Hidden Gems: Lesser-known Prep Schools

Prep School Admissions
101

<p>My children attend George School, which is already on your list, but you should probably add Westtown, another Quaker boarding school in Pennsylvania. It is coed, with a lower school (all day). All juniors and seniors are required to board. The school is about evenly split between boarding and day students in 9th & 10th grades.</p>

102

<p>Once again, please add The Webb School in Bell Buckle, TN.
This small school (320 boarding and day) offers college prep for grades 6-12. My father felt it gave him the best experience of his life. </p>

<p>[Webb</a> School: The School](<a href=“http://www.thewebbschool.com/the-school/index.aspx]Webb”>http://www.thewebbschool.com/the-school/index.aspx)</p>

103

<p>Asheville School NC
[Asheville</a> School](<a href=“http://www.ashevilleschool.org/]Asheville”>http://www.ashevilleschool.org/)</p>

<p>Altamont School**
[The</a> Altamont School: Home<a href=“Birmingham,AL”>/url</a></p>

<p>Avon Old Farms CT
[url=&lt;a href=“http://www.avonoldfarms.com/]Avon”&gt;http://www.avonoldfarms.com/]Avon</a> Old Farms<a href=“All-boys”>/url</a></p>

<p>Berkshire School MA
[url=&lt;a href=“http://www.berkshireschool.org/]Berkshire”&gt;http://www.berkshireschool.org/]Berkshire</a> School](<a href=“http://www.altamontschool.org/]The”>http://www.altamontschool.org/)
nestled into the base of a mountain, has a fantastic “mountain program” that takes advantage of the natural setting of the school (including a maple syrup corporation, back country skills, rock climbing, mountain biking, etc.). Big into sustainability. Excellent advanced math/science research program (2 Intel semi-finalists in last two years) and a new math-science building will be ready in late 2012. Strong ice hockey program. Smallish size–just under 400 students. Genuinely nice feel to the school; the Head and faculty seem to care very much about the whole child.</p>

<p>Blair Academy NJ
[Welcome</a> to Blair Academy](<a href=“http://www.blair.edu/]Welcome”>http://www.blair.edu/)
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.
While founded in 1848, this school used to be run by Presbyterian ministers whose agenda was different from many boarding schools. 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.</p>

<p>BransonCA
[The</a> Branson School](<a href=“http://www.branson.org/]The”>http://www.branson.org/)</p>

<p>Brooks School MA
[Browser</a> Not Supported](<a href=“http://www.brooksschool.org/]Browser”>http://www.brooksschool.org/)
N. Andover, MA. On a lake. Top notch facilities, great study abroad programs, prestigious internships in the Boston tech/medical sectors.</p>

<p>Cate School
[Cate</a> School](<a href=“http://www.cate.org/]Cate”>http://www.cate.org/)
On a mesa above the Pacific Ocean in Carpenteria, California.</p>

<p>Canterbury School CT
[Browser</a> Not Supported](<a href=“http://www.cbury.org/]Browser”>http://www.cbury.org/)</p>

<p>Chatham Hall
[Chatham</a> Hall | A Virginia Girls Boarding School](<a href=“http://www.chathamhall.org/index.php]Chatham”>http://www.chathamhall.org/index.php)
All girls–80% boarding
Beautiful campus in rural Chatham, Virginia.
Strong international influence.
Rigorous academics & athletics
Strong honor code
Large endowment & scholarship program</p>

<p>Cheshire Academy CT
[Please</a> wait…](<a href=“http://www.cheshireacademy.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1]Please”>http://www.cheshireacademy.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1)</p>

<p>Colorado Rocky Mountain School CO
<a href=“http://www.crmsorg%5B/url%5D”>www.crmsorg</a>
An amazing little school in an even more amazing setting. No boarding school has a view like it! Only 20 miles north of Aspen, the potential for skiing and outdoor adventure is unique among boarding schools. The curriculum/faculty is strong (attracts outdoorsy teachers). My youngest sister graduated in 2006 and had an extraordinary experience…she even moved back to Carbondale after college! A very neat school for kids looking for a different experience from the norm but still looking for great academics and a warm community.</p>

<p>Concord Academy MA
[Concord</a> Academy](<a href=“http://www.concordacademy.org/]Concord”>http://www.concordacademy.org/)</p>

<p>Culver Academies IN
[Culver</a> Academies](<a href=“http://home.culver.org/]Culver”>http://home.culver.org/)
/ ssacdfamily
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.</p>

<p>Cranbrook Schools MI
[Browser</a> Not Supported](<a href=“http://www.schools.cranbrook.edu/]Browser”>http://www.schools.cranbrook.edu/)</p>

<p>EF International NY</p>

<p>Episcopal High School VA
[Episcopal</a> High School](<a href=“http://www.episcopalhighschool.org/]Episcopal”>http://www.episcopalhighschool.org/)
DC Metro Area
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 into New England, so expect acceptance rate to go down in the future.
430 students in the school, but no one slips through the cracks. Formal dress for class and sit-down lunches plus assembly chapel 3x week, and students take the honor code seriously. Strong visual arts programs (especially digital arts and ceramics), strong foreign languages including a SYA option which sends students to italy, France, Spain or Austria. School spirit is really strong, and many of the athletic teams are contenders year after year. Kids there are really happy and love their school.</p>

<p>Fountain Valley School in Colorado Springs, CO
[www.fvs.edu

[/url</a>]</p>

<p>George School PA
<a href=“http://www.georgeschool.org/[/url]”>http://www.georgeschool.org/](<a href=“http://www.fvs.edu%5D%5Bimg%5Dwww.fvs.edu%5B/img%5D%5B/img%5D%5B/url”>www.fvs.edu)</a>
IB school.</p>

<p>Gill St. Bernard’s NJ
<a href=“http://www.gsbschool.org/[/url]”>http://www.gsbschool.org/&lt;/a&gt;
Balance, integrity, excellence, creativity and leadership - all are central to a GSB education.</p>

<p>Governor’s Academy MA
<a href=“http://www.thegovernorsacademy.org/[/url]”>http://www.thegovernorsacademy.org/&lt;/a&gt;
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.</p>

<p>The Gunnery MA
<a href=“http://portal.gunnery.org/NetCommuni...e.aspx?pid=191[/url]”>http://portal.gunnery.org/NetCommuni...e.aspx?pid=191&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The Hill School PA
<a href=“http://www.thehill.org/[/url]”>http://www.thehill.org/&lt;/a&gt;
private college preparatory boarding school in Pottstown, Pennsylvania</p>

<p>The Holderness School NH
<a href=“http://www.holderness.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1[/url]”>http://www.holderness.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The Hun School NJ
<a href=“http://www.hunschool.org/[/url]”>http://www.hunschool.org/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Indian Springs SchoolAL
<a href=“http://www.indiansprings.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1[/url]”>http://www.indiansprings.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1&lt;/a&gt;
Birmingham</p>

