<p>Although Mercersburg has a gorgeous campus, both Peddie and Hill have nicer dining halls. Peddie's is very modern with a lot of glass overlooking Peddie Lake. Hill's has dark wood, antique chandeliers and original works of great American illustrator N.C. Wyeth. A picture of the Hill dining room is on the cover of Tobias Wolff's "Old School." All the MAPL schools except Hun have impressive arts centers, but Mercerburg's new facility looks like the best of them all.</p>
<p>Can anyone comment on the immediate surroundings of the Hill School?</p>
<p>Pottstown, like Bethlehem and Easton and New Haven, is an old industrial city that has seen better days, but it has a great deal of potential and is begiining to show some signs of life.</p>
<p>The immediate town of Pottstown isn't much, but is improving. However, the surrounding countryside is very pretty and rolling. It is not far from Collegeville (home of Ursinus) and some farming areas.</p>
<p>mmm IMHO, i think peddie is a good level or two below lawrenceville in terms of academics and athletics, but i guess that's questionable.</p>
<p>i live about 20 minutes from lawrenceville, and it's got a nice campus, very nice surroundings as it's right next to princeton [i was accepted as a day student, but decided to go the boardin route instead]</p>
<p>yeah, the day to boarder ratio is kinda high, due to lawrenceville wanting more students attending but don't have the dorm space, and a lot of kids in the princeton area apply [though strangely, scarcely any from my town]</p>
<p>lawrenceville is an all-around great school, except i feel its music program is a bit weak when compared to other schools, even public schools, which is partly why i decided not to go, since i wanted a strong music program</p>
<p>oh, and boarding school review has a bunch of wrong info, so i dunno if you can trust some statistics</p>
<p>Blee0507, I agree that L'ville is a very good school, but to say, "Peddie ia a good level or two below L'ville in terms of academics and athetics", is questionable. We all tend to compare schools and make judgments (ranking) that are just too difficult to do because we all have our bias'. I think it would be fair to say that in the end, the twenty plus schools that are often mentioned on the prep threads are all so very close that their differences are minor.</p>
<p>i think the comment that peddie is a good level below lawrenceville in academics and athletics is really just a substitute for a less acceptable but probably more true comment... that lawrenceville is just a little more prestigious. argue if you want, but i don't think i'm out on a limb here.</p>
<p>I think somebody is hitting the nail on the head.</p>
<p>I have no allegiance to either school. My point is that maybe when we make these comments one way or another they may be somewhat biased. I would be less inclined to accept your assessment if went to L'ville because it would be a bit biased. In either event, how much better can one school be versus another. The more I research boarding schools, the "top" schools are not seperated by a whole lot. I would clump both Peddie and L'ville inthis group. Wher do ya'll go to school?</p>
<p>madeinusa817, please excuse me, I blundered and half as....... read your comment regarding Peddies v. L'ville. What you say make's sense. I guess if I looked at the matrics, L'ville looks more impressive than Peddie. I guess it would follow that for this reason, one would think L'ville to be a bit more prestigious. Suffice it to say that both schools are in rarefied air. Would you agree?</p>
