletics, competes against HADES schools and the other large prep schools like Lville, etc.
Pomfret: Beautiful rural campus, yet close to Boston, Providence, Hartford. Strong Athletics & academics. Great community feel. Unique Digital Arts programs, and significant commitment to the arts in education. Incoming Head a longtime Dean at St. George’s and an Andover fac brat from childhood. Highly regarded.
Peddie School<em>A low-acceptance school with awesome academics and sports, yet not “snobby”. For the academics, they have an unrivaled science center (in my opinion) with a DNA splicing lab, and teachers with life experiences that many will never get. Math, history, English, and language courses are great as well. For sports, they are also great (their crew, basketball, and swimming win constant awards). Their matriculation includes Ivies, GW, Georgetown, etc. It’s talked about on CC, but by no means do many elevate it to HADES or GLADCHEMMS.
Proctor Academy
St. Andrews School (DE)</em>
St. George’s School*
St. Marks School*
Suffield
Taft School*
Tabor
Thacher School*
Westminster
Williston Northampton School: Easthampton, Ma. Like a college campus, virtually adjacent to the small town of Easthampton. </p>
<p>Schools with * are known to be very academically rigorous with similar offerings as the HADES. Other schools without the * are schools that are hidden gems with alternative academic offerings, as well as other interesting offerings. For Example: George School and New Hampton School have the IB. Proctor has their own ski piste. The list goes on. All these schools are special and great in their own respect.</p>
<p>Asheville School
Altamont School*<em>(Birmingham,AL)
Avon Old Farms (All-boys)
Blair Academy</em> (Blairstown, northwest NJ close to Appalachian Trail and Delaware Water Gap) Welcome to Blair Academy Beautiful hilltop campus with most buildings and athletic facilities new or recently renovated. Challenging academics for academically talented students. Good college matriculation. Many leadership opportunities. They have a range of students and offer a range to courses. Faculty/student relationships are very close. The faculty sits down to discuss every student 5 times a year. <a href=“http://www.blair.edu/Admissions/pdfs...principles.pdf[/url]”>http://www.blair.edu/Admissions/pdfs...principles.pdf</a>
While founded in 1848, this school used to be run by Presbyterian ministers whose agenda was different from many boarding schools. Blair Academy - About Blair Around 30 or so years ago, the school was restructured to a standard board of trustees. The trustees hired a great Headmaster who has been there for more than 20 years. I think 3 of the trustees are among the Forbes 400. Changes were made to how the school operates, and an ambitious plan was launched to upgrade or build new facilities which just finished. It is an up and coming school now. Most parents love the school. Last year there was 81% participation in the Parents Fund, which is an impressive record.
Brooks School: N. Andover, MA. On a lake. Top notch facilities, great study abroad programs, prestigious internships in the Boston tech/medical sectors.
Cate School<em>; on a mesa above the Pacific Ocean in Carpenteria, California.
Canterbury
Cheshire
Concord Academy</em>
Culver - well known in the midwest, less so in the east - good size, great academics, sports, and arts - 20% international students - fully integrated humanities curriculum (english + history), working on increasing the interaction between the science and math departments, block system has given my student the time to dig deeply into subjects. Horsemanship program for both boys and girls (costs extra if you want to do it, but it’s there). Each dorm has a full time counselor in addition to dorm parent, serving as the primary advisor to the student and hand-holder to the parent. Leadership program: Military for the boys, Prefect system for the girls. The leadership program is real, backed up with curriculum and practical experience. The parts of the leadership program that my student talks about - taking direction from your peers, giving directions to your peers (including your friends), interviewing for the higher positions, responsibility for finishing a job - strike me as things that will translate pretty well to the workplace. Beautiful lake-front campus, and big support from alumni.
Cranbrook Schools
EF International
Episcopal High School*
George School
Governor’s Academy*
The Gunnery
The Hill School*
Indian Springs School, Birmingham AL
Kimball Union
The Kiski School (All-boys)
Kent*
Lawrence Academy
Loomis Chaffee*
Madeira School (All-girls)*
Middlesex School*
Millbrook School, Millbrook NY *
Let me put it like this - their physics teacher went to Cambridge, they’ve had the same headmaster for 20 years, and they have a campus zoo! Almost the entire campus was renovated in 2008, and their facilities rival that of nearby Hotchkiss and Kent.
I was also pleasantly surprised by how warm the student body was, and how everyone seemed to LOVE Millbrook. I would recommend it to everyone!