<p>Kimball Union Academy NH
<a href=“http://www.kua.org/default.aspx[/url]”>http://www.kua.org/default.aspx&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The Kiski School PA
<a href=“http://www.kiski.org/default.aspx[/url]”>http://www.kiski.org/default.aspx&lt;/a&gt;
All-boys</p>

<p>Kent School CT
<a href=“http://www.kent-school.edu/[/url]”>http://www.kent-school.edu/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Kingswood-Oxford CT
<a href=“http://www.kingswoodoxford.org/[/url]”>http://www.kingswoodoxford.org/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Lawrence Academy MA
<a href=“http://www.lacademy.edu/[/url]”>http://www.lacademy.edu/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Loomis Chaffee CT
<a href=“http://www.loomischaffee.org/[/url]”>http://www.loomischaffee.org/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Madeira School* VA
<a href=“StackPath”>StackPath;
All-girls</p>

<p>Memphis University School** TN
<a href=“http://www.musowls.org/netcommunity/[/url]”>http://www.musowls.org/netcommunity/&lt;/a&gt;
7-12
all-male, traditional prep school that produces many of the people who run the South. FedEx CEO, Autozone CEO, Paypal Co-Founder, etc… </p>

<p>Mercersburg Academy
[http://www.mercersburg.edu/

[/url</a>]
Academically, again they are very strong and competitive but what was more important to me was the inclusive learning environment. Another aspect of the Mercersburg community that I have witnesses in alumni years later, is its emphasis on service and helping others. The alumni network is incredibly strong and helped me through my initial job search as well as service projects and just finding a familiar face in unfamiliar cities.
(See post 100, from “hottness”, for more information on Mercersburg.)</p>

<p>Middlesex School MA
[url=&lt;a href=“http://www.mxschool.edu/]MIDDLESEX”&gt;http://www.mxschool.edu/]MIDDLESEX</a> SCHOOL](<a href=“http://www.mercersburg.edu/][img]http://www.mercersburg.edu/[/img][/url”>http://www.mercersburg.edu/)</p>

<p>Millbrook School NY
[Millbrook</a> School ~ Millbrook School, a coeducational boarding school in Millbrook, NY](<a href=“Maintenance Page”>Millbrook School | Private Coed Boarding School | Millbrook, NY)
~ Millbrook School, a coeducational boarding school in 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! This school is really serious about community service and works hard to be more green and sustainable. Kids who would get lost at a bigger school often thrive under all the personal atterntion here.</p>

<p>Miss Porter’s School CT
[Browser</a> Not Supported<a href=“All-girls”>/url</a></p>

<p>Moses Brown School** RI
[url=&lt;a href=“http://www.mosesbrown.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1][img]http://www.mosesbrown.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1[/img][/url”&gt;http://www.mosesbrown.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1]

http://www.mosesbrown.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1

[/url</a>]
Quaker, coed, nursery to 12.</p>

<p>New Hampton School NH
[url=&lt;a href=“http://www.newhampton.org/]Browser”&gt;http://www.newhampton.org/]Browser</a> Not Supported](<a href=“http://www.missporters.org/default.aspx]Browser”>http://www.missporters.org/default.aspx)
IB School</p>

<p>Northfield Mount Hermon MA
[Home</a> | Northfield Mount Hermon](<a href=“http://www.nmhschool.org/]Home”>http://www.nmhschool.org/)
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.</p>

<p>Pomfret CT
[Browser</a> Not Supported](<a href=“http://www.pomfretschool.org/default.aspx]Browser”>http://www.pomfretschool.org/default.aspx)
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.</p>

<p>Peddie School NJ
[Browser</a> Not Supported](<a href=“http://www.peddie.org/]Browser”>http://www.peddie.org/)
/laughalittle
NJ 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.</p>

<p>Pennington NJ
[Pennington</a> School: Home](<a href=“http://www.pennington.org/]Pennington”>http://www.pennington.org/)</p>

<p>Proctor Academy NH
[Browser</a> Not Supported](<a href=“http://www.proctoracademy.org/]Browser”>http://www.proctoracademy.org/)
Owns a ski hill.</p>

<p>St. Andrews School DE
[St</a>. Andrew’s School: Home](<a href=“http://www.standrews-de.org/]St”>http://www.standrews-de.org/)</p>

<p>St. George’s School RI
[ST</a>. GEORGE’S](<a href=“http://www.stgeorges.edu/]ST”>http://www.stgeorges.edu/)
Newport, Rhode Island</p>

<p>St. Marks School MA
[St</a>. Mark’s School: Home](<a href=“http://www.stmarksschool.org/]St”>http://www.stmarksschool.org/)
Southborough</p>

<p>Sewickley Academy PA
[Pittsburgh</a> Private School | PA Independent School | Sewickley Academy](<a href=“http://www.sewickley.org/]Pittsburgh”>http://www.sewickley.org/)
PK - 12</p>

<p>Shadyside Academy PA
[Shady</a> Side Academy](<a href=“http://www.shadysideacademy.org/]Shady”>http://www.shadysideacademy.org/)
PK-12</p>

<p>Solebury School PA
[Solebury</a> School: Home](<a href=“http://www.solebury.org/]Solebury”>http://www.solebury.org/)
7-12
A small, quirky, homey progressive school for self-directed kids who are interested in social justice. Although it doesn’t have the fanciest facilities, there has been recent construction to update and improve the campus, and many of the teachers have been there for a long time. A true hidden gem, the school’s theater teacher used to be the head of theater at NYU and Lakers center Andrew Bynum also attended the school.</p>

<p>Stevenson School CA
Pebble Beach CA
[www.stevensonschool.org

[/url</a>]</p>

<p>Suffield Academy CT
[url=&lt;a href=“http://www.suffieldacademy.org/default.aspx]Browser”&gt;http://www.suffieldacademy.org/default.aspx]Browser</a> Not Supported](<a href=“http://www.stevensonschool.org%5D%5Bimg%5Dwww.stevensonschool.org%5B/img%5D%5B/url”>www.stevensonschool.org)</p>

<p>Tabor Academy MA
[Browser</a> Not Supported](<a href=“http://www.taboracademy.org/]Browser”>http://www.taboracademy.org/)
Gorgeous campus, right on the water. Outstanding marine biology program. </p>

<p>Taft School CT
[The</a> Taft School](<a href=“http://www.taftschool.org/]The”>http://www.taftschool.org/)
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.”</p>