<p>actually, prepparent, my placement of lawrenceville above peddie in terms of prestige has almost nothing to do with matriculation or student/faculty ratio or anything like that. in my book, prestige doesn't have anything to do with such factors, which have only become important nowadays to a certain group of kids and parents. i just think lawrenceville has more name recognition, more history, more of that old prep school vibe. back in the day, andover fed to harvard, exeter to yale, and lville to princeton. (in the past few years, this trend is fortunately starting to reappear.) does peddie have an equivalent of the lawrenceville stories?</p>
<p>I couldn't answer your question about Peddie stories. My d goe to Middlesex.</p>
<p>Lawrenceville is one of the top 7 prep / boarding schools in the nation - which include the schools that overlap these two groups: </p>
<p>1) The Ten School Admissions Organization: <a href="http://www.tenschools.org/members/%5B/url%5D">http://www.tenschools.org/members/</a>
and
2) Prep 9: <a href="http://www.prepforprep.org/prepforprep/prep9.asp%5B/url%5D">http://www.prepforprep.org/prepforprep/prep9.asp</a></p>
<p>Namely:</p>
<p>**- Choate Rosemary Hall
- Deerfield Academy
- The Hotchkiss School
- The Lawrenceville School
- Phillips Andover Academy
- Phillips Exeter Academy
+
- St. Paul's School<a href="TSAO%20member%20but%20not%20in%20Prep%209">/b</a></p>
<p>The above 7 schools are widely recognized as the nation's elite / most prestigious / "best" prep schools: a.k.a. "Little Ivies"</p>
<p>Lawrenceville's prestige may have fallen a bit over the last decade or so, but this IMO is more of a function of its geographical distance from (and - over time - a reduction of sporting events - and resulting reduced association with) its New England peers - e.g., L-ville now seems to have re-focused its athletic schedule around MAPL opponents - though L-ville does still continue to retain some athletic ties with a number of New England preps, e.g.:</p>
<ul>
<li>vs. Choate in football and lacrosse (and until recently vs. Deerfield football and vs. Andover football many years ago) </li>
<li>vs. Hotchkiss boy's tennis</li>
<li>vs. Exeter girl's hockey</li>
<li>vs. Taft boy's hockey</li>
<li>vs. Kent School boy's hockey
etc... </li>
</ul>
<p>All of that said Lawrenceville still remains one of the nation's most historic and prestigious schools nonetheless. As another poster noted, the "little three" feeder schools to the "Big Three" - HYP (Harvard, Yale and Princeton) was traditionally:</p>
<p>Exeter -> Harvard
Andover -> Yale
Lawrenceville -> Princeton</p>
<p>For those interested in a bit of academic history, those three elite prep schools (Exeter, Andover, Lawrenceville) came together with Harvard, Yale and Princeton to discuss setting national standards for graduating HS seniors / entering college freshmen. Together they produced a working paper which laid the groundwork for what ultimately became the AP exams:</p>
<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AP_Exams%5B/url%5D">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AP_Exams</a></p>
<p>i agree that the reason for lawrenceville's somewhat diminished visibility and status has to do with its geography. people think of boarding school as a new england institution, not a new jersey one.</p>
