Is this a good list?

<p>I'm applying to Andover, SPS, Exeter and Deerfield.</p>

<p>I know it's a small list, so I was wondering if you guys could recommend any other schools.</p>

<p>I want very, very rigorous academics, especially in languages and history.</p>

<p>I'm not that much of a science/math fan, although I guess I'm interested in bugs and animals and stuff. Kinda geeky, but whatever. So the school should offer a couple classes in those subjects.</p>

<p>I'd like it to be in New England, although it doesn't have to be.</p>

<p>I don't want the school to be too small, so at least 400 kids in grades 9 - 12.</p>

<p>The campus has to be BEAUTIFUL. </p>

<p>Must offer tennis and swimming.</p>

<p>It isn't absolutely necessary, but the town should have at least a few things to do.</p>

<p>Milton Academy. Its in Milton, Mass. right outside of Boston. It's one of the top prep schools in the nation.</p>

<p>Wow..nice, safe town.</p>

<p>was that a comment or question? im sure its plenty safe i doubt rich parents all over the world would send their kids there if it wasn't. tehehehe</p>

<p>It was a comment.</p>

<p>If it were a question, there would be a question mark. (?)</p>

<p>I just looked at their website. It looks great.</p>

<p>The List:</p>

<p>(In order of preference)</p>

<p>SPS/Deerfield/Andover (all tied for first, if I were accepted, I wouldn't know which one to choose.) Exeter, Milton</p>

<p>Besides the ones you listed I also applied to Choate in Connecticut, Lawrenceville in New Jersey, and Middlesex (only 350 kids, so not what you are looking for). They all have pretty nice campuses, but I don't remember anything about the towns.
I also researched and Loomis Chaffee in Connecticut, but I did not visit it, so I don't know about the town.</p>

<p>Choate... how could I forgot Choate?! Also, how do you pronounce that? lol like SHOTE? </p>

<p>How long should my list be? Is six enough?</p>

<p>You pronounce Choate like ch oat. I had a list of 8 schools and wound up applying to 6. My mom treated it more like a typical college application process. I had two reaches A/E, a couple matches Lawrenceville, Choate, and a couple safeties Taft and Middlesex.</p>

<p>I also forgot in my previous post, but you might want to look at Hotchkiss in Connecticut.</p>

<p>what about less fussed-over schools like, oh, middlesex? its a wonderful school. i would have applied to it if it werent up in massachusetts (mother forbid me to apply beyond connecticut). </p>

<p>I cant say if it is a good list or not. Sure, the schools are the best in the nation, but you really have to decide for yourself. And that really doesnt happen until you visit the campus, meet the students, etc. Then you're going to be changing your mind, or perhaps not. Remember, pick the school that fits you the best, not the one that looks best on paper.</p>

<p>my mom did the same thing! she said i couldnt be over 3 hours away, but thats ok cause im in ct where there are alot of schools</p>

<p>If you are a good swimmer (I mean really good), then you should consider The Bolles School. I'm not sure how well it measures up academically, but athletically it is the top in Florida. Jacksonville is pretty far away from New England, but if you are an outstanding swimmer or tennis player, then this is the school with the top-notch sports facilities that you are looking for. They consistently win state in just about every sport in their class or make it far in the playoffs.</p>

<p>If you're a girl and want a pretty campus, I heard that Emma Willard is georgeous. I haven't seen it though.
But then again, most boarding schools are pretty, so I guess you'll be okay as far as that's concerned. St. Andrews (delaware) has really pretty pictures on the website.
All of these schools have fabulous departments in pretty much every subject.
You should be fine. :)</p>

<p>oh. ha. jonathan k. </p>

<p>so you're a boy. hahaha. ignore the first part of my previous post. ;)</p>

<p>haha... I'm like.. my name is Jonathan. I haven't heard a girl called that before. lol.</p>

<p>ehrswimming, I'm applying to boarding school mainly for academics. Then, EC's, then sports. I like sports and all, but it's not as important to me as academics. Thanks for your advice, though.</p>

<p>lol yea, i didn't look at your username when I wrote the message...</p>

<p>Like colleges, if you need aid and the schools aren't need blind, you need to add schools where your stats are well above average. My faves, which I think are equal to your 4 but just less popular because the're not in New England are Hill (one of the group of 10), Peddie (an SPS clone) and St. Andrews. All great schools!!</p>

<p>I got St. Andrew's viewbook. I wasn't really into it.</p>

<p>Could you describe Peddie for me? I'll look into it. :)</p>

<p>How do you think I compare to other applicants, suze?</p>

<p>I looked at Peddie. It looks pretty great, although the acceptance rate is only 22%, which isn't that much better than Andover, SPS, etc.</p>

<p>sugerkim, if you think Middlesex and Taft are safeties, you are either misinformed or super confident A-1 student. Good Luck!</p>

<p>Jonathan, you're clearly a solid candidate, but so are most who apply. After you have acceptable grades and SSATs, other equal factors come into play. Recs are super important as is the interview. If you are Asian the field is really tough. Not any easier for the unconnected white applicants. Athletic ability seems to really come into play too. So the bottom line is that many, many totally qualified kids don't get in and you need to cast a wider net. Donb't take any school for granted. You mentioned UCC. My boyfriend went there before Andover. If connections matter anywhere, it's day schools like that in Towns with only a couple of good privates. Most kids belong to CEOs and politicians! The unfortunate part about top privates, boarding and day, is that there are many more well qualified kids than spaces. The 4 top boarding schools are as random in admission as HYP. If you keep that in mind you'll be fine.</p>