<p>Thacher School CA
[Browser</a> Not Supported](<a href=“http://www.thacher.org/]Browser”>http://www.thacher.org/)
ThacherParent
240 students, especially close, happy & healthy community, school code is “lived” everywhere and everyday: Honor, Fairness, Kindness & Truth // a culture and love of learning with outstanding professors (70% + with advanced degrees) and incredibly close student-faculty relationships // unique and celebrated connection between the classroom and the natural world including the horse program (the only one of its kind in the U.S.), extended camping trips, adventuring of all sorts // fantastic, inclusive sports with routine regional and state achievement and huge emphasis on sportsmanship // stunning 400+ acre, southern California campus in Ojai, CA (photographed to represent Shangri-La in the 1939 movie, The Lost Horizon) at the base of the Topa Topa mountains, nestled among orange and avocado groves, the smells of chaparral, orange blossoms, lemon, lavender and sage, stunning views, exceptional weather // top-notch college admissions (Ivy + LAC + Stanford/MIT + other great schools), admission rate <20%, highest yield of any boarding school or college in the U.S. 80% - 83%.</p>

<p>Trinity-Pawling School NY
[Trinity</a> Pawling](<a href=“http://www.trinitypawling.org/]Trinity”>http://www.trinitypawling.org/)
Pawling, NY
Traditional Boys school known for athletics and program for students with learning disabilities. What’s less known is that the school limits the number of LD students to no more than 20% of the school population. Students run the gamut of academic ability; some go on to top LACs and occasionally the Ivies, some head for vocational training. Strong sense of school spirit, beautiful campus.</p>

<p>United World Colleges International
[UWC</a> | UWC](<a href=“http://www.uwc.org/]UWC”>http://www.uwc.org/)
International collection of very hidden gems. Only one of them is in the US, but all of them are multinational. UWC - UWC-USA | UWC. At Brown University there a lot of students who went to these high schools, (who are fiercely loyal to the schools). In part there are a lot of students at Brown from UWC because they are very well prepared, and in part because there apparently are some form of full scholarships to Brown for UWC grads who are qualified. </p>

<p>The Webb School TN
[http://www.thewebbschool.com/

[/url</a>]
Bell Buckle, TN.
This small school (320 boarding and day) offers college prep for grades 6-12. My father felt it gave him the best experience of his life. </p>

<p>Western Reserve Academy OH
[url=&lt;a href=“http://www.wra.net/]Western”&gt;http://www.wra.net/]Western</a> Reserve Academy](<a href=“http://www.thewebbschool.com/][img]http://www.thewebbschool.com/[/img][/url”>http://www.thewebbschool.com/)
Great school in Hudson, OH. It is between Akron and Cleveland. Beautiful town. Campus looks like small college.From its Website: Founded in 1826 as a preparatory school for Western Reserve College, Western Reserve Academy is one of the oldest boarding schools in the nation and the premier school of its kind in the Midwest. WRA offers a challenging curriculum that prepares our 390 students for future academic success - and for leading purposeful, fulfilling lives. Attending WRA is a transformational experience, where students learn to strive for excellence, live with integrity and act with compassion.
Westminster School CT</p>

<p>Westover School CT
[Westover</a> School](<a href=“StackPath”>http://www.westoverschool.org/)
All girls prestigous boarding school in Central-West CT. WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) Program and strong Dance/Arts (Manhattan School of Arts Program).
Beautiful Campus, Strong endowment. Excellent Integration of Day students and warm environment for 200 girls.</p>

<p>Westtown PA
[http://www.westtown.edu/

[/url</a>]
Quaker boarding school in Pennsylvania. It is coed, with a lower school (all day). All juniors and seniors are required to board. The school is about evenly split between boarding and day students in 9th & 10th grades.</p>

<p>Williston Northampton School MA
[url=&lt;a href=“http://www.williston.com/]The”&gt;http://www.williston.com/]The</a> Williston Northampton School](<a href=“http://www.westtown.edu/][img]http://www.westtown.edu/[/img][/url”>http://www.westtown.edu/)
Easthampton, MA
Like a college campus, virtually adjacent to the small town of Easthampton.</p>

<p>Worcester Academy MA
[Browser</a> Not Supported](<a href=“http://www.worcesteracademy.org/default.aspx]Browser”>http://www.worcesteracademy.org/default.aspx)
6-12
Worcester, MA is a day/boarding school, very unique urban setting, diverse student body, excellent sports,arts, fabulous leadership and extracurricular ops. Its We the People team has won state competition two years in row and they are off to nationals. Its Math team has won state comp 5 of 6 yrs in row and are going for 7th. Great place for all kinds of kids.
Unique boarding and day school in Central Mass. Check it out! Rigorous academics, long tradition of athletics, wonderful arts programs. Warm, welcoming, diverse community.</p>

<p>Wyoming Seminary
[Wyoming</a> Seminary College Preparatory School](<a href=“http://www.wyomingseminary.org/]Wyoming”>http://www.wyomingseminary.org/)
Preschool to 12
My son is attending Wyoming Seminary in September. He received a tuition scholarship to attend.
Seminary is located in Kingston, Pa and is a small boarding program of 200 students+day= 400 students. Traditional program, very old school. Strong in athletics (football, ice hockey, women’s field hockey, lacrosse). Also very strong program in theatre arts with new arts building under construction. 20% international students.</p>

<p>School nickname is “Sem”</p>

<p>N.B.: Schools with a ** are day schools.</p>

104

<p>This list has grown very long. I would love to have a forum for these schools. I’ve never had to wait for a post to be put up!</p>

<p>In my opinion, day schools should be on the list. Some posters show up with the intention to move wherever their child gets in. I don’t know if this works, but there is an audience for day schools. Also, “prep” does not mean only “boarding.”</p>

<p>It would be great (hint to any moderators) to have a forum, so we could break this thread up into categories. The most logical categories would be regions, such as, South, West, Pennsylvania & New Jersey. As the list grows, it would make it easier for families to plan trips to see several schools at once if they could access a list of prep schools near Maryland, for example.</p>

105

<p>I wouldn’t consider Taft a lesser known prep school…</p>

106

<p>i wouldnt put blair anywhere near peddie…blair’s rep is nowhere near as good.</p>

107

<p>That’s exactly why we are putting Blair on the list - to raise its reputation since it’s not a HADES. It is a very good school! Just ask Burb Parent.</p>

108

<p>I guess even if Blair’s reputation is not as good, it’s still a great school and plenty of people love it there. We want people to shoot for Hidden Gems, not HADES! And believe me, I’m a VERY enthusiastic Peddie-person</p>

1 Like
109

<p>Okay people - stop coming on here to say what schools you don’t want on the list. It doesn’t work that way. This is a non-HADES non GLADCHEMMS list. It’s the ones that get talked about the least (and often are dissed like some of you are doing).</p>

<p>If you have something to add - post it. If you don’t have something “positive” to say - don’t clutter the list - please.</p>

110

<p>Day schools should have a separate list or this will be unwieldy. I wonder - when we’re done - if we should set schools up in a separate post by “region” (i.e. NE, Midwest, East Coast, Southern, Mid Atlantic, Europe etc…)</p>

<p>It’s almost like we need a blog.</p>

111

<p>Day schools should be a separate list but not to separate New England from the rest of the country. I fear we’re getting carried away here.</p>