<p>madeinusa, exactly. </p>
<p>had Lawrenceville kept up its active athletic ties with its famous New England counterparts, e.g. Exeter and Andover, L-ville's visibility and status would not have taken an undeserved hit over time.</p>
<p>let's face it, MAPL has a number of excellent schools, but it doesn't compare to the New England Prep Association.</p>
<p>at one point in time, L-ville's football schedule used to regularly include games against Andover, Deerfield and Choate (no other non-New England prep school can claim that kind of history). Whether the reasons were physical distance or increasing priorities to league association - Lawrenceville now only plays Choate on a regular basis in its annual schedule.</p>
<p>IMO, Lawrenceville's campus is also one of the most beautiful ones out there - its also one of the very few schools with its very own golf course on campus - I believe Hotchkiss may be the only other major prep school to have its own course on campus...</p>
<p>Bottom line?</p>
<p>Lawrenceville is still one of the best prep schools in the nation, and IMO far and away the best school in the MAPL.</p>
<p>Having a d that goes to MX, I question why Middlesex is not among your schools when there percent of Ivy matrics is greater than L'ville.</p>
<p>although this list is a bit older, see below, I have updated to the best of my ability.</p>
<p>American College Preparatory Boarding School Ranking
PrepReview.com Premium Content</p>
<p>2005 American College Preparatory Boarding School Ranking
Based on Percent Matriculation to Ivy League + MIT and Stanford Universities</p>
<p>Notable Alumni in Politics, Government and Public Service</p>
<p>Global Top 50 Boarding Schools Ranking
American Top 30 Boarding Schools Ranking British Top 30 Boarding Schools Ranking
Canadian Top 10 Boarding Schools Ranking
Endowment Ranking</p>
<p>Rank Preparatory
Boarding Schools Location IVY+MIT Stanford Harvard Rank Top 20 MIT Rank Top 10 Yale Rank Top 20 Stanford Rank Top 20 Princeton Rank Top 20 Median SAT School Mean
SAT School Mean SAT Public Mean SAT State Board Grade Board Age 2004 Tuition Boarding School Type
1 St. Paul's School
NH 40% 6 unranked 7 12 11 1345 - 1026 1043 9 - 12 14-18 $31,125 Coed Board Only
2 Milton Academy
MA 32% 7 unranked 15 19 unranked - 1340 1030 1041 9 - 12 14-18 $29,275 Coed Board Day
3 Groton School
MA 31% 3 unranked 12 unranked 5 1360 - 1030 1041 8 - 12 13-18 $33,930 Coed Board Day
Phillips Andover Academy
MA 31% 13 3 13 20 16 - 1350 1030 1041 9 - PG 14-19 $30,100 Coed Board Day
5 Noble & Greenough School
MA 29% 14 unranked 14 unranked 4 - 1310 1030 1041 9 - 12 14-18 $29,300 Coed Board Day
6 Phillips Exeter Academy
NH 28% 15 4 19 16 8 1365 - 1026 1043 9 - PG 14-19 $30,000 Coed Board Day
7 Deerfield Academy
MA 27% 16 unranked 17 unranked 14 1330 - 1030 1041 9 - PG 14-19 $29,960 Coed Board Day
8 Hotchkiss School
CT 25% 18 unranked 18 unranked unranked - 1300 1016 1030 9 - PG 14-19 $29,925 Coed Board Day
9 Middlesex School
MA 24% 11 unranked unranked unranked unranked 1320 - 1030 1041 9 - 12 14-18 $32,800 Coed Board Day
10 Lawrenceville School
NJ 23% 19 unranked 20 18 11 - 1340 1013 1015 9 - PG 14-19 $30,335 Coed Board Day
11 Choate Rosemary Hall
CT 20% unranked unranked 16 unranked unranked 1300 - 1016 1030 9 - PG 14-19 $31,590 Coed Board Day
12 Thacher School
CA 21%^ 18% unranked unranked unranked 9 unranked - 1320 1005 1020 9 - 12 14-18 $31,250 Coed Board Day