Miss Porter’s School (All-girls)*
New Hampton School
Northfield Mount Hermon* HUGE campus, very progressive educational philosophy; Head, Heart & Hand. Exceptional website and promotional materials. Strong emphasis on the arts, international education (both in terms of study abroad programs & the % of internationals in the students body). PGs–strong in many athletics, competes against HADES schools and the other large prep schools like Lville, etc.
Pomfret: Beautiful rural campus, yet close to Boston, Providence, Hartford. Strong Athletics & academics. Great community feel. Unique Digital Arts programs, and significant commitment to the arts in education. Incoming Head a longtime Dean at St. George’s and an Andover fac brat from childhood. Highly regarded.
Peddie School<em>A low-acceptance school with awesome academics and sports, yet not “snobby”. For the academics, they have an unrivaled science center (in my opinion) with a DNA splicing lab, and teachers with life experiences that many will never get. Math, history, English, and language courses are great as well. For sports, they are also great (their crew, basketball, and swimming win constant awards). Their matriculation includes Ivies, GW, Georgetown, etc. It’s talked about on CC, but by no means do many elevate it to HADES or GLADCHEMMS.
Proctor Academy
St. Andrews School (DE)</em>
St. George’s School*
St. Marks School*
Suffield
Taft School*
Tabor
Thacher School*
Westminster
Williston Northampton School: Easthampton, Ma. Like a college campus, virtually adjacent to the small town of Easthampton. </p>
<p>Schools with * are known to be very academically rigorous with similar offerings as the HADES. Other schools without the * are schools that are hidden gems with alternative academic offerings, as well as other interesting offerings. For Example: George School and New Hampton School have the IB. Proctor has their own ski piste. The list goes on. All these schools are special and great in their own respect.</p>
<p>Episcopal High School
Great close-knit community because it is 100% boarding and is right across the Potomac from Washington, D.C. Every Wednesday afternoon, the kids go into Washington for cultural experiences - no extra fees. I think when I visited they had just watched Cirque du Soleil. The campus is gorgeous with a new arts and athletic center they just built. For senior year, many of the students have internships with people in Washington for first-hand experience. The teachers and staff are very caring and the classes are small yet rigorous The school is putting tremendous focus on expanding their applicant pool, so it is on the rise.</p>
<p>I know a freshman boy at EHS who formerly had Taft stamped on his forehead. I can’t wait to get wait to pick his brains and his parents on Episcopal High School. I must say being so close to Washington DC I find to be so cool. It’s an incredible city with so much of everything, as it should be since that is where we all sent our money.</p>
<p>Asheville School
Altamont School*<em>(Birmingham,AL)
**Avon Old Farms<a href=“All-boys”>/b</a>
**Blair Academy</em><a href=“Blairstown,%20northwest%20NJ%20close%20to%20Appalachian%20Trail%20and%20Delaware%20Water%20Gap”>/b</a> Welcome to Blair Academy Beautiful hilltop campus with most buildings and athletic facilities new or recently renovated. Challenging academics for academically talented students. Good college matriculation. Many leadership opportunities. They have a range of students and offer a range to courses. Faculty/student relationships are very close. The faculty sits down to discuss every student 5 times a year. <a href=“http://www.blair.edu/Admissions/pdfs...principles.pdf[/url]”>http://www.blair.edu/Admissions/pdfs...principles.pdf</a>
While founded in 1848, this school used to be run by Presbyterian ministers whose agenda was different from many boarding schools. Blair Academy - About Blair Around 30 or so years ago, the school was restructured to a standard board of trustees. The trustees hired a great Headmaster who has been there for more than 20 years. I think 3 of the trustees are among the Forbes 400. Changes were made to how the school operates, and an ambitious plan was launched to upgrade or build new facilities which just finished. It is an up and coming school now. Most parents love the school. Last year there was 81% participation in the Parents Fund, which is an impressive record.
Brooks School: N. Andover, MA. On a lake. Top notch facilities, great study abroad programs, prestigious internships in the Boston tech/medical sectors.
Cate School<em>; on a mesa above the Pacific Ocean in Carpenteria, California.
Canterbury/
Cheshire
Concord Academy</em>
Culver - well known in the midwest, less so in the east - good size, great academics, sports, and arts - 20% international students - fully integrated humanities curriculum (english + history), working on increasing the interaction between the science and math departments, block system has given my student the time to dig deeply into subjects. Horsemanship program for both boys and girls (costs extra if you want to do it, but it’s there). Each dorm has a full time counselor in addition to dorm parent, serving as the primary advisor to the student and hand-holder to the parent. Leadership program: Military for the boys, Prefect system for the girls. The leadership program is real, backed up with curriculum and practical experience. The parts of the leadership program that my student talks about - taking direction from your peers, giving directions to your peers (including your friends), interviewing for the higher positions, responsibility for finishing a job - strike me as things that will translate pretty well to the workplace. Beautiful lake-front campus, and big support from alumni.