112

<p>Hey look, this discussion got moved up to the “featured discussion” area!</p>

<p>And guess which discussion got dropped (at least out of the discussions at the top of the list)??</p>

113

<p>Blair has a great reputation and overlaps with many NE schools for applicants including Deerfield, Taft, Choate and Andover. Our college list for this year’s seniors will include Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Stanford, Swarthmore, Penn, Cornell, Colgate, Tufts, etc.</p>

114

<p>Hi
My name is Allison. My son Patrick is attending a boarding school here in Canada. The school is a preppy, normal school. Patrick has an LD. The school does not have enough support to help him. He is failing a couple of courses. I think we have to change schools. He is also American so I am looking for a preppy kinda boarding school filled with reguler kids with a really strong LD support program. Any thoughts?</p>

115

<p>Asheville School NC
Asheville School</p>

<p>Altamont School**
The Altamont School: Home
(Birmingham,AL)</p>

<p>Avon Old Farms CT
Avon Old Farms
(All-boys)</p>

<p>Berkshire School MA
Berkshire School
nestled into the base of a mountain, has a fantastic “mountain program” that takes advantage of the natural setting of the school (including a maple syrup corporation, back country skills, rock climbing, mountain biking, etc.). Big into sustainability. Excellent advanced math/science research program (2 Intel semi-finalists in last two years) and a new math-science building will be ready in late 2012. Strong ice hockey program. Smallish size–just under 400 students. Genuinely nice feel to the school; the Head and faculty seem to care very much about the whole child.</p>

<p>Blair Academy NJ
Welcome to Blair Academy
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.
While founded in 1848, this school used to be run by Presbyterian ministers whose agenda was different from many boarding schools. 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.</p>

<p>BransonCA
The Branson School</p>

<p>Brooks School MA
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N. Andover, MA. On a lake. Top notch facilities, great study abroad programs, prestigious internships in the Boston tech/medical sectors.</p>

<p>Cate School
Cate School
On a mesa above the Pacific Ocean in Carpenteria, California.</p>

<p>Canterbury School CT
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<p>Chatham Hall
Chatham Hall | A Virginia Girls Boarding School
All girls–80% boarding
Beautiful campus in rural Chatham, Virginia.
Strong international influence.
Rigorous academics & athletics
Strong honor code
Large endowment & scholarship program</p>

<p>Cheshire Academy CT
Please wait…</p>

<p>Colorado Rocky Mountain School CO
<a href=“http://www.crmsorg%5B/url%5D”>www.crmsorg</a>
An amazing little school in an even more amazing setting. No boarding school has a view like it! Only 20 miles north of Aspen, the potential for skiing and outdoor adventure is unique among boarding schools. The curriculum/faculty is strong (attracts outdoorsy teachers). My youngest sister graduated in 2006 and had an extraordinary experience…she even moved back to Carbondale after college! A very neat school for kids looking for a different experience from the norm but still looking for great academics and a warm community.</p>

<p>Concord Academy MA
Concord Academy</p>

<p>Culver Academies IN
Culver Academies
/ ssacdfamily
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.</p>

<p>Cranbrook Schools MI
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<p>EF International NY</p>

<p>Episcopal High School VA
Episcopal High School
DC Metro Area
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 into New England, so expect acceptance rate to go down in the future.
430 students in the school, but no one slips through the cracks. Formal dress for class and sit-down lunches plus assembly chapel 3x week, and students take the honor code seriously. Strong visual arts programs (especially digital arts and ceramics), strong foreign languages including a SYA option which sends students to italy, France, Spain or Austria. School spirit is really strong, and many of the athletic teams are contenders year after year. Kids there are really happy and love their school.</p>

<p>Fountain Valley School in Colorado Springs, CO

<a href=“http://www.fvs.edu%5B/img%5D%5B/img%5D”>www.fvs.edu

</a></p>

<p>George School PA
[Home</a> - George School](<a href=“http://www.georgeschool.org/]Home”>http://www.georgeschool.org/)
IB school.</p>

<p>Gill St. Bernard’s NJ
[Balance</a>, integrity, excellence, creativity and leadership - all are central to a GSB education.](<a href=“http://www.gsbschool.org/]Balance”>http://www.gsbschool.org/)
Balance, integrity, excellence, creativity and leadership - all are central to a GSB education.</p>

<p>Governor’s Academy MA
[The</a> Governor’s Academy](<a href=“http://www.thegovernorsacademy.org/]The”>http://www.thegovernorsacademy.org/)
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.</p>

<p>The Gunnery MA
<a href=“http://portal.gunnery.org/NetCommuni...e.aspx?pid=191[/url]”>http://portal.gunnery.org/NetCommuni...e.aspx?pid=191&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The Hill School PA
[The</a> Hill School- private college preparatory boarding school in Pottstown, Pennsylvania](<a href=“http://www.thehill.org/]The”>http://www.thehill.org/)
private college preparatory boarding school in Pottstown, Pennsylvania</p>

<p>The Holderness School NH
[Please</a> wait…](<a href=“http://www.holderness.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1]Please”>http://www.holderness.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1)</p>

<p>The Hun School NJ
[The</a> Hun School of Princeton: Home](<a href=“http://www.hunschool.org/]The”>http://www.hunschool.org/)</p>

<p>Indian Springs SchoolAL
[Emergency</a> Bulletin](<a href=“http://www.indiansprings.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1]Emergency”>http://www.indiansprings.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1)
Birmingham</p>

<p>Kimball Union Academy NH
[Browser</a> Not Supported](<a href=“http://www.kua.org/default.aspx]Browser”>http://www.kua.org/default.aspx)</p>

<p>The Kiski School PA
[Browser</a> Not Supported](<a href=“http://www.kiski.org/default.aspx]Browser”>http://www.kiski.org/default.aspx)
All-boys</p>

<p>Kent School CT
[Kent</a> School - Welcome](<a href=“http://www.kent-school.edu/]Kent”>http://www.kent-school.edu/)</p>

<p>Kingswood-Oxford CT
[Kingswood</a> Oxford](<a href=“http://www.kingswoodoxford.org/]Kingswood”>http://www.kingswoodoxford.org/)</p>

<p>Lawrence Academy MA
[Lawrence</a> Academy](<a href=“http://www.lacademy.edu/]Lawrence”>http://www.lacademy.edu/)</p>

<p>Loomis Chaffee CT
[Loomis</a> Chaffee](<a href=“http://www.loomischaffee.org/]Loomis”>http://www.loomischaffee.org/)</p>

<p>Madeira School* VA
[The</a> Madeira School: Home](<a href=“StackPath”>http://www.madeira.org/)
All-girls</p>

<p>Memphis University School** TN
[Memphis</a> University School - Home Page](<a href=“http://www.musowls.org/netcommunity/]Memphis”>The School for Boys in Grades 7-12)
7-12
all-male, traditional prep school that produces many of the people who run the South. FedEx CEO, Autozone CEO, Paypal Co-Founder, etc…</p>