13 Hockaday School
TX 20%^ 16% unranked unranked unranked 5 unranked - 1280 988 972 8 - 12 13-18 $28,920 Girls' Board Day
14 Taft School
CT 18% unranked unranked unranked unranked unranked - 1290 1016 1030 9 - PG 14-19 $31,000 Coed Board Day
15 Webb School
CA 15%^ 15% unranked unranked unranked 8 unranked - 1310 1005 1020 9 - 12 14-18 $29,300 Coed Board Day
Loomis Chaffee School
CT 15% unranked unranked unranked unranked unranked - - 1016 1030 9 - PG 14-19 $30,900 Coed Board Day
St. Andrew's School
DE 15% unranked unranked unranked unranked unranked - 1290 955 989 9 - 12 14-18 $29,000 Coed Board Day
Northfield Mount Hermon School
MA 15% unranked unranked unranked unranked unranked - - 1030 1041 9 - PG 14-19 $30,300 Coed Board Day
Cranbrook Schools
MI 15% unranked unranked unranked unranked unranked 1270 - 1131 1136 9 - 12 14-18 $27,930 Coed Board Day
20 Cate School
CA 13% unranked unranked unranked unranked unranked 1280 - 1005 1020 9 - 12 14-18 $31,500 Coed Board Day
21 Concord Academy
MA 12% unranked unranked unranked unranked unranked 1350 - 1030 1041 9 - 12 14-18 $31,985 Coed Board Day
St. George's School
RI 12% unranked unranked unranked unranked unranked - 1260 991 1005 9 - 12 14-18 $30,000 Coed Board Day
Miss Porter's School
CT 12% unranked unranked unranked unranked unranked - - 1016 1030 9 - 12 14-18 $31,500 Girls' Board Day
Emma Willard School
NY 12% unranked unranked unranked unranked unranked 1280 - 993 997 9 - PG 14-19 $31,200 Girls' Board Day
Peddie School
NJ 12% unranked unranked unranked unranked unranked - - 1015 1015 8 - PG 14-19 $30,400 Coed Board Day
26 Kent School
CT 11% unranked unranked unranked unranked unranked 1290 - 1016 1030 9 - PG 14-19 $31,900 Coed Board Day
27 Episcopal High School
VA 10% unranked unranked unranked unranked unranked - - 1019 1024 9 - 12 14-18 $29,300 Coed Board Day
Woodberry Forest School
VA 10% unranked unranked unranked unranked unranked 1280 - 1019 1024 9 - 12 14-18 $28,400 Boys' Board Day
Georgetown Preparatory
MD 10% unranked unranked unranked unranked unranked - - 1017 1026 9 - 12 14-18 $31,270 Boys' Board Day
30 St. Mark's School
MA 8%-10% unranked unranked unranked unranked unranked - 1270 1030 1041 9 - 12 14-18 $31,900 Coed Board Day</p>
<p>Davida 1, Here is the prepreview you were requesting. Caution: these numbers shown on this chart are outdated and have not changed in at least 3-4 years. I have updated some of the school which I’ll note here. The info is quite accurate; I have used a number of resources, including Peterson’s Independent school books, Web sites, and current view books ( “04-“05 and “05-“06). In some cases I used 4 year numbers instead of 5 year. In Deerfields case I used 5 year matric numbers with 4 year grad numbers. In this case I took an average of the 4 years to get the 5th year number. In the case of St. Paul’s I had all the ivies with 10 or more matrics. Columbia did not have at least 10 matrics so I assumed 9 matrics for Columbia. It may have been 0 or 1 and as high as 9. I chose 9…. Also note that Nobles is really a day school.</p>
<p>SPS ivy 4 years 158/534 30%, Ivy/ mit/ stan ~ 33%</p>
<p>Deerfield Ivy 5 years 270/945 29%
Groton IVY 5 years 108/396 27% I/M/S 29%</p>
<p>Middlesex IVY 5 years 99/420 24% I/M/S 25%</p>
<p>Hotchkiss 5 years Ivy 120/624 19% I/M/S 133/624 21%</p>
<p>Lawrenceville 5 years 253/1107 23%</p>
<p>Global Top 50 Boarding School Ranking
PrepReview.com Premium Content</p>