Cranbrook Schools
EF International
Episcopal High School<em>
Great close-knit community because it is 100% boarding and is right across the Potomac from Washington, D.C. Every Wednesday afternoon, the kids go into Washington for cultural experiences - no extra fees. I think when I visited they had just watched Cirque du Soleil. The campus is gorgeous with a new arts and athletic center they just built. For senior year, many of the students have internships with people in Washington for first-hand experience. The teachers and staff are very caring and the classes are small yet rigorous The school is putting tremendous focus on expanding their applicant pool, so it is on the rise.
George School
Governor’s Academy</em>
Under-recognized medium sized school. Oldest BS in operation. State of the art facilities. Dorms are smaller and intimate (i.e. fewer students per building). Supportive FA for middle class families, strong dedicated support for international students including English as Second Language. Has an international exchange program. Highly supportive of students and families. Parent participation is highly encouraged. Students are a name not a number and don’t get “lost” in the system. Is not a “sink or swim” experience. Rigor is strong enough for top schools.
The Gunnery
The Hill School<em>
Indian Springs School, Birmingham AL
Kimball Union
**The Kiski School<a href=“All-boys”>/b</a>
Kent</em>
Lawrence Academy
Loomis Chaffee<em>
**Madeira School<a href=“All-girls”>/b</a></em>
Middlesex School<em>
Millbrook School, Millbrook NY *
Let me put it like this - their physics teacher went to Cambridge, they’ve had the same headmaster for 20 years, and they have a campus zoo! Almost the entire campus was renovated in 2008, and their facilities rival that of nearby Hotchkiss and Kent.
I was also pleasantly surprised by how warm the student body was, and how everyone seemed to LOVE Millbrook. I would recommend it to everyone!
*Miss Porter’s School<a href=“All-girls”>/b</a></em>
New Hampton School
Northfield Mount Hermon HUGE campus, very progressive educational philosophy; Head, Heart & Hand. Exceptional website and promotional materials. Strong emphasis on the arts, international education (both in terms of study abroad programs & the % of internationals in the students body). PGs–strong in many athletics, competes against HADES schools and the other large prep schools like Lville, etc.
Pomfret: Beautiful rural campus, yet close to Boston, Providence, Hartford. Strong Athletics & academics. Great community feel. Unique Digital Arts programs, and significant commitment to the arts in education. Incoming Head a longtime Dean at St. George’s and an Andover fac brat from childhood. Highly regarded.
Peddie School<em>A low-acceptance school with awesome academics and sports, yet not “snobby”. For the academics, they have an unrivaled science center (in my opinion) with a DNA splicing lab, and teachers with life experiences that many will never get. Math, history, English, and language courses are great as well. For sports, they are also great (their crew, basketball, and swimming win constant awards). Their matriculation includes Ivies, GW, Georgetown, etc. It’s talked about on CC, but by no means do many elevate it to HADES or GLADCHEMMS.
Proctor Academy
**St. Andrews School<a href=“DE”>/b</a></em>
St. George’s School<em>
St. Marks School</em>
Suffield
Taft School<em>
Medium sized, academically competitive school. Long term headmasters (i.e. low turnover) Good financial stewardship (according to charity navigator) and healthy endowment. Good FA consideration for middle class families. Consortium school for SYA. State of the Arts gym, science and math facilities. Large library. Strong Arts program (dance, visual arts, performance arts, digital/video). Routinely schedules travel for students (and parents) out of the country. In the last year, took 35 students to South Africa, 70 students (dance, jazz and chamber music) to the Czech Republic. Choir touring Italy over the summer, Video student travel world to shoot independent film each summer. Best asset - every parent and student is a name not a number. Every staff member knows every student and no one gets “lost in the system.” When you call for information, you’re treated like one of the “family” (not a donor). Proactive with student intervention. IS NOT a sink or swim school. Lives up to its reputation “Taft takes care of its own.”
Tabor
Thacher School</em>
Westminster
Williston Northampton School: Easthampton, Ma. Like a college campus, virtually adjacent to the small town of Easthampton.</p>
<p>Schools with * are known to be very academically rigorous with similar offerings as the HADES. Other schools without the * are schools that are hidden gems with alternative academic offerings, as well as other interesting offerings. For Example: George School and New Hampton School have the IB. Proctor has their own ski piste. The list goes on. All these schools are special and great in their own respect.</p>
<p>I love this thread! Keep it coming, folks. And if you have something to add to a school that has already been commented on, by all means add -</p>