<p>Mercersburg Academy
[Browser</a> Not Supported](<a href=“http://www.mercersburg.edu/]Browser”>http://www.mercersburg.edu/)
Academically, again they are very strong and competitive but what was more important to me was the inclusive learning environment. Another aspect of the Mercersburg community that I have witnesses in alumni years later, is its emphasis on service and helping others. The alumni network is incredibly strong and helped me through my initial job search as well as service projects and just finding a familiar face in unfamiliar cities.
(See post 100, from “hottness”, for more information on Mercersburg.)</p>

<p>Middlesex School MA
MIDDLESEX SCHOOL</p>

<p>Millbrook School NY
Millbrook School ~ Millbrook School, a coeducational boarding school in Millbrook, NY
~ Millbrook School, a coeducational boarding school in 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! This school is really serious about community service and works hard to be more green and sustainable. Kids who would get lost at a bigger school often thrive under all the personal atterntion here.</p>

<p>Miss Porter’s School CT
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(All-girls)</p>

<p>Moses Brown School** RI
[Please</a> wait…](<a href=“http://www.mosesbrown.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1]Please”>http://www.mosesbrown.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1)
Quaker, coed, nursery to 12.</p>

<p>New Hampton School NH
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IB School</p>

<p>Northfield Mount Hermon MA
Home | 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.</p>

<p>Pomfret CT
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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.</p>

<p>Peddie School NJ
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/laughalittle
NJ 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.</p>

<p>Pennington NJ
Pennington School: Home</p>

<p>Proctor Academy NH
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Owns a ski hill.</p>

<p>St. Andrews School DE
St. Andrew’s School: Home</p>

<p>St. George’s School RI
ST. GEORGE’S
Newport, Rhode Island</p>

<p>St. Marks School MA
St. Mark’s School: Home
Southborough</p>

<p>Sewickley Academy PA
Pittsburgh Private School | PA Independent School | Sewickley Academy
PK - 12</p>

<p>Shadyside Academy PA
Shady Side Academy
PK-12</p>

<p>Solebury School PA
Solebury School: Home
7-12
A small, quirky, homey progressive school for self-directed kids who are interested in social justice. Although it doesn’t have the fanciest facilities, there has been recent construction to update and improve the campus, and many of the teachers have been there for a long time. A true hidden gem, the school’s theater teacher used to be the head of theater at NYU and Lakers center Andrew Bynum also attended the school.</p>

<p>Stevenson School CA
Pebble Beach CA

<a href=“http://www.stevensonschool.org%5B/img%5D”>www.stevensonschool.org

</a></p>

<p>Suffield Academy CT
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<p>Tabor Academy MA
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Gorgeous campus, right on the water. Outstanding marine biology program.</p>

<p>Taft School CT
The Taft School
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.”</p>

<p>Thacher School CA
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ThacherParent
240 students, especially close, happy & healthy community, school code is “lived” everywhere and everyday: Honor, Fairness, Kindness & Truth // a culture and love of learning with outstanding professors (70% + with advanced degrees) and incredibly close student-faculty relationships // unique and celebrated connection between the classroom and the natural world including the horse program (the only one of its kind in the U.S.), extended camping trips, adventuring of all sorts // fantastic, inclusive sports with routine regional and state achievement and huge emphasis on sportsmanship // stunning 400+ acre, southern California campus in Ojai, CA (photographed to represent Shangri-La in the 1939 movie, The Lost Horizon) at the base of the Topa Topa mountains, nestled among orange and avocado groves, the smells of chaparral, orange blossoms, lemon, lavender and sage, stunning views, exceptional weather // top-notch college admissions (Ivy + LAC + Stanford/MIT + other great schools), admission rate <20%, highest yield of any boarding school or college in the U.S. 80% - 83%.</p>

<p>Trinity-Pawling School NY
Trinity Pawling
Pawling, NY
Traditional Boys school known for athletics and program for students with learning disabilities. What’s less known is that the school limits the number of LD students to no more than 20% of the school population. Students run the gamut of academic ability; some go on to top LACs and occasionally the Ivies, some head for vocational training. Strong sense of school spirit, beautiful campus.</p>

<p>United World Colleges International
UWC | UWC
International collection of very hidden gems. Only one of them is in the US, but all of them are multinational. UWC - UWC-USA | UWC. At Brown University there a lot of students who went to these high schools, (who are fiercely loyal to the schools). In part there are a lot of students at Brown from UWC because they are very well prepared, and in part because there apparently are some form of full scholarships to Brown for UWC grads who are qualified.</p>

<p>The Webb School TN
[Webb:</a> College Prep Boarding School and Day School for Grades 6-12 in Bell Buckle, TN](<a href=“http://www.thewebbschool.com/]Webb:”>http://www.thewebbschool.com/)
Bell Buckle, TN.
This small school (320 boarding and day) offers college prep for grades 6-12. My father felt it gave him the best experience of his life.</p>

<p>Western Reserve Academy OH
Western Reserve Academy
Great school in Hudson, OH. It is between Akron and Cleveland. Beautiful town. Campus looks like small college.From its Website: Founded in 1826 as a preparatory school for Western Reserve College, Western Reserve Academy is one of the oldest boarding schools in the nation and the premier school of its kind in the Midwest. WRA offers a challenging curriculum that prepares our 390 students for future academic success - and for leading purposeful, fulfilling lives. Attending WRA is a transformational experience, where students learn to strive for excellence, live with integrity and act with compassion.
Westminster School CT</p>

<p>Westover School CT
Westover School
All girls prestigous boarding school in Central-West CT. WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) Program and strong Dance/Arts (Manhattan School of Arts Program).
Beautiful Campus, Strong endowment. Excellent Integration of Day students and warm environment for 200 girls.</p>

<p>Westtown PA
[Westtown</a> School: Home](<a href=“http://www.westtown.edu/]Westtown”>http://www.westtown.edu/)
Quaker boarding school in Pennsylvania. It is coed, with a lower school (all day). All juniors and seniors are required to board. The school is about evenly split between boarding and day students in 9th & 10th grades.</p>

<p>Williston Northampton School MA
The Williston Northampton School
Easthampton, MA
Like a college campus, virtually adjacent to the small town of Easthampton.</p>

<p>Worcester Academy MA
Browser Not Supported
6-12
Worcester, MA is a day/boarding school, very unique urban setting, diverse student body, excellent sports,arts, fabulous leadership and extracurricular ops. Its We the People team has won state competition two years in row and they are off to nationals. Its Math team has won state comp 5 of 6 yrs in row and are going for 7th. Great place for all kinds of kids.
Unique boarding and day school in Central Mass. Check it out! Rigorous academics, long tradition of athletics, wonderful arts programs. Warm, welcoming, diverse community.</p>