<p>Global Top 50 College Preparatory Boarding School Ranking 2005
Based on Percent Matriculation to Top Universities in Britain, Canada, and the United States*</p>
<p>Notable Alumni in Politics, Government and Public Service</p>
<p>Global Top 50 Boarding Schools Ranking American Top 30 Boarding Schools Ranking
British Top 30 Boarding Schools Ranking
Canadian Top 10 Boarding Schools Ranking
Endowment Ranking</p>
<p>Rank Nation College Preparatory Boarding School Location Top College Matriculation College Entrance Exam Boarding Age Boarding Tuition 2004-2005 School Type Top University Placements
1<br>
Westminster School
London 46% 97% 12 - 19 yrs old UK 20,658 Coed School Oxford & Cambridge
2<br>
St. Paul's School
New Hampshire 40% 1345 14 - 18 yrs old US 31,125 Coed School Ivy League + MIT & Stanford
3<br>
Milton Academy
Massachusetts 32% 1340 14 - 18 yrs old US 29,275 Coed School Ivy League + MIT & Stanford
4<br>
Groton School
Massachusetts 31% 1360 13 - 18 yrs old US 33,930 Coed School Ivy League + MIT & Stanford</p>
<p>Phillips Andover Academy
Massachusetts 31% 1350 14 - 19 yrs old US 30,100 Coed School Ivy League + MIT & Stanford
6<br>
St. Paul's School (UK)
London 30% 97% 7 - 19 yrs old UK 20,085 Boys' School Oxford & Cambridge</p>
<p>Winchester College
Winchester 30% 95% 13 - 18 yrs old UK 21,950 Boys' School Oxford & Cambridge
8<br>
Eton College
Windsor 29% 96% 13 - 18 yrs old UK 22,480 Boys' School Oxford & Cambridge</p>
<p>Nobles and Greenough School
Massachusetts 29% 1310 14 - 18 yrs old US 29,300 Coed School Ivy League + MIT & Stanford
10<br>
Phillips Exeter Academy
New Hampshire 28% 1365 14 - 19 yrs old US 30,000 Coed School Ivy League + MIT & Stanford
11<br>
Deerfield Academy
Massachusetts 27% 1330 14 - 19 yrs old US 29,690 Coed School Ivy League + MIT & Stanford
12<br>
Wycombe Abbey School
High Wycombe 25% 97% 11 - 18 yrs old UK 20,100 Girls' School Oxford & Cambridge</p>
<p>Hotchkiss School
Connecticut 25% 1300 14 - 19 yrs old US 29,925 Coed School Ivy League + MIT & Stanford
14<br>
Middlesex School
Massachusetts 24% 1320 14 - 18 yrs old US 32,800 Coed School Ivy League + MIT & Stanford
15<br>
Lawrenceville School
New Jersey 23% 1340 14 - 19 yrs old US 30,335 Coed School Ivy League + MIT & Stanford</p>
<p>Upper Canada College
Ontario 23% 1380 14 - 19 yrs old CA 37,975 Boys' School McGill & Univ. of Toronto
17<br>
Sevenoaks School
Sevenoaks 20% 91% 11 - 19 yrs old UK 21,900 Girls' School Oxford & Cambridge</p>
<p>Badminton School
Bristol 20% 89% 4 - 18 yrs old UK 20,730 Girls' School Oxford & Cambridge</p>
<p>Charterhouse School
Godalming 20% 88% 13 - 18 yrs old UK 22,180 Coed School Oxford & Cambridge</p>
<p>Tonbridge School
Tonbridge 20% 86% 12 - 19 yrs old UK 22,120 Boys' School Oxford & Cambridge</p>
<p>Choate Rosemary Hall
Connecticut 20% 1300 14 - 19 yrs old US 31,590 Coed School Ivy League + MIT & Stanford
22<br>
Bishop Strachan School
Ontario 19% 1290 13 - 18 yrs old CA 33,400 Girls' School McGill & Univ. of Toronto
23<br>
Thacher School
California 18% 1320 14 - 18 yrs old US 31,250 Coed School Ivy League + MIT & Stanford</p>
<p>Hockaday School
Texas 18% 1280 13 - 18 yrs old US 28,920 Girls' School Ivy League + MIT & Stanford</p>
<p>Taft School
Connecticut 18% 1290 14 - 19 yrs old US 31,000 Coed School Ivy League + MIT & Stanford</p>
<p>Havergal College
Ontario 18% - 14 - 18 yrs old CA 35,400 Girls' School McGill & Univ. of Toronto
27<br>
Cheltenham Ladies College