<p>Wyoming Seminary
Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School
Preschool to 12
My son is attending Wyoming Seminary in September. He received a tuition scholarship to attend.
Seminary is located in Kingston, Pa and is a small boarding program of 200 students+day= 400 students. Traditional program, very old school. Strong in athletics (football, ice hockey, women’s field hockey, lacrosse). Also very strong program in theatre arts with new arts building under construction. 20% international students.</p>

<p>School nickname is “Sem”</p>

<p>N.B.: Schools with a ** are day schools. </p>

<p>@BronxKid-You do have a point. I’m not sure whether Taft is less well-known than some of these other schools-it is mentioned frequently.</p>

<p>@Exie, ops, Periwinkle-I think this is just a starting point, so for the time being, we should add day schools to this list. However, if anyone makes a separate thread for day schools, then we ought to remove them from this list. Also, we ought to make a distinction between BS that are also day schools, and schools that are solely boarding.</p>

<p>@AllisonElliott-Welcome! I think you should make your own separate thread about this, but take a look around this list and maybe you’ll find a school!</p>

116

<p>just a PSA, when you add something you should also write the school in bold or star it at the top before you add it into the main list. These bold/starred schools at the top shouldnt be copy pasted with the rest of the list. It sometimes is a little hard if you follow this post to find the new school in the list now that the list is getting quite long. Example (excuse the names):</p>

<p><em>St. Awesome Academy Added</em></p>

<p>Academy in the Woods
Woodsvillde, TN
this school has 10000 AP classes and their teams win nationals every year! yay! Oh yeah and every single student goes to their first choice college!</p>

<p>St. Awesome Academy
Awesome school with awesome sports and awesome teachers that only accepts awesome kids!</p>

<p>The School that Loves Learning
We are so passionate about learning, and our students should love to learn and teach others and all that fun stuff. yay!</p>

117

<p>Definitely St. Andrew’s School (DE). In my opinion, that’s one of biggest hidden gems. Any GLADCHEMMS (or whatever) schools (that means Milton, Middlesex, etc.) should not be included as a hidden gem. I am so surprised Taft isn’t in there, so Taft would be another hidden gem.</p>

118

<p>Asheville School NC
[Asheville</a> School](<a href=“http://www.ashevilleschool.org/]Asheville”>http://www.ashevilleschool.org/)</p>

<p>Altamont School**
[The</a> Altamont School: Home<a href=“Birmingham,AL”>/url</a></p>

<p>Avon Old Farms CT
[url=&lt;a href=“http://www.avonoldfarms.com/]Avon”&gt;http://www.avonoldfarms.com/]Avon</a> Old Farms<a href=“All-boys”>/url</a></p>

<p>Berkshire School MA
[url=&lt;a href=“http://www.berkshireschool.org/]Berkshire”&gt;http://www.berkshireschool.org/]Berkshire</a> School](<a href=“http://www.altamontschool.org/]The”>http://www.altamontschool.org/)
nestled into the base of a mountain, has a fantastic “mountain program” that takes advantage of the natural setting of the school (including a maple syrup corporation, back country skills, rock climbing, mountain biking, etc.). Big into sustainability. Excellent advanced math/science research program (2 Intel semi-finalists in last two years) and a new math-science building will be ready in late 2012. Strong ice hockey program. Smallish size–just under 400 students. Genuinely nice feel to the school; the Head and faculty seem to care very much about the whole child.</p>

<p>Blair Academy NJ
[Welcome</a> to Blair Academy](<a href=“http://www.blair.edu/]Welcome”>http://www.blair.edu/)
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.
While founded in 1848, this school used to be run by Presbyterian ministers whose agenda was different from many boarding schools. 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.</p>

<p>Branson CA
[The</a> Branson School](<a href=“http://www.branson.org/]The”>http://www.branson.org/)</p>

<p>Brooks School MA
[Browser</a> Not Supported](<a href=“http://www.brooksschool.org/]Browser”>http://www.brooksschool.org/)
N. Andover, MA. On a lake. Top notch facilities, great study abroad programs, prestigious internships in the Boston tech/medical sectors.</p>

<p>Cate School
[Cate</a> School](<a href=“http://www.cate.org/]Cate”>http://www.cate.org/)
On a mesa above the Pacific Ocean in Carpenteria, California.</p>

<p>Canterbury School CT
[Browser</a> Not Supported](<a href=“http://www.cbury.org/]Browser”>http://www.cbury.org/)</p>

<p>Chatham Hall
[Chatham</a> Hall | A Virginia Girls Boarding School](<a href=“http://www.chathamhall.org/index.php]Chatham”>http://www.chathamhall.org/index.php)
All girls–80% boarding
Beautiful campus in rural Chatham, Virginia.
Strong international influence.
Rigorous academics & athletics
Strong honor code
Large endowment & scholarship program</p>

<p>Cheshire Academy CT
[Please</a> wait…](<a href=“http://www.cheshireacademy.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1]Please”>http://www.cheshireacademy.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1)</p>

<p>Colorado Rocky Mountain School CO
<a href=“http://www.crmsorg%5B/url%5D”>www.crmsorg</a>
An amazing little school in an even more amazing setting. No boarding school has a view like it! Only 20 miles north of Aspen, the potential for skiing and outdoor adventure is unique among boarding schools. The curriculum/faculty is strong (attracts outdoorsy teachers). My youngest sister graduated in 2006 and had an extraordinary experience…she even moved back to Carbondale after college! A very neat school for kids looking for a different experience from the norm but still looking for great academics and a warm community.</p>

<p>Concord Academy MA
[Concord</a> Academy](<a href=“http://www.concordacademy.org/]Concord”>http://www.concordacademy.org/)</p>

<p>Culver Academies IN
[Culver</a> Academies](<a href=“http://home.culver.org/]Culver”>http://home.culver.org/)
/ ssacdfamily
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.</p>

<p>Cranbrook Schools MI
[Browser</a> Not Supported](<a href=“http://www.schools.cranbrook.edu/]Browser”>http://www.schools.cranbrook.edu/)</p>

<p>EF International NY</p>

<p>Episcopal High School VA
[Episcopal</a> High School](<a href=“http://www.episcopalhighschool.org/]Episcopal”>http://www.episcopalhighschool.org/)
DC Metro Area
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 into New England, so expect acceptance rate to go down in the future.
430 students in the school, but no one slips through the cracks. Formal dress for class and sit-down lunches plus assembly chapel 3x week, and students take the honor code seriously. Strong visual arts programs (especially digital arts and ceramics), strong foreign languages including a SYA option which sends students to italy, France, Spain or Austria. School spirit is really strong, and many of the athletic teams are contenders year after year. Kids there are really happy and love their school.</p>

<p>Fountain Valley School CA
[http://www.fvs.edu/default.aspx

[/url</a>]</p>

<p>George School PA
[url=&lt;a href=“http://www.georgeschool.org/]Home”&gt;http://www.georgeschool.org/]Home</a> - George School](<a href=“http://www.fvs.edu/default.aspx][img]http://www.fvs.edu/default.aspx[/img][/url”>http://www.fvs.edu/default.aspx)
IB school.</p>

<p>Gill St. Bernard’s NJ
[Balance</a>, integrity, excellence, creativity and leadership - all are central to a GSB education.](<a href=“http://www.gsbschool.org/]Balance”>http://www.gsbschool.org/)
Balance, integrity, excellence, creativity and leadership - all are central to a GSB education.</p>

<p>Governor’s Academy MA
[The</a> Governor’s Academy](<a href=“http://www.thegovernorsacademy.org/]The”>http://www.thegovernorsacademy.org/)
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.</p>

<p>The Gunnery MA
<a href=“http://portal.gunnery.org/NetCommuni...e.aspx?pid=191[/url]”>http://portal.gunnery.org/NetCommuni...e.aspx?pid=191&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Harvard-Westlake** CA
[http://www.hw.com/

[/url</a>]</p>

<p>The Hill School PA
[url=&lt;a href=“http://www.thehill.org/]The”&gt;http://www.thehill.org/]The</a> Hill School- private college preparatory boarding school in Pottstown, Pennsylvania](<a href=“http://www.hw.com/][img]http://www.hw.com/[/img][/url”>http://www.hw.com/)
private college preparatory boarding school in Pottstown, Pennsylvania</p>

<p>The Holderness School NH
[Please</a> wait…](<a href=“http://www.holderness.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1]Please”>http://www.holderness.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1)</p>

<p>The Hun School NJ
[The</a> Hun School of Princeton: Home](<a href=“http://www.hunschool.org/]The”>http://www.hunschool.org/)</p>

<p>Indian Springs SchoolAL
[Emergency</a> Bulletin](<a href=“http://www.indiansprings.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1]Emergency”>http://www.indiansprings.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1)
Birmingham</p>

<p>Kimball Union Academy NH
[Browser</a> Not Supported](<a href=“http://www.kua.org/default.aspx]Browser”>http://www.kua.org/default.aspx)</p>

<p>The Kiski School PA
[Browser</a> Not Supported](<a href=“http://www.kiski.org/default.aspx]Browser”>http://www.kiski.org/default.aspx)
All-boys</p>

<p>Kent School CT
[Kent</a> School - Welcome](<a href=“http://www.kent-school.edu/]Kent”>http://www.kent-school.edu/)</p>

<p>Kingswood-Oxford CT
[Kingswood</a> Oxford](<a href=“http://www.kingswoodoxford.org/]Kingswood”>http://www.kingswoodoxford.org/)</p>

<p>Lawrence Academy MA
[Lawrence</a> Academy](<a href=“http://www.lacademy.edu/]Lawrence”>http://www.lacademy.edu/)</p>

<p>Loomis Chaffee CT
[Loomis</a> Chaffee](<a href=“http://www.loomischaffee.org/]Loomis”>http://www.loomischaffee.org/)</p>

<p>Madeira School* VA
[The</a> Madeira School: Home](<a href=“StackPath”>http://www.madeira.org/)
All-girls</p>

<p>Memphis University School** TN
[Memphis</a> University School - Home Page](<a href=“http://www.musowls.org/netcommunity/]Memphis”>The School for Boys in Grades 7-12)
7-12
all-male, traditional prep school that produces many of the people who run the South. FedEx CEO, Autozone CEO, Paypal Co-Founder, etc… </p>

<p>Middlesex School MA
[MIDDLESEX</a> SCHOOL](<a href=“http://www.mxschool.edu/]MIDDLESEX”>http://www.mxschool.edu/)</p>

<p>Millbrook School NY
[Millbrook</a> School ~ Millbrook School, a coeducational boarding school in Millbrook, NY](<a href=“Maintenance Page”>Millbrook School | Private Coed Boarding School | Millbrook, NY)
~ Millbrook School, a coeducational boarding school in 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! This school is really serious about community service and works hard to be more green and sustainable. Kids who would get lost at a bigger school often thrive under all the personal atterntion here.</p>

<p>Miss Porter’s School CT
[Browser</a> Not Supported<a href=“All-girls”>/url</a></p>

<p>New Hampton School NH
[url=&lt;a href=“http://www.newhampton.org/]Browser”&gt;http://www.newhampton.org/]Browser</a> Not Supported](<a href=“http://www.missporters.org/default.aspx]Browser”>http://www.missporters.org/default.aspx)
IB School</p>

<p>Northfield Mount Hermon MA
[Home</a> | Northfield Mount Hermon](<a href=“http://www.nmhschool.org/]Home”>http://www.nmhschool.org/)
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.</p>

<p>Pomfret CT
[Browser</a> Not Supported](<a href=“http://www.pomfretschool.org/default.aspx]Browser”>http://www.pomfretschool.org/default.aspx)
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.</p>

<p>Peddie School NJ
[Browser</a> Not Supported](<a href=“http://www.peddie.org/]Browser”>http://www.peddie.org/)
/laughalittle
NJ 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.</p>

<p>Pennington NJ
[Pennington</a> School: Home](<a href=“http://www.pennington.org/]Pennington”>http://www.pennington.org/)</p>

<p>Proctor Academy NH
[Browser</a> Not Supported](<a href=“http://www.proctoracademy.org/]Browser”>http://www.proctoracademy.org/)
Owns a ski hill.</p>

<p>St. Andrews School DE
[St</a>. Andrew’s School: Home](<a href=“http://www.standrews-de.org/]St”>http://www.standrews-de.org/)</p>

<p>St. George’s School RI
[ST</a>. GEORGE’S](<a href=“http://www.stgeorges.edu/]ST”>http://www.stgeorges.edu/)
Newport, Rhode Island</p>

<p>St. Marks School MA
[St</a>. Mark’s School: Home](<a href=“http://www.stmarksschool.org/]St”>http://www.stmarksschool.org/)
Southborough</p>

<p>Sewickley Academy PA
[Pittsburgh</a> Private School | PA Independent School | Sewickley Academy](<a href=“http://www.sewickley.org/]Pittsburgh”>http://www.sewickley.org/)
PK - 12</p>

<p>Shadyside Academy PA
[Shady</a> Side Academy](<a href=“http://www.shadysideacademy.org/]Shady”>http://www.shadysideacademy.org/)
PK-12</p>

<p>Solebury School PA
[Solebury</a> School: Home](<a href=“http://www.solebury.org/]Solebury”>http://www.solebury.org/)
7-12
A small, quirky, homey progressive school for self-directed kids who are interested in social justice. Although it doesn’t have the fanciest facilities, there has been recent construction to update and improve the campus, and many of the teachers have been there for a long time. A true hidden gem, the school’s theater teacher used to be the head of theater at NYU and Lakers center Andrew Bynum also attended the school.</p>