Cheltenham 17% 91% 11 - 18 yrs old UK 23,370 Girls' School Oxford & Cambridge</p>
<p>Harrow School
Harrow 17% 85% 13 -18 yrs old UK 22,350 Boys' School Oxford & Cambridge
29<br>
Radley College
Abingdon 16% 86% 13 - 18 yrs old UK 19,050 Boys' School Oxford & Cambridge</p>
<p>Fettes College Edinburgh 16% 87% 7 - 18 yrs old UK 20,199 Coed School Oxford & Cambridge
31<br>
Webb School
California 15% 1310 14 - 18 yrs old US 29,300 Coed School Ivy League + MIT & Stanford</p>
<p>St. Andrew's School
Delaware 15% 1290 14 - 18 yrs old US 29,000 Coed School Ivy League + MIT & Stanford</p>
<p>Loomis Chaffee School
Connecticut 15% - 14 - 19 yrs old US 30,900 Coed School Ivy League + MIT & Stanford</p>
<p>Northfield Mt. Hermon School
Massachusetts 15% - 14 - 19 yrs old US 30,300 Coed School Ivy League + MIT & Stanford</p>
<p>Cranbrook Schools
Michigan 15% 1270 14 - 18 yrs old US 27,930 Coed School Ivy League + MIT & Stanford</p>
<p>Ashbury College
Ontario 15% 1200 14 - 18 yrs old CA 31,950 Coed School McGill & Univ. of Toronto
37<br>
St. George's School
British Columbia 14% 1335 11 - 18 yrs old CA 34,000 Boys' School Oxford & Cambridge
38<br>
Appleby College
Ontario 13% - 14 - 18 yrs old CA 36,000 Coed School McGill & Univ. of Toronto</p>
<p>Oundle School
Peterborough 13% 81% 11 - 19 yrs old UK 18,423 Boys' School Oxford & Cambridge</p>
<p>Cate School
California 13% 1280 14 - 18 yrs old US 31,500 Coed School Ivy League + MIT & Stanford
41<br>
Concord Academy
Massachusetts 12% 1350 14 - 18 yrs old US 31,985 Coed School Ivy League + MIT & Stanford</p>
<p>St. George's School
Rhode Island 12% 1260 14 - 18 yrs old US 30,000 Coed School Ivy League + MIT & Stanford</p>
<p>Miss Porter's School
Connecticut 12% - 14 - 18 yrs old US 31,500 Girls' School Ivy League + MIT & Stanford</p>
<p>Emma Willard School
New York 12% 1280 14 - 19 yrs old US 31,200 Girls' School Ivy League + MIT & Stanford</p>
<p>Peddie School
New Jersey 12% - 14 - 19 yrs old US 30,400 Coed School Ivy League + MIT & Stanford
46<br>
Benenden School
Cranbrook 11% 89% 11 - 18 yrs old UK 22,350 Girls' School Oxford & Cambridge</p>
<p>Rugby School
Rugby 11% 86% 13 - 18 yrs old UK 20,610 Boys' School Oxford & Cambridge</p>
<p>Kent School
Connecticut 11% 1290 14 - 19 yrs old US 31,900 Coed School Ivy League + MIT & Stanford</p>
<p>Dulwich College
London 11% 83% 7 - 18 yrs old UK 21,630 Boys' School Oxford & Cambridge
50<br>
Episcopal High School
Virginia 10% - 14 - 18 yrs old US 29,300 Coed School Ivy League + MIT & Stanford</p>
<p>Woodberry Forest School
Virginia 10% 1280 14 - 18 yrs old US 28,400 Boys' School Ivy League + MIT & Stanford</p>
<p>Georgetown Preparatory School
Maryland 10% - 14 - 18 yrs old US 31,270 Boys' School Ivy League + MIT & Stanford</p>
<p>I can't believe I just came acroos this discussion. I had to join in. I am a Peddie person and my opinion is that if you live in a high ranked public school there is no reason to go elsewhere. My husband went to boarding school and insisted our child do the same. I think there might have been a time where prep school offered an advantage, but given today's academic standards I don't think it's relevant. Look at college admissions for many of the prep schools. There are only a select few that maintain consistent top ten/Ivy acceptances, the rest are comparable to any good public. My opinion SAVE YOUR MONEY and spech the dollars on summer enrichment programs, etc.</p>
<p>do they have many of those types of High Schools in Texas? NOT!</p>