<p>Subiaco Academy AK
[http://www.subi.org/

[/url</a>]
All Boys Catholic School- 20% international</p>

<p>Suffield Academy CT
[url=&lt;a href=“http://www.suffieldacademy.org/default.aspx]Browser”&gt;http://www.suffieldacademy.org/default.aspx]Browser</a> Not Supported](<a href=“http://www.subi.org/][img]http://www.subi.org/[/img][/url”>http://www.subi.org/)</p>

<p>Tabor Academy MA
[Browser</a> Not Supported](<a href=“http://www.taboracademy.org/]Browser”>http://www.taboracademy.org/)
Gorgeous campus, right on the water. Outstanding marine biology program. </p>

<p>Taft School CT
[The</a> Taft School](<a href=“http://www.taftschool.org/]The”>http://www.taftschool.org/)
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.”</p>

<p>Thacher School CA
[Browser</a> Not Supported](<a href=“http://www.thacher.org/]Browser”>http://www.thacher.org/)
ThacherParent
240 students, especially close, happy & healthy community, school code is “lived” everywhere and everyday: Honor, Fairness, Kindness & Truth // a culture and love of learning with outstanding professors (70% + with advanced degrees) and incredibly close student-faculty relationships // unique and celebrated connection between the classroom and the natural world including the horse program (the only one of its kind in the U.S.), extended camping trips, adventuring of all sorts // fantastic, inclusive sports with routine regional and state achievement and huge emphasis on sportsmanship // stunning 400+ acre, southern California campus in Ojai, CA (photographed to represent Shangri-La in the 1939 movie, The Lost Horizon) at the base of the Topa Topa mountains, nestled among orange and avocado groves, the smells of chaparral, orange blossoms, lemon, lavender and sage, stunning views, exceptional weather // top-notch college admissions (Ivy + LAC + Stanford/MIT + other great schools), admission rate <20%, highest yield of any boarding school or college in the U.S. 80% - 83%.</p>

<p>Trinity-Pawling School NY
[Trinity</a> Pawling](<a href=“http://www.trinitypawling.org/]Trinity”>http://www.trinitypawling.org/)
Pawling, NY
Traditional Boys school known for athletics and program for students with learning disabilities. What’s less known is that the school limits the number of LD students to no more than 20% of the school population. Students run the gamut of academic ability; some go on to top LACs and occasionally the Ivies, some head for vocational training. Strong sense of school spirit, beautiful campus.</p>

<p>United World Colleges International
[UWC</a> | UWC](<a href=“http://www.uwc.org/]UWC”>http://www.uwc.org/)
International collection of very hidden gems. Only one of them is in the US, but all of them are multinational. UWC - UWC-USA | UWC. At Brown University there a lot of students who went to these high schools, (who are fiercely loyal to the schools). In part there are a lot of students at Brown from UWC because they are very well prepared, and in part because there apparently are some form of full scholarships to Brown for UWC grads who are qualified. </p>

<p>Webb School TN
[http://www.thewebbschool.com/

[/url</a>]
Bell Buckle, TN</p>

<p>Western Reserve Academy OH
[url=&lt;a href=“http://www.wra.net/]Western”&gt;http://www.wra.net/]Western</a> Reserve Academy](<a href=“http://www.thewebbschool.com/][img]http://www.thewebbschool.com/[/img][/url”>http://www.thewebbschool.com/)
Great school in Hudson, OH. It is between Akron and Cleveland. Beautiful town. Campus looks like small college.From its Website: Founded in 1826 as a preparatory school for Western Reserve College, Western Reserve Academy is one of the oldest boarding schools in the nation and the premier school of its kind in the Midwest. WRA offers a challenging curriculum that prepares our 390 students for future academic success - and for leading purposeful, fulfilling lives. Attending WRA is a transformational experience, where students learn to strive for excellence, live with integrity and act with compassion.
Westminster School CT</p>

<p>Westover School CT
[Westover</a> School](<a href=“StackPath”>http://www.westoverschool.org/)
All girls prestigous boarding school in Central-West CT. WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) Program and strong Dance/Arts (Manhattan School of Arts Program).
Beautiful Campus, Strong endowment. Excellent Integration of Day students and warm environment for 200 girls</p>

<p>Williston Northampton School MA
[The</a> Williston Northampton School](<a href=“http://www.williston.com/]The”>http://www.williston.com/)
Easthampton, MA
Like a college campus, virtually adjacent to the small town of Easthampton.</p>

<p>Worcester Academy MA
[Browser</a> Not Supported](<a href=“http://www.worcesteracademy.org/default.aspx]Browser”>http://www.worcesteracademy.org/default.aspx)
6-12
Worcester, MA is a day/boarding school, very unique urban setting, diverse student body, excellent sports,arts, fabulous leadership and extracurricular ops. Its We the People team has won state competition two years in row and they are off to nationals. Its Math team has won state comp 5 of 6 yrs in row and are going for 7th. Great place for all kinds of kids.
Unique boarding and day school in Central Mass. Check it out! Rigorous academics, long tradition of athletics, wonderful arts programs. Warm, welcoming, diverse community.</p>

<p>Wyoming Seminary
[Wyoming</a> Seminary College Preparatory School](<a href=“http://www.wyomingseminary.org/]Wyoming”>http://www.wyomingseminary.org/)
Preschool to 12
My son is attending Wyoming Seminary in September. He received a tuition scholarship to attend.
Seminary is located in Kingston, Pa and is a small boarding program of 200 students+day= 400 students. Traditional program, very old school. Strong in athletics (football, ice hockey, women’s field hockey, lacrosse). Also very strong program in theatre arts with new arts building under construction. 20% international students.</p>

<p>School nickname is “Sem”</p>

<p>N.B.: Schools with a ** are day schools.</p>

119

<p>I honestly do not know why you are looking specifically for a lesser-known boarding school. I currently attend Phillips Academy. I would advise you to, if you have the grades and background, apply for the bigger name schools: Phillips Academy, Milton, Exeter, Deerfield, or even Loomis or Middlesex. They all accept a decent number of incoming 10th graders. Plus, they are more recognized by top colleges. However, we have people from Loomis and Middlesex that matriculate to our academy every year, and everyone whom I know that comes from one of these likes Phillips Academy much more! I think that we, at Phillips Academy, have about a 10%-15% acceptance rate. I hope I was of help.</p>

120

<p>I was kind of offended by the above post. Feeling sick to my stomach, as we will soon go back to the old “it’s-only-about-fit” all over again.</p>

<p>MarcAngusMeyer, people have different needs and interests. And as you mentioned, getting in to a school where the acceptance rate is 14% requires much more than “the grades and background” (though I don’t know what kind of “background” you were referring to). So, it’s prudent to expand your research. There isn’t a school that satisfies all, and there must be more than one school that is right for you.</p>

<p>SevenDaughter, Exie’s D, “and even” MarcAngusMeyer will (or have already) benefit(ed) from their looking into less prestigious yet similarly challenging schools across the country.</p>